Poor People Do Not Have Opportunities: A Literature Review on Economic Discrimination and Social Injustice
Overview
This literature review examines scholarly research on economic discrimination and lack of opportunities for impoverished populations. The paper synthesizes works by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Reiman and Leighton, and Laura Smith to argue that systemic injustices, biased legal systems, and social discrimination prevent the poor from accessing equal opportunities.
What this literature review covers
- Introduction: Research problem definition regarding discrimination against the poor in access to opportunities
- World Bank analysis: Historical context of poverty discrimination from Industrial Revolution onwards
- Justice system critique: Discussion of how legal systems favor the wealthy through corruption and unequal protection
- Psychological and social dimensions: Laura Smith's analysis of poverty as psychological experience and social exclusion
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Jiangying Shi
ENGL 102
Date
Poor People Don't Have Opportunities
Literature Review
In this literature review, scholarly works regarding the topic will be evaluated, and concepts discussed. The review includes books, journal articles, and other peer-reviewed sources. It is necessary to gauge and fix where the research problem in question lies. In this case, many studies have been done on this topic. Many scholars wanted to know if the poor are discriminated in the face of any opportunities.
One of the studies was reflected in the speech of the World Bank President, which was titled Rich and Poor: Opportunities and Challenges in an Age of distribution. It was published by the World Bank in 2018 and is still on their website. In that speech, President Jim Yong Kim said that almost everybody in the world was poor before the year 1800. However, the turning point came about during the Industrial Revolution between 1800 and 1820. This is the time that discrimination on the rich and the poor began. Those who were lucky enough to be among the high table members started despising those who were unlucky to get an opportunity to join the high table. The poor were overworked for a little pay in the industries and in the ships transporting goods overseas. People needed to work hard to provide for their needs, something that became the norm to date (Kim 2).