SOC100 Notes PDF

TWO MAIN ELEMENTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING: 1)​ The Sociological Imagination 2)​ Learning to Identify and Avoid Value Judgements The study of society predates the sociological discipline How societies organize collective life(how we live together) is a major object of inquiry -​ Philosophers...

TWO MAIN ELEMENTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING: 1)​ The Sociological Imagination 2)​ Learning to Identify and Avoid Value Judgements The study of society predates the sociological discipline How societies organize collective life(how we live together) is a major object of inquiry -​ Philosophers far back as Plato's/Socrates wondered what makes a good society Sociology built on study of society in a systematic way Interactions happen in patterned ways through routines/expectations/behaviors that establish themselves over time and build common meaning -​ These interactions occur in a variety of settings and levels and are shaped by culture “Canadian society” -​ Societies are not the same as states; they are built on interactions among its members HOW WE BECOME SOCIAL BEINGS: -​ Contrary to animals, humans are unable to survive and develop on their own -​ Family unit is first ‘point of entry’ into society -​ Family education in the first stages of life allows children to integrate into society -​ By becoming individuals we also become members of society CHILDREN/EGOCENTRISM (Toddler temper tantrum): -​ In their developmental stages, children learn to abandon their egocentrism -​ Learn to understand things through perspectives other then their own -​ By learning deductive reasoning and abstract thought, we learn to think about social things SOCIETY: Large scale human groups sharing common territory and institutions ​ Every society organizes itself on the basis of 3 MAIN DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL LIFE: 1)​ Social Activities: How we do/make things (material) 2)​ Representations: How we name things (immaterial) 3)​ Social Meaning: What things mean to us (immaterial) THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: Idea developed by C. Wright Mills to help individuals see the connection between their lives and larger society -​ Individual choices are structured in society -​ Individual freedom vs. historical constraints -​ Which larger social forces limit our choices We can understand our lives in more depth if we understand the larger history of our society -​ To do this, Mills advocated illuminating the personal troubles we face as individuals and the larger public issues/social problems that arise in human societies -​ We make our own history, but are confronted by pre-existing circumstances FIRST STEP TO SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING: REFUTING VALUE JUDGMENTS(opinions) -​ Thinking about social things competently means avoiding value judgments -​ Golden Rule of sociological thought; must be able to identify reasoning based on value judgements and know those reasonings are not valid from a sociological perspective VALUES vs. VALUE JUDGMENTS -​ Values and Value Judgments are different things: ​ Values: considered good/valuable/important. (ex: education, equality, justice) ​ Value Judgement: opinions on reality not based on empirical/factual evidence VALUE JUDGMENTS draw conclusions based on a limited knowledge ​ An inward looking(subjective) assessment of reality often based on hearsay, prejudice, popular opinion, and are one sided. ​ Typically found in attempts to explain social issues based on prejudice THINKING SOCIOLOGICALLY Sociological thinking rejects explanations based on value judgements because these do not follow a rigorous method for social knowledge for which a ‘neutral’ perspective is required -​ Value judgments impede understanding of social problems -​ EX: Sociological study on juvenile delinquents doesn't judge them for behaviors/value systems/etc; rather attempts to understand why they have those values/behaviors VALUE JUDGEMENTS CONTD -​ Easy/common to make value judgements, but being conscious that they are not facts helps to avoid them -​ Value judgments are too often used to assess social problems (in media, politics, popular opinion), instead of conveying a sociological understanding of said problems. -​ Politicians often use value judgments instead of sociological explanations when attending to social issues to manipulate popular opinion, or to attribute blame. 