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Child care involves caring for and supervising a child or children, usually from infancy to age thirteen.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the different types of child care in the United States, from parental care to center-based care
Key Points
• It is traditional in Western society for children to be taken care of by their parents or their legal guardians.
• If a parent or extended family is unable to care for the children, orphanages and foster homes are a way of providing for children’s care, housing, and schooling.
• The two main types of child care options are center-based care and home-based care.
• Home-based care typically is provided by nannies, au-pairs, or friends and family.
• In 1995, over thirty-six percent of families of preschoolers with working mothers primarily relied on child care in the home of a relative, family day care provider or other non relative. Almost twenty-six percent of families used organized child care facilities as their primary arrangement.
Key Terms
• Home-based care: Child care that occurs in the child’s home as opposed to in a preschool or external institution.
• Center-based care: Child care that occurs outside of the child’s home, such as in a preschool.
• extended family: A family consisting of parents and children, along with either grandparents, grandchildren, aunts or uncles, cousins etc.
Child care involves supervising a child or children, usually from infancy to age thirteen, and typically refers to work done by somebody outside the child’s immediate family. Child care is a broad topic covering a wide spectrum of contexts, activities, social and cultural conventions, and institutions. The majority of child care institutions that are available require that child care providers have extensive training in first aid and are CPR certified. In addition, background checks, drug testing, and reference verification are normally required.
It is traditional in Western society for children to be cared for by their parents or their legal guardians. In families where children live with one or both of their parents, the child care role may also be taken on by the child’s extended family. If a parent or extended family is unable to care for the children, orphanages and foster homes are a way of providing for children’s care, housing, and schooling.
Types of Child Care
The two main types of child care options are center-based care and home-based care. In addition to these licensed options, parents may also choose to find their own caregiver or arrange child care exchanges/swaps with another family. In-home care typically is provided by nannies, au-pairs, or friends and family. The child is watched inside their own home or the caregiver’s home, reducing exposure to outside children and illnesses. Depending on the number of children in the home, the children utilizing in-home care enjoy the greatest amount of interaction with their caregiver, forming a close bond. There are no required licensing or background checks for in-home care, making parental vigilance essential in choosing an appropriate caregiver. Nanny and au-pair services provide certified caregivers and the cost of in-home care is the highest of child care options per child, though a household with many children may find this the most convenient and affordable option.
Child Care in the United States
State legislation may regulate the number and ages of children allowed before the home is considered an official daycare program and subject to more stringent safety regulations. Often the nationally recognized Child Development Associate credential is the minimum standard for the individual leading this home care program. Each state has different regulations for teacher requirements. In some states, teaching in a day care center requires an Associates Degree in child development. States with quality standards built into their licensing programs may have higher requirements for support staff, such as teacher assistants. And for Head Start Teachers, by 2012 all lead teachers must have a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. States vary in other standards set for daycare providers, such as teacher to child ratios.
According to the 1995 U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), over thirty-six percent of families of preschoolers with working mothers primarily relied on child care in the home of a relative, family day care provider, or other non relative. Almost twenty-six percent of families used organized child care facilities as their primary arrangement. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.04%3A_The_Functionalist_Perspective_on_Education/13.4E%3A_Child_Care.txt |
Job hunting is the act of looking for employment, due to unemployment or discontent with a current position.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the reasons why a person would job hunt and the common methods used
Key Points
• The immediate goal of job seeking is usually to obtain a job interview with an employer which may lead to getting hired.
• Common methods of job hunting are finding a job through a friend or an extended business network, personal network, online social network service, or employment website.
• Many job seekers research the employers to which they are applying. Some employers see evidence of this as a positive sign of enthusiasm for the position or the company.
Key Terms
• outplacement: The process of helping to find new employment for redundant workers, especially executives.
• social networking: The use of Internet communities to network and communicate using shared interests, related skills, or geographical location between consumers and businesses.
Job hunting is the act of looking for employment, due to unemployment or discontent with a current position. The immediate goal of job seeking is usually to obtain a job interview with an employer which may lead to getting hired. The job hunter typically first looks for job vacancies or employment opportunities. As of 2010, less than 10% of U.S. jobs are filled through online ads.
Common methods of job hunting are finding a job through a friend or an extended business network, personal network, or online social network service; using an employment website; looking through the classifieds in newspapers; using a private or public employment agency or recruiter; looking on a company’s web site for open jobs, typically in its applicant tracking system; going to a job fairs; using professional guidance such as outplacement services that give training in writing a résumé, applying for jobs, and how to be successful at an interview.
Many job seekers research the employers to which they are applying, and some employers see evidence of this as a positive sign of enthusiasm for the position or the company, or as a mark of thoroughness. Information collected might include open positions, full name, locations, web site, business description, year established, revenues, number of employees, stock price if public, name of the chief executive officer, major products or services, major competitors, and strengths and weaknesses.
Contacting as many people as possible is a highly effective way to find a job. It is estimated that 50% or higher of all jobs are found through networking. Job recruiters and decision makers are increasingly using online social networking sites to gather information about job applicants, according to a mid-2011 Jobvite survey of 800 employers in the U.S. Job seekers need to begin to pay more attention to what employers and recruiters find when they do their pre-interview information gathering about applicants, according to this 2010 study by Microsoft, “Online Reputation in a Connected World.”
13.4G: Gatekeeping
Gatekeeping is the process through which information in publications, broadcasting, and the Internet is filtered for dissemination.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the concept and implications of the gatekeeping process and censorship
Key Points
• Originally focused on the mass media with its few-to-masses dynamic, theories of gatekeeping also now include the workings of face-to-face communication and the many-to-many dynamic now easily available via the Internet.
• Gatekeeping was formally identified in Kurt Lewin’s publication, Forces Behind Food Habitsand Methods of Change (1943).
• Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication that may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body.
Key Terms
• information: Things that are or can be known about a given topic; communicable knowledge of something.
• Gatekeeping: Gatekeeping is practiced by gatekeepers, people who control access to something, for example, via a city gate. In the late twentieth century, the term came into metaphorical use, referring to individuals who decide whether a given message will be distributed by a mass medium.
• censorship: The use of state or group power to control freedom of expression, such as passing laws to prevent media from being published or propagated.
Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication. As an academic theory, it is found in several fields, including communication studies, journalism, political science, and sociology. Originally focused on the mass media with its few-to-masses dynamic, theories of gatekeeping also now include the workings of face-to-face communication and the many-to-many dynamic now easily available via the Internet.
The Gatekeeping Process
According to Pamela Shoemaker and Tim Vos, gatekeeping is the “process of culling and crafting countless bits of information into the limited number of messages that reach people everyday. ” Gatekeeping as a news process was identified in the literature as early as 1922, though not yet given a formal theoretical name. Gatekeeping was formally identified in Kurt Lewin’s publication, Forces Behind Food Habits and Methods of Change (1943).
Lewin identified several parts of the gatekeeping process in his 1943 article. These parts include:
1. Information moves step by step through channels. The number of channels varies and the amount of time in each channel can vary.
2. Information must pass a “gate” to move from one channel to the next.
3. Forces govern channels. There may be opposing psychological forces causing conflict that creates resistance to movement through the channel.
