Reflective Essay Education and Political Power

Question: Write about theReflective Essayon Education and Political Power. Answer: Introduction Different societies have different divisions based on different aspects. Some have divisions based on wealth, education, political power, and race among other factors. According to Gilding, (2004), the divisions of the society might not be as visible and clear as we anticipate but they occur on a daily basis. Moreover, advancement in technology has intensified the division of the society due to publicity and showcase of wealth. Ideally, social media enables individuals to advertise their wealth and possession through lavish experiences and events that portray them as individuals in a different social class. Furthermore, social class affects many aspects of the current society including direction of power, spread of wealth, and investment decision among other factors. On the other hand, the stratification of the society based on class (upper/elite class, middle class, working class, and low class) intensifies poverty and suffering on the low and middle class individuals in the society . Social stratification is evident in Australia as the recent statistics indicate that 90 percent of wealth in Australia is controlled by 20 percent of the population (Atkinson Leigh, 2007). The statistics clearly shows that social class affect the distribution of National Bread where the individuals at the top of the social class table distribute large shares and little or no amount reaches to the low class in the society. Moreover, Australia is among the most unequal nations in the world as shown by the wealth distribution statistics (Yates, 2004). Ideally, the unequal distribution of wealth tends to shift power and wealth to one side of the society, while individuals at the other end of the social class live in abject poverty. Additionally, I believe social class stratification enhance inequality in wealth distribution and tend to create a minority and majority complex in the society. The majority complex is created by the social perception that people with money have more power than people without money. Ideally, every individual is equal in the eyes of the law despite their wealth. For instance, is once experienced a situation where a friend of mine had a confrontation with a son of wealth man in the society and it resulted to a fight. Since the friend of mine had the normal perception that wealthy comes with power he did not take any action regarding the situation. As stated by Cornell (1977), high social status comes with both material possession and control of issues affecting the society. Having mentioned that is important to note that having a minority complex can influence the growth of an individual both personally and professionally because the individual will tend to leave decision-making to the people (Austin, 2013). This notion is evident in Australia as only a small segment of the population controls the wealth of the country. Moreover, the majority and minority complex continues to dominate, as the number of people climbing the social order is very small, and the number of the elite group continues to be small. Thus, it is evident form the above discussion that social stratification affects the growth of the society that is why there continues to exist poor neighborhoods and rich neighborhoods. References Atkinson, A. Leigh, A. (2007). The Distribution of Top Incomes in Australia. Economic Record, 83(262), 247-261. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2007.00412.x Austin, C. (2013). Complex intersections: Forced choices in minority identification. Psyccritiques, 58(9). https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0030980 Connell, R. (1977). Logic and Politics in Theories of Class1. Journal Of Sociology, 13(3), 203-211. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/144078337701300303 Gilding, M. (2004). Entrepreneurs, elites and the ruling class: the changing structure of power and wealth in Australian society. Australian Journal Of Political Science, 39(1), 127-143. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1036114042000205687 Yates, M. (2004). Poverty and Inequality in the Global Economy. Monthly Review, 55(9), 37. https://dx.doi.org/10.14452/mr-055-09-2004-02_4