3 FOCI OF SOCIOLOGY: Most sociological research done within 3 primary areas of focus: 1)​ Study of Social Inequality 2)​ Role of Social Institutions in Society 3)​ Study of Social Change SOCIAL INEQUALITY: Gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged -​ Exist in terms of rights/opportunities/privileges. (Inequality based on differential experiences) SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: 5 in Canadian society(Family, Education, Religion, Economy, Government) -​ Defined as the norms/values/rules of conduct structuring human interaction -​ REMEMBER; Institutions not just physical spaces, but human networks too SOCIAL CHANGE (Ex: Secularization; religion losing its authority over individuals/social life) THE BIRTH OF A NEW DISCIPLINE -​ MODERN DEMOCRACY -​ INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION -​ SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (All events have contributed to the formation of the sociological discipline) SOCIOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY Modern Democracy is foundational to sociological thought -​ Recognition that were the architects of our own society, that it can be known/changed -​ Authority of the organization of society does not lie outside social body; but within it ​ Citizens are responsible for the institution of their society -​ In a democratic society, citizens recognize the origin of society lies inside society itself ​ Society not created by God/magic, but the sum of collective actions -​ Change from theocracy to modern democracy made issues become apparent to public SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Also known as Enlightenment, refers to the period of history that featured changes in thought Reason and Empiricism: Use of scientific methods to know the world. Empirical evidence This period in history advances social values such as Freedom, Equality, and Tolerance -​ As opposed to the absolute power of the Monarchy/religious authorities INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND URBANIZATION ​ Industrialization brought about a period of unheralded and rapid urbanization -​ “Sociological concern with urbanization began with sociology itself, for it was the rapidly growing 19th-century industrial cities that first supported those social relationships and structures which inspired the new discipline.” Sociology lowkey a result of 19th Century urbanization (EX: The first sociological studies concerned the problem of poverty within a new industrial working class). ​ Urban life changed the dynamics of social relations -​ Before 19th century most of the world's population lives in rural areas, with social life governed by tradition THREE CORE AIMS OF SOCIOLOGY 1)​ Define general themes in everyday life (study social life/culture) (“seeing the general in the particular”)(Peter Berger) -​ Sociologists strive to find patterns in people's behaviors -​ When patterns are found, research to determine why those patterns exist -​ Illuminates how patterns are established and how they become common sense 2)​ Question that which is familiar/common sense in human societies (Life is not self evident) -​ Body Rituals among the Nacirema (Horace Miner) 3)​ Examine how individuals are shaped by society, and how they shape their society -​ Creation of institutions (created by individuals, but also in turn influence them) EMILE DURKHEIM: -​ Holistic -​ Social integration -​ Functionalist: social institutions act as organs of the ‘body’ of society Noted how different sociology was from philosophy due to reliance on empirical research Focus on social facts (external social structures/norms/values that shape actions of people) DURKHEIM AND SUICIDE: Believed conditions of society influence individuals decisions -​ Found that suicide wasnt entirely a matter of individual decision -​ Suicide rates differed by country/gender/religion; confirmed to him the differences in suicide rates were a result of social facts (elements of society beyond person control) 4 MAIN TYPES OF SUICIDE (depending on degree of societal integration/regulation): 1)​ EGOISTIC SUICIDE: occurs in societies with low levels of integration 2)​ ALTRUISTIC SUICIDE: occurs in societies with high levels of integration 3)​ ANOMIC SUICIDE: occurs in societies with excessively low levels of regulation 4)​ FATALISTIC SUICIDE: occurs in socities with excessively high levels of regulation EGOISTIC SUICIDE: Importance of integration; higher suicide rates in Protestant Vs. Catholic ALTRUISTIC SUICIDE: Suicide for social ends (political/religious cults)(EX: high integration in army) ANOMIC SUICIDE: Normlessness= breakdown of social bonds; “Man is a wolf to man” FATALISTIC SUICIDE: Excessive regulation/control; (EX: suicide of slaves) RESEARCH METHODS (How Sociologists Study Society) Form research questions to guide their decisions; focus on the relationship between variables -​ Independent