4. There may be several channels that lead to the same end result.
5. Different actors may control the channels and act as gatekeepers at different times.
Censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication that may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body. It can be done by governments and private organizations or by individuals who engage in self-censorship. It occurs in a variety of different contexts including speech, books, music, films and other arts, the press, radio, television, and the Internet. Censorship occurs for a variety of reasons including national security; to control obscenity, child pornography, and hate speech; to protect children; to promote or restrict political or religious views; to prevent slander and libel; and to protect intellectual property. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.04%3A_The_Functionalist_Perspective_on_Education/13.4F%3A_Postponing_Job_Hunting.txt |
Family types that are replacing the traditional nuclear family include single parent families, cohabitation, and gay and lesbian families.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the different types of families and the changing face of family roles
Key Points
• Single parent families usually refers to a parent who has most of the day to day responsibilities in the raising of the child or children who is not living with a spouse or partner, or those who are not married.
• Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an intimate relationship, particularly an emotionally and/or sexually intimate one, on a long-term or permanent basis.
• Gay and lesbian couples are categorized as same sex relationships. In 1989 Demark was the first nation allow same sex couples to get married to provide equal rights to all citizens.
• Singlehood is a family that contains a person who is not married or in a common law relationship.
Key Terms
• cohabitation: An emotionally and physically intimate relationship that includes a common living place and which exists without legal or religious sanction.
• Single Parent Families: Families in which the children are primarily raised by one parent rather than by both parents.
• singlehood: The state of being single (unattached or unmarried).
The sociology of the family examines the family as an institution and a unit of socialization. Sociological studies of the family look at demographic characteristic of the family members: family size, age, ethnicity and gender of its members, social class of the family, the economic level and mobility of the family, professions of its members, and the education levels of the family members.
Current Studies
Currently, one of the biggest issues that sociologists study are the changing roles of family members. Often, each member is restricted by the gender roles of the traditional family. These roles, such as the father as the breadwinner and the mother as the homemaker, are declining. Now, the mother is often the supplementary provider while retaining the responsibilities of child rearing. In this scenario, females’ role in the labor force is “compatible with the demands of the traditional family. ” Sociology studies the adaptation of males’ role to caregiver as well as provider. The gender roles are increasingly interwoven.
Alternate Family Forms
The number of married couples raising children has decreased over the years. In Canada, married and common law couples with children under the age of 25 represented 44% of all families in 2001. This statistic has lowered since 1991, when married and common law couples raising children under the age of 25 represented 49% of all Canadian families. There are various other family forms that are becoming increasingly common.
A single parent family usually refers to a parent who has most of the day-to-day responsibilities in the raising of the child or children, who is not living with a spouse or partner, or who is not married. The dominant caregiver is the parent with whom the children reside the majority of the time; if the parents are separated or divorced, children live with their custodial parent and have visitation with their noncustodial parent. In western society in general, following separation a child will end up with the primary caregiver, usually the mother, and a secondary caregiver, usually the father.
Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an intimate relationship, particularly an emotionally and/or sexually intimate one, on a long-term or permanent basis. Today, cohabitation is a common pattern among people in the Western world. More than two-thirds of married couples in the U.S. say that they lived together before getting married.
Gay and lesbian couples are categorized as same sex relationships. In 1989, Demark became the first nation to allow same sex couples to get married. After this, many nations, such as Canada and Spain, began to allow same sex marriage. Some states in the United States have changed their laws to allow same sex marriages, but 30 states have yet to amend their laws.
ACLU Freedom Files: Lesbian & Gay Parents | Florida: “Freedom to Parent: Lesbian & Gay Families” shows how bans on adoptions and fostering by same-sex couples end up hurting thousands of children who are desperate for good homes. The program looks at the impact of a Florida law that prevents needy children from being adopted by loving gay families.
A singlehood family contains a person who is not married or in a common law relationship. He or she may share a relationship with a partner, but lead a single life style.
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The conflict theory perspective towards education focuses on the role school systems may play in implementing social control.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the use of school system and media as a means of exercising social control within a given society
Key Points
• Conflict theory assumes that the ideas of a society are the ideas of the ruling class.
• Social control refers generally to societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or social group.
• Schools can further goals of social control by socializing students into behaving in socially acceptable ways. By means of social control, students are taught the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
• Informal social control is exercised by a society without explicitly stating these rules, and is expressed through customs, norms, and mores.
• Social control may be enforced using informal sanctions, which may include shame, ridicule, sarcasm, criticism and disapproval. Social control may also be enforced using formal sanctions.
• Education may maintain social control through various mechanisms, such as indoctrination, informal sanctions and formal sanctions.
• By means of social control, students are taught the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
• Education may maintain social control through various mechanisms, such as indoctrination, informal sanctions and formal sanctions.
Key Terms
• indoctrination: Instruction in the rudiments and principles of any science or belief system; information.
• Formal social control: Societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or social group undertaken by the state through legal action.
• Acceptable behavior: Behavior that conforms to social mores and norms.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theory assumes that the ideas held by a society are the ideas of the ruling class. The ruling class uses schools, along with the media and other means of communication, to disseminate ideas that will support its continued rule. Given this assumption, the conflict perspective often focuses on the role school systems may play in influencing public opinion, or implementing social control.
Social control refers generally to societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or social group. Schools can further goals of social control by socializing students into behaving in socially acceptable ways. Some may consider this type of socialization a form of indoctrination. In any case, the social values that are present in individuals are products of informal social control. It is exercised by a society without explicitly stating these rules and is expressed through customs, norms, and mores. Individuals are socialized consciously or subconsciously.
Enforcement
Social control may be enforced using informal sanctions, which may include shame, ridicule, sarcasm, criticism and disapproval. In extreme cases sanctions may include social discrimination and exclusion. For example, schoolmates may enforce gender norms by ridiculing boys who undertake actions considered feminine, such as writing poetry or dancing. Informal sanctions can have a powerful effect; individuals internalize the norm, which becomes an aspect of personality.
Social control may also be enforced using formal sanctions. Formal sanctions may be used in a large group in which an individual can choose to ignore the sanctions of other individuals. This form of control usually takes the form of government action. Government and organizations use law enforcement mechanisms and other formal sanctions, such as fines and imprisonment. In schools, formal sanctions may include detention, suspension, or other formal punishments.
By means of social control, students are taught the boundaries of acceptable behavior. They carry these lessons with them into everyday life and, later, into careers. Thus, the social control lessons learned in school may prepare students, for example, to be a docile proletariat in a capitalist economy. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.05%3A_The_Conflict_Perspective_on_Education/13.5A%3A_Social_Control.txt |
Tracking sorts students into different groups depending on academic ability; however, other factors often influence placement.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of tracking systems for students
Key Points
• According to the conflict perspective, capitalism requires that many students be trained to join the working class while a few must be trained to join the ruling capitalist class. One way schools screen and allocate classes of students is by sorting them into different tracks.
• In a tracking system, students are educated with other students of the same ability level and their education differs depending on the track to which they are assigned.
• Tracking systems vary by extent, specificity, and flexibility. Traditionally, students were divided into academic, general, and vocational tracks.
