History Of Inequalities By Rousseau

Rousseau argues in his Discourse on the Origins of Inequality that inequalities are created by social construction. Naturally, inequalities do not exist, but because man creates boundaries and distinguishes one another, political and moral inequalities are created. Since the 18th century, during Rousseau’s time, the history of inequalities have changed, and ideas of imperialism, racism, and sexism have shifted between then and the 20th century. Private property was a leading cause of inequalities according to Rousseau. Owning property created differences between man, as they could be arranged on different ranks, and the more land one owned, the more powerful. The need to expand for power created the need for imperialism. During the industrialization

During the Enlightenment, slavery was used as forced labor, assuming many African Americans as an inferior race comparably to the Europeans and Americans. In a slight improvement, the Slave Trade Act of 1794 abolished slavery in the United States, and slowly spread east into the European countries, yet the race of people from Africa were still considered inferior. Because of the increase in imperialism during the industrial era, racism continued as the people of colonial settlements were seen as a race that need to become “civilized”. During the Dreyfus Affair (1894-1899), anti-Semitic beliefs were proven even after Jews gained political rights earlier in the 18th century. Jews and modernity were seen as analogous and were associated with the failures of the state. At the peak of racist ideas, World War II and the Holocaust caused a massive increase in anti-Semitic beliefs, as the Nazi party murdered millions of Jews within Germany and its controlled territories. Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party during the Holocaust, believed that a “person 's characteristics, attitudes, abilities, and behavior were determined by his or her so-called racial make-up,” reasoning that the Jews were an inferior race to the Aryans caused a mass genocide which killed over six million Jews (“Victims”). Even after the war, anti-Semitic beliefs still existed causing many Jews difficulty finding homes and

Women during the Enlightenment were seen as a necessity, where men were dependent on the skills of women, “there is one which makes the sexes necessary to each other,” (Rousseau 21). During the era of the French Revolution, Napoleon set up a patriarchy, declaring that females were inferior to males. But by the end of the 19th century the modern woman emerged, a women who was educated, working, and involved in politics. In the 19th century, only male suffrage existed, but by the end of World War I, female suffrage was passed in many countries, with the exception of Italy and France who passed women’s suffrage after World War II. During World War I, the usage of women in the work force increased their roles in society, as men were leaving to fight and the need for workers increased. This aided in the suffrage for woman as “suffrage was a ‘reward’ for women’s war efforts,” yet many people still had negative attitudes towards women becoming greater bread-winners than men (Hunt 823). In the post-Cold War era, media publicized the return of women to become perfect housewives, but the reality after the wars did not allow for this expected lifestyle as women continued to maintain jobs to provide for their families. Women are still paid less than