The Natural History Approach to Racial Capitalism

Although the economic proposition of the United States was founded on the principles of property rights, market freedom, and the idea of economic independence, among others, the role of the government in constructing a capitalist society that has helped create an unfair system of inequality is evident.  A disproportionate system that has been progressing from the nobility of owning property and land to the askew benefits of the rich and privileged and the blatant disregard of minorities.  In his scholarly report, author Thomas West (2010) elucidate how “the “moral and social order” bequeathed to Americans by the Founders eventually became “an economic system which starves and mutilates the great majority of the population.” Such is the “selfishness” of an “unreformed capitalist economy.”  An asymmetrical practice that can best be described from a Natural History approach to government as a social problem.  

As specified by Spector and Kitsuse (2009:130) scholars Fuller & Myers, presented in their thesis a Natural history model approach to social problems that enriched the process of empirical research and adds additional benefits to the value-conflict theory “Social problems do not arise full-blown commanding community attention and evoking adequate policies and machinery for the solution. On the contrary, we believe that social problems exhibit a temporal course of development in which different phases or stages may be distinguished.” The social problem process has a natural series of sequential steps based on a hypothetical approach and the formulation of society allegations, the public perception, media influence, policy making, and government involvement in the development and construction of social problems. 

The input of the government and the claim makers view of the condition are pivotal to the construction of the social problem.  According to professor Joel Best (2017) “The term Natural History refers to a sequence of stages that tends to appear in lots of different cases.” Those sequences are compartmentalized into six stages in chronological order such as (1) Claimsmaking: When members of the society claim that there is a social problem, e.g. The public complains about the wealth gap and the injustices in the division of resources, (2) Media Coverage: The media gives a report regarding the claim and creates a larger group of spectators, e.g. The New York Times and TV stations such as CNN, CBS, ABC, etc. will publish an article and make extensive reports pertaining to the wealth gap between the 1% and the rest of the population and the inequality of the system, (3) Public Reaction: The public starts to pay attention to the issue and public opinion is directed to the claim made, e.g. People start to get concerned with the economic disadvantage and the government involvement or lack thereof in the creation of the social inequality while showing better support for the unfair cause, (4) Policy Making: Legislators and policy makers produce original ways to tackle the social conflict, e.g. The government creates new policies to increase the minimum wage and propose to invest in education, (5) Social Problems Work: Governmental agencies execute the new policies and proposes further amends, e.g. States are encouraged to implement the minimum wage increment and are forced to invest in the public school system, and (6) Policy Outcome: The public response is often heterogenous to the recent changes, e.g. Some people will agree with the minimum wage increase and the investment in education while others will complain it is not enough to change or money, (Best 2017:19).  

Nevertheless, the social problem process can be altered by the subject matter of rhetoric and resources and the concepts can influence the outcome of each stage in the natural history model. To better describe the meaning and importance of resources, Professor Best explains how “Actors are not equal. Some have more power, status, contacts, education, and money than others.  These resources can make easier to influence every stage of the social problem process” (Best 2017:24). Apparently, people with better access to resources and power have a better chance of influencing the social problem process and create a more difficult competition for the rest.  Moreover, the theme of rhetoric can also be described as a considerable influence in the social problem process and is eloquently explained by Best (2017:24) “Any troubling condition can be understood in a various way. At each stage in the social problem process, a troubling condition can be reconstructed to fit the concerns of the actors involved in that stage.” Rhetoric is used to persuade the audience and it can be used in all stages of the social problem process. 

Notwithstanding, the social problem process can also be analyzed from another sociological perspective such as the constructionist approach which shares some similitudes and differences with the natural history approach.  As stated by Doctor Vivien Burr (1996:14) “The ways in which we commonly understand the world, the categories and concepts we use, are historically and culturally specific. Whether one understands the world in terms of men and women, pop music and classical music, urban life and rural life, past and future, etc., depends upon where and when in the world one lives.”     

            Although the United States proposes to the world and their citizens the idea of freedom and equality, the reality is far removed from any egalitarian or equitable society.  Instead, the economic model used by the American government operates through the laws of supply and demand with an emphasis on the market rather than the individual. A difficult concept that favors the privileged while opposing minorities.  In its scholarly journal, Columbia University, (2006) describes a capitalist system that is based on private ownership, unbalanced competition, inequality, and new wealth among others, “capitalism is also known for its tendency to generate instability, often associated with the existence of financial crises, job insecurity and failures to include the disadvantaged.” (the center for capitalism society 2006:1).

