Category: Equality

Equity – the quality of being fair and impartial.

Equality – the state if being equal especially in status, rights, and opportunities.

To elaborate on the differences between the two, equity means fairness, but not necessarily meaning it is equal. For example, there are three guys. An eight year old, fifteen year old and a 45 year old. They all want to look over the fence to watch the dogs play in the field. There are three crates. To have equality you would need to give each of the gentlemen one crate. Now, to have equity you would need to give the youngest child two crates because he is the shortest of them, give the second youngest child one crate so that he will be able to see over, then give the last gentleman no crates, because he can already see over the fence without them.

See equality works to produce fairness in our world, but that cannot theoretically happen unless every person starts from the same place. Equity on the other hand is put in place to make sure that every person gets treated fairly. Now, as humans our differences and/or history can tend to create some type of barrier to learning, participation, etc. So, in order for us to enjoy equality we must first ensure equity. Equity also known as ‘the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people … defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically.’

As another example of equality and equity and the differences between the two, listen to this: Equality; a city’s community decided to hold a meeting where everyone is invited to discuss a health issue that has come up locally. The meeting is held in English, although English is not the primary language, considering only twenty five percent of the people who attended the meeting could understand what was being said. Equity would be setting up the community meeting with interpreters so that people of different backgrounds and ethnicities are able to comprehend what is being said in the meeting.

In my opinion, I think we as a people should strive and try our best to reach equality before we are able to get anywhere near equity. I believe that although it is for the better good of us aU, equity is a more difficult goal for us to achieve. Not because we are not able to, but because, in my mind, equity is placed at a higher standard than equality. Simply put, for equity to even begin to occur, we must have already established the basic necessities of equality. We must all be evenly yoked, however oppression must cease to exist if we ever want to move forward and actual establish a world full of equality to open the door for equity amongst us all. Is it possible? Only time will tell.

In 2012, an elderly Muslim woman who lives in Canberra, Australia had left will after her death for her three sons and half shares to her five daughters. One of her daughters, Fatma Omari fought for a bigger share in court claiming that her mother has dementia upon writing her will and ultimately won the case. Unfortunately, this case had sparked a misconception among the community in Australia that Islamic law of inheritance is unfair for women. In the Quran, Allah says in An-Nisa’ verse 11, ”Allah commands you regarding your children. For the male a share equivalent to that of two females”

Islam does not discriminate between male and female children but rather have a strong reason why male children get double the share. It does not mean that women are worth less than men. Instead, a female entitlement to inheritance, is for her personal use only which contradicts with male child who has the responsibility to his mother, his wife, children and his unmarried sisters. It is also a fact that not each inheritance that a woman gets half of the shares of her brothers. It depends varily on the amount of siblings, wives, and other heirs. Not only that, it also depends on whether they had contributed to the fortune as well. For some cases, if a woman deserves more, she is allowed to take the case to a court, because Islam has leniency and is fair for its believers.

Hence, it is important to note that fortune comes with a great responsibility and control. As an addition, when a muslim woman marries a man, her husband will provide for her and their children because she does not have to provide sustenance for her family. Ayatullah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani mentioned in his book “Faith and reason”, “these responsibilities are on the shoulders of men, whereas we see that women are exempted from paying any living expenses, including their own ”. Hence, this makes up for the deficiency in what she has inherited from her deceased parents.

Comparing to the times of Jahilliyah, woman has zero rights in inheritance when her husband died. In fact, the woman itself is a part of inheritance. When a man dies in Jahilliyah era, all of his property will be divided to his male relatives that are eligible to fight in a war. Wives, daughters and young sons are not allowed any part of shares. A verse that was sent down during that time, finally protect children and women that were oppressed from receiving any inheritance. The verse is from the Quran, An Nisa, verse 7 where it mentioned that there is a share for every man and woman, whether the share is small or big.

