American Reflections

Final thoughts on America, postponed from a few posts back. Visiting San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, what struck me most forcibly was the number of people living on the street and begging. Now of course, sociologists have to be wary of generalizing from specific examples, so I’ll tread carefully here. Indeed, someone my wife spoke to did say that SF was a bit of a hotspot for these particular social problems. My experience though was that it reminded me of images I’ve seen of third world countries. What explanations can sociologists offer for these patterns of inequality? Nothing too surprising really - and you don’t have to be a Marxist of any sort - to see the levels of inequality as something which rapid economic expansion in capitalist societies frequently leads to. And especially so in areas where political views and history mitigate against even mildly efficient welfare services. The US is a land of contradictions, and as I said before, yes, you really can have anything you want. As long as you can pay for it.

But it was a great experience to visit the US. If you get the chance, go.