According to the Harvard Law Review “Racial Capitalism- the process of deriving social and economic value from the racial identity of another person” (Leon 2013).
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Reference:

Anon. 2006. “Theory of Capitalism.” Theory of Capitalism | The Center on Capitalism and

     Society. Retrieved April 17, 2018 (http://capitalism.columbia.edu/theory-capitalism).

Best, Joel. 2017. “The Social Problem Process.” Pp. 17–23 in Social Problems. New York, NY:

     W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Burr, Vivien. 1996. “4.” Pp. 13–14 in An Introduction to Social Constructionism. New York,

    NY: Routledge.

Kitsuse, John I. and Malcolm tor. 2009. “The Natural History of Social Problems.” Pp. 130–58

     in Constructing Social Problems. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publisher.

Leong, Nancy. 2013. “Racial Capitalism.” Harvard Law Review. Retrieved April 14, 2018

     (https://harvardlawreview.org/2013/06/racial-capitalism/).

West, Thomas G. 2010. “The Economic Principles of America's Founders: Property Rights, Free

Markets, and Sound Money.” The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved April 12, 2018 (https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/the-economic-principles-americas-founders-property-rights-free-markets-and).

"Life is the result of our choices" - Brava

Lost in Translation & Frustration

Lost in Translation & Frustration

One of the most frustrating aspects of being an immigrant and speaking a foreign language such as English, while at work, in social media, at school, in legal proceedings, or in writing, among others, is the inability to convey properly the correct intention or meaning of my message whether verbal or written.  In a culture like the United States, where accuracy and perfection are up to the most important, meaning and intentions tend to be ignored, while judging the precision, and correctness of the message.  

In my humble opinion when two different culture collides, the message between actors can become an internal battle for dominance and culture reassurance and the intended intention is usually lost in translation.  Even many of the original scholars who studied language only focus on the subconscious knowledge rather than meaning and semantics.  In chapter one of Ahearn “Living Language”, the author explains the “Chomskyan distinction between “competence”, the abstract and usually unconscious knowledge that one has about the rules of a language, and “performance”, the putting into practice – sometimes imperfectly – of those rules” (Ahearn, 2017, Pg. 9). 

The emphasis and approach of Chomsky and other scholars such as De Saussure focused on the theoretical competence of the language and almost ignoring the parole or performance of said language. While it’s apparent that language is greatly influenced by people’s culture, how it’s learned, social relations, and their language ideologies, is impossible to ignore how performance alter the messages, Ahearn (Ch, 1)

In my personal experience being able to communicate effectively verbally and in writing has come with two distinct types of approaches and each form of communications presents two similar struggles for understanding.  When speaking in person with a native English speaker the conversation tends to be less complicated and my approach is more informal and relaxed than when trying to convey my message in writing because face to face feels more warm and familiar.  Although, writing brings other conflicts such as educational level, proper grammar, and assumptions, making this second approach more rigid and methodical is expected.  

Usually, when communicating in person, it doesn’t matter if the conversations reveal my social status, educational level, and personality, since is a customary practice for me to code-mix and codes-switch while speaking and the fact that Spanish is my first language, automatically makes the audience assume my status and objectives, Ahearn (Ch. 7).   Nevertheless, many times, after overlooking my accent, acknowledging my first language, and observing my multimodalities, the person can effortlessly interpret my demeanor, mannerism, verbal cues, and my gestures which often reveal my purpose.   

The truth is “Some ways of speaking tend to get labeled prestigious, while others are stigmatized. Since all languages, dialects, and registers are rule-governed, there is nothing inherent in them that makes some “better” than others, linguistically; these sorts of judgments are made for social, cultural, political, or historical reasons.  For example, in some context in the United States, speaking Spanish is looked down upon, and people who speak Spanish in public are often stigmatized” (Ahearn, 2017, Pg. 144).  It is evident that there is a denunciation of foreign speakers in the United States, making communication more difficult for immigrants and non-native speakers.     

