ABSTRACT
Everyone notices things in the world that need to be improved. But a social problem is more than a personal opinion about something. It has social components. The six ingredients of a social problem are an advocate group that identifies the problem, an adverse social situation, a victim or target group or target category, an ameliorating action, an action group, and the will to act. Common causes of social problems include development, natural disasters, inequality, self-interest, racism and discrimination, competing interests, history of enmity and conflict, and ignorance. Personal, societal, and structural factors are compounded by the ideological beliefs that perpetuate the inequality. Self-interest is a major reason that stratification develops in the first place, and an important source of other social problems. Serious social problems are associated with racism and group discrimination. There are unresolved problems whenever there is a long history of enmity and conflict between groups.
