SOCI 205 Exam 5
Income Example (Renting your own apartment)
•Application Fee - $60 •Deposit - $400 - $600 •First Month Rent -$500 •Renters Insurance - $20 •Fee to turn on electric - $50 •Fee to turn on cable/internet - $50 •Total: $1080 - $1280 Minimum wage: $7.25 hour 148-177 hours needed just to move in!! And that's not including all other living expenses! -Not including really expensive children
Alienation and estrangement
•As a worker (Proletariat) you do not own: •The means of production •The mode of production •The Product itself •Or even the LABOR used to create that product EX: •How many of you earn a livelihood from the selling or bartering of things you own and produce? •Do you own the means and/or mode of production? •Do you decide: What to sell/barter it for? Who to sell/barter it to? If you want to sell/barter it?
Socio-Economic Status (SES) - or Class
•Both an economic and social measurement - composite ranking •Income/Wealth •Education •Occupation ----------------- •Power - ability to influence •Privilege - advantages •Prestige - respect
Marxist groupings
•Bourgeoisie - upper class (capitalist class) who own most of society's wealth and means of production •Proletariat - urban and rural workers, working-class people; everyone who isn't wealthy •Petite Bourgeoisie - middle class workers; some autonomy and wealth
Global Differences in Income
High-income countries Seventy-four nations with the highest overall standards of living Middle-income countries Seventy-two nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole Low-income countries Forty-nine nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor
Suggested Addition to Canon
Karl Marx (1818-1883) •Figurehead of conflict theory •Pioneer in class struggle •Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) •Das Kapital (1867) •Applicable theories apply to more than class •Not communism like you think - more like a commune
Organizations
Large secondary groups organized to achieve goals efficiently - Organized - Hierarchical - Set apart in some way from day to day life
Formal Organizations
Utilitarian - getting paid for efforts Normative - voluntary associations Coercive - involuntary 'joining'
Why be scared of socialism?
WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE IT *Schools *Firefighters/Cops/EMTs *Many Organizations and Agencies *Infrastructure *"Safety Nets"
relative poverty
poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society
absolute poverty
the point at which a household's income falls below the necessary level to purchase food to physically sustain its members
Six parts of bureaucracy
1.Specialization: members are assigned specialized roles and tasks only they can do 2.Technical competence: members are expressly trained and qualified for their specific roles and tasks 3.Hierarchy: supervision of subordinates by higher-ranking members 4.Rules and regulations: making operations as predictable as possible 5.Impersonality: rules come before people 6.Formal written communication: documents (emails, memos, etc) heart of organization and most effective way to communicate
Karl Marx
1818-1883 Really radical thinker for his time - so much so he had trouble finding work in academia Theories became very popular in the 1960s and gained wide acceptance Conflict theory largely attributed to his ideas about exploitation and class conflict - incredibly versatile theorist whose theories can be applied to other areas
Social mobility - a change in position within a social hierarchy
- Intragenerational social mobility - change in social position occurring during a person's lifetime (upward or downward mobility) - Intergenerational social mobility - upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents *Social reproduction - pattern of social classes remaining stable as class is passed down generationally
Effects of pandemic
- Jobs deemed 'essential' and jobs with greatest vulnerability - often lower pay and lower job security - many workers now laid-off, furloughed, displaced, because of pandemic while others (even within same industry) forced to go to work in potentially hazardous conditions
4 principles of social stratification
1. It is a trait of society - Individual talent and effort matters, but is largely dependent on societal circumstances 2. Carries over from generation to generation - we inherit our class - Changes in social position are the exception rather than rule; most people experience horizontal mobility rather than upward mobility 3. It is universal, but variable - Stratification is found around the globe, although the why and by how much varies depending on society 4. Involves not just inequality but beliefs as well - Stratification supports itself -> defines arrangements as 'fair' and explains why some people have more and others have less
Bourgeoise vs Proletariat
Bourgeoise •Owning class (left over from feudal system) •Capitalist class •Own capital (money/businesses) •Rich Proletariat •Non-owning class (left over from feudal system) •Working class •'Own' labor (physical effort) •Everyone else
Marx looked at history of economies - historical materialism
Bourgeoise society - capitalists within capitalism, differed from feudalism •No longer sense of 'why' there is an upper class - no nobility, heredity, ability to conquer (no longer lords and serfs) •No longer closed guilds or value of single craftmanship •Went from division of labor between workshops to division of labor within workshops (ability of a craftsman no longer important) •"Resolved personal worth into exchange labor" •Now an exchange value, not user value
Discrimination in Hiring and Promotion Cont.
