SOCI 201 CH 1: A Sociological Compass PDF

1 A Sociological Compass In this chapter you will lear n to Define sociology. Identify the social relations that surround you, permeate you, and influence your...

1 A Sociological Compass In this chapter you will lear n to Define sociology. Identify the social relations that surround you, permeate you, and influence your behaviour. Describe how sociological research seeks to improve people’s lives and test ideas using scientific methods. Summarize sociology’s major theoretical perspectives. Appreciate how sociology emerged out of the Scientific, Democratic, and Industrial Revolutions. See how sociology can help you better understand the main challenges facing the world today. Jacob Lund/Shutterstock  Introduction 3 Introduction Why You Need a Compass for a New World “When I was a child growing up in New Brunswick in the 1950s, Lena White, an Indigenous woman, would come to our home from time to time, and my mother would serve us lunch,” recalls Robert Brym, one of this book’s authors. “I was fond of Lena because she told good stories. During dessert, as we sipped tea with milk, Lena would spin tales about Gluskap, the Creator of the world” (First People, n.d.). “I liked Gluskap because he fought giants, drove away monsters, taught people how to hunt and farm, and named the stars. But he also got into trouble and learned from his mistakes. For example, one day the wind was blowing so hard, Gluskap couldn’t paddle his canoe into the bay to hunt ducks. So he found the source of the wind: the flapping wings of the Wind Eagle. He then tricked the Wind Eagle into getting stuck in a crevice where he could flap no more. Now Gluskap could go hunting. However, the air soon grew so hot, he found it difficult to breathe. The water became dirty and began to smell bad, and there was so much foam on it, he found it hard to paddle. When he complained to his grand- mother, she explained that the wind was needed to cool the air, wash the earth, and move the waters to keep them clean. And so Gluskap freed the Wind Eagle and the winds returned to Earth. Gluskap decided it was better to wait for good weather and then go duck hunting rather than conquer the winds. “Like the tale of the Wind Eagle, many of the Gluskap stories Lena told me were about the need for harmony among humans and between humans and nature. You can therefore imagine my surprise when I got to school and learned about the European exploration of what was called the New World. My teachers taught me about the glories of the conquest of nature—and of other people. I learned that in the New World, an Indigenous population per- haps a hundredth as large as Europe’s occupied a territory more than four times larger. I was taught that the New World was unimaginably rich in resources. European rulers Gluskap saw that by controlling it, they could increase their power and importance. Christians recognized new possibilities for spreading their religion. Explorers discerned fresh opportunities for rewarding adventures. A wave of excitement swelled as word spread of the New World’s vast potential and challenges. I, too, became excited as I heard stories of conquest quite unlike the tales of Gluskap. Of course, I learned little about the violence required to conquer and colonize the New World.” In the 1950s, I was caught between thrilling stories of conquest and reflective stories that questioned the wisdom of conquest. Today, I think many people are in a similar position. On the one hand, we feel like the European explorers because we, too, have reached the frontiers of a New World. Like them, we are full of anticipation. Our New World is one of instant long-distance communication, global economies and cultures, and scientific advances that often make the daily news seem like reports from a distant planet. In a fundamental way, the world is not the same place it was just 50 or 60 years ago. © William Dennis Kinchlea On the other hand, we understand that not all is hope and bright horizons. Our anticipation is mixed with dread. Gluskap stories emphasizing harmony make more sense than ever. Scientific breakthroughs are announced almost daily, but the global environment has never been in worse shape in the history of humanity. Marriages and nations unexpectedly break up and then reconstitute themselves in new and unan- ticipated forms. We celebrate the advances made by women and racialized groups  4 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass only to find that some people oppose their progress, sometimes violently. Waves of people migrate between continents, establishing cooperation but also conflict between previously separated groups. New technologies make work more interesting and creative for some, offering unprecedented opportunities to become rich and famous. But they also make jobs more onerous and routine for others. The standard of living goes up for many people but stagnates or deteriorates for many more. Amid all this contradictory news, uncertainty about the future prevails. That is why we Sociology the systematic wrote this book. We set out to show undergraduates that sociology—the systematic study of study of human behaviour human behaviour in social context—can help them make sense of their lives, however uncer- in social context. tain they may appear to be. Five hundred years ago, the early European explorers of North and South America set themselves the task of mapping the contours of the New World. We set ourselves a similar task here. Their frontiers were physical; ours are social. Their maps were geographical; ours are sociological. But in terms of functionality, our maps are much like theirs. All maps allow us to find our place in the world and see ourselves in the context of larger forces. Sociological maps, as the famous American sociologist C. Wright Mills wrote, allow us to “grasp the interplay of [people] and society, of biography and history” (Mills, 1959: 4). This book, then, shows you how to draw sociological maps so you can see your place in the world, figure out how to navigate through it, and perhaps discover how to improve it. It is your sociological compass. We emphasize that sociology can be a liberating practical activity, not just an abstract intellectual exercise. By revealing the opportunities and constraints you face, sociology can help teach you who you are and what you can become in today’s social and historical con- text. We cannot know what the future will bring, but we can at least know the choices we confront and the likely consequences of our actions. From this point of view, sociology can help us create the best possible future. That has always been sociology’s principal justifica- tion, and so it must be today. The Goals of This Chapter This chapter has three goals: 1. First, we will illustrate the power of sociology to dispel foggy assumptions and help us see the operation of the social world more clearly. To that end, we examine a phenomenon that at first glance appears to be solely the outcome of breakdowns in individual func- Alex Colville’s Pacific (1967) tioning: suicide. We show that, in fact, social relations powerfully influ- acrylic on hardboard ence suicide rates. This exercise introduces you to the unique qualities of the sociological perspective. 2. The chapter’s second goal is to show that, from its origins, sociological Alex Colville Pacific 1967 acrylic on hardboard, copyright A.C. Fine Art Inc. research has been motivated by a desire to improve the social world. Thus, sociology (like much of science) is not a dry academic exercise but a means of charting a better course for society. At the same time, sociologists use scientific methods to test their ideas, thus increasing the validity of these ideas. We illustrate these points by briefly ana- lyzing the work of the founders of the discipline. 