Material possessions in the twenty-first century have become a measure of character. No longer are we judged by how well we relate to our peers, now it's how much stuff we own. Your professional identity defines who your friends can be. According to Bruno Bettelheim, this kind of scrutiny can hinder the views of men and keep them from recognizing more important matters at hand. When will the judgmental attitudes of human nature cease to obstruct us from achieving peace and unity? These are the same points that Victor Hugo stresses in his book Les Miserables.
             I see many similarities between the sixteenth century of Victor Hugo, and the times we live in today. The degradation of man by poverty is most apparent today in our inner-cities, where even just being poor is a crime unto itself. Our welfare system has kept the poor impoverished, families have had to rely from generation to generation on public relief. There is no relief in being poor when you are alienated from all sides. It's still considered a handout, not a hand-up. Society will always look down upon the needy. There are tragic consequences that are unique to being an impecunious woman. In modern times woman have sold their bodies to escape starvation, as they were centuries ago. Woman today use their bodies to put food on their table in many ways. The media provides many a forum for woman to prostitute themselves. Woman use their bodies to sell to beer, after-shave, cars, and other material things valued in modern society. Child labor laws and prosecution for child abuse may give the illusion that children fair better in the twenty-first century, yet children are still exploited all over the world. The war in Afghanistan brought into light the staggering number that children make up of their workforce. Afghanistan is not as unique as we would wish to believe. Cheap labor will always drive a capitalist society. There is a strong pertinence between the ignoran...