High-profile cases have demonstrated that race and sex discrimination persists •Texaco: Racist and sexist comments made by high-level white male executive were secretly taped; Texaco sued •Mitsubishi: Widespread sexual harassment of female employees in Illinois factory •Boeing: Pay discrimination against female and minority salaried workers and executives •Outback Steakhouse in 2009: had to pay $19 million after proven female employees could not get higher level management positions Two practices through which discrimination against black men is made invisible •When a new workplace site is chosen, racial segregation of metropolitan areas enables employers to avoid applicants of color by locating in areas where the dominant racial group is not black •Building subjectively assessed characteristics (i.e., "people skills") into job requirements allows use of racial stereotypes to work against hiring of applicants of color
Prestige vs Privilege
Prestige: respect/value/skill/admiration we attach to certain skills or jobs Privilege: having certain abilities or connections that confer advantage
Marx's critique of 'bourgeois society'
Problems with modern bourgeois society *Literally everything •Converted physician, lawyer, priest, etc into paid-wage laborers •Constant replacement of people, industries, and technologies •Too much civilization, too much commerce, too much industry, too much means of subsistence •Grown so large it destroys itself - becomes unwieldly •Turns the laborer into a commodity himself/herself •Destroys middle class - turns middle class into proletariat/low wage worker
Historical Changes in Systems (Economy)
Starts way back with subsistence economies, but let's start at Feudalism - closer to traditional economic forms Feudalism - small # of people owned most of land, which everyone else worked and depended on - Land ownership essential
Capitalism
System in which industry is owned by private owners or corporations, and profit is main goal (Political and Economic) Profit, purchasing, and consumption integral Capitalism makes it very hard to climb the ladder of social mobility •Capitalism - means of production owned by individuals; based on the private, for-profit operation of industry ( •Both and economic and political system •Structure leftover from feudalism Two classes within capitalism: - those who own the means of production (factories and industry in Marx's time) and profit from it - those who do not own the means of production and work to generate profit for another; those who sell their labor
Scientific Management
The application of scientific principles to the operation of a business or other large organizations
Alienation of Proletariat
The factory worker is alienated from: •Production process •Worker is replaceable cog in the machine •Object produced •Worker doesn't own what he/she produces (not his/hers to sell) •His/her own labor •Sold as a commodity to the Bourgeoisie •Fellowmen •No social interaction with other workers Workers compete for jobs •Self •Work is no longer a means of self-realization •Human species •Proletariat not allowed to use their intellectual capacity to freely choose their own actions This is what Marx means by: Nature Himself Man's Species Being Other Men
McDonaldization of Society
the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world George Ritzer -> spread of bureaucratic rationalization and accompanying increases in efficiency and dehumanization Four Principals 1. Efficiency 2. Predictability 3. Uniformity 4. Control •Problems? •Results in alienation •Max Weber and Irrationality •Individuals lose purpose and skills -> become cogs in the machine •Instead of a cobbler making shoes (earning a living from a trade and having a valuable skill set), the process of shoe-making is broken down into many singular steps carried out by many people who do NOT have a purpose or skill set
New Economic Era again
•"Gig" Economy -> creates even wider gap as people have to sell more temporary labor (think Lyft, Uber, Freelance, Internships, etc) -Nearly 1.6 million workers are gig employees (BLS) -Beware of internships! Often just free labor for company with few applicable or marketable skills; ask yourself "Does this work benefit a resume, teach me marketable skills, or create more networks?" •Globalization increases global wealth but can negatively affect individual wealth (of everyone but the wealthy) -Goods manufactured in less industrialized countries very cheaply; companies can then exploit laborers who cannot find work elsewhere -Services and labor 'outsourced' as well
Estrangement = Alienation = Separation
•"the worker is related to the product of his labour as to an alien object" •"The alienation of the worker in his product means that not only that his labour becomes an object, an external existence, but that it exists outside him, independently, as something alien to him..." •Objectification - production of the worker •Estrangement - loss of the object
Post-Industrial
