Richard Dawkin's Selfish Gene and Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities - Essay Example

Introduction "Savage Inequalities" and "the Selfish Gene" are two of the most widely read and compared book of all times. These two books are being compared not because they offer same of contradicting thoughts, but because both of these two books provide its readers with a different point of view regarding some matters which is unusual to everybody. These two books may be considered as deviant for both try to provide information that contradicts the normally accepted thought in the society. Savage Inequalities America has always been known as the land of the free. It is perceived by a lot of people as a land where everybody has an equal opportunity, where resources are abundant and free for everybody. These perceptions are the reason why a lot of people are dying to go to America; to fulfill their American Dream, as it is commonly known. What they don't know that behind this beautiful image of freedom, peace and equality lays a system that is so cruel and selfish that one would reel at just the thought of it. There are many books that are written in the pursuit of enlightening the readers about the negative side behind America's systems. These books are written not to dampen the spirits of the Americans and the aspiring immigrants of America but to show them the picture that America is not a perfect country it may be a haven for some, but there are also some people who may find it otherwise. The book "Savage Inequalities' by Jonathan Kozol is one of the widely read book that talks about the not-so-good-system of America. This paper is aimed at analyzing the contents of the said book, and thereby evaluating the probable cause and effect of this book to its readers. Also, this paper aims to find out whether Kozol's book is able to make an objective point of view regarding America's unfair system. In Jonathan Kozol's book, "Savage Inequalities", Kozol has described the real happenings in the American Public School System. Conducting visits and research in America's public elementary and high schools, Kozol made a shocking discovery: that despite the new age and laws in America about equality in social class and race, discrimination is still happening and it is taking place in the public elementary and high schools; the place where children go to and learn about these stuff. What is more shocking is that it is done blatantly and no one is taking a stand against it. What more, people who can make changes about these things are even choosing not to address the problem and even voting against doing something about it (Kozol, 1991). It is a vicious cycle, really. Children who are educated in public schools that are inferior in quality, both in facilities and in the academic area, would grow up to occupy the lowest strata in the work force . Since they are used to poor conditions, they would be contented to live with the small wages and poor benefits they would be getting from such jobs. They would marry and their children will once again go to such public school. In turn, children of the rich and the middle class go to good public schools - schools that are complete in facilities and have a good faculty and system. These children would be given good education so that when they graduate they will get jobs that are high paying and white collar. And when it is their turn to raise a family, their children will go to the same good public school their parents went to. So you see, the school serves as a capitalist system that requires the reproduction of the division of labor (Bowles, 1972)). The rich and middle class, knowing that these work at their advantage, see no point in improving the system. In fact, they even create policies to maintain their place in the social strata. Inequality in social status is not the only thing that Kozol has discovered in his rounds in these public schools. He has also found out those public schools that house children of color are more inferior in quality. A good example of such school is the public school in East St. Louis. East St. Louis is populated by predominantly black and low income families. It is a slum area that housed drug deal dealers and prostitutes. In East St. Louis, sewage spills in the school is a common thing. The situation in this school is so depressing that it is a wonder that no one in the government has done anything about it. It is something to be found in a third world country (Kozol, 1991). Certainly something that shouldn't be found in America. Kozol's mission in writing this book is to scrutinize urban school districts, which he theorized and later proved, are severely segregated by race and class. He also points out how the unequal funding of schools relates to social class divisions, racism and alienation. In gathering evidences to prove his theory, the author visited public elementary, middle and high schools. Unfortunately, he has forgotten to include in his book the list of all the schools he has visited and also the total number of schools he has studied. This leaves the readers to wonder if he has indeed visited enough schools to represent the majority of public schools. Sure, he has described vividly and effectively the conditions of these poor inner city schools but there's a possibility that this might not always be the case. There's a possibility that he has stated his book to support his theory. A scientific method should have been employed and also explained in the beginning of the book to demonstrate to the readers that everything written is a real representation of real scenario in the public school system of the United States. Kozol has suggested that equal funding in these public schools is the solution in ending the inequality in status and race in these schools. Unfortunately, he has failed to consider that inequality in social status and race cannot be easily eradicated. If it were that easy then those terms would now be long gone in our language system. Like social problems (i.e. poverty), it will take a long time for the real changes to be seen. It has been long inculcated in our society and system that it will be really hard to remove. Also, changes should be done in the greater society and it has to be done simultaneously for the real improvements to even start to occur. It should not occur in the confines of the school walls alone but also in the outside environment of the schools. If this happen can there be finally be equality in these schools. There are other factors to be look upon also like management. If management is good and is really looking out for the welfare of the students then all these funding will be really used for the improvement of the facilities and in the hiring of the teachers (Kozol, 1991). If people really wanted to solve this problem, then they should collectively stand up to government and rally their cause. Government is not doing anything because no one is complaining. One reason for this is that people are not really educated on what's happening in the society. If they knew what is going on then there may be some one - a group or even one person - who would initiate something. The book Savage Inequality has effectively narrated the situation of some of the schools in America. In doing so, Kozol was objective enough for he had truly immersed