Variable: Variable that potentially affects other variables -​ Dependent Variable: Variables that are affected by the independent variable TWO MAJOR RESEARCH TYPES: 1)​ QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: Research on things that can be counted -​ Uses 2 main methods: Surveys and Experiments 2)​ QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: Research on social processes, focus on smaller number -​ Uses 2 main methods: Interviews and Participant Observation(Ethnography) (These 4 main research methods used to answer different types of research questions) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH METHODS -​ Content Analysis: Used to study documents like newspapers/historical letters/texts -​ Focus Groups: Like interviews but involve a larger number of people HAROLD GARFUNKLE; Breaching Experiments -​ Argued we could better understand social norms by breaking social rules in daily life -​ Individuals follow a set of expectations regarding how they should act; breaking these rules might reveal the unrecognized ways individuals participate in maintaining social order in interactions CHAPTER 2: SOCIALIZATION Socialization: Lifelong process by which we learn about society's norms/customs/ideologies -​ Provides us with the skills to participate in society; allows people to find an identity -​ (TEXTBOOK FOR STAGES OF SOCIALIZATION) -​ Process theorized differently depending on the sociological theory one uses ​ Structural Functionalism ​ Conflict Theory ​ Symbolic Interactionism (Structural Functionalism, Conflict/Feminist theories explain socialization as a top down process; from those with social power to those without) STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM: Focuses on how society can function cohesively -​ How institutions in society work together for its well being -​ Societies purpose is to survive/reproduce; institutions fulfill social functions -​ Socialization allows children to internalize social rules/values, preparing them for roles in society CONFLICT THEORY: Asks critical questions about the process of socialization -​ Who has the power to determine how individuals are socialized? -​ How does socialization help people fit in society; do some groups benefit over others? -​ How does socialization help/hinder social equality (Socialization not always functional given the existence of conflicts/inequality) ​ Human behavior/social relations are the subject of conflict between competing groups (social classes) ​ Class conflict determines how individuals are raised to behave in human societies ​ Individuals affected by unequal distribution of resources(Capitalists vs. Wage Workers) ​ Struggle over power a key element of social life, influencing process of socialization FEMINIST THEORY: Broadened application of Marx's theory; focusing on gender -​ Similar questions, but looks to explain socialization from lens of gender relations -​ Gender relations defined by men possessing more social power then women; therefor everything in society is organized around men and their positions/experiences -​ System of male domination: PATRIARCHY  -​ EARLY FEMINIST SOCIOLOGISTS: Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM: More of a horizontal process -​ Socialization less influenced by power, more so by everyday interactions/experiences -​ Children learn from one another, not just social institutions like family/school -​ Socialization negotiated through connections with other people; we actively participate -​ HERBERT BLUMER: Believed 3 basic premises ground symbolic interactionists: 1)​ Humans act towards things based on the meaning they assign to them; what a person thinks about something is rooted in the meaning of it 2)​ Meaning of things derived from social interactions between people; meaning developed in social situations 3)​ Individuals use a interpretive process to understand/modify meanings; meaning is relative/relational -​ Interested in how we develop a sense of self through socialization -​ Socialization helps us develop a sense of self/identity; which come from others -​ We think of ourselves using the words and categories developed by others -​ Our sense of self developed from the reactions of others; Self identification -​ GEORGE H MEAD: relationship between socialization and development of self through 4 STAGES of role taking by children: 1)​ Children learn language and other symbols by imitating significant others 2)​ Role playing stage - children pretend to be other people in their lives 3)​ Game stage; children learn complex rules to play the games they’re learning to play 4)​ Children think about themselves through the eyes of others -​ AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION: -​ The significant and generalized others in the process of socialization -​ Many different agents of socialization exist; tend to focus on family/peers/education -​ CHARLES COOLEY: The looking glass self; sense of self constructed by reactions -​ When we look at others, they act as a mirror that helps is understand how we appear SOCIALIZATION: THE PERFORMANCE OF SOCIAL ROLES Social interactions are a compelling part of the overall reality of everyday life -​ Reality shared with others; important experiences take place in face to face situations -​ Face to face situation features complex interchange of expressivity through which we try to apprehend another's subjectivity while they attempt to do the same to us -​ GOFFMAN: The dramaturgical perspective -​ Important part of socialization is learning to perform social roles -​ We as individuals are socialized to perform roles on the so called ‘stage of life’ -​ When we meet others, we work to influence their impression of us -​ Performance of self is thus a process, and ongoing activity that changes overtime -​ Social interactions happen in the FRONT and BACK stage ​ FRONT STAGE: Perform to make and impression on others ​ BACK STAGE: Private, where we can act as ourselves PERFORMANCE OF SOCIAL ROLES ARE: PERFORMATIVE: We perform ritualized roles to manage social interactions by presenting a version of self adapted to the situation; to make a positive impression/avoid embarrassment) SITUATIONAL: Ways we perform social roles depend on situations; interactions define situations SAVING FACE: Corrective practices to compensate a discrediting occurrence to avoid embarrassment (Social Scripts and going “off script”)(Social faces to control impressions others have of us) TYPES OF CORRECTIVE PRACTICES: PREVENTIVE PRACTICES: Things we do to avoid embarrassment/discrediting occurrences DEFENSIVE PRACTICES: Protect our own projections from being discredited PROTECTIVE PRACTICES: Things we do to save a situation projected by another DEALING WITH ‘FAUX PAS’: Embarrassing occurrences are bound to happen -​ Pressure from social constraints can become oppressive -​ We find ways to diffuse these situations of disruption and try to resolve them AGING AND SOCIALIZATION: What does it take to be considered an adult? Fursetenberg identify 7 MARKERS OF ADULTHOOD: 1)​ Completing Education 2)​ Financial Independence 3)​ Working Full Time 4)​ Ability to Support a Family 5)​ Leaving Parental Home 6)​ Getting Married 7)​ Having a Child (These markers not really relevant today) (in 2016, the number of seniors in Canada exceeded number of children, and its only rising) AGING AND SOCIALIZATION: Understanding of the aging process and stages of life change over time (18th/19th CENTURY): Concept of childhood as a separate period of life (20th CENTURY): Concept of adolescence; stage of emotional/psychological development (21st CENTURY): Concept of early adulthood; new life stage The socialization process of learning how to become a member of society and developing an identity is shaped by the society in which we live in our lifetime (subjective) -​ Culture/institutions/time period shape the process/our understanding of the process -​ TLDR: Experience of aging depends on social factors (Demonstrated by Margaret Mead's research with the Samoa) PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION: Process by which individuals learn the unwritten rules of society -​ (EX: Like how to have a conversation) -​ Individuals learn how to become a member of society by learning/discovering the attitudes, values, and actions that are culturally and socially appropriate -​ Family members in particular are very important in this process -​ Also applies at societal level SECONDARY SOCIALIZATION: Process by which individuals learn about the attitudes and appropriate behaviors of a subculture within the larger society -​ (EX: Could refer to a soccer team; individuals have to learn how to interact with their teammates) -​ Applies at a smaller, more local level ANTICIPATORY SOCIALIZATION: Process by which individuals rehearse potential roles they may take on in the future, like medical students interacting with patients RESOCIALIZATION: When individuals are socialized to replace an old role in their lives with a new one, like individuals who retire GENDER SOCIALIZATION: Refers to the process of learning how to behave in a way that is consistent with the gender rules/norms of your society -​ The play we engage in as children influence our understanding of what it means to act masculine or feminine in ways society deems appropriate -​ We are taught and retaught how to act according to gender throughout our