Introduction
Income is the most important determinant of how much money a person has because it is measurable. It is one of the bases of an individual and a household’s quality of life. There is a positive relationship between income and quality of life, which means that the more money a person has, the higher the measures of quality of life. This is because money is the means by which individuals provide for their needs and wants. The determinant of the issue on income equality is the corresponding equality in the opportunity provided to individuals to earn the amount of money they desire. Settling the issue on equal opportunity to earn money involves the consideration of the differing views and synthesizing the different points to derive a conclusion.
Views on the Issue
There are two perspectives on the equality of opportunities to earn money. First, the naturalist perspective propounds that all people have equal opportunities because of common natural characteristics and inclinations. Thomas Hobbs’ Leviathan shows that the fear of death and the desire to survive characterize all men so that when faced with impending death, man naturally develops the instinct to survive. (Ewin 37) John Locke states that all men are equal and independent in the state of nature (Boucher and Kelly 51). Jean Jacques Rousseau states that in the state of nature, men enjoy equality in the opportunity for survival (Boucher and Kelly 115). Contemporary view on the nature of man shows that every person has equal opportunities to engage in activities to earn money.
Every person has the physical and mental ability to determine moneymaking opportunities and to take advantage of that opportunity. However, this view does not believe the fact that there are physical and mental differences expressed by society’s distinctions of the physically and mentally challenged relative to the general population. There are also differences underlying the issues of gender and racial discrimination. Regardless of these differences, this view proposes that equal opportunities to make money persist because of the basic inclination of man to survive. The drive to survive constitutes the equalizing factor among all people regarding the opportunity to earn money.
However, this perspective looks at the ideal man and does not consider real specific conditions of different people. Income earnings of people exemplify the real situation of people in terms of opportunities to earn money. Current data shows that there is a gap between the rich and poor, which is continuously widening. The aggregate wealth of the top 50 riches individuals in the world exceeds the income received by 416 million poor people. There are 2.5 million people receiving only an income of a day constituting 40 percent of world population and 5 percent of global income while 10 percent of the world’s population receives 54 percent of global income. (Martens 3) In the United States, there is a distinct difference in average income based on race. The average income for whites reached ,964 while the median income for blacks is ,177. (DeNavas-Walt, Cleveland & Webster 3) Thus, the facts show that in actual human experience, there is a difference in the income received by individuals. The difference in income correlates to the factors preventing people from having equal opportunities to own money.
Second, the relativist perspective proposes that there is no equal opportunity to earn money because of the inequality in human relations. Differences in the physical and psychological characteristics of man determine the opportunities open to them. The view originates from developing countries experiencing the difference in the income they earn from other states translating to the differences in income of their respective citizens. The core argument of the relativists is that opportunities are created (Garrison 1), relative to the natural existence based on naturalist perspective, by the innate inequalities in human relations in society.
Social values determine the opportunities open to people to earn money. Traditional perspective allots greater opportunities to men relative to women to study and find high-income jobs. Prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States and many years after that, white people were given greater opportunities to study and work in high-income professional jobs relative to colored people. These inequalities in opportunities are expressed in other relations. In reality, the opportunities to make money depends upon the extent that society permits individuals to take advantage of these opportunities. Regardless of the physical and mental ability of person to determine opportunities and take advantage of these opportunities, social norms may prevent people from earning money equally. There are many people with the physical and psychological ability to go to work but these people are unemployed. There are also people who are willing to work but are terminated due to financial considerations of their firm. These examples show that the opportunity to earn money is not equally present among different people.
Conclusion
People create opportunities to make money but the actualization or realization of opportunities is limited by societal norms because of the inequalities in human relations. The naturalist view that the natural drive of individuals to survive and the physical and mental abilities of people to take advantage of opportunities commonly exist among individuals but cannot be supported by real conditions of different people. The relativist view that people create opportunities but are limited by societal norms captures more actual situations. The inequality in opportunities to earn income is expressed by inequality in income and standard of living among different people.
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