• Advantages of tracking may include the ability of teachers to focus instruction, the potential for students only to be compared to others of similar ability, and the opportunity for high-achieving students to advance more quickly.
• Disadvantages of tracking may include tracking based on student background instead of ability, poor quality of instruction in lower tracks, and stigmatization of students in lower tracks.
• Detracking has been proposed as a more equitable alternative to tracking.
Key Terms
• Conflict Perspective: perspectives in social science based on Conflict Theory, that emphasize the social, political, or material inequality of a social group.
• tracking: An educational system in which the entire school population is assigned to classes according to whether the students’ overall achievement is above average, normal, or below average and in which students attend academic classes only with students whose overall academic achievement is the same as their own.
• allocating: setting aside for a purpose
From the conflict perspective, schools play a role in screening and allocating people and their abilities. Advanced capitalist economies require that many students be trained to join the working class while a few must be trained to join the ruling capitalist class. One way schools may begin to sort and differently train classes of students is by sorting them into different tracks.
Tracking sorts and separates students by academic ability. In a tracking system, the entire school population is assigned to classes according to whether the students’ overall achievement is above, at, or below what is average. Students attend academic classes only with students whose overall academic achievement is the same as their own. Tracking is one of the predominant organizing practices of American public schools, and has been an accepted feature in the country’s schools for nearly a century.
Characteristics
Defined tracks often mirror class divisions in society. Thus, traditionally, students were tracked into academic, general, and vocational tracks. Academic tracks prepare students for advanced study and professions such as medicine or law, whereas general and vocational tracks were meant to prepare students for middle or working class life. Students in academically advanced tracks study higher mathematics, more foreign languages, and literature. Students in less academic tracks acquire vocational skills such as welding or cosmetology, or business skills, such as typing or bookkeeping. Students are usually not offered the opportunity to take classes deemed more appropriate for another track, even if the student has a demonstrated interest and ability in the subject. Today, few schools use tracking systems that so overtly differentiate upper, middle, and working class skills. Instead, many secondary schools now base track levels on course difficulty, with tracks such as basic, honors, or college-prep.
Tracking systems vary widely in their characteristics. Some may extend to the entire school system so that students follow a track that begins in elementary school and continues until high school graduation. Other schools may use tracking only for certain classes or subjects. Systems may also vary in their flexibility and the opportunities for mobility given to students. In some cases, placement is based entirely on student preferences. In other cases, test scores may be used to determine a student’s track. Counselors may also work with students to choose a particular class that in turn puts them on a given track. Parents and peers may influence academic choices even more than guidance counselors by encouraging students with similar backgrounds (academic, vocational, ethnic, religious, or racial) to stay together. Other times, students are placed into tracks without any knowledge or input into the process.
Advantages
Proponents of tracking say that tracking allows teachers to better direct lessons toward the specific ability level of the students in each class. Research suggests that tracking produces substantial gains for gifted students in tracks specially designed for the gifted and talented, meeting the need for highly gifted students to be with their intellectual peers in order to be appropriately challenged. However, average and low achieving students may benefit more from being in a mixed ability classroom.
Since tracking separates students by ability, students’ work is only compared to that of similar-ability peers. Thus, tracking may have emotional benefits for students: it may prevent damage to self-esteem that could result from comparisons with the work of higher ability students or inflating the egos of the high-ability students when compared to low-ability students. Tracking can also encourage low-ability students to participate in class. Since high self-esteem is correlated with high academic achievement, tracking should, theoretically, promote academic success. However, the awareness by the student of being placed into a low track might lower self-esteem, counteracting this benefit.
Disadvantages
From the conflict perspective, tracking’s primary function is not necessarily to promote learning; it is the allocation of students into specific areas of the labor market. Although track assignment is theoretically based on academic ability, other factors often influence placement. When tracking is based not on ability but instead on student background, it becomes a form of segregation and discrimination. Students in lower tracks may receive poorer quality instruction, with less-experienced teachers being assigned to low-track classes. Lessons taught in low-track classes often lack the engagement and comprehensiveness of the high-track lessons, putting low-track students at a disadvantage for college because they do not gain the knowledge and skills of the upper-track students.
Tracking can also result in a stigmatization of low-track students. This stigmatization can have a negative impact on students’ academic performance; for example, students placed in low tracks may lose confidence in their abilities, and their low confidence may be reinforced by teachers’ low expectations and their stigmatization by peers. Some research suggests that students in lower tracks are more likely to drop out of school or participate in criminal activities. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.05%3A_The_Conflict_Perspective_on_Education/13.5B%3A_Tracking_Systems.txt |
Credentialism refers to the common practice of relying on earned credentials when hiring staff or assigning social status.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the use of credentialism in today’s society as a means of social mobility and job security
Key Points
• Credentialism is common in employment decisions, especially for white collar jobs.
• Credential inflation occurs when the value of a credential declines because too many potential employees possess the credential.
• In his 1979 book The Credential Society, sociologist Randall Collins examined the connection between credentialism and stratification.
Key Terms
• society: a long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms
• credential inflation: The process by which credentials lose value as more and more people earn a particular credential.
• credentialism: The common practice of relying on earned credentials when hiring staff or assigning social status.
• The Credential Society: A 1979 book by Randall Collins which argues that public schools are social institutions that teach and reward middle class values of competition and achievement.
Credentialism refers to the common practice of relying on earned credentials when hiring staff or assigning social status. Instead of directly evaluating an individual’s abilities, evaluators study that person’s credentials as a shortcut to estimate their competencies. Besides attesting to one’s abilities, credentials may also grant the holder access to restricted areas, information, or activities. For example, security clearances and press passes are credentials that grant access to otherwise restricted areas. A medical license is a credential that grants the ability to practice an otherwise restricted activity.
Credentials are attestations of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or de facto authority to do so. Common examples of credentials are academic diplomas, academic degrees, certifications, security clearances, and licenses. Credentials are often represented by documents, such as diplomas, certificates, or membership cards.
The academic world makes very extensive use of credentials, such as diplomas, certificates, and degrees, in order to attest to the completion of specific training or education programs by students, and to attest to their successful completion of tests and exams. Receiving these credentials often leads to increased economic mobility and work opportunity.
Employers also commonly use credentials. For example, an employer may require a diploma, professional license, or academic degree. In a credential society, such certifications may become more important than actual skills or abilities. In some cases, employers may require formal credentials, such as an advanced academic degree, for a job that can be done perfectly well by applying skills acquired through experience or informal study. This type of credentialism is common in white-collar jobs, which require workers to have difficult-to-measure skills such as critical thinking. Rather than measure or evaluate those skills directly, employers assume that anyone able to earn a credential must possess those skills.
Credential Inflation
Over time, credentials may lose value, especially as more and more people earn that credential. This process is referred to as credential inflation. When credentials are inflated, they give individuals less advantage on the job market. A good example of credential inflation is the decline in the value of the U.S. high school diploma since the beginning of the twentieth century, when it was held by less than 10% of the population. At the time, high school diplomas attested to middle- class respectability, and for many years even provided access to managerial level jobs. More recently, however, the high school diploma barely qualifies the graduate for manual or menial service work.
