The Beauty of CSS Design
Anti-Class
The working class and poor are oppressed in the hierarchical polarization paradigm because they are viewed as being less intelligent and less hardworking. American society’s deep rooted notions of individualism contribute to the portrayal of poverty as the victim’s fault. In reality, poverty is a social problem that is the product of capitalism and its gross inequality in the distribution of wealth.
One way to value the devalued in the anti-class movement is for workers to join together and form unions. When workers bond together to form unions, they remind everyone that they are worthy and that their work is valuable, too. They stand together to fight for respect in terms of living wages, better working conditions, and steady employment. One of the largest and most important American labor organizations include United Mine Workers that was founded in 1890 and Knights of Labor in 1869. These organizations were built on ideologies that support safe working conditions and salaries commensurate with the dangerous work conditions.
Although this transformative process realizes workers’ values, unions can still fall prey to ignoring the differences among the workers, including gender, racial-ethnicity, and sexuality. One of the biggest problems within unions is the lack of power held by women. Historically, men in control of unions have discriminated against women. It is important not to devalue another group, such as women, when attempting to value the working class and poor.
Labor unions are just one example of valuing the devalued. An all encompassing approach to valuing the poor and working classes would be to take steps to alleviate poverty. Such reforms would include: a livable minimum wage, guaranteed health care, child care, and an increase in food stamps. Expanding social programs would show that, as a society, we value the poor and working classes, and we do not put the blame on them for their situations.