Underclass: Definition
As destructive as natural disasters might be, their outcomes may point to the social issues that used to be passed unnoticed. A detailed overview of the effects that Hurricane Katrina had on the lives of the U.S. society showed that there was a social stratum that was undefined previously, and that was largely affected by a variety of social, economic, and financial factors. The social tier mentioned above was later on identified as the underclass, yet the current definition of the social stratum in question could use a lot of improvement.
Claiming that the representatives of the underclass are the same as the poor would be quite a stretch. Although the fact that most of the underclass members live under the poverty threshold is admittedly true, there is a fine line between the two notions. Poor people may reside in any area of the state and are incapable of improving their financial and economic status for a number of reasons. The members of the underclass, in their turn, suffer mainly because of their location – living in remote areas, they are physically incapable of exploring the opportunities that other representatives of the American society have. While legally entitled to the same number of privileges as the rest of the population, underclass citizens are unable to make efficient use of the opportunities that they technically have. Therefore, the concept under analysis can be defined as part of the society living in harsh economic and financial conditions because of their location.
The existence of an underclass is a challenge to the social policing as the factors that determine people’s belonging to the underclass are intrinsic. In other words, people are born as underclass members, and they have to fight to break free of it. Providing the residents of remote areas with multiple opportunities as far as education, jobs, and especially communication are concerned is the first step toward addressing the problem.
Indicators and Evidence
From Murray’s perspective, there are five key indicators of the underclass; these are the criminality rates, the labor force dropouts, trends in illegitimacy, poverty rates, and substance abuse. Furthermore, the author makes it quite clear that the members of modern society make a crucial mistake by ignoring the issue of the underclass and developing the tendency to isolate themselves from the identified members of the population. Furthermore, concerned parents tend to prevent their children from associating with the members of the underclass society. As a result, the two social groups become increasingly distanced from each other. The process observed in modern society is likely to lead to developing a lack of understanding of the underclass-related problems and concerns. As a result, the needs of the target members of the population are likely to be ignored by the U.S. citizens and the state authorities alike (Souryal 18).
It seems that Murray has a point when asserting that the issues related to the underclass problems are underrated heavily in contemporary society. Indeed, people living in remote areas do not have access to some of the basic elements of modern life, which are typically viewed as an integral part of existence. Finally, the issue regarding the communication process needs to be brought up. In light of the fact that providing an online connection to the members of remote areas is technically challenging, a number of the people defined as the underclass members are unable to communicate with the rest of the U.S. citizens, let alone the world community. As a result, a range of the issues that they face are overlooked and passed unnoticed.
Addressing the problem mentioned above is quite complicated, yet working on the development of the required technological advances will contribute to the solution of the problem. In the meantime, one will have to build awareness about the problem of the underclass society and call people to action to improve the target audience’s quality of life and provide them with the opportunities that they are entitled to as the citizens of the USA.
Works Cited
Souryal, Sam. Ethics in Criminal Justice: In Search of the Truth. 6th ed. New York, NY: Routledge, 2014. Print.