Inequality can be produced in four basic ways. First there is distantiation - some people are running ahead and/or others falling behind. Secondly there is the mechanism of exclusion - through which a barrier is erected making it impossible, or at least more difficult, for certain categories of people to access a good life. Thirdly, the institutions of hierarchy mean that societies and organisations are constituted as ladders, with some people perched on top and others below. Finally, there is exploitation, in which the riches of the rich derive from the toil and the subjection of the poor and the disadvantage. In this article, we shall look into the ways in which current inequalities are being produced.
Inequality; distantiation; exclusion; hierarchy; exploitation