The Problem Of Social Class - 1189 Words

Running Head: Misfortune of the Unfortunate Hurricane Katrina and the Misfortune of the Unfortunate Ibrahim Farag University of Louisville Inequality has been a topic of discussion in the United States—as well as the vast majority of the world—for a significant period of time now. While there is no denying that inequality exists, I believe that it has become assumed to be the underlying problem in a lot of cases where it doesn’t necessarily apply. There are a number of problems in society that can’t be fixed because the solution is designed around the idea that inequality is the issue, and if people were to identify the true underlying problem in a lot of cases: social class, then we can concoct a solution to address the†¦show more content†¦Reed doesn’t completely dismiss the significant role that race plays in shaping the economic and social hierarchy in New Orleans; ultimately class is the more effective characteristic however, in predicating who was capable of evacuating the city prior to the hurricanes arrival, who was capable of surviving the hurricane itself/remained in shelters elsewhere, whose interests will be taken into account regarding the cities reconstruction, and who will be capable of returning to New Orleans. (Reed 2006) Essentially the real reason people stayed in New Orleans as opposed to evacuating, wasn’t because they chose to do so, but because they didn’t have the means to. Reed clearly emphasizes that in New Orleans, there is clearly â€Å"no lack of racial inequality, or frankly racist ideology† (Reed 2006). However, the reason racism was so dramatically deemed the factor responsible for the inequality and injustice, is because â€Å"in the contemporary United States race is the most familiar language of inequality and injustice† (Reed 2006). Meaning race was the easy choice to explain what happened is because in modern U.S. we are used to race being the predominant source of inequality and injustice. Reed believes that the race critique doesn’t explain the deep