3. The chapter’s third goal is to suggest that sociology can help you come to grips with your century, just as it helped the founders of sociology deal with theirs. Today, we are witnessing massive and disorienting social changes. As was the case 100 or 150 years ago, sociologists now try to understand social phenomena and suggest credible ways of improving society. By promising to make sociology relevant to you, this chapter is an invitation to participate in sociology’s challenge. Before showing how sociology can help you understand and improve your world, we briefly examine the problem of suicide. This examination will help illustrate how the sociological perspective can clarify and some- times overturn common-sense beliefs.  The Sociological Perspective 5 The Sociological Perspective Analyzing suicide sociologically tests the claim that sociology takes a unique, surprising, and enlightening perspective on social events. After all, suicide appears to be a supremely antisocial and non-social act. It is viewed negatively by nearly everyone in society, typically carried out in private, and comparatively rare: In 2019, there were 11.8 suicides for every 100 000 people in Canada, which is close to the average for all countries (see Figure 1.1). Moreover, when you think about why people carry out such acts, you are likely to focus on their individual states of mind rather than on the state of society—we are usually interested in the events that caused individuals to become depressed or angry enough to do something as awful as killing themselves. We do not usually think about the patterns of social relations that might encourage or inhibit such actions. If sociology can reveal the hidden social causes of such an apparently non-social and antisocial phenomenon, there must be something to it! The Sociological Explanation of Suicide At the end of the nineteenth century, Émile Durkheim (1951 ) demonstrated that suicide is more than just an individual act of desperation that results from a psychological disorder, as was commonly believed at the time. Social forces, he showed, strongly influ- ence suicide rates. Durkheim made his case by examining the association between rates of suicide and rates of psychological disorder for different groups. The idea that psychological disorder causes suicide is supported, he reasoned, only if suicide rates tend to be high where rates of psychological disorder are high and low where rates of psychological disorder are low. Figure 1.1 However, his analysis of European government statistics, hospital records, and other sources Suicides per 100 000 People, 2019 > 30 5–10 20–30 0–5 15–20 Data unavailable 10–15 Source: Wiki Commons  6 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass High Figure 1.2 Egoistic and Suicide rate per 100 000 population Durkheim argued that, as anomic suicide Altruistic suicide the level of social solidarity increases, the suicide rate declines—and then, beyond a certain point, starts to rise. Durkheim called sui- cide in high-solidarity set- tings altruistic. Soldiers who knowingly give up their lives to protect comrades commit altruistic suicide. Low Suicide in low-solidarity Low High settings is egoistic or Social solidarity anomic. Egoistic suicide results from the poor Source: Robert Brym integration of people into society because of weak social ties to others. For revealed nothing of the kind. For example, he discovered that insane asylums (as they were instance, someone who is then called) housed slightly more women than men, but there were four male suicides for unemployed has weaker social ties and is thus more every female suicide. Among the major religious groups in France, Jews had the highest likely to die by suicide than rate of psychological disorder but also the lowest suicide rate. Durkheim also found that someone who is employed. psychological disorders occurred most frequently when a person reached adulthood, but Anomic suicide occurs suicide rates increased steadily with age. when vague norms govern Clearly, suicide rates and rates of psychological disorder did not vary directly. In fact, they behaviour. Thus, the rate of anomic suicide is likely often appeared to vary inversely. Why? Durkheim held that suicide rates varied because of to be high among people differences in the degree of social solidarity in various categories of the population. According living in a society lacking to Durkheim, the more a group’s members share beliefs and values, and the more often and a widely shared code of strongly they interact, the greater their group’s social solidarity. In turn, the greater the group’s morality. social solidarity, the more connected members are to society, and the less likely they are to take their own life if adversity strikes. In other words, Durkheim expected high-solidarity groups to have lower suicide rates than low-solidarity groups—at least up to a point (see Figure 1.2). Social solidarity the To support his argument, Durkheim showed that married adults are half as likely as unmar- degree to which group ried adults to die by suicide. That is because marriage creates social ties and a sort of moral members share beliefs and cement that connects individuals to society. Similarly, he noted that women are less likely to values and the intensity die by suicide than men are because women tend to be more involved in the intimate social and frequency of their interaction. relations of family life. He also wrote that Jews are less likely to die by suicide than Christians are because centuries of persecution have turned them into a group that is more defensive and tightly knit. And older adults are more likely than the young and the middle-aged to take their own lives when they encounter hardship because they are most likely to live alone, to have lost Strong social bonds decrease the probability that a person will die a spouse, and to not work or have a wide network of friends. In general, Durkheim wrote, “sui- by suicide when adversity strikes. cide varies with the degree of integration of the social groups of which the individual forms a part” (Durkheim, 1951 : 209). Note that his generalization tells us nothing about why particular individuals may take their life. That explanation is the province of psychology. But it does tell us that someone’s likelihood of dying by suicide decreases with the degree to which they are anchored in society. And it says something surprising and uniquely sociological about how and why the suicide rate varies across groups. Dragon Images/Shutterstock Suicide in Canada Today Durkheim’s theory is not just a historical curiosity. It sheds light on the factors that account for variations in suicide rates today. Consider Figure 1.3, which shows suicide rates by age and sex in Canada. Comparing rates for men and women, we  The Sociological Perspective 7 Male Female Male/female ratio by age cohort 30 27.32 Age Male-to-female cohort ratio 25.62 Suicides per 100000 population 25 22.97 15–24 2.23 22.17 20.16 21.08 25–34 3.76 20 16.72 35–44 3.39 15.15 15 45–54 2.50 55–64 2.81 10 9.19 7.88 6.77 6.82 5.95 6.61 65–74 3.60 5.15 4.65 75–84 3.19 5 85+ 5.30 0 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75–84 85+ Age cohort Source: Adapted from Statistics Canada (2019g). Reproduced and distributed on an “as is” basis with the permission of Statistics Canada. Figure 1.3 immediately