Allah also has raised the status of a muslim woman by bestowing them with rights of inheritance when she becomes a widow. According to Naser Makarem Shirazi in his book “A summary of rulings”, “when his husband dies and he does not leave any children, his permanent wife will inherit a quarter of the property and the remainder is for the remaining heirs. When he has children from this wife or another wife, his wife will inherit an eight of the property and the remainder is for the remaining heirs”. This Islamic rule of inheritance again, shows that women is not undervalued in islam. Woman is extremely valued in Islam for always having someone to cather for her financially which is her father before marriage and her husband, during her marriage. Therefore, Islam truly cares for its believer, especially woman and children.

Before I started writing this essay I was very confused on the difference. I did not know what to write about because I did not know the difference between racial equity and racial equality. After researching racial equity, I started gathering notes until I understood the difference. Racial equity is when a race gets help or resources to get them equal to the other races. This may differ depending on how good or bad people are doing in life. Some races will be helped others will not. Racial equity to me is fixing systems that are out of balance such as, where people live and social justice.

“Racial equity is about applying justice and a little bit of common sense to a system that has been out of balance. When a system is out of balance, people of color feel the impacts most acutely, but, to be clear, an unbalanced system makes all of us pay.” -CSI President Glenn Harris. This quote I found has a very powerful meaning and it is very accurate. When a system is out of balance such as politics, or government they need to be fixed as many people are suffering and like the quote states it is mostly people of color. Mostly we suffer because we let it happen we let people treat us that way which we should not allow we need to show that with or without racial equity we can still succeed and prove everyone else wrong.

For example, in King County, Washington there is a 10 year life expectancy difference between a place where white people live and a place where people of color live. I feel this is a perfect example were racial equity should be put into work. People of color need help too be equal with the life expectancy of those of white. I think that the white people in King County live longer here because they have the better opportunities such as housing, food markets, doctors and jobs. These opportunities should be equal for both races to survive so both can have the same life expectancy. It is not fair that only the people of the white race get the good stuff and others do not everything should be equal for all races.

Racial equity is also when all people get an equal chance no one is higher than the other. This helps people out tremendously as they get motivation and inspiration to keep going and get help to be equal with others. Without racial equity certain races feel they are superior to other races when they are not. They think they have everything and want to boss other races around which is not right. This is where racial equity could come in to keep those people in check so they would not think they are powerful and hurt other races. I also feel that racial equity plays a factor in racial discrimination. I say this because I feel like when one race is higher than another the lower race tends to dislike the higher race. Or vice versa the higher race could hate the lower race for getting help so they can be equal. I may be wrong but i have a feeling this plays a role in racial discrimination it has to be all looped in.

A powerful example of racial equity is food stamps and other food services. What I mean by this is how everyone who has a low income can apply for food stamps to get help whenever they go grocery shopping. This helps them be at balance with other people who have good jobs and are able to have enough money for everything they need. In some places certain races have better jobs and this is why the other races struggle with money and their income. Then racial equity comes into play and helps those families be up there to hold together and survive. There are many other examples of racial equity going on in the world right now. Such as the ,”City of Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative Report 2008: Looking Back, Moving Forward.” What they are doing here is helping all races in order to eliminate institutional racism and race-based disparities. They have many causes on why they are doing this some go back as far as 1942 when Japanese Americans were forced to leave the city of Seattle. Those are the kind of things they are trying to prevent by using racial equity so no race will be discriminated and all races will be treated equally.

In conclusion, racial equity should play a big role in our world today as it looks like racism is starting up again. Although everyone is not equal we were made equally. The world started with one person and evolved, we all come from the same place; therefore we need the opportunity to to be equal, which is not the same opportunity as everyone else, no matter what their race.

In this essay I am going to be explaining the difference between both equity and equality, and I will also say what both words mean. Equity and equality are very similar but very different from each other. Both words are very detailed and have very strong meanings from each other. These definitions could be very a like but it could mean something very different.

