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That depends on the context in which you're writing the essay. If it's an essay that will appear in a magazine for left-wing college students, it might be perfectly appropriate. If it's an essay intended for publication in a prestigious academic journal, probably not. To be given as a speech by the pope? I think we could say pretty surely no.
Whenever questions of the appropriateness of vulgar language come up, the advice I always give is: If there's the least bit of doubt, don't. I read an article by a film critic once in which he said -- quoting from memory, not an exact quote -- "No one has ever said, That could have been a good movie, but they just didn't use the f-word enough." There are people who are offended by vulgar language, and who will quit reading when the vulgarity reaches a level that exceeds their tolerance. No one will quit reading because the level of vulgarity is too low.
Yes, sometimes vulgar language can be used to make a point more strongly. But you could almost always be just as effective by using strong words that are not vulgar. And if you do you are more likely to be taken seriously, because you sound more educated.
Yes, if you are writing dialog in a novel, there are cases where in real life the character would use vulgar language. A novel where the psychopathic drug-dealing murderer gets angry and shouts, "You silly person! I am very unhappy with your actions!" would not be very believable. But that's not the issue here.
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