see that, as in Durkheim’s France, men are about three times as likely as women Suicide by Age and Sex, are to die by suicide. However, in other respects, Canada today differs from France more than Canada, 2019 a century ago. For example, in Durkheim’s time, suicide was rare among youth. In Canada today, youth suicide is more common, having increased substantially since the 1950s. Although the rate of youth suicide was low in Durkheim’s France, his theory of social solidarity helps us understand why the youth suicide rate is higher in Canada today. In brief, shared moral principles and strong social ties have eroded for Canadian youth. Consider the following facts: In the first half of the twentieth century, more than one-half of Canadians, including youth, attended religious services at least weekly. Recent figures show that for Canadians born in 1986 or later, the comparable figure is 18 percent (Bibby, Thiessen, and Bailey, 2019: 181). The capacity of organized religion to teach youth a shared morality is now much weaker than it used to be. Since the 1960s, an increasingly large proportion of LGBTQ+ people have come out. They are often bullied, terrorized, and socially excluded at school and outside school. A large Canadian study found that suicide attempts are 7.6 times as frequent among transgender youth as cisgender youth (Kingsbury et al., 2022). The Canadian government and major Canadian churches did much to destroy the social fabric of Indigenous communities in the twentieth century, resulting in extraordinarily high levels of unemployment, substance abuse, cultural disorientation, and suicide. The residential school system tore about 150 000 Indigenous youth away from their families and their culture. Today, Indigenous youth suffer from an extraordinarily high rate of suicide (see Box 1.1 and Chapter 10, Race and Ethnicity). In sum, the figures cited above suggest that the level of social solidarity is now lower than it was, say, a century ago, especially for young people. Less firmly rooted in society, and less likely to share moral standards, young people in Canada today are more likely than they were at one time to take their own lives if they happen to find themselves in deep personal crisis. From Personal Troubles to Social Structures You have long been aware that you live in a society. But until now, you may not have fully understood that society also lives in you. In other words, patterns of social relations influ- ence your thoughts and feelings, affect your behaviour, and therefore help shape who you are. As we have seen, one such pattern of social relations is the level of social solidarity characteristic of the various groups to which you belong. 8 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass BOX 1.1 Social Policy Suicide and the Innu of Labrador to abolish alcohol Jan H Andersen/Shutterstock.com in 2008, but it is still smuggled into town, The suicide rate among the Métis is 1.8 times the rate for non- where a bottle of rye Indigenous people in Canada; among First Nations, it is 3.0 can sell for $350. Some times higher; and among Inuit, it is 9.0 times higher (Statistics local mothers openly Canada, 2019b). However, the Innu of Labrador, a First Nations denounce people who people, are perhaps the most suicide-prone people in the world. supply alcohol and Among the Innu, the suicide rate is nearly 13 times the rate for all drugs, but substance Canadians (Rogan, 2001; Samson, Wilson, and Mazower, 1999). abuse is still widespread Durkheim’s theory of suicide helps explain the Innu people’s and anti-abolitionists tragic propensity to suicide. Since the mid-1950s, the Innu’s tradi- may still be found in Sniffing gasoline in Davis Inlet tional norms and values have been destroyed. Moreover, the Innu the local government were prevented from participating in stable and meaningful pat- (Kelland, 2022; Moore, 2010). In Sheshatshiu, little has changed terns of social interaction. In other words, social solidarity among over the past couple of decades. In October 2019, the community the Innu has been cut to an abysmally low level. of fewer than 1300 people declared a suicide crisis after 10 suicide How did this happen? Historically, the Innu were a nomadic attempts were reported within a few days (CBC News, 2019a). people who relied on hunting and trapping for their livelihood. What can be done about the tragedy of the Innu? A 1984 However, in the mid-1950s, shortly after Newfoundland and study showed that a movement among the Innu to return to the Labrador became part of Canada, the provincial and federal land and to traditional hunting practices for up to seven months a governments were eager to gain more control of traditional Innu year led to a dramatic improvement in health. Participants in the land to encourage economic development. Government officials movement led a vigorous outdoor life. Alcohol misuse stopped. reasoned that to accommodate new roads, mines, lumber opera- Diet improved. Their emotional and social environments stabi- tions, hydroelectric projects, and low-level flight-training facilities lized and became meaningful. Suicide was unknown (Samson, for NATO air forces, the Innu would need to be concentrated in Wilson, and Mazower, 1999: 25). settlements. Furthermore, government officials believed that, to However, it is doubtful that most Innu want to return to their function in these new settlements, the Innu would need to learn traditional lifestyle. And even if they did, a big political obstacle practical and cultural skills associated with a modern industrial would stand in their way: The governments of Canada and society. Consequently, governments put tremendous pressure on Newfoundland and Labrador would not allow it. A widespread the Innu to give up their traditional way of life and settle in Davis Innu return to the land would conflict with government and Inlet and Sheshatshiu. private economic development plans. For instance, the Lower In the new communities, Canadian laws, schools, and Churchill Project (the second-biggest hydroelectric project in churches strongly discouraged the Innu from hunting, practising the world) and the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine (the world’s biggest their religion, and raising their children in the traditional way. deposit of nickel) are located in the middle of traditional Innu For example, Canadian hunting regulations limited Innu access hunting and burial grounds. to their age-old livelihood. Priests are known to have beaten The Innu are vigorously attempting to regain control of their children who missed church or school to go hunting, thus intro- land. They also want to be able to decide on their own when and ducing interpersonal violence into a culture that formerly knew how to use Canadian health services, training facilities, and the none. Teachers introduced North American and European skills like. Whether some compromise can be worked out between and culture, often denigrating Innu practices. At the same time, government and private plans for economic development and few alternative jobs existed in the new communities. Most Innu the continuity of the Innu people is unclear. What is clear is that, wound up living in despair and on welfare. In the absence of work as a Canadian citizen, the outcome is partly your choice. and lacking the stabilizing influence of their traditional culture, a people long known for their nonviolence and cooperative spirit became victims of widespread family breakdown, sexual abuse, Critical Thinking Questions drunkenness, and alcohol-related illness. In Sheshatshiu in 2001, at