Social Inequality In Social, Cultural, And Economic Aspects

Social Inequality Name Institution Social Inequality Introduction The American society is currently facing a wide range of social inequalities across its social, cultural, political, and economic aspects as it struggles to hold on to the social glue of freedom, equality, liberty, and justice for all in the community. The social inequalities are threatening the country’s solidarity and unity in the belief of sharing the American dream without any form of bias or discrimination against any individual or social group. Political affiliations form or rather build on the premise of biased social constructs of class with the electorate divided between and among the different identities nurtured by the faulty social system. Economic disparities are evident among members of the American society with income and wealth distribution favoring the majority or dominant group in the country. The minority groups are subject to poor pay or low wages as the majority group seeks to maintain its dominance over the other members of the society. Socio-cultural differences correlate to the manifestation of the differences in class and ethnic stratification where the cultural orientation of the dominant ethnic group becomes the standard way of doing things for one to become successful or live the American dream. The cultural backgrounds of the minority groups are gradually eroded as members of such communities embrace the culture of the majority group in an attempt to level the ground for actualizing their aspirations in life. Provided herein is a comprehensive overview of some of the social inequalities in American society, their manifestation, and subsequent influences on the lives of individuals and the community as a whole. Racial inequality One of the most divisive forms of social inequalities stems from the use of superficial human features such as skin color, which the White majority group forms its superior identity and ideology over the minority groups such as the African American communities. Racial inequality refers to the discrimination of an individual or a social group based on biological traits such as skin color and other physical features such as stature and facial featuresCITATION Mer06 \l 1033 (Merger, 2013). Even though the racial identities have no scientific basis for imposing the perceived superior claims over social groups with a different racial background, racial inequality stands out to be one of the most divisive factors in the United States. African Americans, for instance, have suffered greatly at the hands of the White majority group’s strive for power and influence over the former based on racial superiority. Members from the White community subject African Americans to social injustices such as enslavement and segregation throughout American history on the premise of the latter being an inferior race. Widespread discrimination based on race is evident in the distribution of employment opportunities as seen in the firing of federal workers in 1992 workers from the black community comprised 39% of the laid-off employees, despite only constituting about 16.6% of the entire workforceCITATION Mer06 \l 1033 (Merger, 2013). Racial inequality further takes the form of structural manifestation with the minority group especiall...