Soc 1 Final Exam Study Guide Winter Quarter, 2009 1 Soc 1 Study Guide: Second Half of the Course February 10th Lecture 5. Individual, Institutional & Duality Approaches to Social Class Key Concepts • Approaches to social class • Individual Centered Approach • Institutional Centered Approach • Duality Approach • Class distinctions based on Distinctions: Hierarchy, Power, Wealth, Work, Health & Opportunity • Statistics on Inequality in the U.S. - Distribution of U.S. wealth - Poverty by ethnic/racial & men/women/children/female headed households - Americans that have experienced poverty • Statistics on Inequality in U.S. Compared to Other Nations - Per capita income - Wealth owned by richest 10% of population - Gap between high income and low income individuals - Poverty rate: total, children, and elderly - Children in poverty - Poverty after taxes and transfers - Infant mortality - Labor unions - Cost of labor - Vacation time - Tax as GNP - Resources devoted to government social programs - Adult literacy - Job training, help - Imprisonment • Statistics on Inequality in U.S. Over Time - The Long Gilded Age, The Great Compression, Middle Class America, Middle Class America, The Great Divergence - Top decile income share - Inequality Rising - Income growth by groups during different presidencies - Income Groups - CEO pay vs. average wages - Income shares - Federal tax rates - Earned income tax credit and AFCD/TANFSoc 1 Final Exam Study Guide Winter Quarter, 2009 2 - Spending on poor individuals - Housing, high quality childcare, higher education, health insurance - The dream divide - Soaring college tuitions - Job losses in recent recessions • Individual Centered Approach - The Self made self - Survival of the fittest - Hard work, smarts, and gumption - Individuals make their own lives - Individuals make choices - Individuals have abilities resources - Competition between individuals - Brightest, hardest working, most moral, etc, succeed • History of Individual-Centered Theories in America - No Aristocracy - The Frontier – Frederick Jackson Turner - Horatio Alger stories – ambition, hard work, ingenuity, talent, intelligence (I.Q.), motivation, industriousness, luck, etc. - Institutions have “moral authority” - America as the land of opportunity - Human Capital Theory (Gary Becker) – Cost of capital determines price - Worker’s Capital = Self investment - Stratification system is a rational market - Individuals responsible for own worth - Income structure reflects human capital structure - Cogitive Elite Theory (Hernstein & Murray) • Fisher et. al. challenge Cogitive Elite Theory - Intelligence "g"–1 dimension or many? - Ability to rank people linearly is fallacious - No relationship I.Q. and later success (control for education - Much evidence that poverty varies by social policy Key People • Frederick Jackson Turner • Horatio Alger • Gary Becker • Hernstein & Murray • Fisher et. al. February 12th Guest Lecture Prof. William Freudenberg, “Hell or High Water” Human role in natural disasters “Enduring Conflict” Disproportional pollutionSoc 1 Final Exam Study Guide Winter Quarter, 2009 3 Basic Background (how hurricanes work, high ground next to rivers, “right hook”) Government response and ordinary citizen response What failed in Katrina? FEMA response Who was categorized as looters? Why? Three clues for human involvement/interference MR – GO (arguments for and against it) Effect of MR – GO on natural environment Economic success of MR - GO Disaster vs. Tragedy Circular liability Who is rewarded with large development projects and who suffers? February 17th Lecture 6 Individual, Institutional & Duality Approaches to Social Class (cont) • Class differences involve distinctions in hierarchy, power, wealth, work, health, and opportunity • Main point from all the statistics on inequality o Inequality in U.S. is high o Compared with other countries, inequality in the U.S. is high o It has been increasing over time. • Individual-centered approach to inequality o Individuals have the capacity of act, and they have a moral responsibility for their acts o Social Darwinism  Herbert Spencer, “survival of the fittest” • According to Spencer, what is the role of poverty? • According to Spencer, what happens if we intervene? o American Exceptionalism  Frederick Jackson Turner, “frontier thesis” • Spirit and success of U.S. due to conditions of Western expansion o No aristocracy in U.S. o Calvinism and the Puritans  Moral worth defined by own behavior (and accumulation of wealth) o Ideological belief in the self  Horatio Alger • Stories about city boys who “pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps” • American beliefs about class o Human capital theory (Gary Becker) o Cognitive elite theory (Hernstein and Murray) • Institutional-centered approach to inequalitySoc 1 Final Exam Study Guide Winter Quarter, 2009 4 o Two ways that institutions matter:  How institutions affect who gets what  How institutions affect rewards for getting ahead o Macro-perspective on various forms of inequality  Slavery: people as property  Caste: religious/racial distinctions  Estates/Feudal system: land ownership and accompanying legal distinctions  Class: economic differences o Institutional theories of inequality  Karl Marx • Focus on the mode of production (forces of production + relations of production) • Social class = relation to means of production o Bourgeoisie, petite-bourgeoisie, proletariat • Materialist theory of history • Capital as theft • Ideology • Critiques/Limitations o Keynesian economics o Role of labor unions o One-sided view of power  Max Weber • Status groups – cultural distinctions, style of life, shared identity • Class – shared economically shaped “life chances”  Pierre Bourdieu • Cultural capital, social capital  Annette Lareau • Cultural repertoires • Transmission of differential advantages (concerted cultivation) vs. accomplishment of natural growth February 19th Guest Lecture Prof. Flacks. “The Sociology of Youth Culture.” Youth engagement in both personal and public life Students and youth have long history of challenging status quo. This