Describe Actions Be Taken To That Can Bring About A More Equitable Society For Older People.

Introduction

The number of old people in the world in the last decade has been on the rise and will continue to expand in the coming years. According to United Nations report the old people in 2000 accounted for 10 percent of the world population (1). This number is expected to double over the next 50 years and it will constitute 21 percent of the world population. This means that the population of older people will increase from 606 million as recorded in 2000 to about 1.9 billion by 2050. The largest number of older people will be living in developing nations where this population is expected to hit 1.5 billion by 2050. Social differentiation in the society takes many forms and age is one of them. Age, in spite of the fact that it is a biological fact, is also a socially construed perception. Regardless of where one may live age is an escapable fact. In certain parts of the world aged people are respected members of the society, but in others they youth are given more value and the aged are treated negatively. The disengagement theory suggests that in order for the younger people to take important roles inn the society, the older members of such a society should retire from their positions and instead they should assume roles that match they physical ability. The active theory on the other hand suggests that older people can be of value to society and to themselves if they are kept active. The conflict theory suggests that the older people go through various forms of discrimination and prejudice and that they also encounter inequalities along the lines of race/ethnicity, gender, and social class. This paper seeks to explore how a society can live harmoniously with the older people.

Body

Age discrimination results in negative impacts on the older people like marginalization, isolation, and exclusion. This is a major threat to increasing number of old people in the society and also to social stability of the entire society. The functionalism perspective and the conflict theory perspectives are some of the ways that sociologists have explored this issue of how society treats its older people. The functionalists are interested on how various elements of a society work together. The older people are one such an important part of the society. According to the functionalist, those people with adequate resources and are thus able to adjust well into other roles when they become aged are able to stay active. The functionalist developed the disengagement theory to explain how some people deal with old age. This theory portends that as people grow old they tend to withdraw from the mainstream society. This is attributed to decline in physical health, the need for freedom and to take roles that they like, which may differ depending on whether one is a females or male.

Active theory on the other hand, suggests that as older people withdraw from their previous roles, they require new roles to keep them active. This theory suggests that one of the key elements for happiness among the older people is being engaged in some form of activity. Proponents suggest that the more the older people in a society are kept engaged the more it is likely that they would stay happy. However, critics suggest not all people get the same opportunities to be actively engaged. Additionally, it is critiqued that not everyone would be happy in being actively engaged or being in the presence of other people. Therefore, a balance is established where it is argued that when old people participate in informal activities, for instance hobbies, they are more likely to be satisfied (OpenStax College n.p).

Another theory under the functionalist perspective that explains how old people relate with the rest of the members of a society is continuity theory. This theory suggests that older people deliberately decide to maintain consistency between external structures like relationships and internal ones such as beliefs, and personality structures and as such stay actively engaged throughout their lives in society (OpenStax College n.p). This means that balance in society can be attained by making decisions basically from the existing social roles.

Conflict theory is another perspective used to explore discrimination against the elderly in a society. It perceives the society as inherently unstable comprising of those with power and those without. The privileged or those holding the power keep on marginalizing the rest. Conflict is as a result of competition for scarce resources and power. When this concept is applied in the analysis of the social discriminations against the elderly, it suggests that the old are in constant competition with other groups such as youth in a society to maintain their control of resources. It undercuts the negative consequences of ageism or treating the old people with discrimination and prejudice. The old people in the workforce are negatively viewed because they are of little economic value to the society as they are less productive and because they continue to retain huge control of resources in form of high salaries and health benefits that comes with the ranks held as one develops the career ladder (New Charter University 1).

A more equitable society for the elderly can thus only exists, if we employ mainstreaming society. When mainstreaming is successfully implemented it should enhance social integration of the group under consideration. It should result in equitable development for all members of a society. This means that development decision in a society, for instance, in health, employment, or education should be viewed within the lenses of the older people.

Social integration should aim to create a society that is inclusive. Such a society should ensure that each individual has his or her own rights and obligations and an active role to play (United Nations 2). Therefore, mainstreaming is an important strategy that can create integration especially because discrimination against the elderly is due to lack of inclusion. This has resulted in the lack of participation by the group in society. This recognition should be based on the understanding that they have basic human rights that need to be protected and there is need for social justice, tolerance, and equalization.

Conclusion

An equitable society for the older people can be created. This entails first understanding source of prejudice and discrimination to the old. The conflict theory suggests that this is due to competition for resources and the negative perception that they are less productive, but continue to control huge resources. Functionalist perspective with its active theory suggests that older people are happy when they are kept actively engaged. Therefore, we need to improve on social integration to attain the equitable society for the elderly. This mean there is need to mainstream the challenges faced by the older people in making key decisions on education, health, and other areas in society.

Works Cited

New Charter University. Sociological Perspectives on Aging. (n.d). Web.

OpenStax College. Theoretical Perspective on Aging. (2013). Web.

Venne, Robert. Mainstreaming the Concerns of Older Persons into the Social Development Agenda. United Nations Report. (n.d). Web.