•1973 Daniel Bell coined "Post Industrial Society" - new type of working society •Six features -Large service sector with MOST people employed in it (service economy) -Vast surplus of goods -Wider variety of goods and services available to average person (because goods can be made cheaply since labor is sold for less) -Trade among nations -Information Era begins -Interconnected globalization
Economic Characteristics of Recent Past
•1980s: corporate restructuring, offshore development, and rising joblessness •1990s: Economic growth, job creation, and rising number of bad jobs •2000s: Financial crisis, rising unemployment, declining benefits •Late 19th century and early 20th century, industrialization (technological and organizational changes) led to crisis in cultural definitions of masculinity and required revising of justification of patriarchy •2010s: Recovering from recession, technology and service economy, global competition •2020s: Pandemic and rising unemployment; some workers deemed essential - interestingly, many are those with lower status, lower pay jobs
Poverty stats
•2011 - 46 million poor people in US •2015 - 43.1 million in poverty •2017 - 39.7 million in poverty •2018 - 38.1 million in poverty •About 3 billion globally-> billion of which are children Slowly shrinking - 2020 is bringing up numbers
Workforce Participation
•2017 Medium income •$61,372 (2018 US Census Current Population Survey) •Increase of about 1.2 million in the workforce between 2016 and 2017 •Note: Just because many are working, does not mean fully employed •Unemployment statistics - Currently 13.3% but varies by race and gender (about 3.8% before pandemic) •Only counts those actively seeking work - not those who have given up •Includes under-employment: folks working jobs 'under' their skill set or education •Number probably an underestimation if you account for just these two factors alone •Largest workforce occupational participation (25% of total employment) •Office/administration support •Sales and retail •Many workers in these industries laid-off, especially if jobs cannot be done from home or remotely •Service sector hit hard by pandemic, which in turn affected unemployment rates •Without help, millions of people could slip into poverty (downward mobility)
Poverty in the US
•About 12% of US lives in poverty (total) - % w/in varies by race, gender, and age •A TERRIFYING PROSPECT •"Between 2016 and 2017, people with at least a bachelor's degree were the only group to have an increase in the poverty rate or the number of people in poverty. Among this group, the poverty rate increased 0.3 percentage points and the number in poverty increased by 363,000 individuals between 2016 and 2017. Even with this increase, among educational attainment groups, people with at least a bachelor's degree had the lowest poverty rates in 2017." (CPS by Census) •What is poverty? Families/individuals that fall below poverty guidelines/thresholds
Industrial to Postindustrial Stratification
•All these goods are being made cheaply and by assembly line - can create and purchase goods at roughly same rate (conspicuous consumption takes full hold *Thorstein Veblen) •Technology requires less physical labor to create goods; workers must find another means to work -> sell labor almost exclusively •Postindustrial Era begins (20th century) -Continues to widen gap between those with means and those without - stratification similar to what we know currently in the US -Largely a service economy -> services rather than goods drive economy
Bureaucracy
•Bureaucracy - organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently •Max Weber's six key elements •Problems with bureaucracy •Alienation •Inefficiency and Ritualism •Inertia - tendency of bureaucratic organizations to perpetuate themselves Max Weber and bureaucracy •Focused on shift from traditional/agrarian society to modern industrial society •Rationalization -> application of economic logic to human activity; placing profit over people; maximizing efficiency at the expense of human concerns •Bureaucracies -> secondary groups characterized by efficient, goal-oriented, rule-governed bodies; focus on specialization and impersonal interactions •People become trapped in an Iron Cage; pessimistic description of modern life in which we are caught in those bureaucratic structures that rule our lives •Being trapped leads to disenchantment (think anomie and alienation); the inevitable result of dehumanizing features of bureaucracies
Becoming Unwieldly (too large)
•Capital •Production •How do I create it cheaper than anyone else? •Sales •How to convince people they need it -->> •Worker •People spend hard earned money on this •Profit •Can only take money from worker (two meanings)
Other types of 'wealth'
•Capital -> very simply - financial wealth; often used to produce goods, services or start a business • •Cultural Capital (Bourdieu) -> the tastes, traits, habits, knowledge, skills, and other cultural assets that are passed down generationally and help or hinder our place in society •EX. Highly educated parents can help children navigate applying to colleges, writing personal statements, develop good study habits, practice interviews, etc. •Social Capital - Group ties and network attachments people have •Ex. - You know enough people in a certain industry to get you a job w/in that industry or you know someone who can get you an interview for a job/scholarship/school