Equity means that you are being very fair to your surroundings like your peers and others. A example of equity is when you have a opportunity to work for a big business .They are not just going to accept you easily you have to go thru many steps to be accepted. Another example is to get accepted in a great school like a magnet school. I now attend a magnet school but in order to enter we had to write an essay. The principal didn’t just accept everybody , they went through every single essay and decided if it was worthy enough to enter the school. There is many other ways to describe equity but these are two examples that I stated, getting a job or even to get a opportunity for some great education that would be helpful.

Equality means that you are being equal to all your friends, parents, etc …and also it means that you are being equal for an appearance. For example at a regular school they might just accept anybody because they don’t have any regulations about that specific school. And also if someone may be very different from you but you have to be equal and friendly to them. The world is very diverse that you will find out that everyone is very different from each other. Equality could also mean that if you’re trying to do a very important decision in your life people are going to respect what you have to say about your own opinion.

The differences about equality and equity is that equity is treating you impartial and very fair. Equality is accepting you for who you are. Both of these definitions are very similar to each other but they mean something very different Equality is all around the world and equity can happen very frequently throughout the day. Now that we know what they mean we could figure out the differences of both of them.

Equity is more on the business side or very important events happening and equality happens anywhere and at any time.

Equity an equality could be very identical but both of them mean something very different. These events in life could lead you very deeply into the future and could get you very important opportunities in life. I agree that we should use both of these events in our life daily so we could make the world a much positive place and to not have negative events happen on the daily basis. Equality and equity should be much more recognized in the future and hopefully we get better life chances within using both of these events.

Introduction

Uber was a trendsetter within the international taxi trade. a really creative project, Uber upset the taxi trade and was supported a market demand gap between client demands and choice availableness. the corporate offered a replacement kind of urban quality at more cost-effective prices and easy use for patrons.

Established by Travis Kalanick in 2009, the organization was target-hunting by terribly aggressive values to realize world domination (‘History of Uber – Uber’s Timeline Australia,’ 2019). As a results of the values that created a 1 of a sort company culture, the corporate was valued at $70 billion by 2017 and was operative in additional than seventy countries. However, the corporate conjointly started facing Brobdingnagian issues for the company with various complaints, government scrutiny, and cases filed by workers and drivers, as a result of the business model of the corporate supported ‘results the least bit cost’, ‘growth on top of profit’ attribute, and disparate profit reports (Rooney, 2019).

Background of Ubers property issue

Uber that had recently run into many internal and external issues starting from workers going away the corporate to being scrutinized by government agencies for breach of the law. There ar 3 major problems within the company in recent times. The core company values current within the company underneath founder Travis Kalanick, the problems of gender equality within the company and therefore the queries raised in respect to the leadership vogue and choices taken by Kalanick. the company values enforced within the company by Kalanick were faulty and inadequate and therefore the subsequent corporate culture in the company was harmful for the motivating the staff. there’s conjointly a severe lack of gender diversity and equality at the corporate and all over that these were as a result of the imperfect leadership practices and values espoused by Kalanick (O’Kane, 2018).

This report highlights 3 problems within the company values, equality and leadership. we are going to analyze the problems within the company by watching their leadership model and thereby suggesting a replacement leadership model and strategy for modification and analyze the doable outcomes of the strategy.

Sustainable development is outlined as, ‘Development that meets the requirements of this while not compromising the power of future generations to satisfy their own needs’.

Gender equality could be a thought that everyone humans ar unengaged to develop and select with none hindrance from the set gender roles and truthful treatment supported gender. And to prevent discrimination on grounds of sex neither directly nor indirectly (Olgiati & Shapiro, 2002).

In the agenda for 2030 of international organization property Development Goals, the fifth goal is to realize Gender equality and empower all girls and women. Gender equality and women’s authorization is integral to achieving the property Development Goals. Gender difference isn’t solely a curse to any organization however conjointly a priority from a worldwide perspective. while not achieving gender equality, it’s nearly not possible to realize the opposite sixteen SDG’s. several consultants believe that ladies play a significant role in property development. Their indispensable contribution to achieving a balance in property has been really underestimated until date. Ending discrimination {for women|for ladies|for women} and girls during a general sense and in a company reestablishes their essential human rights in addition as has completely different impacts in each side of development. girls ar endued with with a special characteristic attribute, care that this structure the muse of property. This attribute of theirs meets purpose that successively drives property (Prem, 2019).

