Abundance and Scarcity: Toward a society of social class shifts - Research Paper Example

?Running head: Abundance and Scar Toward a society of social shifts Lecturer Scar and abundance may be seen as binary oppositions, and sure they are. Scarcity is a state of lack where the expected resources are rare to suffice the existing need. Abundance is a state where the available resources exceed the demand and needs of community members. Society is stratified into classes where a class of people has abundance living while another has a perpetual lack of resources. In my opinion, both scarcity and abundance create a cyclic development of social class as well as shifts of class relations. Scarcity and abundance inculcates in societal members either scarcity or abundance mentality. Scarcity mentality is never permanent, and immediately one assumes a social economic balance, he or she is cast into abundance mentality where the quest to get all what is available is meaningless. In this paper, I posit that against the chagrin of many, scarcity is essential for triggering abundance and, unfortunately, abundance precedes scarcity. This proposition is abstract and subjective, and may face counter arguments and clearer examples than those provided in my argument. The weakness of my argument and proposition will be outlined at the end of the paper. Abundance is understood as a phenomenon where people in the society pursue their needs and wants by helping others achieve their own. This mentality is entrenched regardless of resources at the disposal of an individual. When the society is oriented into this mentality, no one is envious or jealous of other people’s success. Rather, the success of others becomes the success of everyone. Those who operate under this paradigm are aware that by contributing to the happiness of others, through fulfilling other’s needs and wants, they are contributing to their own happiness. On the other hand, scarcity is a state of lack where the persons in the society are driven by what they acquire, instead of what they can let go. In other words, scarcity created a mentality in the society so that members favour being always on the receiving end. The scarcity mentality wastes the person on conflict, stifled creativity, and negative thinking (Gould, 2009). In the real sense, people who operate under this mentality avoid responsibility, depend on others for their happiness, and they hardly create real value in their lives. In society, class is determined by the mentality that prevails in a section of the population. For example, people with scarcity mentality remain to be stewards, and are used by others as means to an end, or they allow others to use them in that way. Scott and Leonhardt (2005), posit that there was once in America a clear cut distinction between social classes. Poor people once accepted their status by letting the scarcity mentality rein their lives. This way, if one is born in a poor family, chances are that they would die in the same class, having not moved up the ladder to the next class. Later, society realized that wealth creation is not a matter of destiny, but a matter of merit. This merit can never be created without the positive jealousy and envy that comes with the scarcity mentality. The need for competition, the urge to maximize whatever little one is endowed with can not be gainsaid on the way to merit because this merit is born of competition. This way, there is no way to believe that wealth and success in life must be handed down or inherited from parents. Instead, an individual struggles to be a self-made individual whose success is not attributable to familial inheritance. When the low class people strive to achieve this status, most of them rise to the top class, and this explains the reason as to why there are more self-made billionaires than there used to be. Scott and Leonhardt (2005) noted that among the 2004 Forbes list of 400 richest Americans, only less than 40 (9.25%) inherited their wealth, and this is down from 200 in the mid 1980s. This shows that merit is speedily replacing the traditional privilege of inherited wealth, and a class based system has been created where parents today inculcate in their children the spirit of competing and meritocracy. In this case, Gould (2009) holds that the talent of a child from the poor family or background is more valued than that of a child from the high class families. This is, for example, perceived in terms of human talent as a resource when it is scarce. Abundant resources are never valued and so is abundant mentality. Achievement is, therefore, associated with those who move up the ladder, but not those who climb down the ladder of success. This way, scarce mentality creates wealth and enables one to move up the social ladder in order to achieve life goals. On the other hand, the abundance mentality is significant in maintaining what has been earned through merit. However, to those who are already wealthy and belonging to a high class in the society, lack of sense of competition denies them a chance to rise above what they already have. Their lack of competition spirit makes them complacent, and at the end of the day, they are bypassed by merit. Failure to cultivate a sense of meritocracy children makes them go down the ladder, and the cycle of scarcity starts again. With time, the created generation is awash with scarce mentality and is forced to work hard to achieve what their parents lost. Scarcity and abundance are two phenomena that create a cycle in the society. With abundance, people are less likely to put efforts in their lives because they have everything they want. This way, having the abundance mentality and having abundant resources are two different things. Abundance mentality is, however, born of the fact that a society member has something to give and assist others. Without abundant resource to offer, the person is cast at the queue of the receiving elements. This receiving agent is then steered, by jealousy and envy, to possess and works hard to compete and achieve like those above him or her. Since merit is granted by nature, the hardworking are always rewarded and, this way, one is likely to leapfrog to a high class based on merit. For people of the top class, there is no competition or envy to remain at the top, and this explains the reason as to why their children are likely to find themselves ultimately at the base of social class. From this base, they will learn to compete and envy to be at the top again thus cultivating competition, which would place them at their historical place and the cycle, continues. In conclusion, this position is flawed by the fact that abundance mentality is examined from the material level. Since a sense of competition is mental and somehow destructive, my argument views it from the positive perspective and not from the negative side. When viewed from the negative perspective, scarcity mentality is more destructive to an individual than we can imagine. Abundance mentality brings in the balance by cooling ones mind so that unnecessary competition and acceptance of one’s place are eliminated from one’s life. This way, members of the society grow. At the material level, however, abundance brings about complacency and lack of competitive spirit, which casts a generation into a state of lack. This is explained by the degeneration of wealthy people who have inherited their wealth. It is born of the fact that those who find wealth do not work hard to remain at the top. Those who are born in a state of lack, or scarcity, cultivate a spirit of competition and need to go up and by merit; they achieve status and are the majority self-made billionaires. This way, the phenomena of scarcity and abundance are essential in creating a class cycle where the society members go up and down the ladder alternating at different generations. Reference list Gould, R. (2009). Abundance, Scarcity and Violence. Unpublished article. 1-6. Scott, J. & Leonhardt, D. (2005). Class in America: Shadowy Lines That Still Divide. Retrieved May 8, 2012, from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3235623 Read More