Social Stratification Systems
•Closed Systems - little to no change in social position •Slavery - most extreme form of social stratification •Caste System - status is determined by family history and background; based on ascribed status or birth- locked in and cannot be changed. Much like India and South Africa •Based on religious lines, economical, political, racial - ascribed statuses •Open Systems - permit some change in social position/social mobility •Class System - based on social position at birth and individual achievement, much like the United States •Meritocracy - system based entirely on personal merit (does not exist in reality)
Explaining Occupational and Job Segregation
•Cultural beliefs •Prevalence of what cultural beliefs about what men and women can do, or should want to do, a significant factor •Gender differences in education & training •Boys more likely to take higher levels of math in younger years; girls less likely to be pushed toward STEM or find mentorship in STEM fields •Girls' experiences may enhance feeling of competence working with children •Past practices become "habitual" •Men and boys learn they should 'avoid' female activities (*nurses) •Practical aspects of jobs - Jobs with nonregular hours: Women's greater child care responsibilities make women less likely to be able to participate in these jobs •Less likely to take dangerous or overtly physical jobs •Perceptions of job seekers •Some employers' and managers' hiring and promotion decisions are based on homophily (their preference for people like themselves, not beliefs about others) - can turn workers away •Does this job 'suit' me or what does it say about me? •Concerns about harassment may discourage entry into certain fields •Discrimination in hiring and promotion •Small-scale interview study in Southeastern U.S. found that racial biases of co-workers may make it difficult for black male nurses to establish strong relationships with colleagues and supervisors than could lead to promotions
Poverty Guidelines
•Developed in early 1960s •Started as 'three-times-the-cost-of-food-plan' to determine poverty line •Since 1963 has been updated using Consumer Price Index (CPI) •CPI-> basically what we pay for most purchased items •Collected via quarterly interviews and weekly diaries from urban consumers and urban wage workers *some problems with this method? •Official 'poverty' definition are individuals/families who fall below guidelines •No official definition of any other class - but why not, if we like categories?
Estranged labor
•Do not own factory or assembly line - or office, or fast food joint, or restaurant, or grocery store, etc. •Do not own the tools or materials to create the product •Do not own the product you create (imagine stealing a few fries from every batch you cook) •Have no relationship to the product - where it goes, who buys it, how much it's sold for •The 'THING' we must create/do in order to SURVIVE we have NO relationship with = ALIENATION and ESTRANGEMENT
Changing the Gendering of Work
•Feminist Action brought about the decline of job segregation •Affirmative Action •Cultural Representations •Other Trends
Emergence of Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution
•Handmanufacturing -> "Pre-Capitalism" 17th and 18th century -Requires a small capital investment -Workers sell their labor to owners of handmanufacturing businesses •Labor becomes an "exchange commodity" •Large Manufacturing becomes popular with Industrial Revolution: factories, the steam engine, greater and more advanced technology - Individuals, not just nobility, could now amass wealth - Technology allowed more surplus AND more need of labor - This selling of labor furthers social stratification - owners and workers •Over time, mechanization used to speed production (assembly lines and McDonaldization) •Then factories with automated machines to mass produce goods - handcraftsmanship all but disappears -> individuals now work on a singular, simple task rather than create new goods •Emergence of a new class: Bourgeoisie (factory Owners) and the Proletariat (workers within them who sell their labor) -INCREASE of social stratification "MODERN" CAPITALISM
2019 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States
•How many of you have incomes that are at or below poverty level? •Some more math: •$7.25 x 40 = $290 •$290 x 52 = $15,080 •Two income = $30,160 •Many families are in danger of falling below poverty line
Trends in Work
•Increase in corporate mergers and downsizing in white-collar occupations •Stagflation - low growth but high inflation rates (oil shortages and skyrocketing fuel costs) •Downsizing - cutting size of corporation's workforce but not its profits •Automation of factory and office jobs exacerbated declining employment •Increase in immigration led to job competition and belief that immigrants drove down wages and did not 'pay fair share' •An end of AFDC in 1997 (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) ended and was replaced by TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Familes) *workfare •Less govt intervention and less of a safety net •Lifetime benefits limited to 5 years •Recipients forced to accept whatever work they can find