Gender equality correspondence within the operating atmosphere implies each guaranteeing women have similar possibilities and are paid love men for equivalent work. The target of creating certain that ladies play a vigorous role in deciding and have an equivalent leadership opportunities as men ar terribly essential to any organization (Darrah, 2018).

Analysis of the problem at Uber

At the core of Uber’s price was to realize growth and revenue targets and therefore the decentralized structure allowed general managers to be themselves and were sceptered to form choices while not abundant superintendence and scrutiny and from the company’s headquarters. the corporate had conjointly incorporated a win-at-any-cost angle with the aim of growing as quickly as doable. the staff were expected to personify the values like meritocracy, high-principled confrontation and invariably be hustling or the culture of obtaining additional finished fewer resources and thereby operating long and onerous hours and being smarter. Another price that was typically fostered was that of high-principled confrontation urging dynamical of the globe and establishments to inaugurate the long run. Uber followed a really strict price system that targeted on growth the least bit prices that unnoticed the doable outcome of incorporating such values within the company like cult temperament, favouritism and not following the hierarchy system. the worth system incorporated at Uber since the beginning of the venture in 2009 by founder Travis Kalanick was clearly prejudicious for the corporate. They were excessive albeit logical. Values ar outlined as world abstract principles that act as guiding principles like freedom, honesty, equality, beauty, etc. that are applied to the business perspective (Thomsen, 2004). The core values conjointly ought to be specified they’re able to inspire and inspire employees to realize new levels of productivity and aiding employees to achieve the skilled goals of the staff. If the core values ar well created and may support internal and external stakeholders together with customers, it is more possible that customers would wish to interact with the corporate typically completely (Urbanovičová, Mikulášková, & Čambál, 2017). The results of the values propounded by Kalanick resulted in unrestricted work culture and a deadly workplace atmosphere. The result was unprofessional behaviour wherever problems with favouritism and lack of equality weren’t subsided (Westaway, 2014).

Despite campaigns in developed and developing countries aimed at creating awareness and respect for women rights, their participation in employment remains low. International human rights fights for equality in men and women, their employment act says women should be given equal opportunities; it is of the opinion that at least a third of a company’s employees should be women.

Sweatshops policies are some of the policies made in some countries to increase women employment to informal and formal sectors. This argumentative paper discusses why sweatshop labour opportunities for women in developing countries are better than no opportunities, or the limited opportunities, that are currently available to women in those countries.

One of the major reasons why men have been able to look down upon women is women lack of economical empowerment. They are left to depend on men for their livelihood. In Africa, women were required to cultivate and produce food for the family, however in today’s increased population, which have resulted to farming land fluctuations farms can no longer feed a family.

Another factor that has affected this old “women” profession is global warming, seasons are no longer predictable. If the countries start sweatshops programs, women will at least have some income other than depending on men wholly.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in their book “Half the Sky” gives the example of China as one of country that have used sweatshop policy to incorporate women in their production. According to the authors, the moves have shown an increased participation of women in economic development. Though the policy offers low wages and mostly is in the informal sector, women are able to meet their basic needs.

This is the start point. According to Abraham Marlow (1908-1970), hierarchy of needs theory, Psychological needs are the foremost needs that human beings require; these are the basic needs that a person should have they are food, shelter, health and clothing. When these are given by sweatshops, women will be able to focus on higher things and be able to fight for their needs.

When fighting for rights, there is always a sacrificial group, when today’s women are included in these low paying jobs, they will create an avenue to future girl child, as they are involved in production, men will note that they are equally and sometimes more productive than men and thus in the future, they will trust them with higher responsibilities.

In Canada, clothing industry, women dominate as labourers and casuals. This has given them exposure and experience that they require to establish their own small businesses which has resulted to their financial empowerment.

