Inequality And Class Conflict A Labor Theory Perspective

Inequality and Class Conflict: A Labor Theory Perspective Erich Guetzlaff Daniel Dinnebeil Curtis Jenkins Matt Martinez The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey November 19, 2014 Income inequality has reached a level of instability which has not been seen since the years leading up to the Great Depression. Income inequality refers to the difference of real income received by the varying socio-economic classes within an economy. There is no better example of this then the Great Depression in which greed sent twenty-five percent of the population into unemployment. Inequality.org defines income as â€Å"†¦the revenue streams from wages, salaries, interest on a savings account, dividends from shares of stock, rent, and profits from selling something for more than you paid for it.† As indicated in Figure 1 and discussed by Marcie Gardner and David Abraham in â€Å"Income Inequality†, the median U.S. household income in 2012 totaled $51,017. It wasn’t until The Great Recession (2007-2009) that the economy saw similar inequality as depicted during The Great Depression. Incomes were hit hard across the board. Median household income declin ed 8.1 percent between 2007 and 2012 (See Appendix A – Figure 1). In relation to economic recovery, after the Great Depression, between the end of World War II and the late 1970s, income equality in the United States was becoming more stable. To elaborate briefly, incomes at the bottom were rising faster than those at the top. SinceShow MoreRelatedConflict Theory1217 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Conflict Theory, society is: †¢ A struggle for dominance among competing social groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc.). When conflict theorists look at society, they see the social domination of subordinate groups through the power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups. 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