Another indicator of credential inflation is the relative decline in the wage differential between those with college degrees and those with only high school diplomas. Jobs that were open to high school graduates a century ago now routinely require not just a bachelor’s degree, but a master’s degree as well—without an appreciable change in required skills.
The Credential Society
According to sociologist Randall Collins, understanding credentialism can help explain class-based differences in educational attainment. In his 1979 book The Credential Society, Collins argued that public schools are socializing institutions that teach and reward middle class values of competition and achievement. In this system, Anglo-Protestant elites are selectively separated from other students and placed into prestigious schools and colleges, where they are trained to hold positions of power. By teaching middle class culture through the public education system, the elite class ensures a monopoly over positions of power, while others acquire the credentials to compete in a subordinate job market and economy. In this way, schools of medicine, law, and elite institutions have remained closed to members of lower classes. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.05%3A_The_Conflict_Perspective_on_Education/13.5C%3A_The_Credentialized_Society.txt |
To succeed in college, students must learn a second, hidden curriculum to meet unstated academic and social norms.
Learning Objectives
• Examine Synder’s idea of hidden curriculum and the effects it has on students and professors in higher education
Key Points
• In 1970, Benson Snyder, a dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published a book called The Hidden Curriculum.
• According to Snyder, the hidden curriculum goes beyond the explicit demands of the formal curriculum.
• Creativity and wonder are stifled as students shift their exclusive focus to earning high grades and giving correct answers.
• As a result of conflict over the hidden curriculum, students experience intense personal anxiety, depression, and alienation.
Key Terms
• curriculum: The set of courses, coursework, and content, offered at a school or university.
• The Hidden Curriculum: A book published in 1970 by Benson Snyder, a dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that argues that the college experience is inherently marked by conflict between students and instructors as students struggle to meet unstated academic goals.
• selective negligence: A strategy adopted by students to succeed in education, in which they selectively neglect portions of their formal schoolwork in order to glance at all of it.
In 1970, Benson Snyder, a dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published a book called The Hidden Curriculum. In it, he argued that the college experience is inherently marked by conflict between students and instructors. In this conflict, students struggle to meet unstated academic and social norms, or a hidden curriculum. Those who master the hidden curriculum excel while those who do not often fail, no matter their academic abilities.
According to Snyder, the hidden curriculum goes beyond the explicit demands of the formal curriculum. The goals and requirements of the hidden curriculum are unstated, but inflexible. They concern not what students learn but how and when they learn. The hidden curriculum is rooted in professors’ assumptions and values, students’ expectations, and the social context in which both professors and students find themselves. To succeed, students must adapt and often resort to ploys and stratagems to cope with the requirements they face. For example, students may adopt a strategy of selective negligence. Within the first month of classes, many students discover they cannot conceivably complete all the work assigned them; consequently, they must selectively neglect portions of the formal schoolwork. Education becomes a grueling competition rather than an enjoyable quest for knowledge. Creativity and wonder are stifled as students shift their exclusive focus to earning high grades and giving correct answers. Students, Snyder maintains, increasingly view their education as a type of game they must master.
As a result of conflict over the hidden curriculum, students experience intense personal anxiety, depression, and alienation. Some, even the most gifted, are turned off to education altogether. Students may feel frustration and anger at professors who deny them high grades, who object to creativity, and who demand that students fall in line with the hidden curriculum. But typically students must contain this anger or direct it inward. Students may judge themselves harshly, and those judgments may be reinforced by peers and professors.
No part of the university community, writes Snyder, desires the end result created by this process. The professors, too, are distracted and pressured, whether by the need to maintain institutional prestige or by the sheer frenzy of activity interrupting their creative cycles. Yet everyone, professors included, becomes locked into the competition. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.05%3A_The_Conflict_Perspective_on_Education/13.5D%3A_The_Hidden_Curriculum.txt |
IQ is meant to measure intelligence but its validity as a measure of intelligence has been debated.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the various explanations for the IQ gap, ranging from genetic to environmental factors
Key Points
• The concept of intelligence itself may be culturally variable.
• Although some find evidence of a race -based IQ gap, others argue that race is not a causal variable and that race-based IQ differences are in fact caused by other differences correlated with race, such as health, wealth, and educational disparities.
• Socioeconomic status can affect many aspects of life, and therefore seems like a likely environmental influence on intelligence.
• Systemically disadvantaged minorities, such as the blacks in the United States, generally perform worse in the educational system and in intelligence tests than the majority groups or less disadvantaged minorities.
• Several studies have proposed that a large part of the IQ gap can be attributed to differences in quality of education.
• Peer groups and family can influence behavior and values.
• Peer groups and family can influence behavior and values.
Key Terms
• IQ gap: The gap in average IQ scores between populations, usually measured along racial lines, though with much disagreement.
• Environmental factors: Factors that come from one’s environment, upbringing, or social situation, rather than biology.
• intelligence: Capacity of mind, especially to understand principles, truths, facts or meanings, acquire knowledge, and apply it to practice; the ability to learn and comprehend.
Intelligence is commonly measured using intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, which are meant to be a general measure of intelligence. However, IQ tests only measure a narrow band of the broad spectrum of intelligence, excluding factors such as creativity or emotional intelligence. Some researchers have raised more serious questions about the validity of IQ tests for measuring intelligence, especially across cultures. For example, IQ tests may be inappropriate for measuring intelligence in non-industrialized communities, because they focus on modern, rational-style thinking, a type of reasoning that is common in the modern industrial West but may be alien to other cultures. Although some find evidence of a race-based IQ gap, others argue that race is not a causal variable and that race-based IQ differences are in fact caused by other differences such as health, wealth, and educational disparities.
The IQ Gap
In the United States, IQ tests have consistently demonstrated a significant degree of variation between different racial groups. On average, IQ scores are highest among Asian Americans, lower among whites, and lowest among blacks. Yet these IQ gaps are only observed in average scores and say very little about individuals. Plus, IQ scores show considerable overlap between these group scores, and individuals of each group can be found at all points on the IQ spectrum. Thus, the implications of the IQ gaps are unclear. And while the existence of racial IQ gaps is well-documented, researchers have not reached a consensus as to their cause. In general, explanations fall into one of two camps: genetic explanations and environmental explanations.
Genetic Explanations
Explanations of ethnically innate intelligence were fairly common early in the twentieth century, with the rise of the American eugenics movement. But after World War II, they quickly fell out of favor over fear of being associated with Nazism. Today, even those who believe intelligence may have some genetic component tend to acknowledge the importance of environmental effects as well.
Many researchers are reluctant to adopt genetic explanations of the IQ gap because of their historical and political implications. The connection between race and intelligence has been a subject of debate in both popular science and academic research since the inception of intelligence testing in the early twentieth century. But even before IQ tests were invented, claims of race-based intelligence gaps were used to justify colonialism, slavery, and racial eugenics. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, much of the “scientific” evidence for racial intelligence gaps came from measurements such as brain size or reaction times.
