The Importance Of Inequality

Anthropologists aim to study many aspects of life, and one of the difficult parts of life is inequality. Inequality can be rooted in different causes and present itself in various forms. One form, social inequality, is inequality in opportunities and benefits because of being a certain social status or social group. These inequalities could include exclusion from decent education, housing, healthcare, or respect. Oftentimes, the reason these groups are excluded is due to factors that they cannot control. Some examples include race, religion, gender, sexuality, and class. These factors come together to create a person’s identity, and this is why social inequality is a difficult challenge people often endure. A person’s identity is created through

Class is a system of power based on wealth, income, and status, which leads to unequal sharing of resources and opportunities. Each society develops its own forms of patterns of class stratification that benefit some and hurts others. Various figures have tried to understand meaning and purpose behind class. Karl Marx 's class theory states the premise that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." According to this view, ever since human society emerged it has remained fundamentally divided between classes who clash in the pursuit of different class interests. Max Weber added that there are three levels of stratification based on differences in wealth, prestige, and power. Class for Weber meant groups of people with who have similar life chances, opportunities to improve quality of life and achieve success. Building on this view of class, Pierre Bourdieu described social mobility, movement upward or downward in society, and he explained that a person’s ability to move socially depends on a person’s cultural capital and access to the tools that allow them to accomplish their goals. Overall, these three theories address the fact that certain groups have unequal opportunities due to their lack of certain