Seeing Beyond the Black and White of Life Decisions 

Word Count: 757

Have you ever thought of how life would be if everyone had the same salary,

regardless of their job or how many people composed a household? Have you ever

thought of how the world would look if the world did not run through capitalistic means?

These are some of the questions that run through my mind when I think about the moral

dilemma and paradox caused by social strata. According to Brazalote, T. (tri-x lecture,

November 17, 2022), although the thought of absolute economic equality between

everyone seems like a plausible solution to the poverty infecting each nation, this

actually limits a country’s opportunity and development in every aspect and field (i.e.,

technology, communication, economy, science, etc.). This is why capitalism is deeply

ingrained in our society and cannot be easily removed.  

Money, education, and career are among the essential things our lives revolve

around. Why? Because these three things determine our lifestyle, development, and

intrapersonal relationships that we will build in the future. The combination of these

three things is what we call socioeconomic status or social classes, which can be

considered as the categorization or grouping of households or individuals according to

the measurement of specific economic factors. This includes their financial status,

educational attainment, career type, and even lifestyle (American Psychological

Association, 2022). Although the idea of socioeconomic status also seems like an

uplifting social construct, the birth of this capitalistic mindset is causing moral dilemmas

in our society. This is because there are cases when one’s social standing causes an

individual’s moral actions to be heavily challenged by their situation.  

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 From my perspective, socioeconomic status has the ability to put one’s morality

on a tightrope, depending on their situation. For example, a poor person might resort to

stealing, prostitution, or selling illegal products – actions that seem immoral to the

general public – out of desperation to feed his family. But although these instances

occur, some people do not resort to such actions, just like some homeless people and

other less fortunate families. Many articles prove that not all homeless or poor

individuals resort to criminal acts in order to meet their needs. Some others try to sell

candies, clean the streets or beg for money on the roads (Singson, 2020; Gulferica,

2020; CNN, 2022). Think about it, even today, while the world is experiencing a

substantial economic crisis due to the war between Ukraine and Russia alongside the

ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, not all of us are resorting to cheating or living life by

immoral means (Stackpole, 2022; Pak et al., 2020). This shows that socioeconomic

status can indeed impede one’s moral action but only to an extent, as it depends on

different factors. Additionally, people with stronger will have the ability to avoid having

selfish thoughts that may lead them to do a non-moral action.  

Not only the poor can be affected by the weakness of the will. For example, we

also have some politicians or rich people who are used to the privileges of instant

gratification and can be tempted to commit wrongful deeds in order for them to get what

they want in life (Gardner, 2012; Stony Brook University, 2014). These people usually

act on their emotions or satisfy themselves by fulfilling their greed. They do this by

utilizing their money in order for them to manipulate specific outcomes as well. Since

money costs many essential things to humans, this can be used to tempt others into

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doing non-moral actions as well, with or without the knowledge of their action’s

moralness (Prentice, 2022).  

Despite being given the fact that each of us needs money whilst money can lead

people into doing non-moral actions, it is still hard to fully confirm that a person’s

socioeconomic status is a valid excuse to commit non-moral acts. This is because we

also have to understand whether the individual conducting such activities can see the

line between what is right (moral) and wrong (immoral). Can we say that a rich or poor

person is morally culpable for his actions if he is clinically diagnosed with a mental

illness or intellectual deficiencies obstructing his judgment? How about those who lack

proper education and guidance from negligent parents and society due to poverty?

There are many layers to whether the social strata act as a reasonable impediment to a

person’s morality and cannot be simply seen through the extremes or in black and

white. That’s why I believe that it can be one, but only to an extent.