lives CHAPTER 3: DEVIANCE, LAW, AND CRIME Knowledge is socially constructed -​ Reality is socially constructed -​ Knowledge is a ‘minor key’ for a man on the street, his reality and knowledge of the world is taken for granted (wisdom of the taxi driver/barmaid ignored) -​ Sociologists interested in the fact that quite different “realities” are taken for granted(social relatively) within society and between societies (EX: “knowledge of the criminal” vs. “knowledge of the criminologist”) -​ They are interested in the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arises (specific social contexts have specific “constructions” of knowledge/reality -​ Society is the product of human activity, and we constantly maintain it through continuous human interaction. This is how knowledge is socially constructed SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION -​ Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s theory explains knowledge production as an interactive, relational effort: it is created and maintained by social interactions in human societies. -​ Society as the product of human interactions: human beings develop concepts and construct society. -​ When we interact with others, we reinforce our common knowledge of reality as well as our understanding of how society is/should be -​ Concerned with ‘what people know’ as ‘reality’ in their everyday lives -​ Focus on common sense ‘knowledge’ rather than ideas -​ Believe it is this knowledge that constitutes the fabric of meaning essential to the existence of society SYNTHESIS OF MODERN SOCIOLOGY -​ Durkheim's theory of society (society as objective reality; through institutionalization) -​ Marx’s dialectical perspective; “human thought is founded in human activity and in the social relations brought about by this activity” Man's consciousness determined by his social being -​ Weber: social reality as constituted through subjective meaning (Other influences: Schutz, Manheim, Mead) ROUTINIZATION: Knowledge of everyday life is structured in terms of relevance determined by pragmatic interests (aka, by your situation in society) -​ Knowledge is socially distributed: social stock of knowledge has a ‘relevance structure’ (EX: Expertise of the car mechanic vs expertise of the sociologist)  -​ Pragmatic motive of everyday life: we have a ‘recipe knowledge’ that supplies us with knowledge required by the routines of everyday life. Use that knowledge to typify TYPIFICATION: “The social reality of everyday life is thus apprehended in a continuum of typifications, which are progressively anonymous as they are removed from the “here and now” of the face-to-face situation” BERGER AND LUCKMAN EXPLAIN SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION: 1)​ People categorize experiences and act on these categories 2)​ Although these categories stem from human activity, we take them for granted. The point is that these categories ultimately have social origins and are not natural/permanent. However, this has lead to ‘frivolous’ interpretation (universal relativity) 3)​ Relativity of social construction does not mean ‘everything goes’/’nothing is real.’ Socially constructed knowledge is part of a field of meaning, and objective reality poses “resistances” to categories. As Berger said, not all social constructions equally valid 4)​ Important to remember social construction of knowledge is an ongoing historical process HUMANISTIC SOCIOLOGY: Humanistic approach seeks to situate sociology within a living human community (balance between areas of thinking, feeling, acting). -​ Berger and Luckmann conclude their work by echoing the idea of conversation in their conception of sociology as a humanistic discipline. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DEVIANCE: Our ideas on deviance are socially constructed -​ The norms we define as important are subject to change/look different in different societies/cultures -​ What we label deviant changes when the norms/values of society change (EX: We typify Banksy as a visual artists, rather that a graffiti painter) THE GREAT CONFINEMENT: New techniques of ‘treating’ deviance -​ Period during the 17th and 18th century in which society replaced the practice of capital punishment with the imprisonment of people deemed deviant or insane, in prisons and asylums. DEVIANCE: Minor or serious act that breaks an accepted social standard (norms)  -​ Many deviant acts break norms but are not punishable by state (jaywalk) -​ Deviance varies according to: ​ Severity of the public's response: Ranging from disapproval to jail time ​ Perceived harmfulness: Amount of harm perpetrator thought to have created ​ Degree of public agreement: Extent to which