New Economic Era - Technological Era
•Increased technology and dependence on technology •'Tech' and biotech jobs very important - highly advanced and highly specialized; often need for advanced degrees -But think about how education and skills are divided: do women have the same opportunity in STEM classes, degrees, or jobs? -Often need mentorship in tech or biotech work, which is not available to all students or workers equally •Currently experiencing a mix of tech, gig, and service, although pandemic has changed the economy recently •Really creates stratification with 'essential' workers or unemployed
Occupational Segregation
•Index of Occupational Dissimilarity ->May be more familiar with housing index Way of measuring occupational sex and race segregation. Calculates the percentage of people in one category (e.g., women) who would have to change occupations to reach occupational integration (defined as the percentage of men and women in the society at large) •The higher the number, the more segregated the occupation (0 is complete "equality"; 100 is complete segregation) •*Current occupational segregation by gender and race-ethnicity •African American men: 25 percent in production, transportation, and material moving •African American women: 34 percent in sales and office work •Asian American men (49%) and women (44%) in management, professional, and related •Hispanic men: 26 percent in natural resources, construction, and maintenance •Hispanic women: 32 percent in sales and office work and 31 percent in service occupations •White men: 35 percent in management, professional, and related •White women: 42 percent in management, professional, and related •Comparison of occupations •Index of dissimilarity for men and women: In 1972, 68% of all working women would have had to change occupation to create more equal index; 58 in 1985; 54 in 1995; The index has remained around 51 percent since 2009 •Segregation of sexes about the same level within each major racial-ethnic group (51—55) 51.0 for African Americans 53.0 for whites 55.0 for Hispanics
Gender and Race on the Job
•Interactions of people on the job, reproduce, challenge, or negotiate meanings of gender and race •Doctors of color are assumed to be less knowledgeable, less capable, than their white counterparts •Gendered requirements for women at work; some jobs require women but not men to wear revealing clothing; restaurants calling waitresses 'models' instead of just servers • Men suffer over 90 percent of workplace fatalities in the United States -> Lower-status groups are more likely to be employed in jobs with higher risk (e.g., police work has traditionally employed working-class men) •Rather than lower the risk of dangerous jobs, women excluded from high-risk jobs •(Ex. Lead-based jobs affect pregnancy; so women excluded from those jobs, which are actually higher paying and have unions) •Men of color less likely to be employed in industry that has a union (negotiate for higher wages) •Workers in sex-atypical occupations more obviously negotiate gender •Women corrections officers need to establish their ability to perform a role associated with hegemonic masculinity (they must stress their people skills) •Men who teach young children must develop teaching techniques that reassure adults that they are not pedophiles •Sexual harassment on the job and sex segregation within industries
Woes of Capitalism
•Karl Marx •"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" •Abolish all private property
Middle and Lower Class
•Middle Class - about 30% of US pop •White Collar workers - low level professionals/management, and some highly skilled technical workers •Working Class (Lower Middle to Upper Lower) -> About Another 30% •Blue Collar workers - skilled and semi-skilled workers (generally manual labor), and those who work in service jobs and low level clerical jobs ____________________________ •Working Poor - about 13% of pop •Poorly educated and service workers who often work full time but remain at the poverty level •Underclass (very poor) - about 12% of pop •Poorest group, inc. homeless and chronically unemployed
Taxes and Bonuses
•Mommy tax/penalty - motherhood wage penalty of about 4% per child (interestingly, no mommy tax for Hispanic women) •Daddy bonus - fatherhood wage premium of about 8% per child (varies by race, but average is 8%) *Fun fact: Men with pictures of their children on their desk are favored and considered more hard-working •Family Wage - earnings of the family's one wage earner (the husband) expected to provide for the wife and children Women who keep maiden name make more money over lifetime (I do not know if the same applies to hyphenated names - cannot find data)
Labor estranges man from:
