I came across this comic strip today which beautifully captures what privilege can be and how it operates. I think a lot of people don't understand what "privilege" is, and subsequently don't really understand the concerns about the issues, or the steps that can be taken to address them. I hope that comic can be of use in illustrating the basics of what is involved in this issue.
The same person born into different social circumstances could end up having a very different life. Depending on how our society is structured, it may be that people born in certain situations may almost never be able to achieve the levels of success that come easily to those born in more favorable conditions. Such social structures can lead to inter-generational poverty, and inter-generational wealth, where ultimately we see the development of a class system with an aristocracy and a lower-class. Those born into the aristocracy would inherit riches and political connections and be able to live a wealthy and satisfied life with minimal effort, while those born into poverty would potentially struggle to make ends meet no matter how hard they worked or what effort they made.
Many people see the ideal capitalist society as being a 'meritocracy' where the amount of success people have in their lives is determined primarily by how much effort they put in and how hard they worked. This is seen as just and good, as it incentives effort and hard work, and rewards people for their effort. The underlying social foundation that such an idea requires is equality of opportunity: A person born into one family who works twice as hard as a person born into another family, ought to achieve more on average, while a person who put in much less effort ought to achieve less on average. In order for this to happen, the social playing field has to be balanced. But if one person is fighting their way uphill their whole lives, against a system rigged against them, while another is born into power and privilege at the top of the hill and by no effort at all can achieve more in their life than the person born into worse circumstances will ever be able to accomplish, then there is not really a meritocracy at all.
To ensure such equality of opportunity - to ensure that everyone who is prepared to work hard and make an effort can do well in their lives - it is necessary to have extensive programs to address poverty and ensure that those born into difficult circumstances have the same path to success available to that everyone else enjoys. When considering the subject of government welfare, we should always consider the children being born and raised by these families: Are we doing enough to give those children a path to eventual success in life if those children choose to work hard? Or is our society fundamentally denying those children any path to success at life? If there is a clear path to success for the hard-working among those children born into the worst of our social situations - if we are ensuring they have enough healthy food, enough education, enough healthcare, enough opportunities for employment, for them to succeed if they make the effort - then we can be satisfied that we probably are a meritocracy, at least to some extent. But if we've rigged the system against these children, such that very very few of them ever will achieve any kind of real success in their lives, no matter how much they try, work, struggle, and toil, simply because of which family they were born into, then we've achieved a society of privilege, and reinstated the class-based society we once derided.
To put it as a simple question: Are we locking the children of poor (or black) people into a cycle of poverty, by rigging the system against them, so that by and large they will not succeed no matter how hard they try?
The same person born into different social circumstances could end up having a very different life. Depending on how our society is structured, it may be that people born in certain situations may almost never be able to achieve the levels of success that come easily to those born in more favorable conditions. Such social structures can lead to inter-generational poverty, and inter-generational wealth, where ultimately we see the development of a class system with an aristocracy and a lower-class. Those born into the aristocracy would inherit riches and political connections and be able to live a wealthy and satisfied life with minimal effort, while those born into poverty would potentially struggle to make ends meet no matter how hard they worked or what effort they made.
Many people see the ideal capitalist society as being a 'meritocracy' where the amount of success people have in their lives is determined primarily by how much effort they put in and how hard they worked. This is seen as just and good, as it incentives effort and hard work, and rewards people for their effort. The underlying social foundation that such an idea requires is equality of opportunity: A person born into one family who works twice as hard as a person born into another family, ought to achieve more on average, while a person who put in much less effort ought to achieve less on average. In order for this to happen, the social playing field has to be balanced. But if one person is fighting their way uphill their whole lives, against a system rigged against them, while another is born into power and privilege at the top of the hill and by no effort at all can achieve more in their life than the person born into worse circumstances will ever be able to accomplish, then there is not really a meritocracy at all.
To ensure such equality of opportunity - to ensure that everyone who is prepared to work hard and make an effort can do well in their lives - it is necessary to have extensive programs to address poverty and ensure that those born into difficult circumstances have the same path to success available to that everyone else enjoys. When considering the subject of government welfare, we should always consider the children being born and raised by these families: Are we doing enough to give those children a path to eventual success in life if those children choose to work hard? Or is our society fundamentally denying those children any path to success at life? If there is a clear path to success for the hard-working among those children born into the worst of our social situations - if we are ensuring they have enough healthy food, enough education, enough healthcare, enough opportunities for employment, for them to succeed if they make the effort - then we can be satisfied that we probably are a meritocracy, at least to some extent. But if we've rigged the system against these children, such that very very few of them ever will achieve any kind of real success in their lives, no matter how much they try, work, struggle, and toil, simply because of which family they were born into, then we've achieved a society of privilege, and reinstated the class-based society we once derided.
To put it as a simple question: Are we locking the children of poor (or black) people into a cycle of poverty, by rigging the system against them, so that by and large they will not succeed no matter how hard they try?
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