Social Problems In Society Today
Social Problems In Society Today
Social problems can broadly be defined as issues that directly or indirectly affect an individual, groups of individuals, or the entire society in general. These are issues with a very wide scope and are inter-related in many ways. It is therefore imperative to understand the root causes of these social problems before one can make an attempt to address each issue individually. Most of the problems faced by the society today can be attributed to overpopulation, capitalism, the current financial crisis, and other factors that lead to unemployment.
Overpopulation refers to a condition where the number of existing organisms is greater than the carrying capacity of the natural habitat. There has been an unprecedented increase in human population over the last two centuries raising concerns about the ability of the planet to sustain a large number of inhabitants. Overpopulation, especially in the last fifty years, can be attributed to medical and technological advancements that have made it possible for people to live longer. At present the world population is estimated to be over 5.5 billion inhabitants and is expected to reach a peak of 7.8 billion before the year 2050 (Gilland, 2002, p. 48). The rapid growth in human population has subsequently created a myriad of social and environmental problems such as pollution, global warming, competition for scarce resources, increased levels of poverty, rising crime rates in urban areas, and diseases.
The western world is ruled and governed by capitalistic ideologies. One of the major consequences of capitalism is a poor distribution of resources leading to a condition where a few individuals own vast amounts of wealth at the expense of the large majority. Capitalism breeds a few wealthy individuals amid millions of poverty stricken workers. A single person ends up having three quarters of the cake made by concerted efforts of a vast majority of poor people. Capitalism is a major social problem because it goes against the universal right to reap appropriate benefits from one’s toil. Furthermore, capitalism promotes greed which makes a few individuals believe that they deserve more than the rest.
The current global financial crisis that begun in the United States before spreading worldwide is considered as one of the worst economic catastrophes in the financial world since the 1930s Great Depression. The crisis which begun in 2008 adversely affected every sector of world economy leading to a collapse of major financial institutions, a downward spiral of stock markets, an unprecedented decline in consumer wealth, and failure of key businesses in most parts of the world (Coburn, 2011). The real estate market continues to bear the brunt of the current financial crisis through foreclosures and evictions of homeowners from homes they can no longer afford to pay for. Many companies worldwide have had to resort to drastic measures including reducing their labor forces or cutting down on wages. There have also been cutbacks on health insurance and pensions. The end result has been increased levels of poverty and homelessness.
In conclusion, overpopulation, capitalism, and the current financial crisis have created high levels of unemployment. There are more than 200 million unemployed people worldwide at any time, according to ILO estimates (Maynard, 2007). These are people without any means to meet their financial obligations. The end result of unemployment is homelessness, malnutrition, illnesses, mental anguish, and a depressive loss of self esteem. Unemployment has also been linked to rising levels of crime in most urban neighborhoods. Addressing primary causes of unemployment is the first step to solving social problems in society today.
References
Corbun, L. (2011). Wall Street and the financial crisis, anatomy of a financial collapse.Retrieved fromhttp://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/Financial_Crisis/FinancialCrisisReport.pdf
Gilland, B. (2002). World population and food supply can food production keep pace withpopulation growth in the next half-century? Food Policy, 27, 47-63.
Maynard, K. J. (2007). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Basingstoke,Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