The first IQ test was created between 1905 and 1908 and revised in 1916, during a time when Americans were quite concerned about an influx of new immigrants. Different nationalities were sometimes thought to comprise different races, especially nationalities newer to the United States, such as the Irish, the Slavs, and the Italians. Alfred Binet, the developer of these tests, warned that they should not be used to measure innate intelligence or to label individuals. Despite his warnings, the tests were used to evaluate draftees for World War I, and researchers found that people of southern and eastern European backgrounds scored lower than native-born Americans. At the time, such data was used to construct an ethnically based social hierarchy, one in which immigrants were rejected as unfit for service and mentally defective. It was not until later that researchers realized that lower language skills by new English speakers affected their scores on the tests.
Environmental Explanations
Researchers have suggested a wide array of environmental factors that might influence intelligence. In general, these factors are not mutually exclusive with one another: more than one of them may come into play at the same time. In fact, some may even directly contribute to others. Furthermore, the relationship between genetics and environmental factors is likely complicated. For example, the differences in socioeconomic environment for a child may be due to differences in genetic IQ for the parents, and the differences in average brain size between races could be the result of nutritional factors.
Socioeconomic Environment
Socioeconomic status can affect many aspects of life, and therefore seems like a likely environmental influence on intelligence. People who grow up in a community with lower socioeconomic status may have fewer enrichment opportunities (like going to museums) or a less stimulating home environment, as well as unequal access to health care, nutritious food, and quality education. But research suggests that differences in socioeconomic status cannot entirely explain the IQ gap. In part, this is because the effects of socioeconomic status are hard to isolate and measure, and are probably not independent of intelligence itself.
13.5F: Staking the Desk- Unequal Funding
Because schools are funded by property taxes, schools in poor areas receive less funding then schools in wealthier areas.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the inequality in public school systems and the implications for a student’s future
Key Points
• In the United States, most public schools are funded primarily through local property taxes.
• According to the American dream, children should be able to use their education to achieve upward mobility.
• Educational deficits resulting from inequality also affect future life trajectories.
• Colleges tend to draw students from a relatively advantaged background because of their high costs and stiff academic requirements for enrollment.
• Because colleges want to maintain their rankings in various college ranking systems, colleges favor students with higher standardized test scores and aggressively recruit them using “merit” scholarships.
Key Terms
• property taxes: Taxes levied by the government on landowners’ property.
• Upward mobility: A change in a person’s social status resulting in that person rising to a higher position in the status system.
• public school: A publicly administered school.
In the United States, most public schools are funded primarily through local property taxes. As a result, schools in wealthier neighborhoods have substantially larger budgets, which translates into better facilities, better teachers, and better resources. Whereas some people laud education as the great equalizer, others observe the effects of school funding schemes and conclude that they actually reinforce inequality and stratification. According to the American dream, children should be able to use their education to achieve upward mobility. But unequal school funding may afford students from poorer families fewer opportunities, reinforcing the status quo.
Educational deficits resulting from inequality also affect future life trajectories. Colleges tend to draw students from a relatively advantaged background because of their high costs and stiff academic requirements for enrollment. What’s more, because colleges want to maintain their rankings in various college ranking systems, colleges favor students with higher standardized test scores and aggressively recruit them using “merit” scholarships. In 2000, affluent students, students who could otherwise afford to pay for college, received “merit” scholarships worth 82% of the need-based aid received by students with the lowest family incomes. In other words, affluent students who can pay for college often do not have to because the advantages they received attending better elementary, middle, and high schools translated into higher standardized test scores, which are attractive to universities when it comes to recruiting. As a result, there is less funding available for students who actually need it. This ends up reinforcing the existing status hierarchy by keeping the affluent wealthy, and the poor unable to attend college. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.05%3A_The_Conflict_Perspective_on_Education/13.5E%3A_Tilting_the_Tests-_Discrimination_by_IQ.txt |
Student achievement is highly correlated with family characteristics, including household income and parental educational attainment.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the various factors within family background that give students an advantage in the educational realm
Key Points
• Wealthy students benefit from family background characteristics.
• The monetary advantages of unequal school funding are frequently coupled with the advantage of having a safe, supportive, and intellectually enriching home environment that comes with wealth.
• Educational deficits resulting from inequality also affect future life trajectories. Colleges tend to draw students from a relatively advantaged background because of their high costs and stiff academic requirements for enrollment.
Key Terms
• parental educational attainment: The level of education achieved by one’s parents.
• household income: The total income of all members of a household.
Not only do wealthier students tend to attend better-funded schools, but they often also benefit from family background characteristics. The monetary advantages of unequal school funding are frequently coupled with the advantage of having a safe, supportive, and intellectually enriching home environment that comes with wealth. So it is not surprising that children who attend better-funded public schools tend to be more successful than those who attend more poorly funded public schools.
In fact, family background may be even more important than school funding. Evidence suggests that the lifetime educational possibilities of most kids are set by the time they are six years old. This is due to the fact that several family background characteristics are very strong predictors of future educational attainment, including parental support, parental expectations for schooling, household income, and parental educational attainment, with the last two being the most important factors. Researchers can actually predict a child’s lifetime educational attainment by using background characteristics observed when the child is in the first grade, and these predictions turn out to be just as good, or even better, at predicting educational attainment as similar predictions based on observations made when the student is in high school.
Educational deficits resulting from inequality also affect future life trajectories. Colleges tend to draw students from a relatively advantaged background because of their high costs and stiff academic requirements for enrollment. What’s more, because colleges want to maintain their rankings in various college ranking systems (e.g., U.S. News & World Report), colleges favor students with higher standardized test scores and aggressively recruit them using “merit” scholarships. In 2000, affluent students, students who could otherwise afford to pay for college, received “merit” scholarships worth 82% of the need-based aid received by students with the lowest family incomes.
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Ray Rist, a sociologist, found that social class contributed to the perceptions of teachers and was a predictor of scholastic success.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the relationship between social class and academic achievement
Key Points
• In 1970, Ray Rist published a study on the relationship between the socioeconomic status of children and their educational evaluation.
• In his study, Rist observed how a classroom teacher placed her students in three learning groups. The “fast learners” were grouped at the front of the class, while the “slow learners” sat at the back.
• Interestingly, Rist noticed that social class was a predictor of placement. Middle class students made up the group of “fast learners,” while lower class students made up the other two groups.
• From his data, Rist concluded that each child’s journey through school was determined by the eighth day of kindergarten. The labels given to these children by their kindergarten teacher set them on a course of action that could possibly affect the rest of their lives.
Key Terms
• self-fulfilling prophecy: a prediction that, by being voiced, causes itself to come true
• Ray Rist: a sociologist who, in 1970, published a study on the how the socioeconomic statuses of school children could affect their educations
Ray Ristwas a sociologist who, in 1970, published a report linking the socioeconomic status of children to their educational achievement. Through observations of classrooms, Rist demonstrated that a student’s socioeconomic status affected how teachers perceived that student’s aptitude at very early ages. These early perceptions came to inform how the students viewed themselves, and had impacts on their eventual educational success.
