Discrimination
may be defined as positive or negative behavior
based on stereotyped beliefs about the occupants
of a status. Discrimination is positive from the
point of view of whom it favors, and negative
for those who are discriminated against.
One of the founders of modern sociology, Durkheim
believed that humans bring order into the world
to suit their own needs. In a society based on
class system, the higher classes would serve to
impose their superiority on the lower classes.
This is the theory of projection, where the higher
or ruling class projects its superiority over
the lower class, and the lower or ruled class
get a feeling of subjection or suppression from
being under the higher classes of society. The
caste system in India is a case in point.
People of lower castes were subjected to doing
menial jobs and could not hope to match their
counterparts in the higher social strata. This
trend is undergoing a change now, as people of
lower strata have educated themselves and refuse
to submit to the dictates of the caste system-
they are carving our their own future
The frustration-aggression theory
1 argues that collective behavior is an aggressive
response to feelings of frustration. Thus many
of the collective movements in society especially
in the field of human rights have their genesis
in the practical aspect of this theory.
When the collective dissatisfaction of a mass
of people reaches a critical stage, they band
together to create a movement which will change
the status quo or result in the changes they desire.
This theory can be empirically proved if one studies
the reasons behind the French Revolution, for
example.
In modern times, where social and political parties
divide the populace into many groups having different
strains of thought, this theory may have lost
its appeal. But if different parties unite under
one banner to pursue the same interests, they
have a greater chance of success.
Social Insecurity and Inferiority
refer to vulnerabilities in individuals or communities
due to increases in population growth, changes
in economic structure or security reasons. Such
movements result in changing social structures.
The sad fact is that the Governments charged with
the responsibility of removing or marginalizing
such instances might themselves be unwittingly
contributing to the same.
Affirmative action programs are a way of reducing
such insecurity, leading to more stable social
structures. Anti-discriminatory laws and the upholding
of justice for complainants serve to reduce cases
of social insecurity and inferiority in society,
at least to some extent.
The Authoritarian Personality
2 is believed to be the result of an upbringing
of rigid discipline and conditional affection.
While finding comfort in the identification of
submissive behavior towards authority, the authoritarian
person directs his/her aggression towards other
groups, often racial minorities, all in an attempt
to compensate for the feeling of personal weakness
with a search for absolute answers and strengths
in the outside world.
In Sociology, historical precedents
are a set of theories or statements that seem
to explain problems, action or behavior. They
may be described as a well-formulated set of statements,
including ‘law-like’ generalizations
that are empirically testable. The problem is
that with the characteristics of society constantly
changing, and free movement between different
countries, we cannot always cite historical precedents
as infalliable measures of social change.
Competition refers to a number
of individuals of groups vying for the same resource
or goal. The individual/ group that has the best
skills or uses the best tactics wins. Competition
can be a boon for an employer, as he/she gets
the best possible resource at a lower cost. In
modern times, competition and the desire to succeed
have edged businesses towards the exploitation
of their workers.
Exploitation refers to the
use of people as a resource, with little or no
consideration of their well-being. Thus exploitation
involves some persistent aspect of the socioeconomic
system, i.e an institution. Human beings are just
treated as a means to the end of making profits.
Exploitation may be organizational, relating
to the power of businesses to effect an individual’s
worth in the marketplace. On a larger scale, we
may talk of exploitation at the structural level,
where the entire business class (capitalists)
use the other parts of society as pawns to do
their bidding. This can happen even in so-called
‘free-market’ economies
.
The socialization process 3 may be described as
the process of acquiring the cultural characteristics
of the community or society one is born into.
The process entails learning the language of the
community as well as the occupational roles available
to the different classes.
Through the socialization process,
we learn and adopt the cultural norms that constitute
appropriate behavior upheld by the leaders of
a community. The process of being socialized to
a particular culture has been termed ‘enculturation’
by anthropologists. We are encultured into our
specific cultures by our parents and others who
share in our upbringing.
Marx saw modern capitalism in terms of conflict
between two classes -the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
The Marxist model argues that
the significant factor in racial discrimination
is not race or ethnicity, but rather the economic,
political and ideological organization of society
that allows or encourages certain dominant groups
to discriminate against other groups.
Thus racial discrimination is a product of class-based
systems of social stratification. The shortcoming
of the model is that, rather than attempt to focus
their analysis upon stereotypical, ideologically-produced
categories created by dominant social groups,
who seek to extend their social status by creating
an artificial grouping of lower social status,
Marxists tend to focus on the various ways social
/ biological differences (culture, sex, skin colour,
age and the like) are exploited by the relatively
powerful to oppress the relatively powerless.
Racial discrimination is degrading both for the
victimizers and the victims.
Bibliography
1. Frustration Aggression Theory
2. The Authoritarian Personality
3. Process of Socialization
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