Class / Classe

Inequality has been amongst us since the start of the class systems. The article I chose is "Cause of Death: Inequality" by Alejandro Ruess. The article discusses how depending on your economic standing, your health can be analyzed. Different classes of high-income are unequal with those classes of low-income. Inequality kills which ultimately lets use become aware that based on your economic status, one's health can be determined. You can agree that if you're from a middle class family you've gone regularly to the doctors, dentist, and ophthalmologist as opposed to someone from the working-class or lower-class that did go to the doctor but did not get a chance to go to the dentist or the eye doctor. It's inequality that happened then and still does today. Ruess tells us about further inequality based on race, how black men in Harlem have the same life expectancies as those men living in the Democratic Republic of Congo or Angola and black women have the same life expectancy as women in India.
       Health issues are also discussed. An interesting thing that can be viewed was how inequality is shown by the food you eat. Lower-income families do not have the disposable income to buy the more expensive healthier foods and so ate food with high fat, high sodium, and preservatives leading to health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. The interesting thing was that even though this is more common among poorer families, middle-high-class might appeal to those types of food, although it is very highly unlikely. On the section, "Greater Income Inequality Goes Hand in Hand with Poorer Health" states that "the more unequal the income distribution in a country; state, or city, the lower the life expectancies for people at all income level" which suggests that people of low income living in a city or town with less income inequality have a lower mortality rate. One thing we can agree on is that although we can have a say about where our money goes, we choose not to. Even though a family may belong to the middle-class they're too busy thinking about what others think about themselves than worry about the inequality further strengthening the class system and the inequality. It's more like survival of the fittest.
        The video, "People Like Us" can be compared to the article where one man interviewed agreed that life ultimately is like high school, you constantly care about what others think. The video also discussed the views of people from all classes and how they know where they belong. High-income families have choose to drive certain cars, eat certain food, dress a certain way, and own certain things because they know that others within their class will judge them and those from lower classes do not clash with them and if so, those from the higher class act like they are better than them, they're powerful, and can do anything. The video was interesting because it showed the class system in America even though many refuse to think there is such thing when indeed it does exists. You may think that there is no class system when for example you might consider yourself part of the "99%" of Americans trying to bring to justice that "1%" of rich Americans to justice by taxing and spreading the wealth to the rest. This shows that if accurate, only 1 percent of Americans belong to the high class 89% belong within the low-middle and middle-class and about 10% belong to the low-class. The video proved that the more money affluent you are the more biased you become and like everything else, its an ascribed status instilled from birth. There is the capability for social mobility, but that capability is very difficult.  There is unequal distribution of resources within classes which relates to the text in chapter 9 "Class and global inequality" where inequality within the United States is inexplicably noticeable. Your education determines whether you get that blue collar job or proceed to a white collar one; your income levels and the way people look at you.
      Overall, inequality itself is something that we cannot get rid of, it's been around forever and even though it is dissipating, it will not fully do so. It has been said that in the early 19th century inequality was viewed as a fair thing, that those born into their unequal class would gain equality in the afterlife. Unless we all, as a whole agree on what is equal and what isn't, this division and inequality will continue. A way to change it? Investing in opportunities.