Running head: SOCIAL PROBLEMS 1

Social Problems

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A social problem is an issue that affects a considerable amount of people within a society.

Often, social issues stem from factors that are way above an individual's control and cause

conflicting opinions on the basis of what is perceived individuals or the society as morally right.

Although some social problems are distinguished from economic issues, others may comprise of

both social and economic aspects. Some social problems such as warfare do not fall under any

category. Different scholars have suggested various ways of solving social problems. For

instance, Thomas Paine suggests that "allowing the same rights to others as we allow ourselves"

may solve the social issues (Paine, 2017). Social problems may refer to topics of state's interest

which cause division among the citizens. Such issues are thus topics of discussion rather than

illnesses that need to be solved. This paper will thus discuss the roles of individuals and the

society in perpetuating social problems.

According to Rubington and Weinberg, "criminals were abnormally conditioned by

biological and environmental factors." (2003). Therefore, individuals do have a role in the

occurrence of social problems. People who practice criminal activities cause discomfort within

the society consequently creating social issues. Interaction perspective also causes social issues.

Interaction perspective is a situation in which individuals in society disagree with each other's

opinion. This type of disagreement creates pressure among peer groups or families leading to the

creation of conflicting groups. Therefore, disagreement between two individuals accounts for

social problems. Disagreements may find roots from various reasons. For example, they may

arise from culture and religion. In the context of either culture or religion, some individuals are

too obsessed with their views and believe which makes them perceive people with different

believes as different from them. In such situations, these individuals create a zone of discomfort

to other people which may lead to disputes between people with different believes.
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Some individuals may lead to social problems due to the feeling of exclusion from the

social, economic or political structures of the society. Minority groups suffer from this a lot

which makes them feel an urge to "fight" for their rights and position in the society which turns

into a social problem. Some widespread cases such as single parenting are also viewed as a

social problem. The phenomenon of single parenting is believed to have a direct impact on the

values of society. Reportedly, single parents are a problem to the society in that they have a

direct impact on the economic and ideological status of society. Single parents affect society

economically when a lot of finance is channeled towards them by the government. Ideologically,

they affect the society in that the government has to put up legislation that supports the welfare

of the single mothers and their children, for example, the Child Support Act. It is therefore clear

that individuals play a major role in the occurrence of social problems.

Although individuals play a significant role in developing social problems, it is the

society that plays a major role in perpetuating the problems. Social structures make social

problems longer and somewhat difficult to solve. According to the Conflict Theory, society is

always in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for scares resources. Therefore, social

order is enhanced through domination and power but not through consensus and conformity. The

wealthy and the powerful people in the society thus suppress the poor and the powerless to

maintain their status (Dahrendorf, 1958). Social classes worsen the situation of social problems.

The high class which consists of the powerful and wealthy people uses its influence to oppress

the lower class which consists of the working or poor people. In this view, a small group of

powerful people uses their control over resources to dictate over a large group of people which

comprise of the poor. The structure of the society enables the elites to develop laws and other

social structures that support their dominance and prevent other classes from joining their ranks.
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The working class is always striving and demonstrating for equality. The struggles between the

two social classes further the situation of social issues.

Usually, the role of society in social problems is a complex one. The modern society

associates with social problems using social interventions that mainly engage the state's action.

The action by the state aims at reforming the conditions that contribute to social problems.

However, from the beginning of the twentieth century, society has been questioning whether the

remedies taken by the state are the appropriate ways of combating social problems especially

homelessness, poverty, and illness (Spector & Kitsuse, 2017). The society, in such situations, has

contributed to the confusion of defining social problems. A considerable part of the society

argues that most of the problems that the state attempt to solve are "private" and thus should be

not of public concern, especially the government's concern. Such arguments are a clear reminder

of the fact that social problems are not clearly defined and differ from the perception of different

societies. On the other hand, the problems that one society may consider as private, another

society may consider them complex and call upon the state's action. For instance, one society

may consider unemployment as a social problem while the other society may not. Therefore, the

way some problems like unemployment are perceived differ from one community to the other.

The confusion of defining what a social problem is clearly does no good to the status of the

social problems.

Other factors that lead to social problems include gender discrimination and inadequate

guidance to the young generation. Although there has been a strong mass campaign for gender

equality, a balance is yet to be achieved. The imbalance between genders is a major social

problem. Besides, youngsters may fall into bad habits due to lack of guidance. The young
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generation usually poses a threat to the welfare of society when it involves itself in anti-social

behaviors like robbery in an attempt to make a false impression of being rich.

Social problems have no easy solution. Their situation seems like it is ingrained in a

complex system of unwanted state involvement, recklessness of individuals, and the social caste

system. Although social problems have no common definition, they all have common factors that

influence them. Every individual or community has their own view of what social problems are.

The government, society, or even individuals may complicate the process of solving social

problems. However, there are interventions that may reinstate the condition of social problems

but the certainty of the efficiency of the proffered solutions is not guaranteed.
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References

Dahrendorf, R. (1958). Toward a theory of social conflict. Journal of conflict Resolution, 2(2),

170-183.

Paine, T. (2017). Thomas Paine. Major Works: Common Sense/The American Crisis/The Rights

Of Man/The Age Of Reason/Agrarian Justice. Lulu. com.

Rubington, E., & Weinberg, M. S. (Eds.). (2003). The study of social problems: Seven

perspectives. Oxford University Press, USA.

Spector, M., & Kitsuse, J. I. (2017). Constructing social problems. Routledge.