Class Conflict and How to Fish

The gap between the rich and the poor in Brazil, one of the most promising of emerging economies today, is so vast that the population representing the middle class becomes an insignificant statistic. For the most part the individual is either filthy rich and controls much of society or he is dirt poor and lives in conformity with the established system.

Among the “have nots” there are different kinds. One could be simply poor and trade his services for a certain level of comfort. Those who earn minimum wages struggle to meet basic needs and on the very bottom of the ladder are those who are extremely poor. Those usually do not make any wage and live in extreme misery and abandonment.

Growing up in a big city like Sao Paulo, it was not uncommon to be in close contact with people in such circumstances. They lived completely disengaged from society and roamed all over the place, especially in downtown areas. It was literally impossible not to notice them. The shocking reality is that most of those people were children of both sexes.

Some of them were begging others trying to sell all kinds of stuff to drivers at the traffic lights as their vehicles came to a full stop. Not surprisingly a few of them were just preying on people and waiting for an opportunity to steal their belongings. That was a very sad and scary picture. What led them to end up living on the streets like that is one thing that I could not help thinking about.

Almost three decades have passed since I left Brazil and the situation has not gotten any better. I see it on the news sometimes. Yes, it is true that Brazil has become an attractive market for foreign investment and the country is much better off today economically compared to decades ago; however, that status does not impress me. The country’s wealth is still retained by a very select group of people and the poverty rate is astonishing.

That trend translates into more people roaming the city streets, begging or hassling drivers at stop lights or waiting for an opportunity to steal someone’s watch or a pair of sneakers. That sounds awful and it kind of hurt my pride but it is a fact and it happens more often than one can imagine.

During my younger years I do not remember things being so bad. I had never heard of people scavenging dumpsters looking for leftover foods. Maybe there was but because the media was not as efficient back then those things were not as visible to the public eye as it is today.

Recently I saw a scene on the news in which a few people defended their space in a landfill as if they were in a goldmine. They looked for anything that may be converted to money, such as, scrap of metal, soda cans, corrugated boxes, and anything which appeared to be useful to them.

In other scene, individuals were scavenging the garbage in search of food. To get to the point, it is obvious that these people either did not have choices in life or did not have the strength to fight for something better. While lack of opportunities leads some people to do unimaginable acts such as this to survive, others simply follow a path of illegality in order to get the things they want.

People are generally considered a given society’s best asset, provided they are educated and have good support from the system. However, how can society expect anything good from an individual who has a bad start in life? It is possible that such an individual will lead an antagonistic life and pose a serious threat to the community. The probability that an individual with such a profile will turn to crime is actually quite high. One way or another he will eventually become a charge to the state.

Who is to blame? According to Karl Marx the roots of human misery lay in class conflict. And class conflict is the very essence of society. Throughout the course of history we have learned that smarter people manage to establish themselves in life and build economic mobility for themselves and their generation much easier than a person who has fewer resources. We all know that historically, inequality is what makes society what it is. This will never change.

However, an ignorant individual with no family struture roaming around the city will serve no purpose to society either. On the contrary, it creates an environment of instability because when people have nothing to lose they will endanger the lives of themselves and others and create an environment of fear. They will turn to deviance in the blink of an eye and will not hesitate to take someone’s life for very little.

With regard to the situation of children being exploited and marginalized, especially in cities such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and others, there is not much that can be done on the part of federal government to minimize the problem. It is primarily an issue which needs to be dealt by local authorities and affected communities.

Society should mobilize itself and become more proactive in educating and supporting individuals to exercise their rights of citizenship. The state should be more forceful and educate people to have a better planing when the subject is bringing children to this world. There is a chance such measures might minimize the problem of children roaming on the streets and end up being a public charge.

Education is one factor which will motivate and help people to have a sense of purpose in life. While it helps boots one’s morals it also pushes individuals to become part of solution and not the problem. Eventually they will be engaged in society’s growth process and not simply be considered as a bad statistic.

Another factor to consider is that the elite do not run the country by themselves. They dominate because they own the capital and industrial processes. However, they are very much dependent on the support of people of technical expertise who meet a certain level education and professional training in order for them to generate revenues and grow their capital.

People with no family structure, lack education and do not have any kind of guidance in a competitive society like the one we live in, are counterproductive and more likely to become dependent on others and on the system. The odds that individuals with such profile will be involved in wrongdoing and become a charge to the state are much greater.

I tend to believe that individuals who are engaged in a path which gives them hope they will become motivated enough to keep doing whatever they need to do to improve their quality of life. If they feel they have a shot there is a stronger possibility they will embrace the cause and be less tempted to turn to deviance.

The price of ignorance is very high indeed and society suffers when large portions of its population live in poverty and illiteracy. Teaching the least privileged “how to fish” and letting them hold a place in society may be a positive alternative in which it would be beneficial to everyone.

Maybe as a result crime statistics would be reduced. Maybe there would be fewer children living on the streets. Maybe there would be no reason for extreme measures of repression. Who knows one day children may even be treated more like children and not viewed as potential offenders of the elite’s established order.