public agrees act is deviant Minor Deviances: Not criminal/harmful to society; minor way to step out of norms of society Lesser Crimes: Criminal, but not serious violations of social norms Consensus Crimes: Illegal ; thought of as extremely harmful to society -​ Produce high level of public agreement regarding their seriousness -​ Comes with serious punishment White Collar Crime: Have high social costs and a negative impact on society -​ Often occur in work setting; motivated by greed for monetary gain -​ Intentional acts of violence; small/large in scale depending on amount of money stolen WHY ARE PEOPLE DEVIANT: Sociologists rely on social explanations to describe deviance -​ Individual level explanations focus on the criminals character and even biology (EX: ‘Criminals are just bad people’)(tend not to believe in rehabilitation, place emphasis on punitive sentences despite the fact there is little evidence it deters crime) -​ Social explanations seek to understand criminal/deviant behavior as a product of the influence of an individual's environment. -​ Focus on why person is more/less likely to commit crime based on social environment WASESKUN HEALING CENTER is one of 8 Aboriginal Healing lodges affiliated with Correctional Service of Canada that houses Aboriginal detainees -​ Aboriginal people represent 23% of inmate popular in Canada, but only 4% of civil population SOCIAL EXPLANATIONS OF DEVIANCE/CRIME -​ Merton's Strain Theory: Crimes a product of the gap between an individual's goals and their opportunities for success ​ Individual is unable to fulfil societies goals based on individual circumstances ​ As such, they experience strain and turn to deviant/criminal means to fulfill culturally defined goals (EX: monetary gain) ​ Merton focused on proper/improper means to achieve social goals CONFORMIST: Has POSITIVE societal goals and POSITIVE societal means (EX: uni student)(NOT DEVIANT) INNOVATOR: Has POSITIVE societal goals and NEGATIVE societal means (EX: drug dealer)(DEVIANT) RITUALISM:Has NEGATIVE societal goals and POSITIVE societal means (EX: just goes thru motions of life)(lost will to live)(DEVIANT) RETREATISM: Has NEGATIVE societal goals and NEGATIVE societal means (just completely checked out, no job no school and don't care)( homeless/severe drug addict) REBELLION: has NEGATIVE/POSITIVE societal goals NEGATIVE/POSITIVE societal means (rejects societal norms/means, but makes their OWN norms means)(EX: Terrorist) SUBCULTURE THEORY: Focuses on role of culture in explaining criminal/deviant behavior  -​ (EX: Gangs/criminal organizations are subcultures with distinct values/norms) -​ Collective adaptation to social conditions and a rejection of the establishments goals SUTHERLAND'S LEARNING THEORY: Extension of strain and cultural theories -​ Different environments provide opportunities to learning how to engage in deviance -​ If people interact with/ exposed to criminals, they learn to engage in criminal behavior HIRSCHI'S CONTROL THEORY: Explains how weak social control in society leads to deviance. Weak social control may be the result of multiple factors: -​ (EX individual could have weak relationships with peers and institutional involvement) -​ (Individuals might have weak beliefs in traditional values/lack employment/activities) LABELLING THEORY: Criminal/deviant behavior is a process where labelling someone criminal causes them to internalize the role (self fulfilling prophecy) -​ When people viewed3# as deviant they become stigmatized; turn to crime as a result -​ Social response to deviance can lead to a process of identity formation Differentiate between 2 TYPES OF DEVIANT ACTS: 1)​ Primary Deviance: Early, random acts of deviance that are common 2)​ Secondary Deviance: More serious/frequent; person organizes identity around crime (Society responds differently to primary deviance(public drunkenness) and secondary deviance (car theft)) SOCIAL EXPLANATIONS of DEVIANCE/CRIME: Advocate for rehabilitation/crime prevention -​ Focus on contextual factors of crime: eliminating poverty, access to employment -​ Some theories shift emphasis away from offender to focus on public reaction to the act DURKHEIM: Believed deviance served a function for societies; affirm cultural values/norms -​ “Normality of Crime”: Crime will never go away because it is functional for humans 1)​ Crime affirms cultural norms 2)​ Society's response to deviance teaches individuals what's right/wrong 3)​ Responding to deviance/crime unites societies 4)​ deviance/crime can spur social change (homosexuality illegal before, not now) PUNISHMENTS function in human societies: -​ Retribution: Punishment should be comparable to the suffering caused