Equality of opportunity within an economic system is realized when the barriers that obstruct an individual from fulfilling their economic and social potential are dismantled such that the fate of every member of society is determined exclusively by their decisions and preferences. Methods of achieving equality of opportunity target the discriminatory barriers, both legal and prejudicial obstructions, that impact arbitrary groups categorized along racial, class, and gender lines. Members of these groups struggle to overcome barriers that arise from the circumstances of their birth; circumstances that limit their opportunities in life, yet that remain beyond their ability to eliminate. Often, these barriers result from the enhanced opportunities
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Bourgeois equality of opportunity attempts to erase socially constructed barriers to equality that relegate a person to an inferior status which limits opportunity. Cohen distinguishes between formal and informal social barriers that bourgeois equality of opportunity attempts to correct (2009, p. 14). An example of a formal barrier is a law, such as those during apartheid era South Africa, that places restrictions on individuals based solely on their race. An example of an informal barrier is job discrimination against a woman who may be denied opportunities because of sexist misconceptions about ability, despite legal proscriptions against such practices. Bourgeois equality of opportunity increases equality of opportunity by removing legal and prejudicial social barriers but falls short of achieving true …show more content…
Advantages of birth might arise from being born into a wealthy family. Children of the rich are less likely to be required to contribute monetarily to the family, allowing them more free time to devote to preparing for higher education. Children of more wealthy parents have the advantage of securing access to elite schools and the ability to pursue expensive, advanced degrees, resources not available to those with less economic assets. Ultimately, children of the wealthy reap a substantial inheritance, yet another enormous advantage that they can then pass on to the next generation, perpetuating and magnifying inequalities. These advantages are not earned, Cohen maintains, but are byproducts of the circumstance of one’s birth and upbringing (2009, p. 16). Left-liberal equality of opportunity adds a redistributive aspect that bourgeois equality of opportunity lacks, and attempts to remove advantages of birth. Ideally, left-liberal equality of opportunity produces a social system where one’s success is determined solely by one’s inherent talent and personal choices, not by any advantage conferred by unearned social
Bourgeois equality of opportunity attempts to erase socially constructed barriers to equality that relegate a person to an inferior status which limits opportunity. Cohen distinguishes between formal and informal social barriers that bourgeois equality of opportunity attempts to correct (2009, p. 14). An example of a formal barrier is a law, such as those during apartheid era South Africa, that places restrictions on individuals based solely on their race. An example of an informal barrier is job discrimination against a woman who may be denied opportunities because of sexist misconceptions about ability, despite legal proscriptions against such practices. Bourgeois equality of opportunity increases equality of opportunity by removing legal and prejudicial social barriers but falls short of achieving true …show more content…
Advantages of birth might arise from being born into a wealthy family. Children of the rich are less likely to be required to contribute monetarily to the family, allowing them more free time to devote to preparing for higher education. Children of more wealthy parents have the advantage of securing access to elite schools and the ability to pursue expensive, advanced degrees, resources not available to those with less economic assets. Ultimately, children of the wealthy reap a substantial inheritance, yet another enormous advantage that they can then pass on to the next generation, perpetuating and magnifying inequalities. These advantages are not earned, Cohen maintains, but are byproducts of the circumstance of one’s birth and upbringing (2009, p. 16). Left-liberal equality of opportunity adds a redistributive aspect that bourgeois equality of opportunity lacks, and attempts to remove advantages of birth. Ideally, left-liberal equality of opportunity produces a social system where one’s success is determined solely by one’s inherent talent and personal choices, not by any advantage conferred by unearned social