least 20 percent of the children regularly got high by sniffing 1. In what ways have European colonization and settlement gasoline. In Davis Inlet, the figure was nearly 60 percent. been responsible for the plight of the Innu people? In 2002, the federal and provincial governments decided 2. Public opinion polls show that many Canadians blame to move the people of Davis Inlet, creating a safer community for Indigenous people themselves for their own problems. Why them in Natuashish, 15 kilometres away. The new community voted is this not a sociological (or a fair) explanation? Sociologists call relatively stable patterns of social relations social structures. One of Social structures stable patterns of social relations. the main goals for sociologists is to identify and explain how an individual’s personal trou- bles are connected to the social structures in which the individual lives. This task is harder than it may seem at first. In everyday life, we usually see things mainly from our own point  The Sociological Perspective 9 of view. Our experiences seem unique to each of us. If we think about them at all, social structures may appear remote and impersonal. To see how social structures influence us, we require sociological training. An important step in broadening our sociological awareness involves recognizing that three levels of social structure surround and permeate us. Think of these structures as con- centric circles that radiate outward from individuals. 1. Microstructures are patterns of close social relations formed during face-to-face interac- Microstructures patterns tion. For example, families, groups of friends, and work associates all form microstructures. of relatively intimate social Understanding the operation of microstructures can be useful. Let’s say you are relations formed during face-to-face interaction, looking for a job. You might think you would do best to ask as many close friends and such as families, friend- relatives as possible for leads and contacts. However, sociological research shows that ship circles, and work people you know well are likely to know many of the same people. After asking a associations. couple of close connections for help landing a job, you would do better by asking more remote acquaintances for leads and contacts. People to whom you are weakly con- nected (and who are weakly connected among themselves) are more likely to know different people. Therefore, they will give you more information about job possibilities and ensure that word about your job search spreads farther. You are more likely to find a job faster if you understand “the strength of weak ties” in microstructural settings (Granovetter, 1973). 2. Macrostructures are patterns of social relations that lie outside and above your circle Macrostructures over- of intimates and acquaintances.1 Macrostructures include class relations and patriarchy, arching patterns of social the traditional system of economic and political inequality between women and men in relations (including classes, bureaucracies, and power most societies (see Chapter 11, Sexualities and Gender Stratification). systems) that lie outside Understanding the operation of macrostructures is also useful. Consider, for and above a person’s circle example, that when a marriage dissolves, partners commonly blame themselves and of intimates and acquain- each other for their troubles. They tend to ignore the fact that, in our society, most tances. married women who work full-time in the paid labour force and are married to men are responsible for more housework, child care, and care for aging parents than their Patriarchy the traditional husbands are. In most of Canada and many other countries, governments and busi- system of economic and nesses support this arrangement insofar as they provide little assistance to families political inequality between in the form of affordable and accessible daycare facilities, after-school programs for women and men that exists in most societies. children, and the like. When spouses share domestic responsibilities equally, their mar- riages tend to be happier and divorce is less likely, but the unequal division of work in the household—an aspect of patriarchy—is a major source of dissatisfaction in mar- riages, especially in families that cannot afford to buy services privately (Hochschild with Machung, 1989). Rather than explaining marriage breakups solely as the result of conflicting personalities, it is useful to understand how the macrostructure of patriarchy contributes to marital dissatisfaction. Changing that structure can help people to lead happier lives. 3. The third level of society that surrounds and permeates us comprises global structures. Global structures patterns International organizations, patterns of worldwide travel and communication, and eco- of social relations that lie nomic relations between countries are examples of global structures. Global structures outside and above the national level, including are increasingly important as relatively inexpensive travel and communication allow all international organizations, parts of the world to become interconnected culturally, economically, and politically. patterns of worldwide Understanding the operation of global structures can be useful, too. For instance, travel and communication, many Canadians are concerned about impoverished people in less developed countries. and economic relations They donate money to charities to help with famine and disaster relief. They support between countries. the government giving aid to economically marginalized countries. However, many Canadians don’t understand that charity and foreign aid alone cannot end world poverty because these forms of support cannot overcome the structure of social relations among countries that have created and sustain global inequality. As we will see in Chapter 9 (Globalization, Inequality, and Development), Britain, France, and other imperial powers locked some countries into poverty when they colonized them between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. In the twentieth century, the poor (or “developing”) countries borrowed money from these same rich countries and Western 10 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass banks to pay for airports, roads, harbours, sanitation systems, basic healthcare, and so on. Today, poor countries pay about seven times as much in interest on those loans as they receive in aid. Thus, it seems that relying exclusively on foreign aid and charity can do little to help solve the problem of world poverty. Understanding how the global structure of international relations created and helps maintain global inequality suggests new policy priorities for helping countries that are economically marginalized. One such priority might involve campaigning for the cancellation of foreign debt in compensation for past injustices. These examples show that personal problems are connected to social structures at the micro, macro, and global levels. No matter whether a personal problem consists of finding employment, keeping a marriage together, or determining how to end world hunger, paying attention to its social-structural sources increases our understanding of the problem and indicates possible solutions. The Sociological Imagination C. Wright Mills (1959) called the ability to see the connection between personal troubles Sociological imagination and social structures the sociological imagination. The 2021 Netflix series Squid Game the quality of mind that illustrates what he meant by the term (see Box 1.2). enables a person to