The Culture of Inequality - Essay Example

It is, therefore, a fact that cultural inequality still remains the greatest drawback to development in most societies today (Macionis 67). The main problem is that there are very few people who have realized this. In most institutions and regions, the the problem has been sandwiched and covered making it look something of less concern (Macionis 78). Everyone deserves to be treated equally irrespective of age, race and gender. This provides a leeway to another point which is concerned the strict father (Macionis 87).

As opposed to the nurturant parents, the strict father believes on the hard love form of parenting. This is where the child does not have the right to question any of the parents’ decision (Macionis 97). In this way, this kind of parenting contributes to arguments against affirmative action. These are just a set of principles that have been put together to at least fight for the rights of those who are discriminated in a society (Macionis 114). It is wrong to refute the fact that children ought to be punished when they do wrong, but it is quite strange and irrational that most parents and guardians know only one way of punishment which is through beatings (Macionis 75).

Punishment is a form of correction, but it should be well known that a time it is bound to fail. When it fails to function properly, there is a high probability that the child’s situation will worsen; especially the sociological part (Macionis 90). A child should be morally upright as per the societal laws. However, his or her rights should be respected. Besides, they need to be given an opportunity to make judgment on whether the parents’ rulings are unfair or just. This is where the strict father actually goes wrong because he does not believe in democracy hence perpetuating arguments against affirmative action (Macionis 111).

The other issue is basically about the folkways, norms, and sanctions of our culture. Norms are societal rules governing the behaviors of people in a given society. For instance, according to the Americans’ culture, women are brainwashed, and for that case we find that most matriculation institutions and workplaces are more often run by men. The reason behind this is to maintain the social hierarchy in the society (Macionis 86). On the other hand, folkways refer to the way people live, think and act in life.

Some of the folkways of Americans’ culture are seen on the types of clothing and haircut (Macionis 65). Only the men are allowed to wear suits and neck ties which is a contributing factor as to why most men are left in charge of workplaces (Macionis 100). Sanctions, on the other hand, may dwell most on issues pertaining to social discrimination and exclusion. It affects the personality of a person making him or her feel belittled. The effect of this is that the self-esteem of such an individual reduces (Macionis 120).

The most common informal sanctions are sarcasm, shame, ridicule, and being disapproved in public (Macionis 94). The issue on gender inequality is a major challenge in the Americans’ culture. This is because the norms, folkways, and sanctions differ with the other known cultures. According to the other cultures, they tend to believe that no human is superior to the