Karl Marx’s key tenet as to inequality is capitalism in his eyes defines one’s social class having a direct influence on one’s life experiences and life chances. The problem with capitalism is that is distorts the structure and meaning of the work process, with negative consequences for society as a whole and especially for workers. The distortion comes from several characteristics basic to the capitalist mode of economic organization: private property, surplus expropriation, the division of labor, and the alienation of work. Private property is a social activity, requiring groups of people working together to create things. Private property is the byproduct of division of labor. Surplus expropriation is the exploitation of workers’ labor to create profit. Marx believed it distorts the natural work processes is the expropriation of surplus wealth by the capitalists at the expense of the worker. Workers generate most of the wealth; yet receive only a small portion. The owners of production pay their workers less than the value of their labor, usually enough to maintain …show more content…
Success and money are more difficult to achieve when a person is faced with certain obstacles that others do not have to overcome. Many Americans wish to work hard, buy a home and start a family, however the reality of owning a home can be difficult depending on the housing market forces. Buying a home also becomes more challenging when home values are increasing. Historical factors such as slavery and racial segregation, have constrained minorities, such as African Americans from securing and accumulating assets. As a result, minorities have a difficult time acquiring high quality housing. To this day, racial discrimination takes a toll on housing searches, thus leaving American families to live in lower quality neighborhoods and work in minimum wage
According to The Editorial Board New York Time’s, “The Housing Crisis Lives on for Minorities” December 26,2016, mortgage companies such as Fannie Mae are discriminating and being racist towards African-American and Latino homes. The writer emphasizes the neglection Fannie Mae had towards these minority homeowners and specifies the contrast between white areas and black areas. The mortgage crisis that ravaged the economy eight years ago, is a driving factor of the editorial. The writer is informing New York Times readers, educated citizens, and intellectuals about the racial allegations towards Fannie Mae. The Editorial Board affectively convinces their audience that there is an unjust gap between white and minority homes through the use of
The initiative challenges the idea of American exceptionalism by critically reviewing the economic, political, and cultural mechanisms that have sustained racial disparity. It reveals the ongoing consequences of colonialism and racial oppression, such as discriminatory policies, wealth inequality, and systematic racism, by emphasizing the experiences and viewpoints of oppressed communities. The 1619 Project seeks to challenge the prevalent historical narrative and open a discussion about colonialism's continued effects on modern-day America. According to one of the project's articles by Matthew Desmond, continuing residential segregation and unequal access to opportunities are the effect of racial discrimination in housing regulations, showing how colonialism and racial injustice still have an impact. The 1619 Project also questions the idea of American development as a linear path, focusing instead on the cycle of history and the deep foundations of inequity.
In Santa Clara County, African American households have a much lower homeownership rate than white households (31% versus 58%). In San Mateo County, the gap is even wider, with African American households having a homeownership rate of just 25%, compared to 65% for white households. This disparity in homeownership can impact intergenerational wealth building and access to stable housing. Displacement: Both counties are also experiencing significant displacement and gentrification, which can impact African American and white residents differently.
The opportunities for minorities when it comes to housing and home loans were taken away for a reason. When you sit back and think, even though there was The 1968 Fair Housing Act that helped in a way “banned '' housing discrimination, why is it that almost 100 years later we are still dealing with the effects of separation and discrimination while struggling to find a resolution? It is because of situations like these that were solely used to put people of color behind when it comes to housing and building up areas themselves. Peter Dreier’s article, “Who Benefits from Gentrification”
It is explained that Whites are able to acquire homes earlier in life because they statistically face less obstacles than their Black counterparts. Since whites are able to acquire houses earlier in life than Blacks, they are also able to build home equity for long term home ownership as well as financial support from family members. The wage gap also widens by the fact that African Americans face discrimination from real estate agents who steal them towards black neighborhoods. The wealth gap between Blacks and Whites causes different opportunities for both parties. Wealth allows families to invest in their families futures such as higher education.
