Chapters 11 and 12 of the Spirit level conclude part II which focuses on the costs of inequality. Not surprisingly the authors argue a a correlation between imprisonment and inequality. Their research extends from the prisons themselves to the public opinion about prisons.
1. Criminologists, Blumstein and Beck have examined the growth of US prison populations. Only 12 percent of the growth in state prisoners between 1980 and 1996 could be put down to increases in criminal offending…The other 88 percent of increased imprisonment was due to the increasing likelihood that convicted criminals were sent to prison rather than being given non-custodial sentences. (147)
2. More unequal states are likely to retain the death penalty.
3. Prisoner treatment is more human in countries with greater equality. In the Netherlands, a grouop of lawyers, criminologists and psychiatrists came together to influence the prison system and were committed that offenders must be treated as fellow human beings who are capable of responding to insights and treatments. (151). The communal and optimistic prisons of Japan are compared to the supermax prisons of the US where criminals are put in isolation, “which has been condemned by the United Nations Committee on Torture.” (152)
4. Imprisonment in unequal countries was often driven by a “growing fear of crime and a loss of confidence in the criminal justice system which made the general public more favorable toward harsh criminal justice policies.” (156)
When in Matthew 25:31-46, God’s people are lauded for their attention to the hungry, thirsty, lonely, naked, sick and imprisoned, sure the church has a responsibility to not just visit but to consider how the prison population accumulates and how we participate in the public attitude about prisoners, punishment,sentencing and a return to society. Wilkinson and Pickett give us clues for our work and ministry.
In Chapter 12, the authors argue that income inequality tends to yeild societies with restricted social mobility. Interesting facts include:
1. Between 1950 and 1980 – social mobility declined rapidly as income differences widened dramatically.
2. Education, often understood as primary means to social mobility, was allocated for more generously (97.8%) out of public funds in more equal countries. In more unequal countries like the United States, the allocation was closer to (68.2%).
3. Since the 1970s inequality has increased in the USA. Geographical segregation of the rich and poor has also been on the rise. Paul Jargowsky cites the US Census data showing that the concentration of poverty increased between 1970-1990.
How do unequal societies , characterized by geographic segregation of classes and lower social mobility reinforce these trends? The authors cite the “downward social prejudice” whereby working class people “view their failures to get on in the world as a result of their own inadequacies, resulting in feelings of hostility, resentment and shame.” (165). In this way, snobbery is cited as a method for restraining people’s opportunity and well-being. The ripple effect of this may have profound impact upon a society.
As these downward prejudices increase, individuals who live on the lower rungs of the social ladder displace their aggression to individuals who are yet of even lower status. “When people react to a provocation from someone with higher status by redictring their aggression to someone of lower status psychologists label it displaced aggression(166). In the animal kingdoms, displaced aggression is known as the bicycling reaction. “…the image being conjured up is of someone on a racing bicycle, bowing to their superiors, while kicking down on those beneath.” (168).
As we pastors study the stories of healing within the New Testament gospels, many of us are aware of that in the ancient world the individual’s human body was symbolic of the larger social body. Pickett and Wilkerson provide us an application of this theory in their research. Citing research in the areas of heart disease, low birth weight and schizophrenia, the authors suggest that intense preoccupation with dominance and social rigidity in unequal socieites may take a great toll on physical health of individuals who choose to strive against the pressure in order to have greater social mobility. “…the psychological effects of stigma are sometimes strong enough to override the health benefits of material advantage…”(169).
Surely the church as an institution known for its class distinctions must reconcile itself to God by diminishing our own culture of inequality (whispers about flip flops and shorts as sanctuary attire) in order to provide a healthier environment in which our parishioners can receive and respond to God’s call upon their lives.
Read Full Post »
A Call to worship and a prayer of praise for this Sunday. I love how prayers of praise can be easily adapted to become a meaningful prayer of confession ….
Leslie's Theology 