Furthermore, when the communication is in writing, is impossible for me to tell or show the readers my intentions or meaning unless the writing follows all the proper grammatical rules and the notes, blog, or papers are written accurately and free of errors. It’s more difficult to accurately transmit the message when obstacles such as grammatical errors, improper subject composition, incorrect sentence structure, citation mistake, incomplete comparisons, or just a simple cultural term used inaccurately, can completely change the meaning of an essay, letter, or social media blog.  My children often accused me of writing with my accent and it was not clear what they meant until there was an opportunity to looked at previously written work and finding so many grammatical errors and cultural mistake in my writings; however, the meaning, a least for me, was extremely clear regardless of the reader’s interpretation.  

One can say that the simple solution is to study the language deeply until the person can understand it better or just make sure to take the time to write accurately and free of errors; nonetheless, the task is not as simple as it may seem because learning and speaking the English language has been politically and socially stigmatized, making it harder for a diverse immigrants, like myself, to freely immerse in the language without having feelings of guilt or betrayal towards my ancestors and native culture.  Trying to communicate verbally and in writing has been frustrating but at the same time has been the propeller that has pushed me to work hard and to thrive in a culture that often can be judgmental and cruel but accepting and understanding in other occasions.

Thanks,

Brava 😊

Keywords: language, interpretation, meaning, intention, discrimination, competence, parole, abstract, performance, unconscious knowledge. 

"Life is the result of our choices" - Brava

Beyond Rhetoric: Analyzing Immigration & Social Inequality

Although the United States was founded on the principles of freedom, liberty, and happiness “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (United States Declaration of Independence 1776), ostensibly this principle, according to a privilege sizeable part of the population, doesn’t apply to every human being, especially those in minority groups.  Regrettably, the quintessence of the land has been built on the proposition of individualism, power, privilege, and racism among others. Throughout the republic’s history and current social framework, inequality and racism can be found in the government, military, public and private institutions, the judicial system, education, socially, and in the media.  Consequently, creating a system of inequality, discrimination, economic imbalance, and prejudice (Kenney 2013).  Equivalent to inequality, immigration in the United States is one of the most controversial, divisive, and unreasonable issue of injustices that undermined the core principle of the nation, despite the fact that the country was founded by immigrants that came to a land occupied by Native Americans thus making the founding fathers and people that migrate from England immigrants (Kubrin, Zats, Martinez 2012). Two major social approaches (objectivist approach & the functionalist approach) are the basis of the debate and it’s important to further analyze the structure and importance of both. 

            Despite evidence of the benefits of immigration in the United States, the controversy surrounding the topic has created a conflict among all citizens regardless of their social class or status. Misinformation and improper data is spread damaging the discussion and negatively impacting viable solutions.  In a recent report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Labor, Immigration & Employee Benefits Division, the department unquestionably elucidates the facts and annihilates the myths surrounding immigration and its benefits while pointing out the plethora of studies on immigration that is overlooked because of all the false information giving to the public which needs to learn facts in order to find a viable solution for the conflict. (U.S Chamber of commerce 2016).  American citizens disdain immigrants in contrast with their claim of inclusion, diversity, justices, and fairness.  To help identify each side of the dissension while pinpointing society injustices it is important to analyze both sociological approaches (functionalism & objectivism) to social problems and immigration.

FUNCTIONALIST APPROACH

            The perspective of the functionalist approach asserts that all parts of society are interconnected, and each actor plays a pivotal role to maintain the balance and social equilibrium of a productive society.  Social problems are conditions that may be cherished by some but considered deviant by others (Fuller & Myers 1941:320) In accordance with functionalism, social problems are necessary for the stability and functions of society and conflicts such as immigration are obligatory to help the economy and balance the labor market while disregarding the negative impact it causes to the individual. Contrary to functionalism, objectivism approaches social problems and immigration from a distinct perspective.