•Nature -> world sustenance (things needed to create) •Himself -> life-activity - means to satisfy a need (productive work) •Man's species being -> A world which s/he created (no longer control creation) •Other men -> Confronted by oneself, we are now confronted by others (what is the product of your labor vs the product of someone else's labor)
Working Poor
•People who cannot make enough income to rise above poverty line even if they work full time - 15% of people working 50 weeks a year cannot rise out of poverty •Two-thirds of families living below poverty line have one working family member •Half these workers are full time workers but still remain poor •More and more jobs available in low-paying industries •To escape poverty would need: $11.07 an hour (Nat'l avg) •$15 argued for Living Wage Some reasons for this: *Service industry is growing industry - not a well-paying industry generally *Cutting hours before 40 hour work week (CS buses?) *Internships *Housing and childcare costs rising faster than wages
Critiques of socialism and communism
•People will still abuse power and we will just find a new way to exploit people •Harsh conditions set by government entities since individuals don't control free market •Suggestion that no one will want to work, or it will stifle new, innovative methods or technology •Competition will be eliminated - while good for working class as it reduces stratification and exploitation, no reason to create or excel if you are not rewarded •But some critiques have underlying assumption that people are ONLY driven by profit or wealth - but think of everything that you do that you are not paid for: chores, errands, home-improvements but also reading, writing, painting, singing, studying, sports, UIL, etc •Improvement and success tend to be internalized - we like doing things and doing them well; can find other methods of reward
Privatization can be a problem
•Privatization of prisons - think back to lecture •Privatization of probation and municipal services (think about the video) •Privatization of health and human services - remember Martin Shkreli and the HIV drugs or Heather Bresch and the EpiPen? •If goal is to make profit, often at the expense of the individual: cutting corners, charging exorbitant fees, keeping citizens in endless cycle of payment and repayment, more work for cheapest labor cost possible
Economic Opportunities w/in race and gender
•Probabilities of economic achievement shaped by race, class, and gender •Women's labor force participation has increased steadily over the past 50 years, especially true for white women •Men & women of color are more likely to be unemployed, have fewer hours of work, & to be overqualified •Differences in economic position cannot be explained by education and credentials -> other factors, like unions, contract workers, high-risk jobs, etc •Varies across the globe •Women's labor force participation has increased in all regions of the world, although variations exist within and across regions •High rates of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa; women's participation high •Where women and men strictly separated (like in North Africa) women's labor force participation rates much lower
Marx argues all nations will evolve into socialism
•Proletariats would eventually shed false consciousness •False class consciousness: Workers identifying with interests of capitalists (think about taxing the rich and wage caps; we dislike them because what if we are one day rich) •Proletariats will rise up, seize the means of production, and redistribute wealth to the 'people'; the community, workers •First step in revolution is gaining a class consciousness -> awareness of common identity based on one's position in the means of production •Proletariats would recognize their shared status, the exploitation of their labor, and the dependence of the capitalist class •Interestingly, this is what Battalora argued the ruling class wanted to stop from happening
Limitations of the index of dissimilarity
•Sex segregation within firms is obscured (the same job might be done by women in one firm but by men in another; this makes the job look "integrated," although women and men in the job do not really come in contact) •Jobs within an occupational category often segregated by gender (men are more likely than females to work in "high-end" restaurants with higher tips, whereas females are more likely to work in "low-end" restaurants; both are food servers) (difference between waitress and server) •Differences in intrinsic rewards: Predominately female occupations offer less autonomy, less decision-making power, and fewer opportunities for training and promotion •Differences in extrinsic rewards: Predominately female occupations feature lower pay, lower job security, and fewer fringe benefits
Social Stratification - beginnings of inequality
•Social stratification - system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy •We think of stratification in terms of class or income or wealth (not wealthy) •Wealth -> net worth that includes income, property, and other assets •Total income minus any debts (Even $5 can be wealth) •Social inequality - unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society •Power -> ability to influence others or change something •Prestige -> respect or value we place in something
