“the willingness to resist authority depends heavily on whether that authority is delivering a stable and secure existence... This is why radical subcultures can be developed in student ghettos, or among communities of the long term unemployed, without ever really threatening to extend beyond them.” Alex Begg, Empowering the Earth, p.63 (great book about psychology and power if you get the chance to read it)
Public housing commission flats, Segregation through bad architecture.
It is for this reason that it is so important to create an integrated and connected community. Society will never be fair and equal for all, but as long as no groups become separated and disconnected from the rest the radical inequalities seen in today’s society will not be able to continue.
This is because inequality and unfairness can only arise when it is not obvious. If someone walks up to a queue and cuts in at the front no one with any desire for justice would let them stay there, but if the queue jumper was to avoid the queue altogether and enter the ticket booth from the rear then none watching would have any knowledge or care of what was going on inside. In the same way if someone living in absolute poverty does so only amongst others in the same situation then they would have little hope in getting the attention or sympathy of others living well off on the other side of town. But put these two groups together and suddenly the inequalities become quite apparent. Whereas some people might be struggling just to feed their family others are spending millions of dollars for a new car. If these people were both living on the same street it would be just as hard for the battler to accept the grotesque affluence of the wealthy as it would be for the affluent to accept the shameful poverty endured by his neighbour. Humans see everything contextually and it is for this reason that is dangerous for different socio-economic groups to become isolated for each other. Where the rich and powerful are surrounded by the rich and powerful, excessive wealth and consumption seems the norm and is accepted as such. Where the poor and impoverished are surrounded by the poor and impoverished they may not feel happy, but there is little they can do if everyone they know is in the same situation and no one can do anything about it.
It is through segregation that inequality breeds.
(This post was originally written in November 2009. Since then I've been on a trip through Eastern Europe where I was shocked by something which I couldn't quite put my finger on until now. Belgrade, Serbia, was where I felt this disturbing feeling the most. What caused it was the fact that on the same street where beggars sold trash they'd obviously found in bins around the city mafia types drove expensive BMWs and Ferraris. The corrupotion in this city was so great, and obvious, that I couldn't believe I was in 21st century Europe. To use my queue alanogy from before, there were queue jumpers happily pushing in infront of others for all to see and no one seemed to be doing anything about it. There seemed to be an obsession with money in Belgrade. Those who had it wanted everyone to know, and those who didn't seemed to be willing to do anything to get it. (I was ripped off multiple times while I was there and when you go out girls come upto thinking that because you're a tourist you must have money.) Of all of the countries I've visited in Europe Serbia was by the far the most disturbing because of this reason. To me it represented the corrupting powers of money.)
A shoeless beggar selling trash in Belgrade. On the same street obnoxiously expensive cars drive by.
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