First, I wanted to point out that it is an interesting choice of words that Bellah and the other authors decided to use when stating: "litmus test . . . for assaying the health of a society," because during a litmus test acids turn the paper red and bases turn the paper blue-- two colors that are symbolic of America (Bellah et. al., p. 285).
Besides this observation of the language which Bellah and the others elected to use, I agree with the claim that a society's standing can be measured by the way in which it "deals with the problem of wealth and poverty," (Bellah et. al., p. 285). There are many public bads which arise as a result of poverty, such as an increase in violence, drug use, and diseases. Although, I believe, there is no one sole factor that leads to poverty, and as these individuals convey through their back and forth debate between each other, a way in which it is reinforced is through a lack of education. Poverty is cyclical in that once it begins and the longer it prevails, the harder it is to eradicate it. When people become despondent and see no hope for their future, due to a lack of education, they turn to other means like drugs or violence, and the result of these activities turn into a public bad because it ends up affecting innocent people, like someone being the target of violence when they were just walking down the street. It may sound irrational but it occurs across the globe. In my class on Latin America, we were discussing the increase in femicide in countries Guatemala where gang members kill women just because they are women as a way to move up in the ranks in their gang.
The death of an innocent person has dramatic spillover effects onto the rest of society because children are left without parents or they make even turn to violence or drugs as a way to cope with the loss. Therefore, poverty does not create health in a society and because of the immense ways that it can effect society as a whole,and it needs to be addressed in order for prosperity to occur. The government needs to intervene to ensure that everyone has the chance to thrive and achieve their own individual goals so that the society is not weakened. Wealth redistribution is integral and although people claim that they worked hard for their money so they do not want to be forced to pay taxes, it is necessary for those that are wealthy to do so if they wish to continue to see their society prosper and in the process see themselves continue to prosper.For these reasons, I hold the belief that the way in which a society deals with poverty and wealth is the single most important factor that we must take into account when estimating the standing of our society.
Thus, if the citizens of an individualistic society, such as America, wish to thrive in the world, they need to find a way to ensure that not all are left deprived due to extraneous circumstances and that equality is still a key component of the way in which laws are created. The realization that: in order to be able for me to pursue my personal goals, I will need to give back once I have attained success is something that must happen, or if it already has it needs to be reinforced throughout the ages. Concerning the "litmus" test, we need to find a way to become not fully acidic and not fully basic, but a neutrality where all are able to at least have the opportunity or the means to make their dreams a reality, which in turn will benefit the overall society (Bellah et. al., p. 285). I know... I am an idealist.
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It's interesting because you state that a lack of education can lead to violence and drug abuse, however, I must disagree with you. In college, where students are perceiving such a high level of education, you still hear about substance abuse amongst students. Sure, having an education would probably help inform one about the dangers of drug abuse, yet people who have received some education still go and do drugs. Therefore, I don't think a lack of education is not the sole factor for violence and drug abuse, those choices are "self-made", in other words, you don't go around thinking "Hmm, I think i'm going to do drugs because I lack the wealth to get an education." This would be an abstraction of reality, people don't weigh their options like this is in real life.
As studies show people are more likely to use drugs if they feel as though they are useless and they lack a sense of empowerment. A key component of education is empowerment to ensure that people can have a chance to find what they are good at and feel as though they are an important part of society. It is said that education is the great equalizer. I am not saying that poverty is the sole factor of drug use because no one pressing issue such as this has been said to have one cause, but drug use and poverty are still two strongly correlated variables. I am not ignorant of the drug use that occurs with those who do possess money, but I am pointing out a consequence that will prevail if poverty is not given adequate attention in society.
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