When African economies, embrace this move their economies will adjust to this economic policy; then with time, they will feel they can move without them. The result will be a foundation of fight for women rights. When these rights are respected, this is the start point of women empowerment. In Kenya-Africa, there was a move by the countries government and Italian government to have Export Processing Zones (EPZ) in the country which had a similar approach like sweatshops programs.

The zones were termed as areas of oppression in the late 1990s but in early 2000, C.O.T.U. (Central Organisation of Trade Unions-Kenya), intervened and currently the teams of the employment is better; they even have access to loans through the policy. This is a real example that shows how sweatshops programs can start small but end up benefiting women.

To recognise the talent in a person, it is good to expose him/her to a challenging task. When women are given the low earning jobs; in the process their talents will be recognised and used for the good of the economy.

I thus support the statement that “sweatshop labour opportunities for women in developing countries are better than no opportunities, or the limited opportunities, that are currently available to women in those countries”.

The main argument of the article

The article under consideration deals with the role played by African American women in the struggle for racial equality. Sanders (2007) claims that although African American women made a great contribution in the movement, historians still do not mention great female fighters for racial equality.

Sanders (2007) also argues that sometimes the impact of these women’s activities was even larger than that of famous male fighters, like Martin Luther King, for instance. The researcher portrays several bright examples of such female fighters which makes her claims valid.

The evidence provided in the article

Thus, Sanders (2007) depicts the major activities and achievements of the most influential representatives of female fighters for equality. These activities and therefore the achievements were revealed on different levels, however, all of them contributed to the development of movement and helped to raise “one-third of America’s black population to middle class status” (Sanders, 2007, p. 27). To support her statements Sanders (2007) reveals the activity of one of the most famous African American female fighters Ida B. Wells.

Wells was an activist who fought for equality rights. Her campaign against lynching was very effective and even led to the diminishing of that inhuman tradition. Wells also mobilized other women to participate in the movement, she took an active part in establishing Chicago branch of “the first black trade union” (Sanders, 2007, p.23).

Whereas Wells was rather a local activist, Sanders (2007) depicts another remarkable African American female fighter who played an important role in the movement on the level of the entire country. Thus, Mary McLeod Bethune was one of those who tried to change the situation on the national level. She was president of National Association of Colored Women, and later established National Counsil of Negro Women. She tried to obtain the support in Congress which, she believed, can change the situation dramatically.

Sanders (2007) points out that Bethune became the head of New Deal’s National Youth Administration. This position enabled her to make numerous changes which contributed greatly the movement for equality. Sanders (2007) provides more examples, including Condoleezza Rice, stating that women made a considerable impact in the struggle, which is still not totally completed.

The major strengthen of the article

To my mind, the article’s major strengthen is its precision. Sanders precisely states her main objective and then proves it with valid arguments. It is easy to follow the article due to this precision. I would also like to point out that Sanders uses very good examples to prove that women not only took an active part in the struggle but reached definite results.

The article portrays the major achievements of African American female fighters which are significant. Thus, Sanders does not contemplate on the unfairness of historian’s attention to different sexes, but provides certain facts to reveal it.

The main shortcoming of the article

Of course, apart from great precision and comprehensiveness of the article there is a downside. To my mind, in the very end of the article Sanders is too imprecise. She notes that for the “two-thirds of black women” the equality remains “elusive” (Sanders, 2007, p.27). However, it is not clear what is meant: social status or personal life and rights. To my mind, this part is quite uncertain and should have been more precise, since the ending is one of the strongest parts of an article which should not contain such obscurities.

Conclusion

In summary, the article under consideration deals with the importance of African American women in equality struggle and the lack of historians’ attention to it. Sanders is very precise which makes the article valid. However, the weak place of the article is its uncertain ending.

Reference

Sanders, V. (2007). African American Women and the Struggle for Racial Equality: Viv Sanders Corrects the Male Bias in the Study of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. History Review, (58), 22-27.

