Government and Economy 02 26 2013 Social institution founded on a recognized set of procedures for implementing and achieving society s goals cultural universal Political System Economic System Social institution through which goods and services are produced distributed and consumed cultural universal Power The ability to exercise ones will over others Weber Types of power o Force actual use of threat or coercion to impose one s will on others or force persuasion exercised custom The government has the exclusive right to use violence Violence is the ultimate foundation of any political order Berger 1963 o Influence the exercise of power through the use of o Authority institutionalized power recognized by whom it is Traditional authority acquired via tradition cultural beliefs and practices often transferred through linage Legal rational authority acquired via legitimate laws and the written or formal rules and regulations of a political system collective Charismatic authority acquitted through one s exceptional personal attributes and emotional appeal to people one person Types of Government Monarchy hierarchical society linked to land and based upon traditional authority Democracy power to the people o Citizenship by virtue of birth and residence people have basic rights Government is responsive to the will of the people NOT the people to the will of the government Oligarchy a few individuals have seized power Dictatorship one person has seized nearly total power Totalitarianism total control of a people by the government Economy Two primary economic systems capitalism and socialism Capitalism Socialism Modern day economies are responses to industrialization o Industrialization dependence upon mechanization to produce goods and services needed by society Capitalism o Means of production are privately controlled and primary goal is the accumulation of profit ex Show me the money o A pure capitalist system laissez faire capitalist system has no government intervention to regulate the economy Business regulates itself Socialism o Means of production and distribution in a society are collectively publicly owned Meeting societal needs is the primary goal Communism o Citizens control the means of production and social stratification does not exist Changes in the economy o Deindustrialization withdrawal of investment in industry o Downsizing reduction in a company s workforce o Diversity more women racial and ethnic minorities in the workforce o E commerce people use the internet to do business Government and Economy 02 26 2013 Power Structure Economic and political systems are interconnected as the goals and purposes of each overlap Perspectives of Power Structures o Pluralist Functionalist Maintain order and stability Establishes societal goals and organizes to achieve those goals Power is diffuse among many special interests groups and across institutions All groups have access to government so that one group dominates o Power elite models conflict Society is governed by a small group of individuals who share common political and economic interests Marx bourgeoisie business people Mills military government and business figures Reading 37 Power Elite Mills The power elite is made up of business leaders military leaders In order to be a member of the power elite you have to cycle and political leaders through these domains The people moving across domains are gaining social capital thorough the networking that they are doing Mills is not arguing that the power elite is a conspiracy looking to take over but are working toward the same thing Their own interests conflict perspective Ritzer and McDonaldization Same food Convenient Control efficiency convenient calculability predictability Has changed banking in term of ATM and now online banking Online shopping less face to face interaction Social Stratification in the US 02 26 2013 Stratification systems are based upon beliefs and norms Social Stratification Structured persistent ranking of people in a hierarchy in which the people in different strata systematically have unequal amounts of scarce and desirable resources life chances and social influence Life Chances opportunity to provide one self with material goods positive living conditions and favorable life experiences Inequality Stratification 1 Structured and systematic 2 Hierarchical 3 Group based 4 Persist over long periods of time generational 5 Consequential for quality of life Dimensions of stratification Income wages rents interests etc Wealth accumulated assets Power Prestige esteem respect approval and status Class Wealth primary class indicator o Other Factors education income residence Occupational prestige respect admiration an occupation holds in society o Higher prestige jobs greater pay education and autonomy entail more abstract thought Social Mobility movement within a social stratification system Closed System Open System Ascribed Status Achieved Status Types of mobility Horizontal movement within same social position Vertical change in social position Intergenerational movement in social position across generations Intragenerational movement in social position within a person s adult life Explanations for Class Based Social Stratification Karl Marx conflict 02 26 2013 Two classes with contradictory interests o Bourgeoisie own the means of production o Proletariat working class Interests who gets the return from the investment and how much of that return do they receive Whoever owns the means of production controls society Max Weber conflict Class people with similar wealth and income Status group prestige relatively restricted social group success based on group s ability to restrict inclusion and control resources o Ex Occupational centered profession organizations Party group power organized effort to wield influence and power o Ex Political bodies corporate boards of directors Multiple group membership determine ones rank in society Davis and Moore functionalists There are needs in society that need to be met by qualified people In any social system there will be positions which are higher or more important than others to the function of society Rewards should be offered to encourage people to fill these positions Relationships between rewards and occupations There is a need to provide different rewards for different tasks Conflicts would critique functionalists in that some people do not receive as much money based on the amount of good they do for society