Sociale ongelijkheid en diskriminatie

Samenvatting

In the 1960's the Dutch press reacted with indignation to the discrimination against the black people of the us. There is discrimination in the Netherlands, too, however, against women and foreign workers in particular. All societies have had social inequality of some sort. This has led to differing treatment of different groups. The differing treatment of people on the basis of social distinctions can be legitimate or illegitimate. Allowing only workers with the required skills to apply for a job would generally be considered a form of legitimate differentiation. Discrimination on the basis of visible characteristics tends to be more frequent and consistent than when the characteristic is not immediately evident, as is the case with religious beliefs and politics. Whether differing treatment of people is legitimate or not depends on the frame of reference chosen. An action which might be socially accepted by a local group could run strongly counter to the universal rights of man as formulated by the UN. Most people will deny that they discriminate against particular groups and will attempt to justify their actions, often on the grounds of the frame of reference of their own group. In this way, all discrimination justified by a person's group is legitimized. P. Tiersma.