Social Class and Academic Success
Although public schools are free and open to all children, there are still educational setbacks for children of a lower social class. In his 1970 article, Student Social Class and Teachers’ Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Ghetto Education, Ray Rist observed an African American classroom with an African American teacher. He discovered that after only eight days in the classroom, the teacher felt that she knew her students’ abilities well enough to assign them to separate worktables. To Table One, she assigned those she considered “fast learners.” These students sat at the front of the class, closest to her. “Average” students were placed at Table Two, and the “slow learners” were placed at Table Three in the back of the classroom.
Interestingly, Rist found that social class was the underlying basis for assigning the children to the different tables. Middle class students were placed at Table One, while children from poorer homes were placed at the other two tables. During class, the teacher paid the most attention to the children closest to her, less to Table Two, and least to Table Three. As the year went on, the children at Table One perceived that they were treated better and started viewing themselves as smarter than their peers. They emerged as leaders in class activities and even ridiculed the children at the other tables, calling them “dumb.” Eventually, the children at Table Three stopped participating in classroom activities. By the end of the year, the only children who were satisfactorily completing the daily lessons were those at Table One.
The Eighth Day of Kindergarten
Following the initial year, Rist continued to observe this group of students as they advanced in school. The children’s reputations followed them into second grade, where another teacher reviewed their scores and also divided her class into three groups, the “Tigers,” “Cardinals,” and “Clowns.” These groups were constituted the exact same way, and with the exact same breakdown, as Tables One, Two, and Three. From this research, Rist made the startling conclusion that each child’s journey through school was determined by the eighth day of kindergarten. According to Rist, the labels given to children by their kindergarten teachers set them on a course of action that could possibly affect the rest of their lives. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.06%3A_The_Symbolic-Interactionist_Perspective_on_Education/13.6A%3A_Ray_Rists_Research.txt |
Teachers’ perception of students’ knowledge and abilities influences classroom processes and student achievement.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss how a teacher’s perception influences student performance, in terms of expectations and gender stereotypes
Key Points
• The Pygmalion effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people (such as children, students, or employees) the better they perform.
• The Pygmalion effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Within sociology, the effect is often cited with regard to education and social class.
• Gender stereotyping within classrooms can also lead to differences in academic achievement and representation for female and male students.
Key Terms
• Pygmalion effect: The phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people (often children, students, and employees), the better they perform.
• Gender Stereotyping: When one believes that an individual will behave in a particular way simply because of his or her sex.
• self-fulfilling prophecy: a prediction that, by being voiced, causes itself to come true
How teachers perceive students’ knowledge and abilities influences classroom processes and student achievement. In other words, when teachers believe students will be high achievers, those students achieve more; conversely, when teachers believe students will be low achievers, those students tend to achieve less. This is a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy, or the Pygmalion effect.
The Pygmalion Effect
The Pygmalion effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people (often children or students and employees) the better they perform. The effect is named after Pygmalion, a Cypriot sculptor in a narrative by Ovid in Greek mythology, who fell in love with a female statue he had carved out of ivory after it became human due to his wishes. The Pygmalion effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, and, in this respect, people will internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly. Within sociology, the effect is often cited with regard to education and social class.
The Pygmalion effect was famously applied to the classroom in the Rosenthal-Jacobson study, published in 1968. In this study, Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson showed that if teachers were led to expect enhanced performance from some children, then the children did indeed show that enhancement. This influence can be beneficial as well as detrimental depending on which label an individual is assigned. The purpose of their study was to support the hypothesis that reality can be influenced by the expectations of others. Rosenthal posited that biased expectancies can essentially affect reality and create self-fulfilling prophecies as a result. In this experiment, Rosenthal predicted that, when given the information that certain students had higher IQs than others, elementary school teachers may unconsciously behave in ways that facilitate and encourage the students’ success.
Gender Stereotyping
How might teachers’ expectations create a Pygmalion effect? Teachers usually have higher expectations for students they view as higher achievers, and treat these students with more respect. For example, studies have found that when students are split into ability-based groups, the students in the higher-ability groups are more likely to demonstrate positive learning behaviors and higher achievement. Teachers’ expectations may also be gendered, perhaps explaining some of the gender achievement gap. Gender stereotyping within classrooms can also lead to differences in academic achievement and representation for female and male students. Math and science are often perceived as “masculine” subjects because they lead to success in “masculine” fields, such as medicine and engineering. English and history, on the other hand, are often perceived as “feminine” subjects because they are more closely aligned with “feminine” jobs, such as teaching or care work. Research on the stereotype threat has shown that gender stereotypes decrease the mathematical self-esteem of many female students, and that this lack of academic confidence leads to anxiety and poorer performance on math exams. Therefore, these stereotypes can influence student achievement in these areas.
Gender-specific evaluations from teachers are implicit; usually the teachers have no idea that they are favoring one gender over the other until they are shown concrete evidence, such as a video recording of their classroom. However, even though the discrimination is implicit, it still has negative effects on both male and female students.
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Access to education varies by geographic location, race, gender, and class.
Learning Objectives
• Describe the upsides and downsides to the current educational system in the U.S.
Key Points
• In the United States, as in most countries, people with more education tend to enjoy higher economic status, power, prestige, and levels of income.
• Dropout rates are higher in certain locations and among minorities.
• In some areas, the best high schools are private high schools that may be out of reach for poorer students who cannot afford the tuition.
• U.S. public schools lag behind the schools of other developed countries in the areas of reading, math, and science.
Key Terms
• dropout rates: Dropout rates are a measurement of the proportion of students who drop out, that is, who leave a school for practical reasons, necessities, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.
• minority: Categories of persons who hold few or no positions of social power in a given society.
In the United States, as in most countries, people with more education tend to enjoy higher economic status, power, prestige, and levels of income. One might expect, then, that all people would try to maximize their education. After all, education is meant to be the great equalizer by which anyone can climb the rungs of the social hierarchy. However, evidence suggests that certain groups have unequal access to education.
In the United States, public schools provide free education through 12th grade, but post-secondary college education is not free. Costs include tuition and room and board, even at public institutions. Those who are unable to afford the expense of college, therefore, have unequal access. According to a 2005 report from the OECD, the United States is tied for first place with Switzerland when it comes to annual spending per student on its public schools, with each of those two countries spending more than \$11,000. However, the United States is ranked 37th in the world in education spending as a percentage of gross domestic product. All but seven of the leading countries are in the third world, ranked high because of a low GDP. U.S. public schools lag behind the schools of other developed countries in the areas of reading, math, and science.
Even in high school, economic, family, and social demands may lead some students to drop out before finishing. Thus, sociologists have observed that dropout rates vary among different social groups. For instance, dropout rates are lowest among Asian Americans, followed closely by whites. But Hispanic, black, and Native American students drop out at rates nearly double those of Asian and white students. Overall, the dropout rate has been declining for decades, since at least the 1970s, yet it remains disproportionately high for minority students.
School funding varies by geographic location. In part, the disparities in dropout rates may be a symptom of disparities in access to high quality education. In some areas, the best high schools are private high schools that may be out of reach for poorer students who cannot afford the tuition. Even public schools may receive different rates of funding; in particular, schools in poorer areas tend to receive less funding because school funding is often tied to property taxes. Thus, students who live in poorer areas may have less access to high quality education. One of the biggest debates in funding public schools is funding by local taxes or state taxes. The federal government supplies around 8.5% of the public school system funds, according to a 2005 report by the National Center for Education Statistics. The remaining split between state and local governments averages 48.7% from states and 42.8% from local sources. However, the division varies widely. In Hawaii local funds make up 1.7%, while state sources account for nearly 90.1%.
