The essay below was written in a Stage 1 paper of Economics and Sociology 102. It argues whether working hard can determine your social mobility and your position within the stratification of a social system.
The film '8 Mile' and the protagonist Eminem is used as a case study for demonstrating whether this merocratic statement is true and is the key to success.
The following essay will argue why the meritocratic statement of “work hard and you will succeed” is in support of individual effort as the best determinant for social mobility and stratification within a competitive social system. Social factors are hard to overcome and change in order for one to gain success in social mobility and to achieve a higher status within the stratification of the social system. Social mobility and vertical stratification within the social system is then more easily gained through ones individual effort and motivation to succeed because the social factors are overcome and set aside when trying to succeed. To clearly demonstrate the relevance of individual effort to gain social mobility, the character Rabbit in the film 8 Mile has shown that his motivation and individual effort to succeed in the rapping industry has enabled him to be socially mobile in the competitive and stratified social system of Detroit. Rabbit’s individual effort to pursue success is further explored to explain why meritocracy is a desirable feature of society given Rabbit’s sociological imagination in Detroit that involved his personal troubles and “the public issues of social structure” (Mills 2003, p.17).
Meritocracy can be defined as “status attained exclusively as a function of actual abilities, performance, achievement, merit or worth” in terms of the socioeconomic status (Kamolnik 2005, p.87). This provides evidence that meritocracy is in direct relevance of individual effort to gain social mobility within a competitive social system. Social mobility is the “movement of people or groups from one class another” (Newman 2006, p.376). However, to become socially mobile in a social system that is highly competitive requires a significant amount of individual effort because this ensures that success can be achieved. Rabbit has precisely shown in 8 Mile that he was able to gain social mobility in Detroit and globally today because of his individual effort to effectively utilise his rapping talent. Therefore, his individual effort was the crucial component to achieving his social mobility within the socially competitive city of Detroit. Set in 1995, Detroit is depicted as a city that is socially disabled due to the lack of enforcement in the presence of street gang violence and the burnt and abandoned buildings. Many would agree that a white American like Rabbit would receive very little support or praise for his rapping talent in a black race dominated genre of music. It was due Rabbit’s individual effort of persisting to showcase his unconventional talent and passion for rap that ultimately led to his social mobility of not only becoming the top rapper in Detroit but also becoming an international rap sensation today known by the name of Eminem. Therefore, Rabbit is a prime example to demonstrate why the social mobility of individuals is best determined by meritocratic individual effort in even the most difficult social systems like Detroit. As Kamolnick (2005, p. 89) has noted, “..work effort in full or part. It is the criterion for linking work-effort to entitlement to valued goods.”
Another aspect of the competitive social system that is best determined by individual effort than social factors is social stratification. Social stratification is “the ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society” (Newman and Harper 2002, p.327). Clearly, those that belong to lower class families are at the bottom of the social stratification and those that belong to higher class families are at the top. Changes to an individual’s position within the stratification can be inter-generational over several lifetimes if you were dependent upon social factors to achieve a vertical movement in the stratification of society. Due to the fact that individuals do not have the ability to change the social factors operating around them, the expectation of reaching the top of the social stratification in an intra-generation is unlikely. It is more reliable to depend on our own individual effort to try and achieve a transition within one generation because individual effort has greater power in defeating the surrounding social factors and overcoming them. Rabbit’s vertical movement within the social stratification of Detroit and America is purely due to his individual effort and not the social factors present which acted as negative forces against him. Rabbit lives in a city that provides little opportunities for success in terms of social mobility and stratification. Elements within Detroit that surround Rabbit are negative social factors that do little to enhance his position within the social stratification and the overall functioning of his mentality. Therefore, Rabbit’s rise to the top of the social stratification in Detroit and globally today is purely due to his own individual effort of his determination to make an intra-generational change of his position within society.
Based on the success that Rabbit has achieved in his social mobility and stratification within the social system of Detroit, he is living proof of why meritocracy is a highly desirable feature of society. Meritocracy requires of individuals to depend on their own effort in order to gain success in their social mobility and movement in terms of vertical stratification. Meritocracy reflects on the similar ideology of competitive individualism that further supports individual effort. The cultural belief is that “The way to be successful is to work hard, strive toward goals, and compete well against others” (Newman 2005, p.376). An increase in the meritocratic attitudes of people can improve the overall quality of the society that people live in because it enhances social mobility and vertical movement in social stratification. This allows for the reputation and conditions of the sociological environment to blossom due to meritocracy as a feature present in society.