Socialism
•Socialism - means of production owned by community; Economic system based on collective ownership of production and distribution of goods and services •Heavy government regulation, usually by councils or community members •Similar to co-ops, like co-op farmers markets, co-op electricity companies, or co-op buildings or housing (Texas has 64 electric co-ops) •Less social stratification and reduction of social classes (no more bourgeoisie) •Profit motive deteriorated - 'profit' given back to members or community
Pre-industrial/agricultural systems - around 16th and 17th century
•Technology and techniques improved farming and created surplus; less serfs needed to work land (plow and crop-rotation) •Serfs moved to towns to find work producing goods and services •Military members and lesser lords also had a bit more disposable coin •Went to towns to spend coin and were granted small plots of land •See development of Exchange Economy as we know it •Craftsmen in towns develop goods •Military members and lords buy goods •Goods are sold for a profit •Services by laymen sold for profit •Trading centers (Cities) developed for people to gather and sell goods and services
Feminization of poverty
•Trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor •Poverty rates for single female head of household - 43% (PRC) •Poverty rates for married couples - 6.2% •Poverty rates for single male head of household - 24% (PRC) •Poor families headed by single women doubled from 25% in 1960 to 52% in 2011 •Trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor: 12.9% of women but 10.6% of men (PovertyUSA) •Poverty rates for single female head of household - 43% (PRC) •Poverty rates for married couples - 6.2% •Poverty rates for single male head of household - 24% (PRC) •Poor families headed by single women doubled from 25% in 1960 to 52% in 2011 •Why is this? *Reason might surprise you (no-contest divorces introduced in 1970s) Explanations for the Earnings Gap •Family Responsibilities •Discrimination •Occupational Segregation
Laborer
•Turns skilled laborer into unskilled manufacturer or low-skilled service worker •"Cog in the machine" •People become replaceable •Pits workers against each other (who will do more for less) •Requires workers to work longer or harder for same pay, since cost of production is equal to price of commodity •Slowly destroys middle class - small shop-owners do not have capital to compete with large industry (The Walmart Effect) People become estranged/alienated from labor (similar to Weber's "disenchantment"
Welfare
•US spends less to alleviate poverty than any other wealthy country •Congressional Research Services (Senate Budget Committee) declares 83 'welfare' programs' •2015 - 25% of federal budget went to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA subsidies ($938 billion) •Medicare = $546 billion •CHIP, Medicaid, ACA subsidies = $392 billion •Safety Net Programs - 10% of budget ($362 billion) •SNAP, Housing Assistance, Child Care Assistance/tax credit, energy assistance, school lunches, EITC, WIC, TANF
When we think of class...(SES) Socio-Economic Status
•Upper Class - High Income - High levels of education - High levels of prestige, power, privilege •Middle Class - Average levels of Income - Average to high level of education - Med to high levels of prestige, power, privilege •Lower Class - Low levels of income - Little to no education - Little to no level of prestige, power, privilege Some occupations blur the lines - A librarian may have high education , medium to high prestige, but little income; a garbage collector has median pay but very little prestige
Final evolution into communism - a critique
•Why? Because Marx was kinda naive and has WAY too much faith in humanity •The seizure of means of production and distribution of means AND wealth would mean all needs are met; all citizens work for government and no class distinctions •If needs are met, we have less wants, less need for private property, less need for capital or profit -> Could then focus on the arts, humanities, education, philosophy •Each person would contribute to the common good and benefit from it ""From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" •But Marx lived during quickly industrializing Germany and was influenced by Hegelian philosophy (dialectic model of philosophy using logic) so theory is reflection of that -> seeing the factory workers struggle under industrialization •Also lived off Engels' generosity, was fairly middle class, and never stepped foot in a factory
Who are the poor?
•Young - 48% of US poor are under 25 •2/3 of all poor people are white - but remember population disparities •White (10.1%) •Black (20.8%) •Hispanic (17.6%) •Asian Americans (10.1%) •Native American (25.4%) •People of color have high rates of child poverty •African American - 38.8% •Hispanic -34.1% •White - 12.5% •More likely to live in poverty if you have children - this is true GLOBALLY
