Social Diversity

Sociology as a science is concerned with the study of people as a group. It examines human activities in all of its aspects, from political inclinations to religious believes. There are a number of groups that society is divided into according to interests, earnings, age, sex and other numerous factors. In general, one can split modern society into two groups: minority and dominant. A minority group is a so called subordinate group members of which possess less control and power over their own lives than members of the majority or the dominant groups. Minorities are not simply measured by numbers, but rather by the substance of the majority group against which they are evaluated. For instance, black people in South Africa are obviously not considered minority if simply counted, however in their political power and due to historical circumstances they are thought of as a minority group. Minorities can also be differentiated from the rest of the society as people experiencing social pressure and lessening of their opportunities for health, success and other virtues in comparison with the rest of the society.

Subordinate groups can easily be distinguished by physical qualities as well, such as skin color or language. These can be the most drastic differences setting people apart into a minority group. Also, high in-group marriages and friendships can be an indicator of a minority group. For instance Asian culture representatives are more likely to marry within their own ethnic group than to mix with other nationalities.

Dominant groups are the exact opposite of the minority groups. Dominant or majority groups are those usually in control of the rest of the society. Members of the dominant group exercise more power have wider authority and privileges as compared to the minority group members.

Different groups in societies are always formed due to certain beliefs, ideological inclinations and prejudices of their members. Racism, for instance is to this day one of the strongest belief that leads to prejudged attitude toward people of different racial groups. It implies that based on the fact of belonging to a certain race, a person is more/less intelligent, educated, prone to crime, or any other prejudice that is convenient to a dominant group. Prejudice toward people of certain representative groups leads to discrimination either based on real fact, or more commonly on a mere assumption of that fact. One can notice that society suffers from many forms of racism and prejudices these days, although often it is hard to define and clearly see them. Ideological racism is one of those instances where it is not easy to perceive it, nevertheless it exists. Historically there were a lot of groups and clubs where people gathered according to their ideologies or beliefs they held and lived by those through discriminating others. A bright example of one of those would be Ku Klux Klan or the Nazis whose idea of a perfect world would be extinction of all black and Jewish population in the world. There are still some traces of ideological racism in our institutions and political organizations where one is supposed to think and act in a certain way. The so called institutional racism is also widely present in all countries’ governments and big corporations although no one really likes to recognize it.

Regardless of the problems societies all over the world are facing today it is clear that social diversity is a key driver to development, growth and making the world a better place for everyone. Societies with little diversity are rarely industrially, economically and educationally developed, while countries like America are in continuous development process and struggle for an improved future.