Economic Inequality in the Society - Essay Example

College Economic Inequality in the Society Economic inequality is the differences that occurs between individuals in relation to assets, wealth and incomes within a society. Economic inequality varies between countries, societies, historical eras and structures of economy, for example socialism and capitalism. Another variant is the ability of individuals to make wealth. Economic inequality, according to the research done by the International Monetary Fund, prolonged the duration of economic growth more than other factors like reduction in corruption, foreign investment and low debt. (Berg, Ostry, 2011). This clearly indicates that Economic Equality has great influence on the direction of the country, in relation to development. Business is the foundation of any economy. Without business life would look very much like the one of our ancestors where they used the barter trade system. The United States has a capitalist system of economy which business plays a big role and everything regarding the economy relates to it. The structure of the economy plays a big role in fueling inequality in a society. This is not to say that any system is without its shortcomings and advantages. During the cold war, the world was divided into two structures of the economy, socialism and capitalism. Two countries were drumming support for the system they used and aligning other countries on their side. After the tug of war between the two systems, capitalism seems to have almost won the battle bringing inequality along with it to the society. The integration efforts that followed after the cold war which was characterized by division along two lines, was partly brought about by the development of the web. Globalization came about and the web was in the frontline. (Friedman, 2008) The web penetrated many aspects of the society and the business. This was one of the factors along with global completion and cheap goods from china. (Mocking the American promise)The web is global in perspective and jumps across territories making the world a global village, where all the world information is easily accessible. This has enormously increased business activities which have also increased inequality along with it. The internet has greatly improved the way business is done from outsourcing to editing of documents across borders. The effective use of technology has demanded that individuals have resources in the form of capital, Education and infrastructure. This requires partly the involvement of social circles that we are brought up in. A poor man cannot afford to set up a business because he is limited by these factors. This has made it hard to attain the American dream which is the goal of everyone and yet is realized by a few. (King, 2012). United States is viewed by many as the land of opportunity and many come to the United States to realize the so called American dream. What they don’t know is that the country is just like any other in regards to inequality. The few wealthy individuals continue to be wealthy because they have all the resources that would be required in starting any business. The society is largely being divided into social circles where the rich only interact with the rich, do business with the rich and employ their own friends in the circle in case of a job opportunity. The highest percentages of Americans are poor and it has been the same for long. This does not imply that the capitalist system is a bad system in comparison to socialism. There are also inequalities in communist system of governments. The gap between the wealthy and the poor is widening day by day across countries. This is regardless of integration which came about. The answer to the question about the distribution of wealth, income and poverty has always baffled many. Why do very few who from the majority in a population, make it to the high circles while the few who form the minority stay in that circle effortless. The pressure of trying to live the American dream has put so much pressure on the society. This has led to the American families having little time or no time for their families. (Collins, Yeskel 2010). Even though it cannot be said that there have not been any development in business, many individuals are working harder in order to sustain their families with the wages that they earn. This is trying to keep up with the changing economy. With the worsening unemployment rate and debt increases, there cannot be said that the situation will become better any time soon. The economic inequality in our society and the variations between the rich and the poor can better be explained by the social circle of each individual. The family they were born in, their education, their income and their neighborhood in some instances. A good example is when a child of a rich family goes to the best school, after graduation they are employed by their rich families and the circle continues. In another case the son of a poor family may struggle through life and if they make through in education in few cases, they have a hard time securing employment, and if they do they are tasked with looking after their not so well families. This puts limitations in how far they can go or climb the ladder. The poor person would have to do several jobs to be able to pay for their education and look after their family. The limited time would affect the some people who would drop out in order to be able to concentrate on their jobs. In other times, they take up a loan for a specific reason like education to end up defaulting when unemployment hits. This is felt is one of the causes of recession in the long term in a country. This goes on until they reach retirement age and realize that they had not saved for retirement. This affects the next generation in that family as they are also forced to look after their aging parents. It would seem like there is no end of the cycle. The richest Americans, who form the smallest part in the population 13,000 rich families in this regard, have an income which is almost as much as the rest of the poor population combined. This makes it almost impossible to control the situation as the few rich have a say in the society. This few rich control all the money distributed around the US and when there is recession, the hardest hit are the poor. The rich would easily recover from a $1000, 000 losses than the poor man who loses $100. It seems that there is no end to inequality as the poor get poorer while the rich get richer. It does not help the matters as the powerful in the society who are the rich group seem to do everything to protect their wealth at the expense of the poor. (Parker 31). Conclusion A quote from the Declaration of Independence states that “all human beings are equal and are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights among them is pursuit of happiness”. This can only be possible if only the next to impossible task of reducing inequality is dealt with. No society is perfect but the efforts of a group of people determined to change the course of history, can do so in this case reducing inequality. The American dream is possible for everyone to realize if the inequality borders are removed. Like the Berlin wall which divided the west and the east, inequality in the society has caused deep divisions which eventually change or slow down the general direction of the country towards attaining general happiness. Works Cited George Parker, The Broken Contract: Inequality and American. Decline, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2011 (p. 31) Thomas L. Friedman. Exploring the world after September 11 (2002): Longitudes and Attitudes: The super story Berg, Jonathan D. Ostry, "Inequality and Unsustainable Growth: Two Sides of the Same Coin?" IMF Staff Discussion Note SDN/11/08, International Monetary Fund, 2011 King, Brandon, The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold? They Say I Say. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. 572-73. Print. Collins, Chuck, Felice Yeskel.The Dangerous Consequences of Growing Inequality." Readings for Inequality and Social Justice. 2. (2010): 155-162. Print Read More