Racism and poverty as interconnected causes of economic inequality in America

Racism as One of the More Relevant Causes of Poverty

Executive Review

The prime objective of this paper is wholly that it will address racism as one of the more instrumentally causal factor for the prevalence of poverty.

The exceptional advancement and development that we have attained within the contemporaneous parameters of the societies within which we survive and interact is something that is reflected within virtually all existing platform. It is quite apparent that the Legal, political, sociological and cultural frameworks as we presently know them, for instance, have all advanced and developed in accordance to the current day and age. This, moreover, is something that has primarily been due to the technologically oriented evolution that the global society has been undergoing at an uncharacteristically rapid rate for about two decades now. In spite this however; the global socio-community continues to be plagued by such sociological woes as economic inconsistence and instability, typically as a result of the contemporaneously wide scale prevalence of poverty and terrorism.

In America, for instance, racial issues are one of today's most profound issues; a statement that rings true in spite of the fact that modern society generally views race and civil rights as a movement of the past. And this moreover, is something that is accentuated upon even more strongly when considering it in light of the bodies of literature produced by such renowned African-American figures as Langston Hughes, Frederick Douglas and Ralph Ellison. It would, moreover, be noteworthy to here consider that while racism was one of the primarily sociological woes that inhibited the works of the respectively mentioned author's, it wasn't the exclusive one. The integration of poverty ridden overtones within their work was one of the prime underlying themes that magnified the momentously inhumane quality of racism.

Thesis Statement

The subsequent exclusion of the potential to enter into the job market for particular racially defined groups, moreover, subtly but surely connects to poverty in as much as making for an increase in the number of individuals unemployed.

The relevance of cultural diversity leading to racism & thus, poverty: Consequences

The increased cultural diversity within the collectively available workforce, especially within the U.S., moreover, makes for a framework within which the possibility of an uprising of racism is uncharacteristically high. Take into consideration, for instance, the culturally defined discrimination of African-American within the United States. This was a doctrine that experienced its peak within the institution of slavery that reigned within the country from the early 18th to the mid 19th century. Of even more significance, however, is the fact that racism continues to prevail. Subsequently making for a continuous contribution to the rise of poverty, the existence of this racism is further emphasized upon considering that 'The maternal mortality rate among Black women is three times that of whites. And, even in the absence of identifiable diseases, Black women have higher incidences of low birth weights among their babies' (Cottin, 2004).

This is something that is immediately indicative of the uncharacteristically higher rates of poverty within such ethnic minorities as the African-Americans, as mentioned above. Simultaneously, moreover, this is also tantamount to being a relevant reflection of racism within an ostensibly overdeveloped country. It apparent that one of the typically primary contributory factors of poverty within a given socio-cultural faction would be a severe lack of the collective employment rates within the particularly respective socio-cultural segment. And while one of the exceptionally detrimental instances of poverty brought about by racism is illustrated above (Cottin, 2004), it would also be relevant to consider another such instance.

This is apparent within the ever-increasing consistence of the sales and purchases of illegal drugs within the American society. Of increasingly ironic relevance and in regard to the instrumentality of the drug trade as it relates to racism and poverty is that fact that, while the features of the current drug policy tend to propagate racial profiling; poverty has been cited as a causal factor for drug use (The Unitarian Universalist Association Commission on Social Witness, 2001). Subsequently, as a result of the increase of drug use as well as trade, it is barely surprising that the collective potential of the labor market is immediately affected due to racism. The national economy too, tends to eventually be impacted.

How racism plays a quintessentially relevance role in regard to elevating poverty

Keeping in mind that racism continues to dominate the collective American ideology upon various levels; it is barely surprising that discrimination and oppression spurned by racial profiling and stereotyping is existent upon virtually all socio-cultural planes and platforms. In regard to the essence of the possibly detrimental implications of all that has been addressed, moreover, it would be relevance to acknowledge that racial discrimination tends to inevitably lead to the under-utilization of people's skills. This under-utilization, moreover, is something that is justified exclusively in accord to the reasons that the particular race is being discriminated upon. Individual talents and capacities are thus wasted, consequentially leading to a decline in the collective labor force. It is essential to acknowledge the fact that even the wealthiest nation has the largest gap between rich and poor compared to other developed nations. This makes it is quite evident that poverty, therefore, isn't 'just an economic issue, but also an issue of political economics' (Shah, 1998).

This is since poverty, as a social issue, directly calls upon the respective political powers in order to implement the required economic countermeasures. Thus speaking, we will now address racism as being one of the comparatively crucial contributing factors to poverty, within the U.S. As well as globally. In acknowledgement of how exactly racism supports poverty, it would be relevant to consider that racism tends to have a deteriorative impact upon institutes that are of utmost importance to the economic equality within the given country/society/community. Racism within schools, for instance, leads to an obvious decline of the [collective] inclination to study among the group of students being racially discriminated.

This, in turn, makes for an increase in the illiteracy rates of the collective masses within the given area. This is, furthermore, also an impact that affects organizational entities due to making for a decrease in the available pool of specialized labor. The resultant sociological deterioration of this becomes even more apparent when considering the fact that the job market has become exceedingly particular in regard to the academic fulfillments of available labor currently. It is quite apparent, when considering the human resource related implications of academic racism 'that racism and racial discrimination threaten human development because of the obstacles which they pose to the fulfillment to basic human rights to survival, security, development, and social participation' (The American Psychological Association, 2003).

