The Modern West and the Strive for Equality
The modern West strives to achieve the value of equality. Equal rights are enshrined in policies as old hierarchies comprising of social class and nobility is often challenged. Inequality in sectors such as race, gender, sexuality depicts a society grappling with the prospects of global change that will see each enjoy the much-proclaimed equal rights and justice. But just how this is feasible, based on an egalitarian concept, remains a befuddlement as, even after years of laws being revised, implemented and others banned, institutions still reek of unfairness, unequal opportunities, and social stratifications that, coupled with the dire need for power and authority often sandwiched between intentionality or happenstances, presents an ongoing problem. Perhaps a society with no hierarchies would appear unrealistic, or worse, frivolously unattractive. Despite this, the social institutions responsible for these massacres are to blame. This essay will focus on the four social institutions encompassing politics, family, education, and economics. How these institutions, following stereotypes and contemporary times, have evolved to create inequality is explored herein.
Social Institutions and Their Role
In its broadest, social institutions refer to the social structures and mechanisms that provide social order and authority for societal members. The five major social institutions in sociology are the political, educational, economic and family domains (Development of E-Course for B.Sc 7). Embedded in social relations and roles, these social bodies aims to socialize groups notwithstanding the need to control behavior.
Politics and Its Influence on Inequality
Politics in the society refers to the powers endorsed to governmental agents who seek to solve public problems so that members can live in a social state. Demarcated into the executive, legislative and judicial bodies, the government creates rules which are imposed on members for a common goal. One way government and its hierarchy present issues of the class can be seen in the way it implies the difference between leaders and civilians—the hierarchy that stems high from the president to even local authorities sometimes births oppressive regimes which if not curtailed spawns into political upheavals. A political system should embody democracy, however, as seen with many African nations where dictatorship is the method of ruling, the lower echelons of the society are deprived of resources and privileges that they have worked for leading to stratification of classes of the upper, middle and low class. Along similar lines of hierarchy, gender inequality ensues. For instance, based on Women’s March day, many women have been deprived the opportunity for governmental positions. Underrepresented, in 2013, only 56,278 women were involved in political campaigns compared to the 148,412 men. Additionally, misogynistic iterations about women's inferiority has been proclaimed by American President Donald Trump in the past which promotes gender inequality and less opportunity for women (Weber, Tisha, and Flemming 2). The gender gap in the political forum sees that women are denied platforms where they can voice their concerns, and although the number of women in the office is rising, the gender gap is still imminent.
The Impact of the Family Institution
The family institution which can be defined as the smallest function that entails producing and rearing the young, at its lowest consist of father, mother, and children. On structural grounds, it divides to be either a nuclear or conjugal family which consists of an extended family of married couples, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, parents, and cousins. This faction often births the concept of marriage where based on family hegemony results into conflict about who is the head and who should be subservient. Family as a social institution promotes gender inequality. For one, recent debates on male and female superiority is a divisive topic. Research indicates that women are considered subservient to their male partners, and as a result, evidence points to the former facing discriminations at work (Beaujot, Roderic, Jianye Liu, and Zenaida Ravanera 4).
The Role of Education in Perpetuating Inequality
Education as one of the institutions can be defined as a form of learning which entails the transference of knowledge, skills from one generation through the next (Dworkin 145). Functions of schools in conjunction with identifiable structure seek to preserve and promote social order. Intellectual purposes aim to transfer cognitive skills such as reading and writing. With the three levels of education from primary, secondary to tertiary, education serves to demarcate the literate from the illiterate. With this, the issue of race becomes an overt problem just like gender is. One prominent example of how education promotes social stratification of race based on ‘skin color’ for hierarchy can be seen in the recent racial climate at Thomas Jefferson University. White supremacy protests reigned the University after students demanded that the statue of Thomas Jefferson was demanded to be removed as it was built on Thomas’ idea that white people were superior to their black counterparts (Jefferson's Two Bodies). This has in turn, according to the student’s echoes issues of white privilege- as research indicates that the number of white students enrolled in the institution outweighs that of other races.
The Impact of Economic Institutions
Economic institutions entailing the different entities of macro and micro-economics refer to the relationships between commodity prices, good input and outputs, unemployment and the way the government raises and spends public revenue. Microeconomics refer to the individual firms, industries, and households and how they interact in an economic system. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, entails a holistic economy in business and how the government shapes businesses process and policies.
Personal Experiences and Conclusion
Personal Experiences: Hierarchies of Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
Hierarchies of race, gender, class, and sexuality have changed my perception, experiences, and identity as a 20-year-old boy living in America. On gender grounds, since men have been stereotypically linked to the idea of dominance, as a little boy my father would compel me to quell my emotions as men were expected to be aggressive and emotionless. My sister, on the other hand, was allowed to throw tantrums, cry and speak out on whatever she deemed unfair or wrong. As a result, I grew up to be a reserved man as it had been carefully indoctrinated in me from childhood. Men should appear less feminine is the stereotype (Fleming, and Christine Agnew-Brune 2). Consequently, it is my role to identify as a man, and let women identify as the fairer sex, all because the family institution birthed this concept. The racial experiences that some of my African American friends endured in the hands of ruthless police officers demanding a drug search lend credence to a white American society, which, despite reforms and policies, will take years to erode. Additionally, African Americans are safer from these racial remarks if they are more educated and scale the same earning heights like their black counterparts. Also, the poorer other races are, the more likely that will endure racial discrimination. With males dominating governmental roles, women who run for high offices are often chided and deemed unattractive. One example is my older sister who wanted to run for an empty deputy CEO position at a firm she works for. She had qualified by all intents and purposes; however, when the time came, she was disqualified because soon she would be getting married and that would ‘drag the company’.
Countering the Effects of Hierarchies in Society
To counter the often scathing results that hierarchical divisions of race bring, one, the society has to be involved in educating the younger generations moral knowledge. For instance, most of the world’s criminal habits like stealing, as depicted by normlessness- a concept first coined by Emile Durkheim (1897) which explains the dissociative nature of an individual from societal conscience-should begin from childhood. Children should be taught moral and ethical behaviors from a tender age (Khodadadi, Najme, and Ensieh Shabanirad 126). Two, it is upon the society to elect morally upright individuals in every institution so that the moral aptness of those individuals is transferred to the next generation through observational learning, a theory first developed by Sigmund Freud which explains that children learn from their surroundings and the characters of their peers and parents (Niederland 16). For instance, the Women’s March which refutes American President Donald Trump’s misogynistic claims about women will only permeate if members elect such individuals again. Whether intentional or not, these misogynistic utterings from a leader only spur even more such people in the public which galvanizes gender inequality.
Conclusion
The political, family, educational and economic constructs of the society in the past and in contemporary times have promoted unequal opportunities for members of the society by all intents and purposes. Additionally, these institutions have challenged my perceptions about families, gender equality, the social class and the way people of color are often treated in a white supremacy society. Towards that end, it is possible to curb all the most if not all the problems presented by these societies through education and change for the society is bigger than a few rotten apples in leadership.
Works Cited
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