System Examples

No one at Countrywide cared about the man with Parkinson’s because he was outside the system. He wasn’t familiar with the English language and had a debilitating disease that left hi largely unable to take care of business on his own. When he was at risk of losing his home (for not paying back on his $20,000 loan) the company didn’t call him or demand to meet with him about his property. They should never have auctioned his home away, but instead given him an extension on the loan he owed them. The reason Countrywide did this is because it wouldn’t have benefitted them. By auctioning off the home, they were able to keep money that he already paid on the loan and the profit from the sale of the home. Even if the man had the money to buy the home back, they still would’ve made a $350,000 profit. We should have a different response because if people see this continuing to happen, they may not want to do business with Countrywide, causing them to lose business, and thus profit. Morally, it is horrible to evict a man with Parkinson's from his home.


We learned from the Stanford jail experience that even in a short period of time systems can change people’s social ideology. The student’s who were given the role of a prison warden quickly became the wardens became ruthless and tyrannical in reaction to an oppressive system. They were given some power and abused it to the fullest extent to dehumanize another human being. The students who were given the role of prisoners took on a prison mentality, and didn’t feel like it was just an experiment. This shows us that systems, oppressive or otherwise, are extremely powerful in shaping people’s relationships with each other as a society. They also have a profound impact on people’s identity of themselves as a member of that society, and how they conform to fit the role that they’re placed in. Systems make people behave so badly either because they feel that they have almost unlimited power, and can do what they please, or because they are angry that they’re being oppressed and are powerless.