Representation

In Mary Wollstonecraft’s piece regarding, “Unnatural Distinction Established in Society,” she brings up some relevant points regarding class and female representation in politics. Wollstonecraft argues that one class always drives against another class—presumably the upper and lower class. Furthermore, Wollstonecraft attacks the British political system and specifically politicians who excessively tax the poor in order to give to the rich. However, drawing back to Elizabeth Cady-Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” where her main point concerned the ability for females to vote and participate in the political system, it was also Wollstonecraft who called for the same rights in her 18th Century essay. While Wollstonecraft’s essay is over 200 years old, it is somewhat depressing that many of the issues she brings up, still need to be addressed in the 21st Century.

The points Wollstonecraft argues against regarding class and feminism are discussed in an article by Holly Sklar titled, “Imagine a Country—2006.” Sklar brings up the fact that the poverty rate during the 1970s in the United States was lower than it is today and considers the numbers paradoxical since America is the richest country in the world. However, it is the political system that Sklar, similar to Wollstonecraft and Cady-Stanton, takes issue with. Wollstonecraft stated, “…I really think that women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without having any direct share allowed in the deliberations of government” (paragraph 22). While in the United States today, women can vote and are elected to political positions, the actual amount of women holding representative positions is shockingly low and not representative of the actual population.

Drawing back to the “Imagine a Country” article, Sklar brings up the notion of unequal representation, by offering what fair representation in the U.S. Senate would look like, based on population-- 51 women and 49 men, yet only 16 women currently serve in the senate and just 35 have served in total. Secondly, one out of two current senators is a millionaire. By looking at the unequal representation of how Americans are represented in the halls of its government, it is no wonder that there continues to be unequal distribution of wealth and equality in the country since very few “average” citizens have ascended to power, to truly offer an image of what America really looks like. In conclusion, perhaps if the government was not run by the privileged for the privileged few, there might be time to tackle issues like: tax cuts for the wealthy, fair pay for women, and the ability for all Americans to have access to a proper education.