Trends in reading scores by race, 1970–2004: Reading- ages 9 (light gray), 13 (dark gray), and 17 (black). Trends in reading scores collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), with the light-gray line indicating data collection at age 9, dark-gray at age 13, and black at age 17. White, hispanic, and black students all improved their reading scores as they aged. Notably, however, the achievement gap between white vs. black and hispanic students has narrowed over time but has by no means disappeared; white students still show the highest achievement in reading. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7A%3A_Unequal_Access_to_Education.txt |
English as a second language (ESL) refers to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages.
Learning Objectives
• Describe some of the difficulties and challenges facing ELL students in the U.S.
Key Points
• English language learners (ELL) must learn to speak and write English in addition to learning substantive content in schools.
• ELL students are often tracked with lower ability students because they have lower standardized test scores, which may inaccurately measure their academic ability.
• ELL students are more likely to drop out. In the U.S., schools may let ELL and other low-scoring students drop out in order to raise average test scores.
• ELL students may have trouble earning the English credits necessary to be accepted into college.
• On average, ELL students come from poorer families than native speakers, which presents an additional barrier to college.
• ESL programs may help ELL students form friendships and encourage social interaction, tolerance, and multicultural values.
• ESL programs may help ELL students form friendships and encourage social interaction, tolerance, and multicultural values.
Key Terms
• tolerance: The ability or practice of tolerating; an acceptance or patience with the beliefs, opinions or practices of others; a lack of bigotry.
• native speaker: A person who grew up with a particular language as their mother tongue.
• Standardized Test Scores: A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or “standard”, manner.
English as a second language (ESL), English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. Generally, English Language Learners (ELL) are refugees, immigrants, or their children. They must learn English as a Second Language (ESL) in order to function in their new host country. In the U.S. over the last twenty years, more than 70% of non-English-speaking school-age immigrants have arrived in the U.S. before they were 6 years old. At this age, they could have been taught English in school, and achieved a proficiency indistinguishable from a native speaker. In other countries, such as the Russia, France, Spain, and Germany this approach has dramatically improved reading and math test scores for linguistic minorities. Supporters of ESL programs claim they play an important role in the formation of peer networks and adjustment to school and society in their new homes. Having class among other students learning English as a second language relieves the pressure of making mistakes when speaking in class or to peers. ESL programs also allow students to meet and form friendships with other non-native speakers from different cultures, promoting racial tolerance and multiculturalism.
Potential Academic Barriers for ELL Students
Nevertheless, ELL students face predictable difficulties in learning English. Those whose native languages are drastically different from English may find it especially difficult to learn the sounds and grammar of English, while others whose native languages are more similar may have less trouble. But these students also face difficulties unrelated to learning the language itself, including the possibility of having their abilities underestimated, a higher probability of dropping out, difficulty paying for and succeeding in college, and social problems connecting with native speakers. ELL students are often tracked with lower ability students because they have lower standardized test scores, which may inaccurately measure their academic ability.
ELL students are also more likely to drop out of high school. Their higher dropout rates may be due to difficulties in keeping up in mainstream classes or to prior interruptions in their formal education. For example, some ELL students may have spent time in refugee camps where they had no opportunity to attend school. Further, some have speculated that school administrators may actually encourage ELL students to drop out because it may increase the school’s overall average test scores, which may in turn benefit the school (e.g., by ensuring continued funding).
ELL students face additional barriers to pursuing higher education. Most colleges and universities require four years of English in high school, but many will accept only one year of ESL English. ELL students who arrive in the United States relatively late may find it difficult to meet this requirement because they must spend a longer time in ESL English classes in high school, or because they might not arrive early enough to complete four years of English in high school. Consequently, some ELL students lack the required credits to apply for college.
ELL students can also face financial barriers to higher education. Those who do not place high enough on college placement exams often have to enroll in ESL courses at their universities. Often, they must pay fees for these courses in addition to tuition, and these courses may not count as credit towards graduation. These additional fees add to the financial burden faced by ELL students who often come from families of lower socioeconomic status. The latest statistics show that the median household income for school-age ELL students is \$36,691 while that of non-ELL students is \$60,280.
ELL students often have difficulty interacting with native speakers. ELL students may avoid interactions with native speakers because they are frustrated with or embarrassed by their English ability. Immigrant students often also lack knowledge about popular U.S. culture, which limits their conversations with native speakers to academic topics. In classroom group activities with native speakers, ELL students often do not participate, again because of embarrassment of their English, but also because of cultural differences which value silence and individual work at school over social interaction and talking in class. These interactions have been found to extend to teacher-student interactions as well. In most mainstream classrooms, teacher-led discussion is the most common form of lesson. In this setting, ELL students will fail to participate, and often have difficulty understanding teachers because they talk too fast, do not use visual aids, or use native colloquialisms. ELL students also have trouble getting involved with extracurricular activities with native speakers for similar reasons. Students fail to join extra-curricular activities because of the language barrier, cultural emphasis of academics over other activities, or failure to understand traditional pastimes in their new country. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7B%3A_English_as_a_Second_Language.txt |
While education can improve life chances, not everyone has equal access to education.
Learning Objectives
• Recall some of the reasons why students in the U.S. may drop out of high school and the potential consequences of dropping out
Key Points
• The more education people have, the higher their income, the better their life chances, and the higher their standard of living.
• Dropout rates also vary geographically, with the lowest rates in northern states.
• The relationships students have with their peers also influence a student’s likelihood of dropping out.
Key Terms
• Academic Risk Factors: Academic risk factors refer to the performance of students in school and are highly related to school-level problems. These factors include absenteeism, grade retention, special education placement, low performance and grades, and low educational expectations.
• life chances: Life chances (Lebenschancen in German) is a political theory of the opportunities each individual has to improve his or her quality of life. The concept was introduced by German sociologist Max Weber. It is a probabilistic concept, describing how likely it is, given certain factors, that an individual’s life will turn out a certain way.
Life Chances
The more education people have, the higher their income, the better their life chances, and the higher their standard of living. In general, people with more education tend to earn higher incomes and enjoy a higher standard of living. High school dropouts are much less likely to be employed than those with high school and college degrees. Even earning a four-year degree can raise average weekly income by nearly \$400.
Max Weber used the concept of “life chances” to express an individual’s access to employment opportunities and other resources. In part, life chances are determined by birth. An individual born into a wealthy family will have higher life chances than average because they will have access to greater opportunities from the moment they are born.
Education also offers a means to improve one’s life chances by improving employment opportunities and making social connections. Thus, the consequences to dropping out can be high, as they significantly decrease the opportunity to improve one’s life chances. In addition to personal costs, dropping out has social costs. Dropouts have a greater likelihood of being arrested. Ultimately, this can lower the average standard of living for society as a whole. According to estimates, the average high school dropout will cost the government over \$292,000.
