The Entitlement Theory, Essay Example

Entitlement Theory represents the belief by many persons that by nature of their roles in society, they are “entitled” to specific benefits and opportunities. The concept of distributive justice applies to this argument in the holding and/or transfer of goods or property. However, the basic belief that entitlement is applicable to all persons and things lacks clear judgment and does not consider the consequences of this perspective. In other words, belief in entitlements is not necessarily a negative concept in and of itself, but when people develop specific expectations regarding what they should receive without considering that work must be performed is not an acceptable premise. Many people across all social classes believe that because of their social and economic circumstances, they are entitled to certain benefits, such as food, clothing, shelter, jobs, and even wealth and do not recognize that they must work hard to earn and achieve what they want out of life.

Entitlement is a challenging belief because it makes many assumptions without considering the consequences of these actions on others. Those who believe in entitlements may look down on others and believe that they are unworthy of the same things due to status or other factors. Therefore, entitlement is a challenging concept at best and does not provide any real benefits to social classes. The division between classes is already significant and does not need any additional threats from those who believe that entitlements are an appropriate and necessary part of existence. This is an inherently selfish and ineffective approach to viewing individuals and social divides that currently exist between social classes and grow wider as time goes on