Analysis of the Virginia Declaration, the UN Universal Human Rights - Essay Example

?Table of contents Table of contents Introduction 2 Need for wealth equity 2 Global trends in wealth inequality 3 Factors promoting wealth inequality 3 Taxation policies 3 Labor market systems 3 Gender disparities 4 Effects of wealth inequality 4 a)Creation of social classes 4 b)Disintegration of social order 5 c)Access to social services and social amenities 5 d)Low economic development 5 Obstacles to wealth equality 6 Conclusion 6 Introduction The quest for wealth equality can be ranked at the peak of the need for the attainment of a uniform economic growth and the reduction of poverty levels around the world. Biased economic growth has been a common phenomenon in most parts of the world with certain areas, regarded as growth poles, being more developed as others undergo negative economic growth. The term economic or wealth equality espouses among various things, equal distribution of assets, and income levels among individuals or groups of people. Moreover, at a larger dimension, wealth equality also addresses the inequalities between different countries around the globe. The predominance of wealth inequality affects different socioeconomic and cultural development among various societies globally. The paper will also look at the genesis of the quest for economic equality, the state of the whole matter and the effects of the same in the attainment of equitable economic growth. This is done in line with an in-depth analysis of the Virginia Declaration, the UN universal human rights and the Bill of rights among other related sources. Need for wealth equity The need to pursue economic equality among individuals and between different countries of the world arose upon the realization of the exploitative nature of humans by their fellow likes. This has been because of the ever-escalating gap between the bourgeoisies and lower class people in the society (Wilkinson and Pickett). In a bid to minimize this gap, there arose a quest for wealth harmonization between individuals and countries hence the origin of the appeal for equitable distribution of wealth for attaining a uniform economic growth across the globe. Much effort has been invested in this quest although always met with a lot of resistance from the high class property owners. In some instances, the appeal has minimally succeeded, for instance, in Russia and Switzerland. Global trends in wealth inequality The recent state of equality with regard to wealth distribution and ownership between different parties in the world has raised eyebrows as the gap between the poor and the rich continue to widen across the board. The rich still continue to earn more as the poor continue receiving diminishing wages in the world economic market. This is the state of the matter in most European countries with the exception of France, Japan and Spain with Israel, Turkey and United States mostly trapped within the vicious circle of an increasing gap between the poor and the rich. On a broader dimension, economic inequality has been majorly experienced in the less developed regions of the world such as the Indian subcontinent as well as in the sub-Saharan Africa. Factors promoting wealth inequality Taxation policies According to UniversityWorldNet, one of the most contributing factors to economic inequality and unequal wealth distribution around the globe is the trend and the nature of taxation in many countries that has not favored development in these regions. A progressive tax system has been adopted by most countries whereby the tax rates progressively increase as the tax base increases in amount i.e. as more money circulates in a country. A sharp economic growth often leads into an equal spread of resources within the entire population. Economists have reasoned that the tax trends in the world after the Second World War has been the major contributing factor for the increasing inequality gap between the rich and the poor countries around the globe as well as between the individual members of a state. Labor market systems Another factor that has hindered the achievement of equality in the distribution and ownership of wealth as argued out by Wilkinson and Pickett is evidenced in the labor market whereby the modern market economies determines the wages earned by those employed in the market. This has set about irrationality in the realms of supply and demand for the different job opportunities available in the market. For instance in cases where skills are required for a particular job in a purely capitalist market, the price of the skill will be determined by its supply and demand in the labor market. Those employers who are not able to pay more for a particular skill will find their businesses diminishing because of employees quitting their companies in search of higher pay in organizations that are more lucrative. The small businesses that cannot afford paying higher wages to their employees therefore find themselves trapped at the brink of collapse as the highly productive organizations continue flourishing in the market. This has greatly contributed in widening the gap between the poor and the rich creating social classes based on income earned. Gender disparities Moreover, economic inequality has escalated through the rights endowed on different gender to acquire education. It is true that those that are highly skilled in the labor market, normally are the highly educated ones, and have higher chances of earning higher wages in the market as compared to those with fewer skills. The female gender has been the least privileged in this line. A low number of female genders have been registered in the courses that lead to high-income wages most of which are more risky. This has widened the income gap between the two genders around the globe. While the Virginia declaration stated that “all men were created equal by their creator and that all have certain rights which cannot be taken away from them, among them the right to sort for happiness” (Severine and Shahani). On the contrary, it is evident that not all men are the same with regard to the amount of wealth owned by an individual or state when compared. The high-income earning families have higher access to better education for their children and therefore have their children landing in high paying jobs as compared to lower income earners who have slimmer chances of attaining the necessary levels of qualifications required of them to compete fairly in the labor