Jean-Saptiste Alphonse Karr said, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” This is a sentiment very true of social inequality, and more specifically racial inequality, in the United States of America’s current social climate. Racial inequality in our social climate is comparable to a hamster wheel. A hamster wheel allows one to run even when their space is confined, but no matter how much they run, a hamster wheel does not accommodate a great deal of forward movement. While there have been great forward strides in the fight against racial inequality, racial inequality is still prevalent in our society and there are many strides to still be made. This paper will examine Davis & Moore’s “Some Principles of Stratification,” Weber’s
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Weber asserts, “the structure of every legal order directly influences the distribution of power, economic, or otherwise within its respective community" in “Class, Status, Power.” This idea, similar to Davis and Moore’s assertions concerning social class and stratification, illustrate the importance of social honor in the social order. Furthermore, Weber explains, “ ‘classes,’ ‘status groups’ and ‘parties’ are phenomena of the distribution of power within a community.” Weber finds in his analysis furthermore that power is “the chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action.” All individuals, however, may not have the same access or chance (in the words of Weber) to such resources, which are necessary in order to launch them into that higher social honor. This is where the hamster wheel takes hold and individuals are subjected to a smaller public space where those forward strides may be negligible because of the metaphorical hamster’s social …show more content…
These inner-city residents as well as many other racial minorities remain in these underprivileged neighborhoods that are hard to leave because of the lack of motivation as well as the lack of connections or resources to leave. Areas of high poverty are still isolated and made up of mostly racial minorities, Massey and Denton, for example, cite that about one (1) in four (4) blacks live in these areas of extreme poverty. This social structure perpetuates discrimination of these groups and even discriminates racial minorities of a more affluent status. The consequences of this racial segregation executed by the principles of stratification are far reaching and therefore a barrier to breaking the axle of that hamster wheel, and therefore no matter how much things change they have remained the
Weber asserts, “the structure of every legal order directly influences the distribution of power, economic, or otherwise within its respective community" in “Class, Status, Power.” This idea, similar to Davis and Moore’s assertions concerning social class and stratification, illustrate the importance of social honor in the social order. Furthermore, Weber explains, “ ‘classes,’ ‘status groups’ and ‘parties’ are phenomena of the distribution of power within a community.” Weber finds in his analysis furthermore that power is “the chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action.” All individuals, however, may not have the same access or chance (in the words of Weber) to such resources, which are necessary in order to launch them into that higher social honor. This is where the hamster wheel takes hold and individuals are subjected to a smaller public space where those forward strides may be negligible because of the metaphorical hamster’s social …show more content…
These inner-city residents as well as many other racial minorities remain in these underprivileged neighborhoods that are hard to leave because of the lack of motivation as well as the lack of connections or resources to leave. Areas of high poverty are still isolated and made up of mostly racial minorities, Massey and Denton, for example, cite that about one (1) in four (4) blacks live in these areas of extreme poverty. This social structure perpetuates discrimination of these groups and even discriminates racial minorities of a more affluent status. The consequences of this racial segregation executed by the principles of stratification are far reaching and therefore a barrier to breaking the axle of that hamster wheel, and therefore no matter how much things change they have remained the