Inequality is Necessary

Social Inequality is referring to the social hierarchy, which occurs in any large civilization. Economic inequality, on the other hand, refers to the inequality of those with and without capital. In order for a large civilization to function, there is a necessity for certain people to be beneath others. In a capitalistic economy, the “lesser people” are the driving work force of our industries and wide scaled endeavors. This idea can easily be exemplified through any historical time period, which I will document throughout America’s history.

In order for the United States to have been as prosperous as it was, it was necessary to enslave and exploit people as an unpaid labor force for our economy. From 1620 to 1865 over three million slaves were imported into the United States. The colonies that had the most specialization in production of goods, such as sugar and coffee, relied most on slaves and, consequentially, had the highest per capita (including slaves) income in the New World. However, the slaves did not accrue wages or receive rights, providing free labor to those who purchased them while receiving just enough resources to live. The fact that slaves were unequal to their captors allowed for their exploitation, whose labor of cultivating tobacco and cotton was the economic backbone of our country.

Although contemporary American society lacks enslaved people, the displacement and mistreatment of African Americans has led to an extremely large part of their population living in poverty, or under the line of poverty. According to a population study conducted in the 1990’s in Mobile, Alabama, the 13 most impoverished cities contained inhabitants who were 95% African American. It is this social inequality of the African Americans and other inhabitants of the United States, which allows widespread industrialization and corporations to continue running smoothly. Without inner city communities spawning a generation of children unmotivated by education and tormented by their surroundings, we would never have such a large workforce willing to work at minimum wage and hold such menial jobs. Without the abundance of socially and economic unequal peoples, our corporations would lack the workforce to run at their basic levels.

 Social and economic inequality as well as its counterpart “racism” has been a topic of debate for over a century, yet it is impossible to rid of. Without social and economic inequality, Apple would not have a cheap supply of copper wire from Africa for their computers, we would not have unregulated labor in China to build railroads and fuel the production for major corporations, we would not have the pyramids of Egypt nor the Great Wall of China, and we would not have nearly as large scaled of an economy as we do today. In order to fight social inequality, it is necessary to discontinue a life of living in excess, one of which contemporary society is already so accustomed to.

It is often said that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  Social inequality manifests itself in every past society, every present society, and will undoubtedly manifest itself in the societies of the future. Without societal inequality, advancement in humanity becomes impossible. Inequality is natural and inevitable, as the earth itself much possess a north and south pole in order to support human life; just like there is no darkness without light nor is there any good without evil, there is no (poor without the rich).