Why the Difference?
In The United States, inequality is quite an issue. Inequalities are also seen within one race such as the African American race. There are “two black Americas (Gates)”, the thriving and the poor. There are reasons that some are living the American Dream while others are scraping by. How a person grew up, the people around them, their willingness to try, and the resources at their disposal all determine one’s future. Robert Merton came up with a theory called Merton’s Strain Theory and it helps to portray a person’s future by giving a view on why some people are wealthy while others are in poverty. Throughout his theory it can be seen that a big reason why some people are poor can be due to a deviant nature. The late, …show more content…
Conformity is when people are raised in poverty or wealth and that is how they live and those that are poor may result to violent acts to get what they want in life. Not only does this widely affect the African American race, but all other races in some amount as well (Robinson). According to Hirschi and Hindelang, the IQ is what determines delinquency (Wright) so this helps to prove that race is not as big a factor as it seems when it comes to wealth and poverty. Not everyone in the black community is given the resources they need to become higher class. In Merton’s Theory this is classified as innovation and people who do not have the right resources, reject to street crime which can lead to jail time, and eventually to a bad record and can be the factor that prevents people from getting a good job resulting in poverty. The other three parts of Merton’s Theory are rebellion, retreatism, and ritualism. All of these have to do with the willingness to try or if laziness is in their playbook. In an article by (Warren) in the Chicago Tribune it was also stated that the IQ is the major reason why classes are separated because some people are not up to par with the standards of high paying job leaving others in the dust. “Like two trains speeding in opposite directions through the night, educated, sophisticated, upwardly mobile black America is heading for the good life-and poor, uneducated, unsophisticated …show more content…
In reality the people who cheat and steal are the ones who will fail in the long run because eventually their method and resources will run out. Although, there are a few issues with the problem and the theory, Merton still gives good reasons for why there ae different classes in this society and that without them the society would not function properly, but if the theory also talked more about why certain races have more money and why there is a difference specifically, then the theory would be more applicable to this specific project. Obviously the theory cannot apply to all of the different cases in the U.S., but it can help give a basis as to why there is a difference. It also lacks the ability to show how the education level of people affects them in life and on how it will affect their means of support. This theory overall produces what is needed to explain this particular problem even though not every piece of evidence is
In The United States, inequality is quite an issue. Inequalities are also seen within one race such as the African American race. There are “two black Americas (Gates)”, the thriving and the poor. There are reasons that some are living the American Dream while others are scraping by. How a person grew up, the people around them, their willingness to try, and the resources at their disposal all determine one’s future. Robert Merton came up with a theory called Merton’s Strain Theory and it helps to portray a person’s future by giving a view on why some people are wealthy while others are in poverty. Throughout his theory it can be seen that a big reason why some people are poor can be due to a deviant nature. The late, …show more content…
Conformity is when people are raised in poverty or wealth and that is how they live and those that are poor may result to violent acts to get what they want in life. Not only does this widely affect the African American race, but all other races in some amount as well (Robinson). According to Hirschi and Hindelang, the IQ is what determines delinquency (Wright) so this helps to prove that race is not as big a factor as it seems when it comes to wealth and poverty. Not everyone in the black community is given the resources they need to become higher class. In Merton’s Theory this is classified as innovation and people who do not have the right resources, reject to street crime which can lead to jail time, and eventually to a bad record and can be the factor that prevents people from getting a good job resulting in poverty. The other three parts of Merton’s Theory are rebellion, retreatism, and ritualism. All of these have to do with the willingness to try or if laziness is in their playbook. In an article by (Warren) in the Chicago Tribune it was also stated that the IQ is the major reason why classes are separated because some people are not up to par with the standards of high paying job leaving others in the dust. “Like two trains speeding in opposite directions through the night, educated, sophisticated, upwardly mobile black America is heading for the good life-and poor, uneducated, unsophisticated …show more content…
In reality the people who cheat and steal are the ones who will fail in the long run because eventually their method and resources will run out. Although, there are a few issues with the problem and the theory, Merton still gives good reasons for why there ae different classes in this society and that without them the society would not function properly, but if the theory also talked more about why certain races have more money and why there is a difference specifically, then the theory would be more applicable to this specific project. Obviously the theory cannot apply to all of the different cases in the U.S., but it can help give a basis as to why there is a difference. It also lacks the ability to show how the education level of people affects them in life and on how it will affect their means of support. This theory overall produces what is needed to explain this particular problem even though not every piece of evidence is