Differences and Inequalities
by
Charles Lamson
One time during a discussion of inequality, the teacher said that people with more money and education tend to have different values and tastes than people with less money and education. This was a minor point that the teacher did not expect to cause any trouble. But a young woman came to him after class with a worried look. "Don't you think it good to celebrate diversity?" she asked, surprising him with the question. "Well I suppose, maybe. diversity in what?" the teacher said. "Like in tastes and values," she said. "You know, like you said go along with social class." It seemed that she had taken her teacher's point point to be that the values and tastes of the rich were better than those of the poor. The teacher said that that was not at all what he meant.
As they talked, the teacher realized why this student had misunderstood him. She wanted to see social class differences as similar to ethnic differences. If people talked and dressed and ate and carried on differently because they had different levels of income and education, this was, she believed, an interesting and desirable condition. The teacher said that things were more complicated, and that we had better come back to this at the start of the next class.
During the next class we talked about the kinds of differences that exist between people. We talked about how some differences make society more interesting - for example, different styles in clothing, food, music, literature, dance, and art, and language. We talked about how other differences, such as in religious beliefs, political values, or sexual preferences, can be threatening and disruptive, especially if people are intolerant and lack compassion. Then we came back to social class, and again some students wanted to see it as just another interesting kind of difference.
The teacher said that social class was not simply a matter of differences, but of harmful inequality. Why, the teacher asked, would we want to celebrate the fact that some people work at hard, dirty, dangerous jobs for low pay, while others have vastly more wealth than they need or ever could use? Was this something to celebrate or was it a flaw in how our society worked?
After they talked about this for awhile one student asked, "Are you saying that nothing good comes from social class differences? Isn't it good that we have a system in which some people can be free to think and to create?" These were hard questions that moved the conversation ahead by forcing them to consider things in a larger context.
Yes, the teacher said, money could buy a fine education, and give a person time to do creative work. And, yes, it was a good idea that at least some people enjoyed these possibilities, but did these possibilities require inequality? Surely we could educate everyone and allow time for creative work, the teacher said, without vast inequalities in income and wealth. The teacher also said it was important to consider the human capacities that were wasted, when so many people never got to develop their talents. Perhaps with more equality, the teacher said, we could have a richer society for everyone, because more people would have time to think, create, and care for each other.
One student pointed out that poverty and oppression had given rise to a lot of creative adaptions - ways to survive and to enjoy life - on the part of African, poor, and working class people. He cited jazz, blues, gospel, and country music as examples. Another student replied that these were inadvertent results that came at a high cost. The teacher agreed: Just because some people can produce great art under horrible conditions does not mean we ought to tolerate such conditions. The teacher said that even under the best conditions, human life would not lack for the tension and conflict that spark creative work.
The teacher hoped that this discussion would help his students see differences and inequalities in a sociologically mindful way. The point was that some kinds of differences are good, because they give us all a chance to enjoy more kinds of food, clothing, music, and so on, but that other kinds of differences - in wealth and income, for example - are destructive. If some people cannot afford to eat nutritious meals, clothe themselves against the cold, get a good education, or take time for creative work, then not only do they suffer, but the whole society suffers, because the talent and energies of some of its members are lost.
Then, how can we be sociologically mindful of the difference between differences and inequalities? We must ask in what ways does this difference matter? Does the difference allow one group to benefit at the expense of another? Does it give one group power over another? Does it mean that members of one group get less respect than another? In short, we must ask, Does this difference cause harm? If a difference leads to exploitation, unfair advantage, domination, or some other kind of harm, then it is more than a difference. It is a form of inequality and not worth celebrating.
END
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