himself with the school institutions he has used as subjects of his study. He had clearly evaluated and made a clear picture of what is going on in the schools and how are different students being treated. But that is what it all did. There was no deep explanation of why these things are happening or even why it has started in the first place. Kozol could have at least do some further research on when do these unfair educational system started and what prompted these schools to do that. This information can be used as a guide for Kozol and could help him in pointing out the real root of the problem. The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene", which was first published in 1976, is equally popular as "The Savage Inequalities". The very phrase "selfish gene" in the title of the book was coined by Dawkins as a provocative way of expressing the gene-centric view of evolution that holds that evolution is best viewed as acting on genes, and that selection at the level of organisms or populations almost never overrides selection on genes. Richard Dawkins described "selfishness" and "altruism" as 'unconscious purposive behavior and that there is no thought behind a gene's action, but simply automatic. Dawkins defined "selfishness" as a behavior that increases the chances of survival of genes in one individual at the expense of another. Simply put, Dawkins strongly emphasized that it is the effect of a behavior that increases or decreases gene survival (Dover, 2000). In this book, Dawkins stated three properties common to all replicators: longevity, copying-fidelity, and fecundity. He also implied that replicators are 'unconscious' and 'blind to the future'. There is no thought directing their actions. They are selected for depending on the prevailing conditions in the environment. It is also because of this idea that he suggested that replicators can change or mutate, causing variation. It is this variation on which natural selection works that leads to evolution (Dover, 2000). Many issues are tackled in this book. First of which is about the central idea that the gene is the unit of selection. More critics are thinking that this outlook oversimplifies the relationship between genes and the organism. Some biologists, on the other hand, have criticized the idea for describing the gene as the unit of selection, but have suggested describing the gene as the unit of evolution, on the grounds that selection is a "here and now" event of reproduction and survival as compared to the evolution, which is the long-term trend of shifting allele frequencies (Dover, 2000). Another criticism of the book, pointed out by other is that it discusses philosophical and moral questions that go beyond the biological arguments that Dawkins makes. Dawkins, however, has responded to this issue and suggested that he is only describing how things are under evolution, not endorsing them as morally good (Dover, 2000). It should be best noted that an organism carries a particular allele, hence, it can also be assumed that anybody is able to say that the organism is more likely than otherwise to behave in a certain way. In particular, this applies to human organisms. From the onset, Dawkins stated he is "not advocating a morality based on evolution", instead, he simply describes what may have actually happened in evolution. Dawkins coined a term "meme" used as a 'unit of imitation', or of 'cultural inheritance'. Memes behave in similar ways that genes do. Like genes, memes selfishly compete to replicate themselves (Dover, 2000). Dawkins also indicates that through sexual reproduction, the number of genes diminish by 50% in each subsequent generation. Replicators are said to be theoretically immortal through copies. Replicators compete directly for space within an individual, and only consequently for existence in the gene or meme 'pool'. Selfishness then, is very useful in describing replicator behavior, but not necessarily an individual's behavior (Dover, 2000). Dawkins, I think, is not trying to disprove the teaching of sciences or the theory of evolution. He is also not trying to contradict the theory of creation as suggested by the church of the modern and traditional world. What he is trying to do is to give his readers are clearer picture of what is happening behind the man's subconscious system. For him, we do not need to know the X and Y attributes of our genetic systems, or the feminine and male characteristics of us or even the genetic contributions of our ancestors, parents and immediate relatives. Dawkins' point, in this book, is that although, we, humans, may be influenced by our genes, we are not controlled by them. And with this, human behavior is, and will, always result to be inevitably "selfish" in a moral or ethical sense. Comparison of the Two Books Kozol's book is more of a criticism on what has been happening to the educational system of America. His main point, I think, is to show the irony of America's tag as the 'land of the free" in contrast to the freedom exercised by its educators and educational facilitators. For Kozol, there is extreme injustice happening in the society. He perceives that change should be done in America's system so that every populace will receive proper and equal treatment, more specifically when in is about education. Dawkins, on the other hand, is more on the analysis of man and mans nature. For him, there are basic attributes of man that make him react on certain things, which may sometime be unacceptable to others. For him, there are contributing factors pushing any man to behave that way. This, according to him are inevitable for man will always face their genes - their selfish gene, for that matter. But there is one very important aspect in Dawkins' idea that is very much related to that of Kozol. And this is the idea of "meme". As stated above, "meme" selfishly compete to replicate themselves. In Kozol perspective on America's education system, he is trying to imply that the "pure" whites are becoming very selfish in a way that they do not welcome the idea of enjoining with them those that are not naturally-born white Americans, the Blacks. And this has been happening for the longest time now, and can still be witnessed even in today's time. And like Dawkins "meme" America's unfair educational system for the black continue to replicate itself and thereby creating more competition and misunderstanding for the many. With this problem, it can be assumed that there is a very high demand for the educational reform plans to be done immediately. Cultural evolution is actually, not the answer, but just a total reformation of the ongoing system of America in terms of its educational policies and support. References: Bowles, Samuel. Unequal education and the reproduction of the social division of labor. New York: David McKay, Inc., 1972. Dawkins, Richard. (2006). "The Selfish Gene" (Anniversary Edition). Dover, Gabriel. (2000). "Dear Mr. Darwin". Weidenfeld & Nicholson ISBN 0753811278 Goslee, Amber. "Response to Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol." The Rouge Forum Newspaper.1999. Amber Goslee. 1 March 1999 . Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America's schools. New York: HarperPerennial, 1991. Spring, Joel. American Education 8th Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1998. Read More