Social polarization

Social polarization is associated with the segregation within a society that may emerge from income inequality, real-estate fluctuations, economic displacements etc. and result in such differentiation that would consist of various social groups, from high-income to low-income.

One of the earlier stimulating research works on social polarization is from R.E. Pahl on Isle of Sheppey,^[1] wherein he provides a comparison between the Pre-capitalist society and capitalist society.

More recently, a number of research projects have been increasingly addressing the issues of social polarization within the developed economies.^[2] When social polarization occurs in addition to economic restructuring, particularly in cities, economic inequality along social class and racial lines is exacerbated.^[3]

Social Polarization & Urban Poverty

Several theoretical models can be strung together to explain the basics that create social polarization, and the subsequent deprivation that occurs when there is extreme societal deprivation between those of high-wealth and low-wealth. They are:

• a Culture of Poverty
• a Cycle of Poverty
• Government Failure—particularly when public policy institutions divided into departments (education, housing, etc.) are ineffective when it comes to dealing with the interdisciplinary problems of the poor
• an Inequitable Distribution of Resources/Opportunities
• Class Conflict, and
• the concept of an "Underclass".^[3]

When these phenomenon are combined in urban areas, it can fuel social polarization. Urban decay is a visual manifestation of social polarization, while riots, civil commotion and general social disintegration can be symptomatic of this concept as well.^[3]

However, it can also lead to an informal economy in many urban areas.^[3]

See also

• Balkanization
• Sectarian violence
• Social exclusion
• Protracted social conflict
• Pakistanism
• Economic democracy
• Social enterprise
• Creating Shared Value (CSV)
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Aspects of this concept can also be associated with the phenomena of the creative class and how these members have created their own dominant status within society.

Notes

1. R. E. Pahl, Divisions of Labour, Oxford: Blackwell, 1984, ISBN 0-631-13273-2
2. Frank Moulaert, Erik Swyngedouw and Arantxa Rodriguez. The Globalized City: Economic Restructuring and Social Polarization in European Cities. Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-19-926040-9
3. Knox, Paul; Pinch, Steven (2006). Urban Social Geography: An Introduction. Harlow, England: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. pages=284. ISBN 978-0-13-124944-8.