"EQUALITY" (WILLIAM RYAN).   Term Paper ID:20996 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Summary of work challenging ideas of equality and fair play in Amer. society & economy & offering humane alternative.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Summary of work challenging ideas of equality and fair play in Amer. society & economy & offering humane alternative. Paper Introduction: This study will provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of William Ryan's Equality. The book challenges the ideas of "equality" and "Fair Play" as defined by American society, and offers the alternative idea of "Fair Shares" as a more truly humane and just approach to society and the distribution of wealth. Chapter 1---"The Equality Dilemma: Fair Play or Fair Shares?"---establishes the context for the book, namely, the differences between various definitions of equality and the implications of such definitions for the structure of social, economic and political relationships. Specifically, the "Fair Play" position (which Ryan condemns) is contrasted with the "Fair Shares" position (which Ryan champions). The Fair Play position is the standard American position "stresses that each person Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. his orher family's economic status and . . Again he argues for the Fair Shares approach which treatssociety as a cooperating collective rather than as a group of competingindividuals in which the rich and powerful will always have the upper hand.He writes that the Fair Shares approach "emphasizes collective rather thanindividual action," action "directed toward external targets rather thantowards the altering of internal characteristics" (164). . Ryan emphasizes that the Fair Shares approach is not simply a newattempt to divide society between haves and have-nots: "The primary themeof Fair Shares equality is emphatically not division, but aggregation, notseparating resources into small portions for individuals, but holding andusing resources in common---sharing collectively, rather than dealing outindividually" (187). Chapter 1---"The Equality Dilemma: Fair Play or Fair Shares?"---establishes the context for the book, namely, the differences betweenvarious definitions of equality and the implications of such definitionsfor the structure of social, economic and political relationships.Specifically, the "Fair Play" position (which Ryan condemns) is contrastedwith the "Fair Shares" position (which Ryan champions). Ryan says that despite the fact that "the majority of whitesneither benefit from continued racial injustice nor originate the practicesthat maintain it," such racism continues because it benefits "the tinyminority of the very wealthy" (145) who want to keep the status quo insociety. designed to reduce poverty (which is to say, reduce inequality), provides further justification for the continuation of inequality. As Ryan writes, the Fair Play ideology is that "Rewardsare based on individual merit; individuals differ in merit; merit is acomplex of worthy internal characteristics" (65). Ryan is not saying that all people must have the same income, but heis saying that all citizens have the basic right to fundamental necessitiesof life, including health care and education (191). Ryan argues that the social programs in the United States whichare designed to do away with poverty are only ways to perpetuate poverty.Also, it gives the advocates of Fair Play an excuse to say that the poorare an inevitable part of society: The failure of social programs . . Ryan says thathistory is full of examples of collective action taken by workers and othernon-rich who joined together to bring about social, economic and politicalchange. In Chapter 6---"Black Like Them: Ideology and Racism"---looks at howthe institutions of system perpetuate the social and economic deprivationof minorities. The past hasshown that the system is flexible enough to be changed---if enough peoplejoin together to force it to change. Ryan recognizes that the process will be a gradual one, but heemphasizes that it will never happen at all unless the majority of citizens---who are not rich and powerful---join together (as in the past in laborstrikes or anti-war action) to demand that their needs be met. . Ryan disagrees, arguing that what makes thedifference are external social and economic matters which give advantagesto certain people and groups, and which disadvantage other individuals andgroups. In Chapter 7---"Making It Happen: The Invisible Class Struggle"---Ryan says that the underlying ideas which prop up the society ofinequality, sexism and racism are ideas which are gradually losing theirlegitimacy. Forexample, governments are controlled by the rich, so that when governmentintervenes in economic affairs it will usually work on the side of therich. Teachers,parents and students have high expectations of rich students and lowexpectations of poor students---expectations which are self-fulfilling. Ryan emphasizes that the change to a Fair Shares society should notbe violent, but should stretch the system so that the move toward equalityis steady and long-term. Ryan says that the powerful in any society are the ones whoestablish beliefs in a society. The basis of Ryan's argument, again, is that internalcharacteristics---intelligence, determination, etc.