Sociologists over the past century have agreed that social mobility is better explained by social factors than individual effort. Such as “..class differences in birthrates have facilitated social mobility” and the birth of industrialisation creating more employment (McIntyre, 2006). However, the points that McIntyre have raised here are not factual for all the different social classes that are a “group of people who share a similar economic position in society based on their wealth and income” (Newman 2005, p.376). Social mobility is not facilitated by the birthrates of class differences because regardless of whether you are from the upper or lower social class, your social mobility will still be determined by how hard you work to achieve that social mobility. This can be supported by “Abraham Lincoln and Henry Ford, who rose above terrible conditions to make it to the top” (Newman 2005, p.376). Both individuals may not have necessarily received aid from an upper class family background, but their own individual effort to gain social mobility to the top of the social stratification reinforces the fact that “anybody can be successful if he or she simply has the desire and puts in the necessary effort” (Newman 2005, p.376). Additionally, the birth of industrialisation that created employment also did little to help individuals in raising their social mobility. Such an example is Rabbit, it was only when Rabbit took the initiative to make an effort and break away from a job that was unproductive to the advancement of his social mobility and stratification which really brought him success in the end. Therefore, social mobility in this past century is not better explained by social factors because there is evidence present to prove that it is in fact, untrue.
In conclusion, individual effort is a better determinant of social mobility and stratification than social factors in a competitive social system because it can ensure the meritocratic individual success. This is seen in the character of Rabbit in the film 8 Mile, where he successfully gained social mobility and vertical stratification within Detroit despite the urban decay. His success is a perfect example of why meritocracy is a desirable feature of society because it enables individuals to be socially mobile and work at their full potential. Finally, this proves to show that if you do work hard then you will succeed in the social systems.
Just reading over my essay, and thinking about this statement of 'Work hard and you will succeed', it really made me think about my current situation as a 3rd year planning student and this statement is definitely true! You can definitely feel the step up in work load and the level of expectations from the year before. Time management is essential and you realise that you really need to commit and invest time and effort into doing your assignments and understanding the content. I admit that I seldomly do this, but when I actually do, I find that I achieve better results. So, 'Work hard and you will succeed'?? I THINK SO!!
The film '8 Mile' and the protagonist Eminem is used as a case study for demonstrating whether this merocratic statement is true and is the key to success.
The following essay will argue why the meritocratic statement of “work hard and you will succeed” is in support of individual effort as the best determinant for social mobility and stratification within a competitive social system. Social factors are hard to overcome and change in order for one to gain success in social mobility and to achieve a higher status within the stratification of the social system. Social mobility and vertical stratification within the social system is then more easily gained through ones individual effort and motivation to succeed because the social factors are overcome and set aside when trying to succeed. To clearly demonstrate the relevance of individual effort to gain social mobility, the character Rabbit in the film 8 Mile has shown that his motivation and individual effort to succeed in the rapping industry has enabled him to be socially mobile in the competitive and stratified social system of Detroit. Rabbit’s individual effort to pursue success is further explored to explain why meritocracy is a desirable feature of society given Rabbit’s sociological imagination in Detroit that involved his personal troubles and “the public issues of social structure” (Mills 2003, p.17).
Meritocracy can be defined as “status attained exclusively as a function of actual abilities, performance, achievement, merit or worth” in terms of the socioeconomic status (Kamolnik 2005, p.87). This provides evidence that meritocracy is in direct relevance of individual effort to gain social mobility within a competitive social system. Social mobility is the “movement of people or groups from one class another” (Newman 2006, p.376). However, to become socially mobile in a social system that is highly competitive requires a significant amount of individual effort because this ensures that success can be achieved. Rabbit has precisely shown in 8 Mile that he was able to gain social mobility in Detroit and globally today because of his individual effort to effectively utilise his rapping talent. Therefore, his individual effort was the crucial component to achieving his social mobility within the socially competitive city of Detroit. Set in 1995, Detroit is depicted as a city that is socially disabled due to the lack of enforcement in the presence of street gang violence and the burnt and abandoned buildings. Many would agree that a white American like Rabbit would receive very little support or praise for his rapping talent in a black race dominated genre of music. It was due Rabbit’s individual effort of persisting to showcase his unconventional talent and passion for rap that ultimately led to his social mobility of not only becoming the top rapper in Detroit but also becoming an international rap sensation today known by the name of Eminem. Therefore, Rabbit is a prime example to demonstrate why the social mobility of individuals is best determined by meritocratic individual effort in even the most difficult social systems like Detroit. As Kamolnick (2005, p. 89) has noted, “..work effort in full or part. It is the criterion for linking work-effort to entitlement to valued goods.”
