diondremompoint
- Mar 1, 2023
- 4 min read

Socioecominc Factors Have Deteriorated The Science Community & Its Passion

Updated: Apr 29, 2023

A Personal Essay

What Is Socioeconomics?

Socioeconomics: the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local or regional economy, or the global economy.

I've mentioned in the past about a "Robo-Systemic Society & The Disconnect From Nature". It talks about how we've been placed into a system that strips us of being one with nature. We are subliminally converted from being humans to robots. This, results in very little compassion, applying a normalized cut-throat business persona and not utilizing the resources provided by our beautiful Earth since we are so wrapped up in the race of capitalism.

I referenced A Robo-Systemic Society because of its influences on human behavior and interactions with nature. The same is true for socioeconomic factors that influence the direction in which the scientific community takes and the decisions the people within it make.

To set the stage for this essay, allow me to ask a question.

If money did not matter, then what would you be doing?

To no surprise, many people would say careers or hobbies that are opposite of what they are doing. For example, my parents were always great at design and would do new things to our home every month. Whether, it was crown molding, a French door, or some new design in the bathroom, they would always love to do it. My mother was the "eye" or "director" while my dad was the handyman. Neither of them went to school for any of this and have a strong passion for it.

I did not ask them if money did not matter, then what would they be doing? Rather, they expressed to me that architecture is something they would have done. At this age, I understand that they did not do it because they did not want to. Their decision to move forward without architecture is simply because of socioeconomic factors.

So what exactly are examples of socioeconomic factors? Well, here is a list:

1. Income

2. Education

3. Employment

4. Community Safety

5. Social Support

The above list shows socioeconomic factors that influence many aspects of life. For my parent's example and the rest of this essay, we will highlight income as the major socioeconomic factor affecting us.

Neither of my parents ended up being the architect they wanted. Instead, my mother has been a nurse for decades, while my father is retired after dedicating over 25 years to being a warehouse supervisor. So again, if money did not matter, then I am confident they would be great architects living their dream.

So why mention my parents and this whole thing about income? Well, if you haven't picked up on it yet, this is similar to the workforce & academics for science. I and others are finding it difficult to go through our true paths in science without worrying about the potential for income. I openly say that if money did not matter, then I would love to read science textbooks all day and be a professor and a farmer. Sounds like a dream right?

It is unfortunate that everything in our society is driven by money and profit. With income being the pinnacle for humanity and success, we find more people only taking on a profession for the money (not saying people do not slowly grow a passion for the profession over time, but the majority do not). On the other hand, we have creative minds that would love to do a profession but are at a stand-still over income.

The point is, income influences motive and even profession. This scenario is most prominent in the science community and it has become damaging. The first example is doctors. The amount of people that pursue a profession are more likely to pursue it because of their income. This is kind of like the students who were in a family line that had their own practice or bought their profession. On the other hand, you have individuals that would love to become a doctor but are deferred due to lack of income.

Similar to doctors, are professors in academia. To no surprise, many science professors would love to only worry about their lab and research. However, they are tasked with lecturing to students in a monotone voice and are unmotivated to motivate young scholars. Many professors are more worried about the success of their research and the eyes that will be gained for the institution.

Couldn't professors, only be in the lab and not lecture if they hate it so much? And can't professors who love to lecture.... just lecture? It is living in a dream world to think this way. The dollar and capitalism have forced us as a community to lose passion and make us run from what we really want to do. We get stuck with people who are not passionate in professions that require passion, but they still get the job. Individuals that are passionate about a certain profession are forced to do something else that they are then not passionate about because of the pressures of income. The result is an infinite loop within the community. Again, this is not to say a person cannot grow passionate over time, but it is very unlikely and extremely rare.

The only solution to stop the decline in scientific passion is to break down the walls of socioeconomic factors like income. If more people were in the professions they want regardless of the value of money, the world would be better big businesses would see increased productivity they love so much. Until we change the system in place, we will forever see this infinite loop from socioeconomic factors like income.