These various forms of discrimination are barriers to entry into the higher income levels of a productive + harmful society, which benefit from unproductive sources of income. Discrimination can arise when people are of a different race, gender, ethnicity, nationality or religion. An important manifestation is racism, sexism, or other strong prejudice against a given group.

The way such discriminatory barriers to entry work is to limit access to worthwhile employment, as well as other social advantages such as education, the ability to marry outside of one’s class or group and the transmission of wealth.  Discrimination is a type of unproductive activity that obtains income by restricting the productive opportunities and income of others, and also limits access to the elite group that receives such income.  Barriers to entry have also been discussed in heterodox economics and sociology using the terms stratification economics, social closure, opportunity hoarding,  categorical inequality, and ascriptive inequality.  For further reading, see Edward G. Grabb, Theories of Social Inequality.

Also see Discrimination against women — gender inequality.