Banu Deniz

1714930
The New Urban Question by Andy Merrifield
Critical review Old Discourse on New Inequality
In this chapter, as it is presented in the title, the main issue discussed by
Merrifield is the inequality between the rich and the poor. As the main
character, Merrifield assigns Jean-Jacques Rousseau who sensed the
enormous gap between the people on the pinnacle of grandeur and fortune
and the ones hit the rock bottom. For Rousseau, the causes rooted in
human behavior and people are corruptible, therefore inequality spells a
loss human potentiality and dignity.
Today, it is even prohibited to speak of what kind of outlay can be considered
as luxury because it is considered as an incontestable right by the monied
group. The much more interesting issue is that this preposterous act is
accepted as just normal by most of the rest of the people or they made a
habit of showing no response to it. What did push them in this way? I think
beside the all other factors, as Merrifield says, the perlocution of the state
forced them to behave obedient and not to speak up. Whereas the
politicians make benefits available to their supporters, people have to turn a
blind eye to this situation. It is even possible to support their acts by
claiming them as the benefit for the folk. For example, in Ankara, Ahmet
Hamdi Haseki Mosque is postulated as a public religious building, not a VIP
one. It is possible to observe there that (although there is no an apparent
rule or a palpable practice), while the wealthy people use their modish and
deluxe cars to get there, the workers from the construction sites around are
not allowed to use there under the pretext of dustiness. It is a dreary fact
that those workers labor and money provide the privilege for the former
one.
To impoverish people is a tool the state use to suppress them. Today, in
Turkey, almost none of the privatized institutions which the state proposed to
private companies as a kickback constantly, minds the inequality or

equitable working conditions and wage. Even worse, the human life is not
valued. This is why the disaster in the Soma is already forgotten. Still, people
continue to work for that kind of companies under these circumstances to
maintain their lives without any loud complaints.
The main question here is if this corrupting system is based on two main
variables, the rich and the poor, how the former one can expect to remain by
eliminating the latter. It is obvious that the system causes the depopulation
and the economic system is dependent on human growth, then heavy
depopulation would mean financial disaster resulting in a volatile market. I
think if we consider this situation and a general fall in living standards, we
are in the era that can be called a new dark age which seems almost
impossible to have renaissance forthcoming. To resist this system maybe
we need the real Robin Hoods in our society who would try to balance
between.