Work Cited:
Henslin, James M., Sociology “A Down-to-Earth Approach” - Thinking Critically – Open Season: Children as Prey

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Racial and Social Inequality

Contrary to what one would think, many of us are unconsciously racist. At least that is what a study published recently in the Journal Science says, according to an article that came out on CNN Website last Thursday. The study suggests that in general, blacks are largely perceived in a negative light by non-blacks who consider themselves tolerant and egalitarian.Just for the record, the study which was conducted by Dr. Kerry Kawakami, an associate psychology professor of York University of Toronto, Ontario, used blacks and non-blacks as subjects to conduct her experiment.

One comment made by Dr. Kawakami with regard to the study is that “Some people might think that they are very egalitarian and they don’t have to deal with their prejudice, and that is not related to them at all, when in actual fact they may hold these hidden biases”. In general when one thinks of prejudice there is an immediate association with the color of the skin. However, prejudice is an evil of multiple faces which encompass more than just the color of the skin. What I gather from Dr. Kawakami’s study is that regardless of what one says about himself with regard to racism, there is still a tendency to behave in a discriminatory way. It appears that people just do not let this tendency rule their behavior so much because it is not politically correct and is perceived as an unacceptable behavior by society.

Exteriorizing racist views even in a humorous manner could easily get someone into trouble and lead him to face unwanted consequences. In that light, I find it wise to always respect differences regardless of whether I am agreeable with them or not. In industrialized nations where a vast majority of citizens have higher education and better standards, prejudice attitudes are attributed more towards ethnical than social differences. It appears that in every society that has migratory history there may be hostile behaviors associated with racism. It is natural that humans will be in conflict when faced with something that is considered abnormal or different. I may be wrong but, in regard to Dr. Kawakami’s experiment; color of the skin was the main factor that drove the study. I assume that subjects were hand picked to match a certain criteria.

Is it possible that the people involved in the study have higher education, hold a decent job, have family and live a regular middle class life? According to National Urban League’s report, an article on Racial Inequality, publicized by ABC News in March 2008, in real life“…blacks were much worse off than whites across a range of economic indicators, including measures of employment, poverty, housing, income and wealth”. Inequality definitely intensifies the drama of racism even farther.

As I was reading through those articles I started thinking of how the problem of racial inequality affects other societies specially those from developing nations around the world. Factors like, social status, religion and ethnic differences all contribute to discrimination the subject of exclusion. Dr. Kawakami’s experiment was conducted in a totally controlled environment and looked at racism at a mild way. From such an experience one can just get a glimpse of the problem of intolerance. From a global standpoint, the most serious examples of intolerance is due to social differences. It is known that poverty levels have grown dramatically as the world population has sky rocketed over the years and that has contributed largely to all kinds of issues in urban areas such as: high crime rate, drug dealing and the creation of parallel power, inability of governments to provide health care and other basic needs to citizens, just to name a few.

According to Global Issues, an entity that deals with Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues, “nearly a billion people around the world entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names”. That is especially true about countries from Southern Asia , sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Such uncontrollable growth usually leads to disastrous outcome for those societies. The inability to fight inequalities has put them in a state of emergency as they metaphorically grow a monster in their own backyard. A monster made of hatred and distrust which may turn each citizen into a victim, regardless of social status. Exclusion literally hurt the poor and the rich alike and there is no easy way out.

Morumbi Slums, Sao Paulo, Brazil

When I see masses of people who live in total disbelief of society’s ability to create mechanisms to relieve them from a profound state of misery makes me wonder how exactly we made this destructive path? What kind of corrective measures can be taken? How can the situation be reversed or at least minimized? More education, dissemination of information, more structured legal, justice and law enforcement systems, more aggressive government incentives to social programs? All these items may be a good starting point and may be in place already in many countries but, are these enough? The fact of the matter is that whatever is being done currently falls short of resolving the mounting problems of inequality. The situation is complex and there is no quick fix to address all the burdens that modern society has to face.

There is no cheap solution either. It may cost a fortune for the local governments and other institutions to take a course of action to put a plan into action that actually works. However, such cost is infinitely less than the high price society has to pay for the burdens of illiteracy, ignorance and complete exclusion. I really believe that the major obstacle for making the world a fairer place for every citizen comes down to one thing: the unwillingness on the part of all parties that are in the position to make a difference in the process of change and the unwillingness on the part of a vast majority of individuals who are affected by it. I am a believer that things can turn around when there is good will and when multiple voices strike the same tone. I believe that change can only take place when each single individual gets bothered enough to get involved and do something about the issues.

The world is nothing but a perfect and romantic place. We are governed by good and evil, as we strive for our own survival. We treasure our uniqueness but we can not forget that we live in a world of diversity. Each individual is unique regardless of the color of his skin or social status. Blacks and whites and everything in between have to coexist in order to protect common interests. It is important to learn to be tolerant and willing to compromise for the benefit of all. That is true in regard to ethnic or social differences because in the crevasse of inequality, every single citizen is a loser. There is no safe haven for anyone. The apparent success of the rich is overshadowed by the fear he carries inside. His home becomes a bubble surrounded by layers and layers of security systems. The poor are victimized many times and in multiple ways. Pistols suddenly find their way to the hands of children. Lost bullets become a reminder that life is too shallow and meaningless. And the cycle of human tragedy goes on and on until it becomes almost natural. That is my greatest fear.

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