Another aspect of the competitive social system that is best determined by individual effort than social factors is social stratification. Social stratification is “the ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society” (Newman and Harper 2002, p.327). Clearly, those that belong to lower class families are at the bottom of the social stratification and those that belong to higher class families are at the top. Changes to an individual’s position within the stratification can be inter-generational over several lifetimes if you were dependent upon social factors to achieve a vertical movement in the stratification of society. Due to the fact that individuals do not have the ability to change the social factors operating around them, the expectation of reaching the top of the social stratification in an intra-generation is unlikely. It is more reliable to depend on our own individual effort to try and achieve a transition within one generation because individual effort has greater power in defeating the surrounding social factors and overcoming them. Rabbit’s vertical movement within the social stratification of Detroit and America is purely due to his individual effort and not the social factors present which acted as negative forces against him. Rabbit lives in a city that provides little opportunities for success in terms of social mobility and stratification. Elements within Detroit that surround Rabbit are negative social factors that do little to enhance his position within the social stratification and the overall functioning of his mentality. Therefore, Rabbit’s rise to the top of the social stratification in Detroit and globally today is purely due to his own individual effort of his determination to make an intra-generational change of his position within society.
Based on the success that Rabbit has achieved in his social mobility and stratification within the social system of Detroit, he is living proof of why meritocracy is a highly desirable feature of society. Meritocracy requires of individuals to depend on their own effort in order to gain success in their social mobility and movement in terms of vertical stratification. Meritocracy reflects on the similar ideology of competitive individualism that further supports individual effort. The cultural belief is that “The way to be successful is to work hard, strive toward goals, and compete well against others” (Newman 2005, p.376). An increase in the meritocratic attitudes of people can improve the overall quality of the society that people live in because it enhances social mobility and vertical movement in social stratification. This allows for the reputation and conditions of the sociological environment to blossom due to meritocracy as a feature present in society.
Sociologists over the past century have agreed that social mobility is better explained by social factors than individual effort. Such as “..class differences in birthrates have facilitated social mobility” and the birth of industrialisation creating more employment (McIntyre, 2006). However, the points that McIntyre have raised here are not factual for all the different social classes that are a “group of people who share a similar economic position in society based on their wealth and income” (Newman 2005, p.376). Social mobility is not facilitated by the birthrates of class differences because regardless of whether you are from the upper or lower social class, your social mobility will still be determined by how hard you work to achieve that social mobility. This can be supported by “Abraham Lincoln and Henry Ford, who rose above terrible conditions to make it to the top” (Newman 2005, p.376). Both individuals may not have necessarily received aid from an upper class family background, but their own individual effort to gain social mobility to the top of the social stratification reinforces the fact that “anybody can be successful if he or she simply has the desire and puts in the necessary effort” (Newman 2005, p.376). Additionally, the birth of industrialisation that created employment also did little to help individuals in raising their social mobility. Such an example is Rabbit, it was only when Rabbit took the initiative to make an effort and break away from a job that was unproductive to the advancement of his social mobility and stratification which really brought him success in the end. Therefore, social mobility in this past century is not better explained by social factors because there is evidence present to prove that it is in fact, untrue.
In conclusion, individual effort is a better determinant of social mobility and stratification than social factors in a competitive social system because it can ensure the meritocratic individual success. This is seen in the character of Rabbit in the film 8 Mile, where he successfully gained social mobility and vertical stratification within Detroit despite the urban decay. His success is a perfect example of why meritocracy is a desirable feature of society because it enables individuals to be socially mobile and work at their full potential. Finally, this proves to show that if you do work hard then you will succeed in the social systems.
Just reading over my essay, and thinking about this statement of 'Work hard and you will succeed', it really made me think about my current situation as a 3rd year planning student and this statement is definitely true! You can definitely feel the step up in work load and the level of expectations from the year before. Time management is essential and you realise that you really need to commit and invest time and effort into doing your assignments and understanding the content. I admit that I seldomly do this, but when I actually do, I find that I achieve better results. So, 'Work hard and you will succeed'?? I THINK SO!!
No comments:
Post a Comment