Class, Opportunity and the Lesser Minds Problem

This is an exploration of class, opportunity and how the Lesser Minds Problem of dehumanized perception affects relations in everyday life. What follows is an annotated and extended version of a paper which was accepted for publication in PRISM journal. PRISM is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that fosters innovative approaches to progressing critical thinking in all areas of teaching and learning. You can find the edition in which this paper is published by following THIS LINK.

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Knowledge, Opportunities and False Promises

The knowledge which people has is not always valued and the idea that opportunities are always afforded to those who demonstrate knowledge, skill and/or effort is an unfortunate myth of an unfair society.  False promises abound in the history of the structures of privilege and the fairytales which appeal to our sense of justice must be scrutinised not as parables of the world we would like to be but certainly as statements of the world as it is. Read more…

Barriers to Participation in an Economy: Monopoly, Bureaucracy and Opportunity

It is important to distinguish the notion of poverty as capability inadequacy from that of poverty as lowness of income. The two perspectives are related, since income is an important means to capabilities. Enhanced capabilities in leading a life tend, to expand a person’s ability to be more productive and earn a higher income, also improvement of a person’s capabilities lends to greater earning power. Read more…