I have been busy for the better part of the last two weeks what with a one week vacation to kerala and some work!. The vacation was very interesting and i probably will write something about it soon (IF i dont get lazy again!)
anyway the last few days i have been following this series in New York Times and i thought i would share it
Class Matters
basically, this series is an exploration into the role that "class" plays in today's life in the USA. It shows (though occasionally unconvincingly)that the class difference has widened today in the US as compared to the second half of the last centuary.
A very interesting set of articles. I wish some newspaper in India would do something similar!(Hindu, Express..are u guys listening??). My first guess would be that there are a lot of parallels with the indian society as well. Ability to reach prestigious institutions and study prestigious courses seems to define the career path of most youngsters today in India. And ofcourse the upper middle class (and higher classes) have an advantage in this situtation. so it could be that the class divide is increasing in India as well
cheers
anish
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4 comments:
Hey ! me too went to Gerala last week.
The class divide alway existed and has Economists worried since it is widening further. I mean the educated are reproducing less than the less educated or the illeterates thereby increasing the quantity and quality component of the demographic divide.
ya you're right. The class divide is increasing in India for sure. A very interesting blog, by the way
I really don't know whether this divide is getting bigger. Even the yardstick that one used a century back may not be relevant today. So, how accurate are the assessments?
One thing I agree is that there is a difference. That difference has been there, and will be there. I don't think there can ever be a classless society (are we getting into a very political realm?)
The differences are an innate aspect of the plurality of a society. If the differences aren't there, there is no society either.
Enjoyed going thru your blog.
@silverine. I wasnt really saying that class divide is increasing. Infact i am even of the opinion that the divide is shrinking atleast in india. but ur idea about the educated reproducing less as a contributing factor to the increase is quite interesting :). still awaiting ur gerala blog!
@pradeep. Yep, i believe that the yard sticks have to be changed; In india, the earlier divide was probably based on caste. I will venture out to say that the divide today is more due to varied "access to education" among different secions of society.
I am not for a classless world (my communist days are history!) but i would like a world which has "equality of opportunity" in it. This will lead to a world with social mobility (from lower to upper and vice versa). Everyone should be given a chance but nobody should be mollycoddled. Thats my idea of an equal world. To achieve it, society will have to make sure that descendants are not able to leave off the inheritance of their much-more dilligent ancestors. But can we really do it i dont know. Thankx for visiting.
@praveen. Thankx for dropping by. i enjoyed ur music review of the new hariharan movie. will definitely try to get my hans on the music
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