Harmful economic systems: Restricting entry

Countries have "elites" and people. 

Here is a description of Sudan's elite. Sudan's Unbowed, Unbroken Inner Circle  Emily Wax Washington Post May 3, 2005. (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)

A barrier to entry is conspicuous consumption, described by Thorsten Veblen, and illustrated in this article. South Africa’s ‘bling’ culture is a disgrace William Gumede February 11, 2010

A major barrier to entry is limiting access to worthwhile employment, as well as other social advantages such as education and ability to marry outside of one's class. 

Charles Moore photographed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1958 arrest in Montgomery, Ala. King's wife, Coretta, is second from right. Photo: (© Charles Moore/Black Star)

Charles Moore, 79, dies; photographed civil rights violence Patricia Sullivan Washington Post March 14, 2010  More photos  [The photo above epitomizes barriers to entry, as African Americans were prohibited from eating at lunch counters where whites were served, voting, and all but menial jobs, as well as other barriers to entry into a better life.]

Johnny Williams has scrubbed his résumé of any details that might tip off his skin color. Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times

In job hunt, college degree cannot close racial gap Michael Luo New York Times November 30, 2009

For example, the Indian caste system is a system of stratification of human beings, with the Dalits or untouchables being the lowest caste, and this system has a strong religious component, as well as also being sustained by the people that benefit from the system (Wikipedia Dalit, Caste system in India). A 'broken people' in booming India: low-caste Dalits still face prejudice, grinding poverty  Emily Wax  Washington Post June 21, 2007

African-American Names Penalized During Employment Process, Study Finds Richard Morin  Washington Post, August 3, 2003. (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)

Other barriers to entry are lack of education, poor health, not being sufficiently 'presentable'--all 'natural' barriers that arise from poverty.

Adam Gaines, right, who spent over 13 years in prison, with his sons, Shane, left, and Adam Jr. “I didn’t have a role model,” said Adam Jr., who quit high school. Photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

In prisoners' wake, a tide of troubled kids Erik Eckholm New York Times July 4, 2009

Stopping intellectual genocide in African universities Prince Kum'a Ndumbe III University of Yaoundé, Cameroon July 18, 2007

Another way is "putting people down."  Typically minorities/ordinary people have been disparaged in some way--for their supposed (lack of) intelligence, personal appearance or for some other reason. People can be marginalized because of their skin color, ethnic origin, income level or indications of same, such as names This diminishes people's sense of self-worth, and,  combined with actual labor market discrimination based on the same sort of factors, is a major barrier to entry.  There has been a reaction against this in many ways in many countries, but it still persists. 

Ethnic pageants restyle the American beauty contest  Robertha Budy heard the insult when she was a little girl, and now, even at Georgia State University in Atlanta, she still hears it. "You're Liberian? Isn't that in Africa? You don't look like it. You're pretty." Darryl Fears Washington Post October 19, 2005 (You will leave this site and be required to register [once] with the Post.)

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