In the modern societies, inequality appears to remain a challenge despite the fact that the ideal of equality has long been proclaimed. As stated by Ginsberg et al., the diversity of the American nation has been increasing together with its historical development (17). As a result, the racial diversity of the modern US is notable, with the Hispanic population reaching 16% in 2010 (Ginsberg et al. 17). At the same time, as stated by Ginsberg et al., even nowadays, the race does appear to “matter” when it should not (195). An example is the fact that Hispanic people are very likely to be incarcerated (22% of the imprisoned in the US are Hispanic) despite the fact that they are obviously a racial minority (136). We live in a diverse society, and the implications of discrimination are immense, which is why this topic was chosen for the essay.

The website of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is devoted to a particular aspect of inequality: racial discrimination. The League was created in 1929 which makes it the oldest organization with the mission of promoting racial equality (“LULAC History” par. 1). This goal is supposed to be achieved by protecting and advancing the rights of the Hispanic population of the US and improving their conditions and opportunities (“Frequently Asked Questions” par. 2, 8).

According to Ginsberg et al., the Hispanic population used to be discriminated until the 1970s (20). It is obvious that the role of LULAC before that date was crucial: the Hispanic were a vulnerable group that did not enjoy the equality of opportunity (“LULAC History” par. 2). As stated by Ginsberg et al., for example, LULAC contributed to the increase in the education opportunities equality and worked to eliminate school segregation (181). However, even after the official acceptance of Hispanic people as citizens with the full access to the civil rights and liberties, LULAC is still essential for the promotion of racial equality.

Nowadays, LULAC’s efforts to promote racial equality include but are not limited to the investigation of the cases of discrimination; encouragement of the active participation of the Hispanic population in voting; monitoring and supporting or opposing the new and revised legislation that can affect equality. Apart from that, LULAC creates and participates in the creation and funding of various Hispanic organizations that offer educational programs (including English learning and patient awareness programs), housing and healthcare opportunities, legal support, and other aid. LULAC is also famous for its college scholarships (“2015-2016 LULAC National Policy Platform” par. 1-62).

In general, the League believes that educational opportunities are the key to equality promotion. Similarly, LULAC regularly provides updates on relevant news and significant historical data. For example, the section titled “Civil Rights” includes articles covering the life and death of Herman Badillo (an outstanding Latino politician: the first Member of Congress from Puerto Rico) and the recent case of Daren Wilson (the officer who had shot an unarmed black youngster) (par. 4-7).

To sum up, the efforts of LULAC are primarily directed at the elimination of the Hispanic Americans discrimination, but they are also an example of fighting against the discrimination of any kind. The website of the League is definitely useful for learning about the politics of America.

First of all, it provides the information concerning the past and current state of the equality and civil rights protection in the US. Also, it serves to indicate that issues that the US faces nowadays, primarily from the point of view of racial discrimination, but other aspects are also covered, for example, in the National Policy Platform. The League and its site remind us of the ideal of equality, define and promote it, work to achieve it, and indicate the fact that there is still much to be done to build a society that is based on equality and respect for liberty. These two ideals, as described by Ginsberg et al., are the cornerstones of American politics, which makes the website related to the book and suitable for American politics studies (24-30).

Works Cited

“2015-2016 LULAC National Policy Platform.” LULAC. 2016. Web.

“Civil Rights.” LULAC. 2016. Web.

“Frequently Asked Questions.” LULAC. 2016. Web.

Ginsberg, Benjamin, Theodore Lowi, Margaret Weir, Caroline Tolbert, and Robert Spitzer. We the People. 9th ed. New York, NY: W. W. Norton, 2012. Print.

“LULAC History.” LULAC. 2016. Web.

