The System by Robert B. Reich

In the book, “The System,” Robert Reich discloses how power and wealth have led to the development of an elite oligarchy, integrated to undermine democracy, and eviscerate the middle class. In his argument, top individuals use phrases like “corporate social responsibility,” “national competitiveness,” “the free market,” “meritocracy,” and the political “center” to divert society’s attention away from taking over the system (Reich, 2020). Consequently, the top group uses these myths to defend their accumulation of additional power and wealth. Reich further reveals that power is wielded through deceit, invites people to salvage it, and further recreates the system for everyone. He further elaborates on how the American administration has been apprehended by powerful and wealthy forces and suggests what the Americans must do to save things (Reich, 2020). Therefore, in this paper I will critically analyses the impact of power and wealth including disparity in education, healthcare, income, criminal justice system, and political-economic systems as demonstrated by Reich and further explores appropriate mechanisms that can be employed to resolve the prevailing condition within the society.

Inequality in the Justice System

Reich (2020) argues that power and wealth influence inequality in the criminal justice system in the current society. Although the perceived effect is associated with historic ethnic profiling and a legal moral dilemma, I think it is mainly influenced by power. The process typically begins with police recruitment and retention, resource disparities between the public defender, and societal perception, which I think aligns with our society today, where the rich and wealthy people buy criminal justice system. An overwhelming number of studies have indicated that most Americans are unfairly treated at various levels of the justice system, ranging from legislation, policing, and sentencing. According to Reich (2020), the super-rich and powerful frequently rig their way out of prison despite their criminal offenses without serving their sentence. On the contrary, I feel that the socially deprived population, the poor, complete their incarceration term.

Reference

Reich, R. B. (2020). The system: Who rigged it, how we fix it. Vintage.