rough draft (added to 2/14/08)

Guido Gonzalez
Cradle to Grave
Rough Draft

Capitalism-Class difference can be credited to Capitalism. This feeling of class difference causes different groups of people to have different types of upbringings, types of homes, types of parents, families, etc. This affects people from infancy to death. This part of environment (especially during infancy) helps shape who we become as people. Teenagers are affected by this as well, but in addition, they are affected by the market aspect of Capitalism. Any fast food restaurant you go to in America, you’ll find that the majority of the staff working there are teenagers. This is because they are easily exploited by big businesses for their labor and are paid very low wages. This effect of capitalism stays with people through their adulthood and somewhat into the elderly stage. Though, elderly people who become retired are less affected by capitalism, they no longer have to work for large companies etc.

Government Policy-Infants don’t really seem to be that much affected by government policy outside of laws prohibiting violence against them. Teenagers are more affected by government policy. They have to go to school otherwise police will escort them home or to school. They are not allowed to drink or do drugs. They are treated differently in law, i.e. if a teenager has committed a crime, they will be tried as a minor. Adults must pay taxes and serve jury duty or there will be consequences to face. There are also government policies such as welfare, health care, etc that help adults who, (for whatever reason) cannot support themselves, survive. Elderly people don’t seem to be as affected by government policies as adults. Since they have social security they don’t have to work for money, and they can pretty much live how they want.

Social Norms-It is socially unacceptable for infants to use “adult” language. It is socially unacceptable in teenage society for “nerds” to ever approach or talk to “jocks” This starts placing them into different social classes. It’s somewhat socially unacceptable for them to be sexually active. It’s socially unacceptable for a teenager to not be going to school, it is part of the social norm that everybody has to go to school because we believe if we don’t go to school, it will make it much more difficult for us to succeed or survive. It is part of the social norm for an adult to have a job. If a person doesn’t have a job, they are considered unproductive, and sometimes even worthless. A social norm (or stereotype?) for elderly people is that they are incapable of doing some things we consider simple. Usually people think they need or deserve help to go up stairs, cross the street, etc. People have to give up their seat to an elder person on buses and subways.

Ideas-It seems to me that elderly people are the least affected by all three categories. This is probably because they have the least use; they can’t really benefit to capitalism after retirement so they are cast aside and no longer really cared about. It’s like saying “oh, do whatever you want, we don’t care, you don’t do anything for us anymore. In this sense human beings are very much like batteries; they are cared about until their energy or usefulness has been completely used up, at which point it no longer becomes consequential what happens to them. This is probably mostly pertaining to capitalism; it is what uses the labor of people to maintain itself, and once the person can no longer provide labor, capitalism can no longer use them.