The subject of equality of all people in the United States is stated in the American Declaration of Independence which declares that “all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Long 17). Nevertheless, this founding ideal has been undermined by other revolutionary events and realities in history. Capitalism and its accompanying ideals have also affected the American Dream because the pursuit of individual happiness always collides with the interests of others. The idea that all Americans are created equal is subject to other accompanying ideals including equal rights and opportunities for all. Consequently, some individuals have raised the issue of whether creating equality by giving some individuals or groups special privileges coincides with the notion that all people are created equal. The concept of Affirmative Action is a good example of how special rights and privileges are accorded to selected groups and/or individuals under the ruse of upholding equality for all. The tug of war between the concepts of equal treatment and equal opportunity is evident through various civil and governance issues in the United States. It is difficult to achieve equality of all individuals considering that people are fundamentally different but individual and communal efforts towards this goal are always fruitful.

The achievement of equality among all individuals is difficult considering unification is a slow process. The complexity of equality is captured by Erin Kaplan’s article “Barrack Obama: Miles Traveled, Miles to Go”. Although inequality gaps have been bridged in the United States, this process has taken a considerable amount of time. The journey towards equality of all people involves configuring various points of view to consolidate them. However, people are fundamentally different and sometimes it takes a generational change to realign a certain source of inequality in the society. The author of the article on Obama reckons that sudden change can have a negative effect. Kaplan quotes Obama saying that sudden social change “feels like getting a shot of pure oxygen when you’ve been breathing bad air for so long, the good stuff almost kills you” (Colombo, Cullen, and Lisle 540). The same concept applies to equality. In the course of human history, no society has been able to achieve the ideal equality of all human beings. On some occasions, some civilizations have come close to achieving equality of all individuals.

The journey towards equality of all people is just as important as the achievement of this goal. For instance, the American society has achieved considerable gains from the need to achieve equality of all. For example, some individuals from minority races have accrued several benefits from Affirmative Action initiatives. Some of these individuals have gone ahead and made notable improvements on the American way of life. It is almost impossible to align society with the idea that ‘all people are created equal’. However, the desire to get to this point will yield various benefits along the way. Kaplan notes that even although an African American is the President of United States, this is not an indicator of equality between white and black Americans. This notion is underlined by the fact that there are still various inequality factors within the African American community. The fundamental differences between individuals regardless of race are good indicators of why it is difficult to achieve absolute equality.

The psychological aspects of equality indicate that the concept that all human beings are created equal might be a mirage. In the article “Cause of Prejudice”, Vincent Parrillo attributes lack of equality in the minds of various individuals to a combination of social and psychological factors (Colombo, Cullen, and Lisle 504). Human psychology affects both the people who regard themselves as ‘equals’ and also the individuals who feel ‘unequal’. The psychological undertones of equality of all people are dominated by feelings of inadequacy on one side and the need for some individuals to downgrade others to feel important on the other. Consequently, it is important to track the factors that lead to psychological differences among people who are supposed to have been created equal. Parrillo argues that prejudice and its accompanying psychological aspects can be carried from one generation to the other.

However, the author reckons that it is difficult to access the origins of prejudice regarding their effects on equality. Achievement of equality is subject to various social, psychological, and economic factors. The concept of equality of all people is dependent on the unification of all these factors. However, various people have different levels of economic, psychological, and social aptitude. On the other hand, individuals and/or groups tend to use the resources that are in their disposal to suppress their competition. For instance, individuals with ample economic aptitude tend to use this advantage as a basis for prejudice. The competition for economic resources can also be used to propagate inequality. Consequently, people with limited economic resources have both socio-economic and psychological disadvantages when it comes to equality. It is difficult to achieve equality because various individuals have different levels of psychological threshold.

Several natural attributes among human beings undermine the concept of equality of all. For instance, various individuals have different levels of talent and interest. Consequently, there is a paradox that indicates that to achieve equality, it is important to take note of the uniqueness of humanity. Experts have argued that “the glory of the human race is the uniqueness of each individual, the fact that every person, though similar in many ways to others, possesses a completely individuated personality of his/her own” (Arneson 81). When pursuing the equality of all people, humanity’s fundamental differences can be used to negotiate for resources. For example, the disadvantages or advantages of certain groups and individuals should not be used to suppress others. An example of how the uniqueness of humanity can be used to negotiate for resources involves people with disabilities. The disadvantages of people with disabilities should not translate into advantages for the rest of individuals and vice versa. This concept also applies to capitalism, which is the most dominant force in the modern world and the leading cause of inequality. The popular notion is that “in the capitalistic society the superior men know no other method of utilizing their superiority than to subdue the masses of inferior people” (Rothbard 85). This notion is difficult to maneuver in the quest for equality of all individuals.

