Conclusion Minimizing and Mitigating Ethical Costs

This chapter argues that in an unequal, socioeconomically segregated society, strivers, as they travel the path of upward mobility, incur significant ethical costs for themselves, their families, and their communities. Those who grow up in communities in which disadvantages are concentrated must often seek opportunities for advancement elsewhere. If they succeed, their success in all likelihood will take them far from their families and communities. This distance will not just be literal. Strivers, in order to succeed, will have to prioritize their own path over important relationships, over obligations to their family, and over maintaining their ties to their community. In so doing, they risk sacrificing important and meaningful aspects of their lives and identities.