market. The high-income generations therefore live happily as lower income ones continue to languish under the looming threat of poverty. Effects of wealth inequality a) Creation of social classes The effects of the inequality in the distribution and ownership of wealth are numerous and far reaching in the political and the socioeconomic spheres. The Virginia Declaration further reaffirms that, “All people around the world have the right to choose a better government that can exercise fair and just rule” (Severine and Shahani). However, plutocracy has been evidenced in most countries of the world whereby, the rich and the wealthy have continued to influence the governments’ operations from their home backyards. In such countries therefore, there has always existed unequal participation in the decision making process whereby the rich have a louder voice compared to the poor. The bill of rights strongly brings out the freedom of expression among individuals, “that each person has the right to be heard everywhere without being incriminated.” (Richard). The expression has however been disapproved due to the creation of social classes based on one's wealth position whereby the rich and more influential persons are involved in the decision making process as the poor are made the subjects for the rules made unknowingly to them. b) Disintegration of social order The increasing inequality in wealth distribution has also been a major contributor to the rise in crimes in various parts of the world. Most scholars, involved in studying the relationship between wealth distribution and crime rates have always focused on homicide. A significant proportion of these studies point out those cases of violence are higher in societies with bigger differences between the rich and the poor. Economic differences are therefore found to be significantly contributing to the increasing homicide despite the efforts to control it. The correlation that has been made in most countries using the most recent data is a clear indication that the findings are factual and more robust. c) Access to social services and social amenities Economic inequality is also of major concern in the humans’ ability to access better health and housing. This is clearly demonstrated in most of the developing countries whereby there exists a clear boundary in the living conditions among the poor and the rich (Richard). Higher income earners have the ability to access better housing since they have the funds, acquire the best medical attention in the best hospitals around the world hence are entitled to better living standards as compared to the poor majority. The condition is majorly evidenced in most of the African countries and in the Indian subcontinent where the rich occupy posh flats while the poor are congested in low class slum areas with poor quality housing, roads, and health facilities. The life expectancy among these different classes of people is also not the same as the rich have a higher life expectancy as compared to the poor who are more vulnerable to certain environmental, economic and social factors further endangering their lives hence lowering their life expectancy. d) Low economic development Studies on the link between economic growth and the inequality gap have hinted that income inequality is retrogressive in the achievement of economic growth as it lowers the motivation to work and to invest (David). Some scholars assert that high rates of inequality can interfere with the plans for long term economic growth as it amplifies the possibilities for financial predicament, lower investment and making it hard for governments to make tough choices when faced with tough times, for instance raising tolls or administering budget cuts in order to minimize debts. Obstacles to wealth equality However, the ongoing quest for economic equality is still far from being achieved given the recent debates on the same matter. Various scholars have argued that equality of any nature cannot be achieved in any ideal society, as it is anti-development. According to those who support the school of thought asserting the impossibility of achieving a balanced economic growth, this situation deprives a country of workers since all people are placed at the same economic level and each becomes a potential employer of the other. Besides, other people have also argued that equality kills every aspect of cultural divide favoring only the dominant monopolizing groups of certain powerful sects; as a result, the ethnic and social divisions will no longer be cherished as before. All these obstacles among others have been the major hindrances to the attainment of equality even in the economic dimension and the effects of these are far reaching in the social and economic spheres as discussed in this paper. Conclusion To this end, it is apparent that, while different strategies have been put in place to address economic equality as captured in the Universal Human Rights Declaration, the Virginia Declaration, the conventions, bills and treaties; these however, have been met with a lot of resistance from the citizens themselves bringing the whole process to a halt. Nevertheless, as continued effort is being mounted on the fight against unequal distribution of wealth, some hope can still be pegged on the possibility of achieving this in the future. It is argued that such an arrangement will address many disparities existing between the poor and the rich shall be in order to come up with the middle ground in the achievement of the goal of economic equality thus reducing vulnerability and deprived living conditions of the poor. This can only be achieved alongside the achievement of the other equalities such as wage equality, marriage equality, gender equality among others that operate in line with the attainment of economic equality. Works cited David, T Rhodda. Rich Man, Poor Renter. A study of the relationship between the income distribution and the low cost rental housing . New York: Havard University Press, 1994.Print Richard, G. The impact of Inequality- How to make sick societies healthier. New York: The New Press, 2009.Print Severine, Deneulin and Lila Shahani. An introduction to Human development and Capability Approach. Sterling: Earthscan, 2009.Print University WorldNet, Princeton. "Progressive Tax." Tax Increase as the Amount of the Taxable Base increases (2010): 247. Wilkinson, Richard and Pickett, Kate. "Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better." The Spirit Level 9.6 (2009): 352. Read More