The Enduring Issue of Inequity Throughout History

Introduction

As humans on this earth, we often ponder how we got to where we are now, what assisted in the development of mankind, and what events lead up to the point in life that we are currently in. Though there isn’t a definitive answer to this question, it is known that enduring issues have aided in all of these aspects. Enduring issues have been present all throughout time and have been able to prolong the solidity of numerous amount of civilizations in history. Inequity, which is the lack of justice or fairness among a group of people, is one enduring issue that has influenced a vast amount of societies and has made our world what it is today. Given social class, gender roles, feudalism, the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and the Caste System, it is obvious that inequity has violated human rights, challenged the preservation of societies, and abundantly impacted a majority of people among many points in history. Though inequity has impacted many people in history, it has been able to endure across time and remains a common hindrance today as well.

Inequity as an enduring issue

Inequity has been able to exceedingly affect individuals all throughout history. An example of this includes feudalism. Feudalism, used by the Europeans during the Early Middle Ages, was a dominant social system that incorporated legal and military customs as well. Predominantly defined, feudalism was a system that structured society and enabled the reinforcement of correlations by the acquiring of land in exchange for service and labor. The people of the lower classes, such as peasants and serfs, worked for the people of the higher classes in exchange for security and land. Inequity is portrayed through the feudal system because people of the lower classes had fewer rights than those at the top of society. People located at the top of the hierarchical scale began to, “expand the territory subject to [the kings and emperors] and intensified their control over the [serfs and peasants]. . . in the absence of forceful kings and emperors”. What is endorsed by this quotation is that after the fall of the Roman Empire, the feudal system emerged as a way to fix society after the collapse. Kings gave land to the nobles, the nobles gave land to lords, and the lords had serfs and peasants work on these lands in exchange for protection and security. The quote also exhibits that as the lords obtained this land, they began to use this new sense of dominance and power to their advantage by having peasants and serfs work on their land. Serfs had no say in this system because they needed the protection and land they were offered in exchange for their labor in order to survive. Though feudalism isn’t as harsh as those of other civilizations due to the lower class having more rights and being offered security and land, there was still a sense of inequality in this social system. The feudal system relied on gaining status through land ownership and power, rather than being proficient and worthy for the actual position. Because feudalism granted an unbalanced amount of rights in society, the people of the lower class were greatly affected. In addition to feudalism affecting many people, the Holocaust also had affected many people. The Holocaust can be defined as the methodical and systematic persecution and mass murder of six million European Jews, which was two-thirds of its population. This ongoing series of killings can be portrayed as the enduring issue of inequity due to the fact that six million innocent Jewish civilians were killed for being themselves and believing in what they believed in. It is said that Adolf Hitler, the notorious ruler of the attacks, saw, “Jews as an evil race struggling for world domination . . . Hitler viewed Jews as racial polluters, cancer on German society”. This quote conveys how Hitler saw the Jews as an obstacle, worthy only of suppression and obliteration. Since he believed in such things, he lead the Nazis and killed six million Jews in concentration camps, pogroms, ghettos, and more. His actions were driven by his racist beliefs and unfortunately, lead to the deaths of many. Because of this, it is obvious that the Holocaust has affected many people. Along with Feudalism and the Holocaust, gender roles in the Song Dynasty in China also portrayed the enduring issue of inequity and has affected many women. From the Pre-Qin period through the Song Dynasty, there was patriarchy present in society. During this time, men had complete dominance over women. It was a woman's duty to serve and be subordinate to men. As there was an increasing amount of Confucian ideology, the belief of the oppression of women became more recognized and reinforced in society. It is said that, “The Nujie reveals a vision of the good life, a life of virtue manifested in the daily practice of gentleness, modesty, purity, industry, patient endurance, and service to husband and family. Such traits are endorsed by the Confucian ethical system, which distinguished female virtues from male virtues”. This quotation expresses the lack of rights women had in society and describes how they were to be separated from men. Created from the Confucian ethical system, women were forced to live with rules that obstructed their freedom and shaped their unfair way of life. Confucian ideologies encouraged the separation between men and women and created guidelines with many restrictions for life for women. It is obvious that women were affected greatly by the enduring issue of inequity due to the fact they were restricted from owning of property, upholding bureaucratic positions in government, and were subjected to indoor house chores while their sons and husbands obtained dominant positions in society as well.

The enduring issue of inequity still remains an issue today. Derived from Hinduism belief, the caste system is an ongoing structural system that is used in society and is still used today as well. The origin of this societal system dates back all the way to around 1500 BC. Based on the political cartoon, “Cartoon: Heng on India's Caste System”, it is evident that it is clearly trying to critique the flaws of India’s caste system. The Caste System affects many people considering it promotes a lack of social mobility and gives an unbalanced distribution of rights in society. In the picture, the prime minister of India is attempting to fight with the shifting Caste System. In using the quote, “It’s untouchable,” it is both able to reference the lower class, known as the untouchables, and describe how the problem of the Caste System is unable to be fixed. It seems as if they are fearful or reluctant of banning the Caste System considering it has been able to stabilize society for a long time. Due to the caste system enduring across time and still remains an issue today, it is obvious that inequity has continued to be an issue. Furthermore, gender inequity is another problem our world struggles with today as well. Based on the “Global Gender Gap by Country” map, it is noticeable how much gender inequity is present all around the world. Gender equality has been an issue all throughout time as well. Inequity can be represented in gender inequality creates a lack of fairness towards women in particular. The map shows how gender gaps and the dominance of men are present in many places around the world. Because the map shows how the enduring issue of inequity is present today and where it is present in the world, it has continued to be an issue. Finally, the Armenian Genocide supports the continuation of inequity as well. The Armenian Genocide was a genocide caused by the Ottoman Empire. Driven by their desire to eradicate Armenians, they killed roughly 1.5 million Armenians. According to the primary source on a report of the persecution of Armenians, it is said that there was a forced exile of the remaining Armenians from Aintab and Marash on November 15, 1922. Since the Armenians were primarily Christians in a dominant Islamic-based region near the Middle East, the leader of the Ottoman Empire ordered an onslaught of mass killing sprees against them. Due to this happening fairly recently, the continuation of inequity can be supported.

Conclusion

Inequity, though inducing an unbalanced sense of rights towards specific groups of people, has been able to shape our world into what it is today. Inequity has also been able to carry a significant amount of importance. Without this issue, our world would not have developed as it did now. Given Feudalism, the Holocaust, and patriarchy in the Song Dynasty, the fact that this enduring issue has affected many people can be supported. Also, given the Caste System, gender inequality, and the Armenian Genocide, it is obvious that this enduring issue has continued to be an issue over time.