1. "Anyone can succeed in life if they try." Is social mobility a myth or reality in Canada? What factors are most like to aid/hinder mobility?Inequality is the result of a system that ranks people from high to low based on subjective criteria, that is supported by ideology rather than individual capability (Hewitt et al., 2008). The Canadian society is an open system – a society where all citizens are capable of changing their social status ‘if they try’. Generally, social systems rank people in two ways: (1) closed systems and (2) open systems (Myers and Smith, 2009). Closed systems are based on ascribed status. This implies that there is very little room for social mobility, and oppressive social institutions such as caste systems determine what jobs people can perform, what they can wear, and who they can marry. This society, as we know it, does not exist in Canada; rather, our nation possesses an open system, which is based on achieved status, as opposed to ascriptive status.
An open society is often associated with personal achievement, income, occupational prestige, and level of education (Myers and Smith, 2009). In a capitalist society – one that allows free trade – those who work hard in school are almost guaranteed to achieve the highest possible living standards once they have completed their education. The fact that a household producing low annual income may impact a family’s quality of life should not influence a person’s desire to become educated. Although the education system is not free in Canada, students that achieve a high grade-point average in their final year of secondary school often receive free financial support as an incentive to proceed further in their education. Bursaries and scholarships awarded by the government, not to mention student loans, provide hardworking, deserving students the financial means to continue their education, and eventually move up in a status hierarchy – vertical mobility (Hewitt et al., 2008). In a society that emphasizes rank, seniority and land control, a caste system prevents this type of social mobility; instead, there is horizontal mobility, which is movement between positions of the same rank (Hewitt et al., 2008). Consequently, education plays a major role on social mobility. An individual with a higher education has more opportunities to have a better position in the society and a higher status level.
The art of trying, of course, is not an easy task, especially when there are social inequalities and societal pressures. Some of the factors that may hinder one’s mobility include: gender, age, family structure, education, minority status, and location (Hewitt et al., 2008). For instance, regardless of how hard some women work, they are continually paid less than men working the same job, thus leading to feminization of poverty (Hewitt et al., 2008). Those in their late teens or early 20s are more likely to live in poverty than a younger teen starting grade-nine. Moreover, lone-mother headed families have higher poverty rates compared to families with two parents (Hewitt et al., 2008). There is also a significant wage gap between white and non-white individuals, especially those of native descent. Racial and ethnic inequalities is also a reason why some groups have high education and low incomes. Finally, one is more likely to find a job and improve their social status in the city than in rural areas. Overall, social mobility in Canada does exist, especially since people from all over the world are welcomed to fulfill their goals and ‘succeed in life if they try’.
References
Hewitt, W.E., White, J., & Teevan, J.J. (2008). Introduction to Sociology: A Canadian Focus, (9th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Myers, D.G. & Smith, S.M. (2009). Exploring Social Psychology: Canadian Ed. 2. McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Although it is true that those who attend postsecondary education are obliged to pay large sums of money annually, this does not suggest that they are members of the lower class strata. According to Hewitt et al. (2008), people from lower-class backgrounds in Canada are less likely to get a post-secondary education than those of higher-class backgrounds. In other words, people in the lower income strata are underrepresented in Canada’s post-secondary institutions because of unequal educational opportunities, parents’ and children’s perception of education is lacking, and parental encouragement to continue in the educational system is not encourage. Although wealth plays a major role in one’s socioeconomic status, occupation and education also contribute to social class.
Most college and university students give more precedence to their education than to maintaining a part-time job. Thus, they prefer to put work opportunities aside during their studies even though they have the potential to generate a considerable amount of wealth throughout this time period. Some students, however, are capable of doing both, that is, work and study to pay off tuition fees. This suggests that not only do post-secondary students have an education, which contributes to their socioeconomic status, but they have a temporary occupation which produces revenue and wealth – this is not typical of a person who belongs to the lower class strata. In addition, Hewitt et al. (2008) also speculate that 'education is included with the set of socioeconomic status hierarchies' because it is closely linked to the acquisition of income, wealth, and occupational status. This implies that the more effort one puts in their education, the higher their future income will be upon graduation and starting a career.
Many research studies have concluded that students with higher education possess careers with a greater prestige score than a person with lower education. For instance, it will take a student aspiring to become a physician seven years of post-secondary education, whereas a student aspiring to become a high school teacher will take five years. The occupational prestige score of a physician is considerably higher than the prestige score of a teacher, and higher scores often translate to more pay and higher economic class. Furthermore, students with better education are less likely to be unemployed. Recall that members in the lower class strata typically have a sense of insecurity and vulnerability to market forces. They are managers, small business operators, assistants, and minor professionals, as opposed to working in professional careers. As a fourth-year university student, I strongly endorse the idea that working hard in school and achieving goals at a post-secondary level is key to later success and to Canada’s social and economic well-being now and in the future. As such, university and college students should not be considered members of the lower class.
References
Hewitt, W.E., White, J., & Teevan, J.J. (2008). Introduction to Sociology: A Canadian Focus, (9th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.
In your initial post addressing question number one, you mentioned that there are internal factors and external factors that contribute to one’s ultimate success in this country. I totally agree with this simplistic, yet significant remark because surely a lot of it depends on the person’s thrust to succeed and thrive during the difficult times and ultimately better their situation. You also mentioned that external factors, such as one’s economic condition, also have the potential to impede this personal thirst to succeed and move up in society. This is where I have a slight problem with your original statement. Although I am not much of a Will Smith fan, I would like you to recall the movie The Pursuit of Happiness – if you have already seen it, I recommend you rent the movie. It is based on a true story about a struggling salesman who individually pursues his dream, despite all the external pressures and misfortunes such as being evicted out of his apartment, having to take care of his son as a single parent, having no source of personal transportation, and worst of all, being homeless. Since he really wanted to better the situation for him and his son, we worked extremely hard and diligently to learn what was needed to succeed in the business world in order to find a job that would provide enough for both their needs and ultimately increase his societal rank. In the end, he achieves his dream after being recruited onto a business firm in Downtown New York. With this in mind, if I were to represent internal and external forces as a percentile, I would say that 80 percent of our success depends on internal forces, while the remaining 20 depends on external forces.
Response 2I would like to elaborate on your penultimate paragraph when you mention the idea of loans. The difference between a lower class individual and a university student is the fact that lower class individuals are likely to be denied of receiving banks loans, perhaps due to bad credit or lack of work credentials, whereas for college and university students, the Canadian government would gladly lend them the money to pursue their education. While I am not particularly surprised, this societal lopsidedness somewhat worries me. Any individual who has the luxury to borrow money from a bank should automatically be exempt from being considered lower class, especially when some student loans can reach up to $200,000, depending on your situation and education. Consider this, a college or university student living on his/her own could simply apply for a loan and after a few years, apply to a government-based program that reduces debt, and have their hefty loan decimated to a fraction of what it was earlier. A lower class individual who works full-time for a minimum wage, who does not go to school and has a history of bad credit, would never have this same luxury - that is, to have their debts reduced. To jokingly say that students are the poorest people in the country clearly holds no truth, especially if they are a student studying in a Canadian institution.
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