by the crime -​ Deterrence: Convincing individuals not to commit crimes again/in the first place -​ Rehabilitation: trying to heal/reform criminal as opposed to punishing them ​ Parole: early release of a prisoner for things like good behavior ​ Probation: releasing a prisoner into the community under certain conditions POWER OF THE SITUATION: Milgram Experiment (people more likely to do things they know are wrong when instructed by an authority figure)(65% administered the final shock) -​ Deviance more likely in certain social settings/situations (environmental factors) CRIME RATES: Crime by men declining; crime by women on the rise (commit 25%) CHAPTER 4: SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL CLASS KARL MARX witnessed great poverty that resulted in industrial division of labour -​ Developed critical approach to sociology -​ Instead of interpreting society, Marx wanted to CHANGE society in order to achieve greater equality -​ Theory is not only about comprehending reality, but about practicing social change (praxis) (WE NEED BOTH THEORY AND PRAXIS) Marx's goal was the liberation of humankind from economic necessity; and the development of an individual's potential through freedom -​ Marx rejects determinism (belief everything that happens in society is predetermined) -​ In this sense, his critical theory REJECTS positivist viewpoint that scientific methods can be used to describe so called ‘laws’ that determine social reality If all humans are born free/equal, why isn't self actualization achieved equally in society?? MUST FULFILL BASIC HUMAN NEEDS FIRST STRUGGLES FOR LABOUR RIGHTS IN CANADA: -​ Great Labour Revolt, Winnipeg 1919; Alberta workers also went on strike -​ Asbestos strike(1949); miners demanded wage increases, ventilators to work against lung disease causing debris in the mines -​ The Case of the Canadian Mining Industry: ​ Organizations around mining/labour enter different social classes (workers/owners) ​ Health abuses committed by owners on the regular ​ Given preferential treatment by government (exempt from taxes) -​ In 2009, 14/24 mines in operation in Quebec had not paid their royalties in 7 years CAPITALISM AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY: Capitalism is built on Class Conflict Marx argued society is organized around human labour; the way labour is divided shapes society and social relations Mode of Production: way that society is organized to produce its material needs (Means of production)(Shapes Class Relations: social relations of production) Marx argued division of labour under Capitalism is inherently exploitative -​ There is a built in conflict between workers and capitalists who exploit them -​ Marx saw the problem of wealth concentration; that if left unchecked/accumulated without redistribution would lead to disparity/misery for working class PROLETARIAT = Working Class BOURGEOIS = Owners of Means of Production CLASS STRUGGLE = Exists between proletariat and bourgeois CAPITALISM AND UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF LABOUR -​ Wealth is produced by labour of proletariats -​ Wage represents small fraction of value created by their labour -​ What we call ‘profit’ is surplus value; monetary value produced by workers beyond the cost of their wage -​ “Money move Upward”: Surplus value concentrated in hands of private individuals (the capitalists who own the means of production) CONTRADICTION: The workers produce the wealth but they CANNOT enjoy it (EX: Wage gap between Jeff Bezos net worth and the wages of Amazon workers) KARL MARX AND IDEOLOGY Marx theorized workers didn’t organize/resist capitalists more forcefully because of ideology -​ Systems of conscious/unconscious beliefs/ideals that govern people's lives -​ False consciousness is created by the bourgeoisie (through their owning of media sources) creation of a narrative that interests of the capitalists benefit the proletariat -​ Working class internalize interests of the capitalists as their own -​ False consciousness conflates self interest of ruler as that of the subjects OPPOSITE OF FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS: CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS -​ Idea that the workforce shares common struggles that transcend other differences -​ Sense of solidarity rooted in recognition as members of society; a call for unity -​ This mentality is necessary to achieve common goals that are impossible when the social body is fractured/divided Trade Union Density: Percentage of earners who are in a union (declining) INCOME INEQUALITY: The extent to which income is distributed unevenly within a country -​ Gap between high and low income households is