see The sociological imagination is a recent addition to the human repertoire. True, in the connection between personal troubles and ancient and medieval times, philosophers such as Confucius in China, Ibn Khaldun in social structures. Tunisia, and Aristotle in Greece wrote about society. However, their thinking was not socio- logical; they believed society was controlled by God and nature. They focused on devel- oping blueprints for the ideal society and convincing people to follow those blueprints. As a result, their explanations of how society worked were based on speculation, not evidence (see Figure 1.4). BOX BOX 1.2 1.2 SOCIOLOGY ANDthe Sociology and THE MEDIA Media Squid Game But fortune smiles. Gi-hun, along with 455 other people facing financial crisis, races, and spend their hard-earned cash at the casino: the hope of winning big, even are miraculously invited to participate in vicariously, the prospect of untold joy, Seong Gi-hun is in trouble. He’s up to his a series of contests. The sole remaining instant release from financial misery, and eyeballs in gambling debt. He’s divorced winner will collect 45.6 billion won (almost living like royalty for the rest of their life. and barely manages to support his 44 million Canadian dollars). The only Squid Game simply raises the stakes to daughter. His ex-wife plans to leave South wrinkle is that losers in each contest are make it more exciting. At a casino, losers Korea for the United States unless his finan- killed. With the death of each contestant, lose their money, while in Squid Game, cial prospects improve greatly—and quickly. 10 million won are added to the prize. losers lose their life. Gi-hun’s financial woes are similar Squid Game tells the story of how the Viewers with a more sociological to those of many other South Koreans. contests unfold and the contestants meet frame of mind likely see something more Among the 41 mainly rich countries that their fate. profound in Squid Game. They view it not belong to the Organisation for Economic Squid Game resonated with audi- as the story of Seong Gi-hun and 455 other Co-operation and Development, South ences everywhere. By the time its first four people like him but as a critique of their Korea ranks fourth in the percentage episodes aired in fall 2021, it had beaten society. In all societies, people in financial of people living below the poverty line out Bridgerton to become Netflix’s most- distress are more likely than others are (16.7 percent) (Kyung-don, 2021). Yet watched series ever, and the most-viewed to eat food with low nutritive value, live employed people in South Korea work more series in 94 countries. The series and its in the midst of industrial pollutants, do hours per week than employed people in actors won a raft of awards. Netflix soon dangerous work, contract life-threatening any other rich country do—44 hours per renewed Squid Game for a second season. diseases, and engage in risky and violent week, compared to 36 hours per week in What makes people Squid Game behaviour—all of which tends to shorten Canada (World Population Review, 2022). fans? For many, it may be the same their lifespan. The greater the percentage Overwork and underpay are thus rife in impulse that motivates them to buy lottery of people in a society facing financial dis- South Korea. Despair is rampant. tickets, bet on sports games, go to the tress, the shorter the average lifespan of  The Sociological Perspective 11 Figure 1.4 The European View of the World, about 1600. In Shakespeare’s time, most educated Europeans pictured a universe in which God ultimately determines everything. Thus, in this early seventeenth-century engraving, a chain extends from God’s hand to the hand of a woman representing Nature; she in turn holds a chain extending to the “ape of Nature,” representing humankind. The engraving thus suggests that God and his intermediary, Nature, shape all human actions. Notice also that the engraving arranges all the elements of the universe—angels, heavenly objects, humans, animals, vegetables, minerals—into a hierarchy. It suggests that higher elements, such as Source: Robert Fludd, Ultriusque Cosmi Maioris Scilicet et Minoris Metaphysica, Physica Atqve the stars and the planets, Technica Historia 1617–19. (Oppenheim, Germany. Johann-Theodor de Bry.) (Black-and-white print of influence lower elements, the chain of being). By permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University. such as the fate of humans. the population. For a person graced with other side of the world. It is the story of Critical Thinking Questions the sociological imagination, Squid Game our neighbours here, today—and perhaps is not an imaginary tale of people on the our story. 1. In what percentile is your household’s annual income? 2. What sociological factors influence whether your household’s annual income percentile is high, moderate, or low? Entertainment Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo At a casino, losers lose their money, while in Squid Game, losers lose their life.  12 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass The Scientific Revolution began Origins of the Sociological Imagination in Europe around 1550. Scientists proposed new theories about The sociological imagination originated in three revolutions that forced people to think the structure of the universe and about society in new ways: developed new methods to col- lect evidence so they could test The Scientific Revolution began about 1550. It emphasized the belief that we should those theories. Shown here is an use evidence, not speculation, to draw conclusions about how society works. The astrolabe used by Copernicus to Scientific Revolution is often linked to specific theories, such as Newton’s laws of solve problems relating to the position of the Sun, the planets, motion and Copernicus’s view that Earth revolves around the Sun. and the stars. However, it is important to keep in mind that science is a method of inquiry, not just a collection of ideas. For example, in 1609, Galileo used a telescope to make careful observations. He concluded that Copernicus’s theory was right. This approach illustrates the scien- tific method: using evidence to test theory. By the mid-seventeenth century, philosophers such as Descartes in France and Hobbes in England were advocating using the scientific method to study society. Commitment to the scientific method became a focus of the sociological imagination when sociology arose as a distinct disci- traveler1116/iStock pline in the nineteenth century. The Democratic Revolution began about 1750. It emphasized that people are responsible for organizing society and that, as a result, social problems can be resolved through human intervention. At the time, most Europeans believed that God shaped the social order. However, the societal upheaval that resulted from the American Revolution (1775–83) and the French Revolution (1789–99) helped to challenge that Scientific Revolution idea. It became evident that society could quickly experience enormous change and the revolution that began about 1550 and empha- that people control society. The implications for social thought were profound: If people sized that people should could change society, then they could also use a science of society to help them improve use evidence, not specula- it. The democratic revolutions thus helped to support the idea that a science of society tion, to draw conclusions was possible. about how society works. Democratic Revolution period of history that began around 1750 that suggested that people are responsible for organizing society and that human intervention can therefore solve social problems. Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, July 28, 1830. The democratic forces unleashed by the French Revolution suggested that SuperStock/SuperStock people are responsible for orga- nizing society and that human intervention can therefore solve social problems. Accordingly, democracy was a foundation stone of sociology.  Theories, Research, Values 13 Spinning mill, Macon, Georgia, 1909. The first Industrial Revolution began in the late eighteenth century. The so-called Second Industrial Revolution began in the early twentieth century. Wealthy entrepre- National Child Labor Committee collection, Library of Congress, neurs formed large companies. Steel became a basic industrial material. Oil and electricity fuelled much industrial produc- Prints and Photographs Division. LC-DIG-nclc-01581 tion. At the same time, Henry Ford’s assembly lines and other mass-production technologies transformed the workplace. Child labour was less extensive than during the First Industrial Revolution, but it was not uncommon. The Industrial Revolution began about 1780. It created a wide range of new social Industrial Revolution problems for social thinkers to focus on. As industry grew, many people moved from historical period of rapid the countryside to the city, where they worked long hours in crowded and dangerous economic transformation that began in Britain in the factories. Many lost faith in their religions, battled faceless bureaucracies, and reacted 1780s and involved large- to the filth and poverty of their lives with strikes, crime, revolutions, and wars. This scale application of science wide range of social problems created a kind of sociological research lab. The Scientific and technology to indus- Revolution suggested that it was possible to have a science of society. The Democratic trial processes, the creation Revolution suggested that people could improve society. The Industrial Revolution gave of factories, and the forma- tion of a working class. social thinkers a wide range of important social problems that demanded solutions. In response, the sociological imagination was born. Theories, Research, Values French social thinker Auguste Comte (1798–1857) introduced the term sociology in 1838 (Thompson, 1975). He tried to place the study of society on scientific foundations. Comte said he wanted to understand the social world as it was, not as he or anyone else imagined it should be. Yet there was a tension in his work. Although he was eager to adopt the scientific method in studying society, he was a conservative thinker, motivated by strong opposition to rapid change in French society. This inclination was evident in his writings. When he moved from his small, conservative hometown to Paris, Comte witnessed the democratic forces unleashed by the French Revolution, the early industrialization of society, and the rapid growth of cities. What he saw shocked and saddened him. Rapid social change was destroying much of what he valued, especially respect for traditional authority. He therefore urged slow change and the preservation of all that was traditional in social life. Thus, scientific methods of research and a vision of the ideal society were evident in sociology at its origins. Although he praised the value of scientific methods, Comte never conducted any research. Neither did the second founder of sociology, British social theorist Herbert Spencer (1820–1903). However, Spencer believed that he had discovered scientific laws governing the operation of society. Strongly influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, he thought that societies evolve in the same way biological species do. Individuals struggle to survive, the unfit die before they can bear offspring, and the fittest survive. According 14 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass to Spencer, an analogous process allows “barbaric” societies to become “civilized.” Deep social inequalities exist in society, but that is just as it should be if societies are to evolve, Spencer argued (1975 [1897–1906]). Spencer’s ideas, which came to be known as Social Darwinism, were popular for a time in North America and Great Britain. Wealthy industrialists, such as oil baron John D. Rockefeller, found much to admire in a doctrine that justified social inequality. They trum- peted the superiority of the wealthy and the powerful. Today, few sociologists think that societies are like biological systems. We have a better understanding of the complex eco- nomic, political, military, religious, and other forces that cause social change. We appreciate that people can take things into their own hands and change their social environment in ways that no other species can. Spencer remains of interest because he was among the first social thinkers to assert that society operates according to scientific laws—and because his vision of the ideal society nonetheless showed through in his writings. To varying degrees, we see the same tension between belief in the importance of science and a vision of the ideal society in the work of the three giants in the early his- tory of sociology: Karl Marx (1818–83), Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), and Max Weber (pronounced VAY-ber; 1864–1920). The lives of these three men spanned about a century. They witnessed Europe’s wrenching transition to industrial capitalism. They wanted to explain the great transformation of Europe and suggest ways of improving people’s lives. They adopted scientific research methods in their work, but they also wanted to chart a better course for their societies. The ideas they developed are not just diagnostic tools from which we can still learn but, like many sociological ideas, also prescriptions for combating social ills. The tension between analysis and ideal, diagnosis and prescription is evident throughout sociology. This tension becomes clear when we distinguish three important terms: theories, research, and values. Theories Theories tentative expla- Sociological ideas are usually expressed in the form of theories. Theories are tentative nations of some aspect of explanations of some aspect of social life. They state how and why certain facts are related. social life that state how For instance, in his theory of suicide, Durkheim related facts about suicide rates to facts and why certain facts are related. about social solidarity, which enabled him to explain suicide as a function of social soli- darity. In our broad definition, even a hunch qualifies as a theory if it suggests how and why certain facts are related (Einstein, 1954: 270). Theories are useful insofar as they guide research, telling us what to look for and how facts might be related. They thus help to broaden knowledge and solve social problems. Research Research the process of After sociologists formulate theories, they can conduct research. Research is the process of systematically observing systematically observing social reality, often to test a theory or assess its validity. For reality to assess the validity example, Durkheim collected suicide statistics from various government agencies to see of a theory. whether the data supported or contradicted his theory. Because research can call a theory’s validity into question, theories are only tentative explanations. We discuss the research pro- cess in detail in Chapter 2, How Sociologists Do Research. Values Before sociologists can formulate a theory, they must make certain judgments. For example, they must decide which problems are worth studying. They must