As stated in the article, “To work for change, we need to know where to stand” and that should began with the fight against unnecessary consumption. Capitalism, needs to be confronted, and we need to understand the forms of oppression that comes along with it. Our focus should not be on things and objects, but on people. Capitalism is risking our plant for all of us. This system is based on control and power, and it is willing to do anything to maintain it, even at the expense of lives, because any change in a positive direction would reduce their profits, therefore it’s important to keep people oppressed and disunited.
But we need to break this barrier; if we ourselves stop being envious of the privileged and so materialistic, collectively
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." Throughout history, us Proletariats have been oppressed by the Bourgeoisie. They make us factory employees do their work, but they reap the rewards. As many articles have suggested, this must be stopped. Each article provides a unique standpoint on the method of halting this abuse.
nation's great cities and as oil refining rose so did the popularity of the automobile. With these
Andrea Ayvazian, author if “Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change” defines ally with much detail. Ayvazian says an ally is “a member of a dominant group in our society who works to dismantle any form of oppression from which she or he receives the benefit” (Ayvazian, p. 629). Additionally, she uses the term oppression to describe the prejudice who have access to social, political, and economic power (Ayvazian, p. 629). Allied behavior is defined as taking responsibility from the changes we know are needed to make society better and the ones we tend to ignore (Ayvazian, p. 629). Also, allied behavior is intentional, overt, makes privileges that are so often invisible visible, and facilitates the empowerment of the people targeted by oppression (Ayvazian, p. 629). Moreover, allied behavior is consistent activity that challenges prevailing patterns of oppression (Ayvazian, p. 629).
The soundbite criticisms of capitalism are legion, yet it’s harder to offer alternatives, aside from the vague notion of 'something else'. Despite the carnage of trying to socially engineer equality in the 20th century, nevertheless the myth persists that capitalist wealth creation is superfluous and money is readily available to a small number of elitists called a government under common ownership, who distribute, or simply print more paper. Ironically, the ones shouting the loudest against capitalism are often those dependent on the profits of capitalism to provide the welfare payments needed to keep them alive.
What is the denotation of the term oppression? It is defined as unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power (MerriamWebster.com). Mao Zedong, a malicious and dictatorial tyrant, was a leader of China who exposed the nation to numerous forms of oppression. Through the movements known as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, Mao removed capitalistic and traditional principles from China’s society while implementing both communistic and socialistic ways. During the time period of the these movements, the civilians of China faced cultural, political, and even religious molds of repression. After the first movement, known as the Great Leap Forward, a campaign to radically conform China from agrarian standpoints to an industrialized communist society, millions of Chinese citizens died from famines and other forms of maltreatment. Deaths from hunger reached more than fifty percent in some Chinese villages and the total number of dead from 1959 to 1961 was between thirty and forty million, which is equivalent to the population of California (Edwards). After the time of the Cultural Revolution, over 1.5 million civilians died during the movement, and others were tortured, publicly humiliated, or suffered imprisonment (History.com). The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang brings to life the cultural oppression that the Chinese citizens faced during the time Mao Zedong led China.
People have natural instincts when first seeing, meeting, talking, or spending time with another person and they soon develop opinions or views on who that person is. We judge, stereotype, like or dislike, show approval and pay attention or disapprove and ignore. Society today and also years ago, has always contained oppressors and those being oppressed. Oppression is being caught between those that restraint and restrict the ability to do things any human being should be able to do in life. The strong areas of oppression are racism, sexism, and homophobia/heterosexism.
After the formal end of colonialism in 1825, Bolivia would meet a new kind of struggle known as neo-colonialism. Although Bolivia was technically sovereign and independent, its economic and political policies were dictated externally. Internally, Bolivia 's leaders acted for the good of themselves rather than the people. Domitila Barrios de Chungara saw the injustices committed against her people and became an outspoken political leader. Her movement shed light on inequality and influenced others to resist being a submissive contributor to the capitalist machine. In "Let Me Speak" Domitila asserts that capitalism is a greed-driven system, which can turn a resource-rich land into the poorest of nations, and force it 's people into revolution.