widening -​ Top 20% of the population owns 70% of the wealth HOW DID WE GET HERE -​ Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) ushered a new form of capitalism -​ Neoliberalism (free trade/globalization/regulation) -​ Thatcher and Reagans policies marked a shift to market triumphalism (Idea that market mechanisms are the primary instruments for achieving public good) (This faith in market triumphalism has prevailed beyond Reagan era) WHAT IS NEOLIBERALISM: 3 MAIN IDEOLOGICAL TENANTS: 1)​ Beneficial effect of the rules of the market and competition, with limited intervention 2)​ International free trade preferable to any form of protectionism 3)​ Belief private enterprise is more efficient than public and most state enterprises should be privatized CAPITALISM IS ANTI SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE NATURE OF ITS POLICIES!!!! “The social system and the safety net cannot survive indebtedness, low taxes, a high degree of military and security expenditure, and free trade at the same time…” “We cannot refuse to raise taxes, insist dogmatically on free trade, and balance budgets at all costs without sacrificing social justice.” WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE? -​ INCOME EQUITY: A narrowed gap between the rich and the poor -​ Universal access to social services such as health care, education, legal services -​ Free access to post secondary; possibility for success in any career regardless of SES -​ Human/labour rights, non discriminatory, protection of freedoms EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND MERITOCRACY: Everyone should be given a fair chance to develop their talents/skills; and should have equal life chances -​ Depends on the degree of social mobility; ability to move up/down economic ladder NEOLIBERALISMS TENDENCY TOWARDS INEQUALITY: -​ Speculation -​ Defeating competition: Makes it so transparent capitalist maneuvers aren't possible (way to get ahead is to be corrupt (low pay, no unions, evade taxes)) -​ Concentration of Wealth -​ Political Side of Inequality: Those who have funds inevitably obtain influence in government/media -​ Adverse Effects of Technology: Jobs are disappearing, inequality bound to increase -​ Instability of Income: Fluctuation of income creates misery -​ Expansionism: Constant expansion leads to economic crashes (Bubble Economy) -​ Dangers of Constant Expansion: Pollution, emission levels, population DEMOCRACY AND INCOME INEQUALITY “Democracy needs to provide real access to government, to justice, and to social services for the ordinary citizens and not be purely procedural and offer theoretical rights which the ordinary person has little hope of enforcing. At present, citizens in most countries have little access to assemblies or politicians and know that those with money and class advantage will always beat them” PROBLEM OF 2 TIER SYSTEM: ECONOMIC SEGREGATION: Causes an imbalance of power among citizens -​ Allows those with wealth to monopolize desirable commodities (power, health, education) -​ Poor people will still be able to continue living, but will be excluded from elite culture which will serve the new ruling class -​ After a few generation, this higher class will appear to be superior PROBLEM OF THE MEDIA: Control of media by capital has prejudicial effect freedom of thought -​ Big corporations set the terms of debate and manipulate public opinion; brainwash population INEQUALITY HIGHLY LINKED to life expectancy hype-rcompeitivity of capitalism undermines well being ALTERNATIVES: Healthy Public sector (keeping health, education, social security a public domain) -​ Equality through minimum/maximum income/wealth -​ Economic regulation -​ Value placed on leisure/culture; personal freedom (CHANGES TO TAXATION SYSTEM NEEDED!!! MAX WEBER: Disagrees with Marx that economic inequality is the ONLY aspect of social inequality. Believed there's other non economic sources of power in society -​ POWER: The chance a person has to obtain their will despite opposition -​ Argues there's 3 OTHER BASIS OF POWER: 1)​ Class 2)​ Status 3)​ Parties CLASS: To Weber, class has to do with property/money/assets. What is your market situation (As opposed to Marx, who believed class was determined by the Means of Production) 4 CLASSES: Large Capitalists, Small Capitalists, Specialists, Working Class STATUS: Status Groups have some kind of honor/prestige through their social position -​ Many working class individuals earn a high income, but have low status -​ Formal (Dr title) or Informal (status of grandparents) PARTIES: Organizations that seek to exercise power communally to achieve some goal -​ Can be political or otherwise (EX: Green Peace, PETA)