make certain assumptions Values ideas about what about how the parts of society fit together. If they are going to recommend ways of improving is good and bad, right and wrong. the operation of some aspect of society, they must even have an opinion about what the ideal society should look like. Sociologists’ values shape these issues. Values are ideas about  Sociological Theory and Theorists 15 what is good and bad, right and wrong. Inevitably, values help sociologists formulate and favour certain theories over others (Edel, 1965; Kuhn, 1970 ). Accordingly, socio- logical theories may be modified and even rejected because of research, but they are often motivated by sociologists’ values. Durkheim, Marx, and Weber stood close to the origins of the major theoretical tradi- tions in sociology: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. A fourth theoretical tradition, feminism, has arisen over the past half century or so to correct some deficiencies in the three long-established traditions. It will become clear as you read this book that many more theories exist in addition to these four. However, because these four traditions have been especially influential in the development of sociology, we now present a thumbnail sketch of each one. Time for Review How does the sociological study of suicide show that a distinctively social realm influences all human behaviour, even if the behaviour seems non-social or antisocial? What are microstructures, macrostructures, and global structures? How did the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the Democratic Revolution influence the emergence of sociology? What is the relationship among theories, research, and values? Sociological Theory and Theorists Functionalism Durkheim Émile Durkheim’s theory of suicide is an early example of what sociologists now call Functionalism theory functionalism. Functionalist theories incorporate the following features: that stresses that human behaviour is governed They stress that relatively stable patterns of social relations, or social structures, govern by relatively stable social human relations. For example, Durkheim emphasized how patterns of social solidarity structures, underlines how influence suicide rates. Functionalists typically analyze macrostructures. social structures maintain or undermine social stability, Functionalist theories show how social structures maintain or undermine social stability. emphasizes that social For example, Durkheim analyzed how the growth of industries and cities in nineteenth- structures are based mainly century Europe lowered the level of social solidarity and contributed to social insta- on shared values or prefer- bility, which led, among other results, to a higher suicide rate. ences, and suggests that Functionalist theories emphasize that social structures are based mainly on shared re-establishing equilibrium can best solve most social values. Thus, when Durkheim wrote about social solidarity, he sometimes meant the problems. frequency and intensity of social interaction, but more often he thought of social soli- darity as a sort of moral cement that binds people together. Functionalism suggests that re-establishing equilibrium can best solve most social prob- lems. For instance, Durkheim said that social stability could be restored in late nine- teenth-century Europe by creating new associations of employers and workers that would lower workers’ expectations about what they could get out of life. If, said Durkheim, more people could agree on wanting less, then social solidarity would rise, resulting in fewer suicides, fewer strikes, and so on. Functionalism, then, was a conser- vative response to widespread social unrest in late nineteenth-century France. A more liberal or radical response might have argued that if people are expressing discontent because they are getting less out of life than they expect, then discontent can be lowered by figuring out how they can get more out of life.  16 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass Functionalism in North America Functionalist thinking influenced North American sociology at the end of the nineteenth cen- tury, but it was only during the continent’s greatest economic crisis ever, the Great Depression of 1929–39, that functionalism took deep root here (Russett, 1966). With a quarter of the paid labour force unemployed and labour unrest rising, sociologists with a conservative frame of mind were, unsurprisingly, attracted to a theory focusing on the restoration of social equilibrium. Functionalist theory remained popular for about 30 years. It experienced a minor revival in the early 1990s but never regained the dominance it enjoyed from the Photo courtesy of Ed Clark 1930s to the early 1960s. Harvard sociologist Talcott Parsons was the foremost North American proponent of functionalism. Parsons is best known for identifying how various institutions must work to ensure the smooth operation of society as a whole. He argued that societies function best when families effectively raise new generations, the military successfully defends society against external threats, schools teach students the skills and values they need to become productive adults, and religions help people share a moral code (Parsons, 1951). You have to look back to the 1960s to find a prominent Parsons was criticized for exaggerating the degree to which members of society share Canadian functionalist. S. D. Clark common values, and social institutions contribute to social harmony. This criticism led (1910–2003), the first chair of the North America’s other leading functionalist, Robert Merton, to propose that social struc- Department of Sociology at the tures may have different consequences for different groups of people and that some conse- University of Toronto, became quences may be disruptive or dysfunctional (Merton, 1968 ). Moreover, said Merton, known for his studies of Canadian social development as a process while some functions are manifest (visible and intended), others are latent (invisible and unin- of disorganization and reorgani- tended). For example, one manifest function of schools is to transmit skills from one generation zation on a series of economic to the next, while a latent function of schools is to encourage the development of a separate frontiers. The influence of func- youth culture that is often in conflict with parents and other adults (Coleman, 1961; Hersch, 1998). tionalism on his work is apparent in his emphasis on the way society re-establishes equilibrium after Conflict Theory experiencing disruptions caused by economic change (Clark, 1968). The second major theoretical tradition in sociology emphasizes the centrality of conflict in social life. Conflict theory incorporates the following features: Dysfunctional consequences effects of It generally focuses on macrolevel or global structures, such as relations between social structures that create classes, that is, patterns of domination, submission, and struggle between people of social instability. different economic standing. It shows how major patterns of inequality in society produce social stability in some Manifest functions circumstances and social change in others. obvious and intended It stresses how members of privileged groups try to maintain their advantages while effects of social structures. subordinate groups struggle to increase theirs. In other words, social conditions at a particular time are the result of an ongoing power struggle between privileged and subordinate groups. Latent functions non- obvious and unintended It typically leads to the view