ISS 215 Fayyaz Hussain Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture I Finishing up Max Weber II Ruling Class III Conflict Perspective and Karl Marx Outline of Current Lecture IV Continue Karl Marx V Alienation VI Criticism of Karl Marx VII Reading Review Current Lecture Karl Marx on Classes in Society Bourgeoisie Rich Powerful owns the means of the production Proletariat Poor Worker in the factory owns the labor According to Marx rich become richer in society because of exploitation of workers The less you pay the workers the more money you can keep for yourself Class Conflict conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat leading to social change Generally new systems always emerge from these revolutions Socialism and Communism around the globe didn t sustain because it was only half hearted and therefore wasn t able to last Middle class in a capitalist society isn t a real class because they are the middleman between the poor and the rich They are trained and educated to manipulate the people to increase the wealth and profit of bourgeoisie These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Alienation From Work Can be hired or fired without morals or ethics taken into account firing worker from GM motors does not matter that he has a family to support From the Product Whatever you produce you do not necessarily own worker in luxury car factory may never own one of the cars he or she produces From other Workers Not being able to work alongside others assembly line different people do different jobs monotonous boring Self alienation Trying to understand the purpose of your life and the reason behind your work Marx says reason for random shootings at work in the United States is because of self alienation Criticism of Karl Marx Too much emphasis on economic organizations Societies are not always under conflict Social conflict is rarely bipolarized Power is not always associated with property ownership Conflict does not always lead to social change SOCIAL INEQUALITY READING REVIEW CHAPTER ONE Examining Inequality Social Difference Biological differences and manmade differences Social Stratification Difference in social classes system of ranks money education etc Sociological Mode Tries to look at things analytically not on the surface Levels of Analysis Description lowest level of knowledge Explanation Analysis next level of knowledge Prescription Highest level of knowledge Like going to a doctor and describing the symptoms and getting blood tests done to further explain what s going on The doctor then analyzes the tests and can fix the problem by writing a prescription Some Basic Terms CHAPTER TWO Karl Marx Max Weber Class Status Party Structural Functionalism CHAPTER THREE Classes Inequality Trends After WWII The cities in Europe had so much destruction whereas the economy in the US was booming because Europe depended on the US for supplies After WWII everyone came home and started settling into families and having children US economy benefited from this war 1970s Wave of poverty caused by Vietnam War 1980s Wave of poverty 1990s Bill Clinton computer revolution