citizenship and social class

Nandi Lewis

POL 166

Professor: Barry Murdaco 

Lehman college 

                                                Reflection Paper

                                    Citizenship and Social Class by T.H Marshall

" And civil rights were indispensable to a competitive market economy. They gave to each man, as part of his individual status, the power to engage as an independent unit in the economic struggle and made it possible to deny to him social protection on the ground that he was equipped with the means to protect himself."

           In the quote above, Marshall explains the meaning of civil rights as being initially individualistic as a means of gain. Civil rights was necessary because it allowed inequality and also gave a legal passage way for people especially upper class to attain things that they wanted with acknowledging that it was not promised of being possessed. Marshall emphasizes clearly that civil rights help the law and degrade social rights in a given society because of not wanting responsibility outside the employment contract. Here, it is obviously clear that civil rights was a driven quality of society in which people realized that voicing social rights was not enough to get everyone the freedom that he or she thought they deserved. In realizing this, because citizenship was better off in promoting ones self, upper class are free to stretch their limits in gaining more economic control over people of lower class, by abusing their civil rights. In protecting ones self, status has to be gained, and in doing so, each individual go head to head in battle of economic interest. Overall Marshall, shows that civil rights is nothing but an abusive tool in which creates categories to label people in a social status in order to keep interest of the one in power. 

       The reason why I chose this quote from Marshall's essay is because it seemed to further my understanding on civil rights. Although he mentions about citizenship being made of three parts, civil, political and social rights, it is clear in this reading that civil rights was oriented to confuse some and to reward those who wanted to gain more economic control. It seems to me that civil rights are instituted to justify the inequality of this country but not in an upfront manner. Many people to this day have individualistic attitudes no matter how we take it, for the most part I believe many Americans are conditioned that way. Within civil rights lies freedom and if I see another way out in escaping my entrapment or another way in order to gain more I will most likely with my freedom take that route. Freedom can be expressed in many ways I feel their is no limit, which allows the powerful to become more powerful. Civil rights gives them the right to further in creating inequalities.