that eliminating privilege will lower the level of conflict effects of social structures. and increase the sum total of human welfare. Marx Conflict theory theory Conflict theory originated in the work of Karl Marx. In the mid-nineteenth century, that focuses on macrolevel or global structures and Marx proposed a sweeping argument about the way societies develop (Marx, 1904 shows how major patterns ; Marx and Engels, 1972 ). His theory was radically different from of inequality in society Durkheim’s. At the centre of Marx’s ideas is the notion of class conflict, the struggle produce social stability in between classes to resist and overcome the opposition of other classes. some circumstances and Marx argued that owners of industry are eager to improve the way work is organized social change in others. and to adopt new tools, machines, and production methods. These innovations allow them to produce more efficiently, earn higher profits, and drive inefficient competitors out of busi- Class conflict the struggle ness. However, the drive for profits also causes capitalists to concentrate workers in larger between classes to resist and larger establishments, keep wages as low as possible, and invest as little as possible in and overcome the opposi- tion of other classes. improving working conditions. Thus, said Marx, a large and growing class of poor workers opposes a small and shrinking class of wealthy owners.  Sociological Theory and Theorists 17 Marx held that workers would ultimately become aware of belonging to the same exploited class. Their sense of “class consciousness,” he wrote, would encourage the growth of working-class organizations, such as trade unions and labour parties. These organizations would eventually seek to end private ownership of property and replace it with a communist system in which everyone shared property and wealth—“from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” (Marx, 1875). Weber Marx’s predictions about the inevitable collapse of capitalism are now largely discredited. Max Weber, a German sociologist who wrote his major works a generation after Marx, was among the first to find flaws in Marx’s argument (Weber, 1946). Weber noted the rapid growth of the service sector of the economy with its many non-manual workers and profes- Hira Singh sionals. He argued that many members of these occupational groups stabilize society because they enjoy higher status and income than do manual workers in the manufacturing sector. In addition, Weber showed that class conflict is not the only driving force of history. In his view, Hinduism claims that any attempt politics and religion are also important sources of historical change. Other writers pointed out to improve one’s social position that Marx did not understand how investing in technology would make it possible for workers ensures reincarnation in a lower to toil fewer hours under less oppressive conditions. Nor did he foresee that higher wages, social position. Accordingly, better working conditions, and welfare state benefits would help to pacify manual workers. Hinduism is often held to be responsible for India’s traditional Conflict Theory in North America system of social stratification, the caste system. Contemporary Conflict theory had some advocates in North America before the 1960s. Most noteworthy Canadian sociologist Hira Singh, is C. Wright Mills, who laid the foundation for modern conflict theory in the 1950s. Mills a Marxist, challenged this wide- conducted pioneering research on US politics and class structure. One of his most important spread view (Singh, 2014). He books is The Power Elite, a study of the several hundred men who occupied the “command showed that each caste has had a different relationship to posts” of the American economy, military, and government. He argued that power is highly land. Caste position was highest concentrated in American society, which is therefore less of a democracy than we are often among those who owned the led to believe (Mills, 1956). In Canada, Carleton University’s John Porter was the foremost most land, lower for those who conflict theorist of the 1960s. His major work, The Vertical Mosaic (1965), strongly influ- owned less land, still lower for enced research on social inequality and elites in Canada for a generation. those who leased land, and lowest for those who neither Exceptions like Mills notwithstanding, conflict theory did not really take hold in North owned nor leased land but had America until the 1960s, a decade rocked by growing labour unrest, Québec separatism, to work it. In Singh’s view, the anti-Vietnam War protests, the rise of the Black Power movement, and the revival of femi- caste system was caused not by nism, which had fallen dormant after its first stirrings in the late nineteenth and early twen- Hinduism but by the system of tieth centuries. Strikes, demonstrations, and riots were almost daily occurrences in the 1960s land ownership in India. and early 1970s, so many sociologists of that era considered conflict among classes, nations, races, and generations to be the very essence of society. The Cultural Turn and Poststructuralism: Gramsci and Foucault In the 1960s and 1970s, conflict theory began what has been called a cultural turn. Increasingly, conflict theorists directed their attention to the ways in which language, music, literature, fashion, movies, advertising, and other elements of culture express domination by the powerful and resistance by others. The origins of a cultural approach to the study of social conflict are found in essays written in the early twentieth century by Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci (pronounced GRAM-shee). In Gramsci’s view, ruling classes establish their dominance partly by control- ling jobs, using force, and the like. However, they also exercise power in softer ways. In par- ticular, they fund the development, transmission, and learning of ideas that seem to embody the values of everyone but are actually biased in favour of upper-class dominance. Gramsci Cultural hegemony the wrote that cultural hegemony exists when these values become so deeply entrenched that the control of a culture by great majority of people accept them as common sense (Gramsci, 1957, 1971). Subordinate dominant classes and other groups to the point when classes can resist cultural hegemony, Gramsci wrote, but only if they develop ideas and institu- their values are universally tions that express and support their own cultural preferences. Later writers extended Gramsci’s accepted as common argument to include dominant, taken-for-granted ideas about race, ethnicity, sexuality, and so sense. on. (For more on how cultural hegemony works, see Chapter 13, Political Economy). 18 Chapter 1      A Sociological Compass In France, from the 1950s to the 1980s, Michel Foucault (pronounced Foo-KO) further developed the notion that culture is the site of ongoing conflict between dominant and subor- dinate classes and other groups. Foucault made his case by studying new forms of regulation that accompany capitalist industrialization. He showed that, as the goal of maximizing eco- nomic productivity grows in importance, criminals, people with physical disabilities, people with mental illness, and ordinary students and workers are subjected to new structures of control in prisons, hospitals, institutions for those with mental illness, workplaces, schools, and universities. According to Foucault (1973, 1977, 1988), modern institutions sometimes use violence to regulate behaviour, but they more often rely on new technologies and the inter