How racism leads to a socio-psychological ideology that supports poverty

It is also quite evident, thus speaking and considering the role that racism plays in as much as leading to poverty, that racism tends to affect the psychological stability of the group of racially defined people (s) being discriminatively categorized and profiled. 'Racism negatively affects the cognitive and affective development of members of the dominant group by perpetuating distorted thinking about the self and members of marginalized or oppressed groups' (The American Psychological Association, 2003). This is portrayed even more lucidly when acknowledging that, 'while racism and poverty are inextricably linked, they are also both high risk factors for extreme levels of emotional distress' (The American Psychological Association, 2003). This psychological impact can thus be interpreted as the key factor for the increase in drug use, and subsequently, a decrease the willingness to work within the particular group (s).

In addition to this, moreover, the point about the willingness to work being debilitated is stressed upon when considering it in light of the statement that racism incepts 'distorted thinking about the self and members of marginalized or oppressed groups' (The American Psychological Association, 2003). Such distortions tend to be of detrimentally impacting in concern to the application of the various individuals skills and talents within the group in particular, quite clearly as a result of the establishment of the inferiority related beliefs and preconceptions regarding ones' self as well as the group, ethnic, religious or racial, that one belongs to. It is as a result of this, uncharacteristically inferior attitude that individuals of a discriminated faction develop that they find themselves to be the more frequently targeted subjects of poverty. Take into consideration, for instance, the contemporary existence of the urban underclass communities that are marginalized and racially defined, within the U.S.

The uncharacteristically significant degree to which poverty reigns within communities of such levels is relevantly light shedding in regard to the continued adherence to racism within the country. Of even more fundamental relevance, however, is the fact that 'racism has been shown to negatively affect ethnic minority children's academic and social development, self-esteem, and personal feelings of efficacy' (The American Psychological Association, 2003). Thus speaking, it would be relevant to here consider such feelings are fundamentally constructed upon a gradual decline of respect for ones' self. They eventually tend to lead to a collective unwillingness to work among the particular racial faction being discriminated against. Racism, thus speaking, can be interpreted as a doctrine that is debilitative to the underlying willingness to work.

Recommendations & conclusions

Furthermore, considering that these [minority] factions are typically poverty stricken, it would be relevant to consider that the current nature of mass organizational ethics reflects a stance that demoralizes and disheartens the poor. Consequently, this is something that is crucial to estranging them from the collectively working majority (Mead, 1993). It is also important to consider the fact those urban communities that are primarily comprised of African-Americans and other ethnic groups tend to be to most exceptionally poverty stricken. This is something that is a rather indiscreet revelation of the relativity that racism yields over poverty. In regard to the roots of the significance of the poverty related scenario as it exists contemporarily, moreover, it would be relevant to consider the fact that, as experts agree, the deepest structural problem of the late 1980s and early 1990s was the sluggishness of the American economy (Patterson, 2000).

This so called 'sluggishness of the American economy' moreover, was something that was fundamentally a result of the lack of racial equality within the respectively collective socio-cultural and political features. This inequality, moreover, essentially caused by racism, was instrumental to bringing about the same sort of inequality within the prevailing labor market. Considering that the 1980s and 1990s symbolized the most exceptional ever uprising of globalization is something that suggests that this 'sluggishness' can also be attributed to having been caused by the increasing influx of foreigners in to the country. It was due to this surge in foreigners that the already existing inequality was inevitably magnified. The increase in ethnic diversity within the collective job market made for a framework upon which the possibility for racism was highly and uncharacteristically increased (Kirschenman & Neckerman, 2004).

This is since, as has been portrayed with increasing relevance throughout the entirety of this paper, racism immediately affects the labor markets, and thus, the national economy of a given country. It is quite apparent after all, that continued surge in the unemployed masses would undoubtedly lead to an increase in the poverty rate of the given area. It is, moreover, also noteworthy and relevant to consider that this increase in the poverty rate would doubtlessly lead to a decline in national economy. Furthermore, in as much as being increasingly discriminative towards particular racial faction, it is quite apparent that racism makes for a steady increase in the degree unemployed masses. One of the more fundamental reasons for the continued prevalence of racism, especially within the U.S., is that the history of poverty programs within the country is exceedingly controversial and unconventionally complicated.

It is becoming increasingly important to address racism as one of the prime causal factors relating to the rise of national as well as international poverty. This, moreover, is something that is especially apparent when considering the exceptionality of racism as it currently reigns within the organizational and academic sector (s) globally. It would be conclusively apt to consider that the point that really must be stressed upon is that made that racial exclusion is not only an unjust and immoral violation of human rights, but it is also economically destructive. This is due to the fact, as has already been mentioned, that racial discrimination results in the under-utilization of people's skills, talents and capacities. Thus speaking and taking into consideration all that has been said and discussed in regard to racism and poverty, it is apparent that both are issues that must be addressed, individually as well as simultaneously.