Abstract:

This paper discusses social discrimination from the point of view of explaining what is meant by discrimination, and puts forward some well-known theories of social discrimination, discussing their merits, demerits and applicability.

Determining and addressing the issue of social discrimination is one of the prime concerns of sociologists today. By studying this challenging issue, one can craft policies and procedures to mitigate social discrimination in the workplace and in the community at large.

What Is Social Discrimination:

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.

What Is the Theory of Projection:

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

What Is the Frustration-Aggression Theory:

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.

What Is Social Insecurity and Inferiority:

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.

What Is An Authoritarian Personality:

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.

What Are Historical Precedents:

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.

What Are the Forces of Competition and Exploitation:

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.

What Is the Socialization Process:

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.

What is the Marxist Model:

Karl 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. Referenced on 15 Oct 2004.

2. The Authoritarian Personality. Referenced on 15 Oct 2004.

3. Process of Socialization.