Absolute equality of all individuals has never been achieved in any society and the American one is not an exception. However, individual and concerted efforts towards equality of all people can yield various benefits along the way. It is almost impossible to harness the psychological capabilities of individuals in the efforts to eliminate prejudice and achieve equality. Furthermore, the journey towards equality is slow but its achievements can easily be seen when a member of a minority population is the President of the United States.

Works Cited

Arneson, Richard. “Equality and equal opportunity for welfare.” Philosophical studies 56.1 (2009): 77-93. Print.

Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America, New Jersey: Bedford Books, 2003. Print.

Long, Roderick T. “Liberty: The Other Equality.” The Freeman 55.8 (2005): 17-19. Print.

Rothbard, Murray. Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market, Auburn: Mises Institute, 2009. Print.

Introduction

For the world to be sustainable in the short run and in the long run, resources have to be distributed equally among all people.Ideally, the concept of equality is effective in ensuring that the resources that are available within a given societal setting are utilized in a sustainable manner hence meeting the needs and requirements of every stakeholder.

However, this is not always the case within our societies. The concept of segregation has always been applied in the utilization of common resources within a given societal setting. In the contemporary world, segregation is based on gender, race, culture, religion, and background (OTV, n.d.). As a result, there are individuals who believe that they are more superior to others due to their race, religion, or family backgrounds. In this respect therefore, this paper will focus on race and the effects that it has within the society.

Race

When travelling by bus, eating in a restaurant, watching a football match in a stadium, attending a lecture or stuck in traffic, we are always surrounded by other people. Despite our differences, we always notice one inevitable distinction; race. We always tend to classify people based on their skin color, hair form, the shapes of their bodies and as well as the shapes of their eyes.

As a result, we end up classifying people as African Americans, Asians, Latin, or White. Moreover, people have always linked race with other internal differences within individuals such as intelligence and athleticism. It is due to such beliefs that some individuals believe that there are races that are more superior as compared to others bringing about social stratification based on race.

The United States of America comprises of many races. To ensure its sustainability, the constitution of the United States of America aims at achieving equality for all. However, given the high rates of racism within the nation, the constitution has failed in achieving this goal.

For instance, due to their dark skin color, African Americans have always been regarded as inferior human beings as compared to White Americans. As a result, traits such as low levels of intelligence, susceptibility to diseases and presence of primitive anatomical structures have always been linked to them.

The results of Hoffman’s study in 1895 revealed that due to their weak genetic makeup, the African race would become extinct (OTV, n.d.). However, from the studies that have been conducted using modern technology, it has been revealed that the genetic constitution of individuals of different races is highly similar. Consequently, there are individuals from segregated races who have proved to be more intelligent or physically stronger than members of the elite races are.

For instance, African Americans dominate basketball and track and field in the United States, sports that were initially dominated by White Americans. At the same time, there are many scholars in different fields whose backgrounds originate from minority races. Thus, the concept of race is not a biological fact but an excuse to bring about social differences. Thus, given the same resources and exposure, individuals of different races can exhibit relatively similar characteristics.

Conclusion

Despite this realization, racism is still a major problem in the contemporary world. Racial segregation is present in almost all modern societies across the world. Consequently, the distribution of resources within many nations is highly dependent on race.

In the USA for instance, the rate of employment for White Americans is higher than that of African Americans and other minority communities. Therefore, race is a belief that has manifested itself in the minds of individuals and if it is not checked, it will be difficult for the world to accept and embrace the concept of equality.

Reference

OTV (Executive Producers). (n.d.). Race: The Power of An Illusion- The Difference Between Us. Wacky World, OTV