Sociology comparing material to book Essay Example for Free

Sociology comparing material to book Essay The Youth, the combustible younger generation as we call it, is the backbone of any society or country. Dynamic and motivated youth is the asset of the country. Dejected and frustrated youth is the liability. This section of the society if remains dissatisfied, leads to several social evils and problems. In this book, Jay MacLeod provides details about the Clarendon Heights, a low-income American Housing Project. But the problems are not exclusive of the Clarendon Heights. What is mentioned in the project is the mirror of the prevailing state of affairs and shows how the youth struggle against poverty, issues related to defeatism and racial discrimination. MacLeod’s elucidation of the problem is open and straight. He explains how the same old discrimination between the whites and the blacks attains new dimensions in the present era. In his writing, he highlights about two study groups. One is the black minority group called The Brothers and the second group is of white youths called the Hallway Hangers. MacLeod’s question is, and it is the question of all the right-thinking g people, as to why the group of the blacks is discriminated against on all counts. The notions of equality etc. repeated from several platforms are hypocritical in nature. They are far away from truth and the ground realities, according to Macleod. Perceptible discrimination exists between the two groups. MacLeod’s question is, having been bestowed with the same educational and living conditions, why the aspirations of then two groups are different. The American system and law doesn’t discriminate against any citizen black or white. Where lays the difficulty then to achieve the identical goals for the two groups! He identifies the nature of social structure that causes the problem. MacLeod next examines whether inequality can be remedied by education. Education does some damage control exercise but it too cannot provide the final solution. The problems engulf more than one area social, economic, cultural, race etc. The prevailing conditions amongst the youth relate to the admixture of all these aspects. MacLeod is the research scholar and therefore his approach is methodical and well-studied. He has interviewed many youth and youth groups of both the races and the discussions involve many problematic subjects of the materialistic civilization, like sex, drugs, parents, poverty, parents, crime etc. The perseverance of the author is noticeable as he revisits the same youths, putting them questions as for their aspirations, attainments within this period and the experiences. The book, therefore, is a story related to reality. The continuing conflicts between the cultures and sub-cultures, their impact on social disposition of various sections have been explained thoroughly in the book. Adolescent struggles are no ordinary struggles. They build or break the personality and life of an individual. Macleod has tried to give an honest analysis of all these interesting trends taking shape in the America mainly in the youth section and the society as a whole consequently. They say, â€Å"It is better to deserve without receiving, than to receive without deserving†, but the modern youth is not always ready to digest the philosophy of doing one’s duty and waiting indefinitely for the results. They compare the prospectus and progress of each other. Human tendencies like envy and heart-burning play the dominant role. The root cause of the social conflicts is the dissatisfaction in the individual minds. The suppressed thought processes give rise to violent action processes, and are an impediment to healthy progress of the society. Every class has some permanent assets and liabilities associated with its class structure. Take for example the important concepts of Bourdie’s social reproduction theory. Working class children tend to follow and end up with working class jobs. But with the changing times, and extensive career counseling available, individual choices do play a predominant role. It is not surprising now to see a cab driver’s son owning a flourishing transport business, and the offspring of an unskilled mechanic turning out to be a brilliant mechanical engineer. The views on class structure of other theorists such as Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Karl Marx, are also part of the truth, but not the absolute truth. They hold good for a particular stage of the class struggle, and once the desired stage of economic prosperity is reached, they suffer from contradictions and demand change. Coming to the linguistic approach exposed by Basil Berstein and Shirley Brice, the restricted linguistic codes used by the working class children put them in a disadvantageous position since their counterpart use specialized codes which are the ones normally used in the academic setting in the schools. The working class families possess a strong desire that their children should be better off as compared to their status. Most of them are explicitly interested in improving the lot of their children for which the first step is to provide them with proper level of education Basic conditions need to be created by the Government, for the people to become basically sound and industrious. Opportunities provided by industrial evolution, materialistic civilization and internet revolution make children of working class families turn out to brilliant scholars and establish industrial empires. What is required of the education system is, it must have the intrinsic capacity to change the thought process of an individual. Only when the thought process is changed, the action process will also change. Society changes for the better when the overall action process changes. This is what is called self-actualization with intrinsic motivation. Philosophically speaking, you are the creator of your destiny, not the victim. Even speaking scientifically, every action has the reaction and the intensity of the reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action. Which means, the well-meaning efforts are bound to fructify and will make individual prosperity an attainable reality though one’s well-directed efforts. Which is the authentic and real American Society? Is it, as described by Jay Macleod, â€Å"Horatio Alger’s accounts of the spectacular mobility achieved by men of humble origins through their own unremitting efforts occupy a treasured place in our national folklore? The American dream is held out as a genuine prospect for anyone with the drive to achieve it. † (Macleod, 1995,p, 3) or as told to us about Freddie, â€Å"I ain’t goin’ to college. Who wants to go to college? I’d just end up getting’ a shitty job anyway. †Ã¢â‚¬â€this statement pronounced with certitude and feeling, completely contradicts our achievement ideology. †(Macleod, 1995,p, 3) These two statements provide the true picture of the American society today and the state of mind of the younger generation. When the torch is passed on from one generation to the next generation, it depends what the new generation does with what their forefathers and parents left and from where they left. In the absence of the take-off ground and facilities, they go round and round, unable to achieve any progress. MacLeod links individual lives with social theory to forge a powerful argument about how inequality is created, sustained, and accepted in the United States. The book provides the perspective of the achievement ideology and explains how it is not possible for everyone to climb the ladder of social mobility. The author is an honest critic of the prevailing conditions in the U. S. society. His discussions are engaging and you rightly guess that it is the power of the pen of the professional. Some critics say that the book is the socialist junk. What Macleod does is to point out where America’s much acclaimed capitalist model has failed or needs modifications. It is, therefore, not correct to label him as a socialist. His views about racism and socioeconomic discrimination are strong and without reservations. Given the ground realities in US, it is wise to accept his views than to offer unsubstantiated criticism. Macleod cleverly explains both the groups studied by him failed to get out of poverty due to reasons other than racial discrimination. Poor aspirations and lack of determination contributed to their stationary position in the social ladder of prosperity. He also explains how societal structures limit and restrict the actions of the individuals and curb the upward mobility. Unlike thinkers like Gramsci, MacLeod doesn’t’ believe that Communist Revolution can ever ambush America, and he thinks that the remedy of communist philosophy is worst than the capitalistic disease. Speaking about individual cases, Macleod points out that all the subjects interviewed by him, had regrets about their non-performance when they should have worked hard. Shirking responsibility and buttering people can never bring permanent success for one in life. Many had regrets that they did not work hard at schools and thus wasted their opportunities. The contents of the book provide insight in to the lives of the teenagers in U. S. , both whites and blacks. Laziness could be one of the reasons for poverty, but according to the author there are other barriers that cry a halt to the progress and make the people remain poor. Segregation may be legally dead in USA, but in reality the tremors of segregation are still felt in many walks of life of the black people. It revels at the mind-level. It is easy for the people from the Upper Class to sit on the ivory tower and dub the poor as lazy and good-for-nothing. Macleod’s sense of metaphor makes the examples provided by him appealing and they add to the strength of his arguments. References Cited: Macleod, Jay: Book: Aint no Makin It. Expanded Edition: Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Westview Press (July 11, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 0813315158 ISBN-13: 978-0813315157