OBJECTIVIST APPROACH

                        The standpoint of objectivism avows that social problems are harmful conditions that are detrimental to individuals in a society. Whether the public is aware or not, social conflicts are part of society and they help create inequalities and injustice even if doesn’t affect all members individually or if is a topic of public controversy).   The objectivist approach considers immigration as a harmful condition that produces inequality and a social imbalance that harms society and can only be remedied by reducing, correcting, or eliminating such social conflict (Jerome G. Manis, Analyzing Social Problems 1976:25).  The difference between both approaches is noticeable because functionalism is individualistic while objectivism is collective.  Nevertheless, the public has been so misinformed about the subject of immigration that in order to help reduce or eliminate all misconceptions the citizenry needs to be re-educated and provided with a new sensitive approach that will benefit all members of society.  Social problems are a challenge for any functional society and if the public is not aware of the facts and only have access to misinformation their approach towards the social conflict such immigration will be erroneous and probably all decisions are made against their own interest.  A very noticeable example of this controversy is the immigration issue, which has been tainted by misinformation, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), a social action that has been keeping a large group of immigrants or dreamers, 800,000.00 approximately, in fear and without any hope of stability or legal status.

DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVAL (DACA)

            In 2012, then President Obama established an action which will enable some immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children and have attended school in the US to obtain a temporary work permit and avoid deportation for two years but with the ability to further renewal.  On September 5, 2017, the current administration announced the elimination of DACA and opening a new negotiation in Congress to reform the program and eliminating benefits such as chain migration, visa lottery while addressing the current recipient’s status and securing our border (Robertson 2018).  The public perception of DACA has been polarized by misinformation, the media, and politicians in order to alter the facts and continue to use Dreamers as a political tool to obtain other programs, disregarding the lives and future of those immigrants.  The uncertainty of DACA recipients is definitely a social issue that will shape the future of our country either negatively or positively.       

IMMIGRATION FACTS

            The subject matter of immigration is perhaps the most debated topic of the last few decades and it is imperative to elucidate some of the misconceptions by providing a list of facts to eliminate misinformation and false data. A recent study by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) debunked some of the false claims about immigration and created a list of few important myths and facts that affect people’s perception of immigrants and the importance of addressing such social conflict.  From the list, few facts were compiled to create this immigration Facts list (ADL 2017)

·         The majority of immigrants living in the United States are living here legally (44 million)

·         Native-born Americans are more likely to commit crimes and become incarcerated than immigrants.

·         Immigrants are not eligible to receive any government assistance because they do not possess a social security and don’t qualify.

·         The majority of immigrants paid a large amount of taxes without qualifying for a return.

·         Hard working immigrants contribute to the economy and help in all areas of technology, medical, legal, and education.

·         A Wall will not prevent illegal immigration because the majority of illegal immigrants come by plane.

·         Most Immigrants are decent respectful people working hard for their families and without any criminal record.

It’s apparent that education is the only smart approach to help eliminate the immigration myths and bring to the conversation facts and verifiable information to the table.  Immigration is the social problem of the century and whether some people agree with the functionalist approach or the objectivity approach which understands social problems are harmful to society and creates inequality, the need for an immigration reform is undeniable and the social consequences of inaction are contra productive to the economy and social advancement of our future.  Programs such as DACA will not only benefit the dreamers but it will also help the Nation’s economy while restoring the core principles of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Key Words: Immigrant, inequality, social injustices, rhetoric

Beyond Rhetoric: Analyzing Immigration & Social Inequality  

References:

Anon. 2016. “Immigration Facts & Myths”. Retrieved

(https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/documents/files/022851_mythsfacts_2016_report_final.pdf).

Card, D. 2009. “IMMIGRATION AND INEQUALITY”. Retrieved

            (http://www.nber.org/papers/w14683.pdf).

Editorial. 2011. “History of U.S. Immigration Laws | Federation for American

Immigration Reform”. Retrieved (https://fairus.org/legislation/reports-and-analysis/history-of-us-immigration-laws).

Hjelm, T. 2011. Religion and Social Problems. Routledge.

Kenney, N. 2013. “Black America Web”. Retrieved       

(https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/02/06/the-history-of-racial-economic-inequality-part-1-slavery/).

Manis, J. G. 1976. “Analyzing Social Problems / Jerome G. Manis - Details –

            Trove”. Retrieved (https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10903617).

Periodical. 2016. “IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE RIGHTS”. Retrieved

            (https://www.adl.org/education/resources/fact-sheets/myths-and-facts-about-

            immigrants-and-immigration).

Robertson, L. 2018. “The DACA Population Numbers”. Retrieved

            (https://www.factcheck.org/2018/01/daca-population-numbers/).

"Life is the result of our choices" - Brava