The novel Paradise of the Blind is written by Duong Thu Huong and conveys the story of three Vietnamese women struggling to survive in a society where women are excessively submissive towards men and Communist corruption destroys every dream. The story is portrayed through the character Hang, a young woman who has grown up among the slums and occasional elegance of Hanoi. As land reform rips apart their village, the tragedy of her family is established. When her Uncle Chinh‘s political loyalties replace family devotion, Hang is torn between her mother‘s appalling self–sacrifice and the bitterness of her aunt who can avenge but not forgive. In the novel, there are certain characters and locations that represent Capitalism and Communism. The
I am stating the Five Faces of Oppression based on my understand after reading Shaw & Lee. The first face is Exploitation. Exploitation is, “A process that transfer the results of labor of one social group to benefit another.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of exploitation is sweat shops. Children in many parts of the world are making clothing items such as Nike for pennies a day. While these children are underpaid people who aren’t sweat shop workers’ pay multiple dollars for the items made. Marginalization is the next face, Margination is described as, “The expulsion of an entire group from useful participation in social life.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) A group that fits this category are the homeless. Homeless people were unable to pay their bills therefore, they’re without a home. Powerlessness comes next and is described as, “lack of respectability.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this would be minority groups. In the media you see many videos of white people disrespecting minorities for being “different.” Cultural Imperialism is the fourth face. Cultural Imperialism is, “Recognizing the dominant group experience and culture as the norm.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this is white culture in America. In America it’s the norm for mothers to be stay at home moms while the husband is the sole bread winner for the family. The last face of oppression is violence. Violence is described as, “Members of a subordinate group who live with the threat of violence.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) Transgender individuals live with a lot of fear and violence. Many people don’t understand or support the trans community and tend to thing in order to solve the “problem” they must hurt and kill trans individuals. Iris Young said described the acts as “Using people’s labors to produce profit while not compensating them fairly.”
After I read the article, I had to sit back and digest the material for an entire day. The article force me to do some soul searching regarding my position on power, privilege, and oppression. Have I been so oblivious to my surroundings? I quickly thought about the six core values of social work: service, social justice, dignity and worth, importance of human relationships, integrity, & competence. Will I be able to help others; because like Spencer (2008) I took somethings in life for granted? It was ironic when I was reading the article that Martin Luther King Jr, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandella came to mine. They all fought for the injustice and sacrificed much to change the minds of the one in the position of power.
This research paper will outline the causes and traits of oppression in America. Dynamics such as the social, historical, and psychological systems that serve as vessels of oppression will be addressed. Using academic research, the goal for this essay will be to discuss the characteristics of oppression and how those characteristics are connected to its origin. The research will develop major themes that will serve to define agents, including classism, discrimination, and the intersectionality of different types of oppression. Discussions on strategies for addressing and ending the current oppression in America and recommendations for the future will be highlighted as well.
The oppression in social problems of poverty, crime, and health issues can be overcome by resolving adult illiteracy because constructive behavior, economic growth, and valuing diversity are established with quality and performance control in a standardized education based on equality and global awareness on adult
In both the film Metropolis (1927) and Brave New World, Fritz Lang and Aldous Huxley depict utopian societies where upper castes “are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get” (Huxley 2006: 220). Each of these “ideal” societies has established some level of social control. In fact, in Brave New World “people were ready to have even their appetites controlled” (Huxley 2006: 228). These civilizations rely on and thrive because of the lower working class, “Standard men and women; in uniform batches” (Huxley 2006: 7). Through the comparison of these pieces, it is evident that Lang and Huxley are criticizing/commenting on the fact that for a society to maintain social
Capitalism and Exploitation are two terms that people generally use together to make a point. Capitalism is a system in which a country’s trade and industry is controlled by private owners for profit. Exploitation is the actions of treating a person unfairly so that you could benefit from it. In the “Working Day” section from Capitalist, Marx explains what he means by exploitation and whether it is connected to capitalism. One of Marx’s arguments is capitalism cannot be separated from exploitation. I agree with that argument because in my eyes it is tough to consider one without the other. In this essay, I will explain what Marx mean when stating that and I will compare his arguments to John Locke’s. They both speak on some of the same
The generations are likely to continue their status because the children from the wealthy families will continue having opportunities that the poor cannot access simply because they are the inferior people in the society. This is due to the increased need for the society to eliminate inequality, various theorists and psychologists have been for the past years trying to explain how inequality is introduced in the society, its causes, effects as well as some of the measures that should be taken to eliminate inequality in the society.