---are not the mostimportant in economic success. These programs includeaffirmative action in employment, busing for school desegregation, andsimilar policies. He also notes that the process should not be setin stone, but should itself be flexible enough to adapt and to changeaccording to the success or failure of certain specific steps. It is claimed thateducation allows all individuals to have an equal opportunity for success,but in reality "schools are ideological instruments . . . In Chapter 8---"Toward Equality: Fair Sharing in America"---Ryansummarizes his argument for the Fair Shares approach to inequality inAmerican society. Ryan stresses that society's success is the result ofcollective action, rather than individual action. Therefore, individualswith great wealth and power deserve those prizes which result from theirspecial internal qualities. These beliefs come to be held by the poor andweak in a society as well as by the rich and powerful who created them inthe first place. . BibliographyRyan, William. . The book challenges the ideas of "equality" and "FairPlay" as defined by American society, and offers the alternative idea of"Fair Shares" as a more truly humane and just approach to society and thedistribution of wealth. He writes that the fight for true equality is a difficultone because it faces profound obstacles, but also because it is difficultto even conceive of what such a society would be like in reality. His ideas are based on the view of society as acollective, rather than as individuals competing with one another frombirth to death. The Fair Playposition is the standard American position "stresses that each personshould be equally free from all but the most minimal necessary interferencewith his right to 'pursue happiness'" (8). The Fair Shares approachsays that all citizens will have what they need to be happy and secure.Everyone's talents would be nurtured and used to benefit society. Ryan says that blacks and sympathetic whites must work together todo away with inequality and racism. . Chapter 2---"Knowing What's Good For You: Belief and Equality"---looks in greater depth at the beliefs which underlie inequality in theUnited States. the number of years he or she wasable to stay in school (which is also highly dependent on one's familyincome)" (73). Ryan argues that the system of Fair Play and equal opportunity arenot fair or equal at all because it is a system where the rich and powerfulbecome more rich and powerful, and the weak and powerless become weaker andmore powerless. "We tried and we failed. External characteristics are the mostimportant: "A young person's can be predicted best by knowing. that the majordifference is that some are superior and others inferior" (137). . Equality. Ryan says that the ideas on which the American system isbased are simply justifications for the status quo which benefits the richand punishes the weak. In Chapter 5---Dishwashers Trained Here: Ideology and Education"---Ryan argues that the educational system is one of the most important toolsfor perpetuating the inequality of American society. .that individual human beings are all different and . Above all, Ryan emphasizes that society is a collective, not a mob ofcompeting individuals. All people would eventually benefit from the societyof true fairness and equality which would result from the replacement ofthe Fair Play society with the Fair Shares society. But he says that society is built to resist such action. This study will provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of WilliamRyan's Equality. In Chapter 3---"Some Hard Answers: The Case for Fair Shares"---Ryanpresents further argument for a fair and just alternative to the Americansystem as it now exists. Ryan says that IQ tests are tilted to favor a certain group---educated whites---so that this group continues to be seen as most worthyof power and wealth. He favors social programs which givesome short-term advantage to blacks, programs which are "remedial actionsdesigned to correct past injustices" (16 ). These beliefs in the United States are thatthe rich and powerful deserve to be rich and powerful because they aregenetically (internally) special in some way, and that the weak and poordeserve to be weak and poor because they are lacking some qualityinternally or genetically. for teaching. Poverty and inequality are apparently not susceptible to anything we might do" (12 ).Such social programs try to treat only the surface of the problem ofinequality, rather than trying to treat the deep, structural beliefs andrelationships of the society which depend on continuing inequality andpoverty. . New York: Vintage, 1981.----------------------- 1 Chapter 4---"Help the Needy and Show Them the Way: Ideology andSocial Policy"---Ryan argues that the Fair Play approach will never producea state of real equality in the United States, while the Fair Sharesapproach at least has a chance of producing such equality, or at leastmoving the society in the direction of a more fair and humane distributionof wealth. Individuality will bemaintained, but it would not result in gross inequalities. The Fair Shares position focuseson "equality of rights and of access, particularly the implicit rights to areasonable share of society's resources, sufficient to sustain life at adecent standard of humanity and to preserve liberty and freedom fromcompulsion" (9). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.