Due to the socioeconomic status of Section 8 housing applicants, vouchers are commonly needed. Since the vouchers are too small to rent in middle-class areas, the only way to take advantage of the voucher is to move to an even more segregated neighborhood than the one they were already living in. As a result, minorities are clustered once again, in neighborhoods with no diversity. The information given in this chapter correlates to the article Gentrification by Ajay Panicker.
The Industrial Revolution cast its shadow upon European cities and towns. Some enjoyed this shade while others suffered tremendously because of it. Those who enjoyed the luxuries and wealth that the Industrial Revolution provided, the bourgeoisie, depended on the needs of the poor, the proletarians, to increase the size of their monstrous factories and ultimately their wealth and influence. In “The Communist Manifesto” Karl Marx discusses the effects of the Industrial Revolution in further dividing society by creating new social and economic hierarchies. In addition to his observation of the division of labor, Karl Marx believed, that due to the technological shift from craftsmanship to machinery this also caused division of labor and the appreciation of proletarian handmade goods was disregarded.
The means of production should be possessed by a majority part of citizens rather than the minority. In other words, the determinant factor of judging a society is capitalism or communism, is the ownership of the ways of production which is either private or social. Only if the word of “private property” never appears in our world, will Marx be
Because of the industrial revolution and this introduction of a new means to produce all necessary items, Marx’s transition came about because of the change in the mode of production. Marx also partially suggests that this occurred because of class conflict and struggle, stating that if society is not functioning the way it should in the current system, it will change. However, even when the transition to a capitalist system became established, Marx continuously believed that it was doing more harm than good. A capitalist economy is based on private property.
The degree of residential segregation remains high for most African Americans in the U.S. The primary cause of racial differences in socioeconomic status is by determining
The relationship between society and the law is direct, and housing in America is a conclusive example of that. As argued by both authors, once society has made up its mind about a certain group of people or place such as the ghettos, even the law can’t change those facts. It often happens that people of color and minorities get overlooked and stereotyped into something that they are not due to the hierarchical and discriminatory principles of the law. It has been engrained into society to think that minorities are poor, lazy, and overall less productive in the public
Public Policy on Housing Discrimination Executive Summary Housing discrimination and segregation have long been present in the American society (Lamb and Wilk). The ideals of public housing and home buying have always been intertwined with the social and political transformation of America, especially in terms of segregation and inequality of capital and race (Wyly, Ponder and Nettking). Nevertheless, the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri and in Baltimore due to alleged police misconduct resulting to deaths of black men brought light on the impoverished conditions in urban counties in America (Lemons). This brings questions to the effectiveness of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in devising more fair-housing facilities (Jost).
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, social scientist, sociologist, historian, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Marx was born on 5 May 1818 in Germany and died on 14 March 1883 in London. Karl Marx is regarded to be one of the founding fathers of Sociology. Capitalism, in layman’s term means “an economic, political, and social system in which property, business, and industry are privately owned, directed towards making the greatest possible profits for successful organizations and people.” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2014).
In Marx’s theory the bourgeois own private property; however, the poor does not have as much. Marx had a distinction between private property and personal property. The private property has caused an unequal distribution of means. Factories, corporations, and companies are all owned by rulers that seek their own best interest. It is important to abolish this is to achieve equality.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels express their major critiques and opinions on capitalism in their 1848 publication of The Communist Manifesto. Their critiques are based around the idea that capitalism is simply unfair, meaning that one class benefits significantly more than the rest. The class that benefits least from capitalism is the proletariats. This unintelligent labor class suffers from the capitalists dominance, and is unaware of the damage they are experiencing. George Orwell’s depiction of Boxer in his novel, Animal Farm, fits precisely into Marx and Engels’ negative critique of capitalism by representing a strong symbol for the proletariat class and succumbing to the powerful demands of the capitalists.