How Has The War On Drugs Perpetuated Inequality Essay

How has the war on drugs perpetuated inequality? The war on drugs began during Nixon’s administration in 1968 and was designed in efforts to reduce the amount of drugs being sold and consumed in America (Moore Elkavich, 2008). Nixon believed that getting drugs out of the hands of people would make the country a safer and better place, however these new drug laws did not reduce the amount of drugs being consumed or distributed. Instead, these laws incarcerated a large amount of people and have resulted in a continuation of inequality in our country. While Marx would argue that the war on drugs prolongs inequality through class conflict because it targets low class individuals, advantages upper class communities while disadvantaging the poor communities, and it makes the cycle of class differences continue, Wells-Barnett would argue that the war on drugs perpetuates inequality through its racism because it was created in response to colored people using drugs, it targets black males, and the sentencing varies based on whom t he drug is linked to. The war on drugs targets people from lower class, poor communities. Marx defined class in purely economic terms and described class conflict as the rich versus the poor (Allan, 2013). The war on drugs definitely perpetuates this inequality between the rich and poor because it targets the poor people in our communities. The men that work on wall street are just as likely as anyone else to do drugs, cocaine in particular, however itShow MoreRelatedRacial Inequality And Gender Inequality2184 Words   |  9 Pagesracism and gender inequality have played a prominent role in America. Ranging from slavery to the Jim Crow laws to the war on drugs, racial inequality is present in our everyday lives. Likewise, gender inequality is also as prominent as there are many inherent barriers for women in the workplace such as sexual harassment, inability to ascend into high ranking jobs and stereotypes involving gender roles. Even with the implementation of anti-discrimination laws, racial and gender inequality would still beRead MoreComparative Politics Is An Essential Field Within Political Science1477 Words   |  6 Pageswithin political science, as it is always present and always prevalent. 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