\'11 T-Mobile 11:30 AM bbhosted.cuny.edu 63% In \"All Labor Has Dignity,\" MLK J
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'11 T-Mobile 11:30 AM bbhosted.cuny.edu 63% In "All Labor Has Dignity," MLK Jr says: "Now our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality. For we know now that it isn't enough to integrate lunch counters. What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee?" (MLK Jr, 249). Du Bois makes a similar criticism of educational inequality in "Meaning of Progress," in pointing out that "separate but equal" segregated education is only "equal" as the resources of a school are. In a sense, we can see both authors as saying that equality is determined the circumstances in which one lives; equality is an assessment of how we live compared to others, rather than an abstract right that we have. They make clear in concrete cases what Dewey points out abstractly: that solving social problems requires focusing on "the possibilities of existing conditions," rather than generalities and abstractions (JD, 122). Choose one of the following: If you agree, make an argument to justify your position: is political equality really just an ideal without socioeconomic equality? Come up with an example of your own that supports your position. If you disagree, make an argument to justify your position: Where does the argument above go wrong!? Come up with an example of your own that supports your position, or undercuts the argument above. Make sure you explain the full MLK Jr case study, and how JD thinks we should go about solving social problems passage, Du Bois's . I mentioned early on in the class that the question under consideration was what notion of individuality is best for us to hold in order to have a successful democracy, which wExplanation / Answer
Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. Also, I have an allotted duration to answer these questions. Writing a good quality 6 page essay is not entirely possible. However, I have provided a skeleton below of points, ideas and arguments you may use. You will have to bridge the content based on your personal responses and opinions. I recommend referring to the textbook that this question is based on and what was mentioned in class (referenced in the question).
(Question) If you agree, make an argument to justify your position: is political equality really just an ideal without socioeconomic equality? Come up with an example of your own that supports your position.
Explain full MLK Jr. Passage and DuBois’ case study and how JD thinks we should solve this issue.
(Answer)
*(Excerpts from MLK’s speech) Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out in his speech, the inequality in the treatment received by the marginalised and the majority. In the same speech in Memphis in 1968, he said, “Now you know when there is vast unemployment and underemployment in the black community, they call it a social problem. When there is vast unemployment and underemployment in the white community, they call it a depression. But we find ourselves living in a literal depression…all over this country, as a people.” He goes further on the say that “it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters.”
It is important that such an impactful speech should not be misunderstood. What MLK Jr. has said, isn’t just cognizant of a black or white American issue. It is more like an allegory of what true equality means all over the world. It is evident that MLK Jr. does not just want a superficial equality. Such a specious equality is only a “feel-good factor” for people who may otherwise not want to really get “their hands too dirty” in actually cleaning up the mess that is inequality. Having a common lunch-table is a good morale booster and helps initiate equality. But, that is all it really does. True equality comes when our values are fundamentally for equal rights. When our values are strong as a nation, it is evident in the legislature.
*(Argument to justify position) When the government, legislature and even the fourth estate (media) help influence the minds of a nation into putting equality before personal privilege, it is evident in the environment itself. Minimum wages are determined with consideration to the marginalised. Even taxation is sourced from the privileged of the society and concentrated towards the “have-nots” or at least basic human necessities for all.
*(Argument for DuBois’ abstract) DuBois’ points out that ‘equality is how we live as opposed to an abstract’. There are certain pros and cons to this argument. When DuBois states that equality is how we live, it may be right but it is important to keep in mind that if we live with equal rights, it is a result of being treated equally. In other words, what DuBois defines as the disease is actually the symptom (for the lack of a better word). DuBois describes going to bed on a full stomach as equality, whereas, being given food is actually what equality really is.
Furthermore, DuBois also states that equality is not just an abstract. But if one is going to integrate equality in society through laws, legislation, rights and treatment, it needs to be an abstract or an ideal. Freedom is an ideal that states the inalienable rights of an individual. Only when freedom is recognised as an abstract or an ideal, does it truly become an ideal to live by. The result of such an ideal is clearly evident in the US constitution.
*(Example to support explanation) President Trump’s proposition of tax cuts that exempt several large co-operations from major taxes. This tax cut is a status-quo that makes people of the middle and lower middle class pay more. This is a situation that not only exhibits inequality but also a lack of equity and social responsibility.
A nation is to be successfully considerate of the poor and the rich. Lifting up the poor should never be equated with putting down the rich. All that will do is replace one minority with the other. The idea is to create a society where the privileged have a certain sense of social responsibility. This means that even when an individual comes out of poverty and enters a position of privilege, they bear the same responsibility that was shown to them during their time of need. A simple philosophy of “pay it forward.”
*(Dewey’s notion) Dewey points out that, “Solving social problems requires focusing on the possibilities of existing conditions.” This is in a way, a reiteration of what MLK Jr. says. Both thinkers express that existing conditions need to be meticulously considered in order to make equality a part of the legislation that will carve the future. Just like MLK Jr. considers that eating lunch at a common table won’t solve all of the existing problems of inequality, Dewey also states the “existing conditions” that need to be considered.
This is why equality at the grass-roots level needs to be analysed and legislative rights need to be defined at the highest levels of the constitution. Dewey’s idea is an abstract that needs to be woven from the bottom to the top of the fabric of society.
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