Academic Risk Factors
Not all students have an equal risk of dropping out. Students at risk for dropout based on academic risk factors are those who often have a history of absenteeism and grade retention, academic trouble, and more general disengagement from school life. Students may also be at risk for dropout based on social risk factors. Members of racial and ethnic minority groups drop out at higher rates than white students, as do those from low-income families, from single-parent households, and from families in which one or both parents also did not complete high school. Dropout rates also vary geographically, with the lowest rates in northern states. The highest dropout rates occur in the south and southwestern United States.
Why else might students drop out? Sociologists tend to group dropout risk factors into different categories, including academic risk factors and school-level risk factors. Academic risk factors relate to the performance of students in school. School structure, curriculum, and size may increase the exposure of students to academic risk factors. For example, students are more likely to drop out when they attend schools with less rigorous curriculum, when they attend large schools, or when they attend schools with poor student-teacher interactions.
The relationships students have with their peers also influence a student’s likelihood of dropping out. Students who build relationships with anti-social peers or who have deviant friends were more likely to drop out of school early regardless of their achievement in school. Relationships with parents can also influence a student’s decision to stay in school. The better the relationship, as demonstrated through positive interaction and parental involvement, the more likely the student will stay in school. If a student does not have a good relationship with her parents, the student is more likely to drop out even if she has good grades and good behavior.
Students who drop out of school may identify different motivations, including uninteresting classes (a lack of engagement with school life and classes), feeling unmotivated (especially by teachers who did not demand enough or were not inspirational), personal reasons (had to get a job, became a parent, had to support or care for a family member), and academic challenges (felt like they could not keep up, felt unprepared for high school, had to repeat a grade, or graduation requirements seemed out of reach).
Finally, some education researchers have noted that dropout rates may have been exacerbated by policies such as the U.S. No Child Left Behind Act that required schools to use high-stakes standardized testing as an accountability measure. These policies may have inadvertently encouraged students to drop out of high school, since teachers and administrators utilize grade retention as a strategy to improve test scores and ensure positive ratings for the school. As mentioned above, grade retention increases the likelihood that a student will drop out of school. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7C%3A_High_School_Dropouts.txt |
School violence is a serious problem in the United States, and attempts to explain it identify both individual and social risk factors.
Learning Objectives
• Recall the risk factors for school violence in the U:S. and the two types of bullying
Key Points
• Individual risk factors for school violence include a tendency to externalize problems, or act out, as well as developmental delays, low IQ, and reading problems.
• Social risk factors for school violence include an unstable home environment, violent neighborhoods, and certain characteristics of a school environment.
• A neighborhood environment may contribute to school violence when a community ‘s high rates of crime or drug use spills over into the classroom.
• Bullying may be committed by one student or a group of students.
• Physical bullying is the most easily identified and includes unwanted physical contact such as pushing, kicking, and tickling. It may also include the use of weapons.
• Verbal bullying is any slanderous statements or accusations that cause the victim undue emotional distress, such as insulting someone’s appearance, laughing at someone, or directing foul language toward someone.
• Emotionally bullying is any form of bullying that damages a victim’s emotional well-being, such as spreading malicious rumors, giving someone the silent treatment, or harassment.
Key Terms
• School Violence: School violence is widely considered to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries, particularly violence involving weapons. This includes violence between school students as well as physical attacks by students on school staff.
• bullying: an act of physically or emotionally intimidating a weaker person to do something, especially through repeated coercion
School violence is a serious problem in the United States. This refers to violence between students as well as physical attacks by students on school staff. In 2007, a nationwide survey conducted by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention found that, during the 30 days before they took the survey, 5.9% of students had carried a weapon to school, and 5.5% of students had skipped school because they did not feel safe. In the 12 months before they took the survey, 12.4% of students had been in a physical fight on school property at least once. Between 1996 and 2003, at least 46 individuals were killed in 27 school incidents involving the use of firearms.
While these numbers are alarming, data also shows that most crimes at school are not violent. In 2001, students between the ages of 12 and 18 were the victims of two million crimes at school, but 62% of those crimes were thefts. In part, violence receives more attention because it draws media coverage. For example, school shootings account for less than 1% of violent crimes in public schools, yet nearly every school shooting makes national headlines. Nevertheless, because school violence can have such serious consequences, educators and policymakers take the issue very seriously.
Explanations of School Violence
Attempts to explain school violence have identified several individual and social risk factors. Individual risk factors include a tendency to externalize problems, or “act out,” as well as developmental delays, low IQ, and reading problems. Social risk factors include an unstable home environment, violent neighborhoods, and certain characteristics of a school environment. A home environment may contribute to school violence if, at home, students are exposed to gun violence, parental alcoholism, domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or harsh parental discipline. All of these may teach children that criminal and violent activities are acceptable and may increase a child’s tendency to respond to frustration with aggression. A neighborhood environment may contribute to school violence if a community has high rates of crime or drug use. A neighborhood may also expose students to deviant peers or to gangs who contribute to violence inside schools. Finally, school violence tends to be higher in certain types of schools, the characteristics of which are listed below:
• a large male population
• higher grade levels
• a history of disciplinary problems
• a high student-to-teacher ratio
• urban location
Prevention and intervention strategies may target individual students, families, the school community, or society in general. Individual-level strategies target at-risk or aggressive students and teach these students conflict resolution, problem solving, and social skills. Family-based solutions attempt to improve family relationships in order to improve students’ experiences while they are at home. School-wide strategies are designed to modify school characteristics associated with violence. Examples of this would be classroom practices that encourage student cooperation and close interaction with teachers, or the presence of police and law enforcement in schools to discourage violence. Finally, society-level prevention strategies attempt to change social and cultural conditions in order to reduce violence, regardless of where it occurs. For example, society-level strategies might try to reduce the violence portrayed in movies or music.
Bullying
In recent years, one particular type of school violence, bullying, has garnered special attention. Bullying can be committed by one student or a group of students. Typically, a group of bullies takes advantage of, or isolates, one student in particular and gains the loyalty of bystanders who, in many cases, want to avoid becoming victims themselves. Bullies typically taunt and tease their target before physically bullying their target. The targets of bullying are often students who are considered strange or different by their peers to begin with, making the situation harder for them to deal with. Often, victims are targeted based on their appearance, their gender, or their sexual orientation.
Bullying is a common occurrence in most schools. According to the American Psychological Association, “approximately 40% to 80% of school-age children experience bullying at some point during their school careers. ” Bullying can be physical, verbal, and emotional. Physical bullying is the most easily identified and includes unwanted physical contact such as pushing, kicking, tickling, or the like, and may also include the use of weapons. Verbal bullying is any slanderous statements or accusations that cause the victim undue emotional distress. This can include insulting someone’s appearance, laughing at someone, or directing foul language toward someone. Emotionally bullying is any form of bullying that damages a victim’s emotional well-being, such as spreading malicious rumors, giving someone the silent treatment, or harassment. Bullying can also take place over the internet with text messaging. This “cyber-bullying” is particularly pernicious because it can be done anonymously, without detection by parents or authorities. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7D%3A_Violence_in_Schools.txt |
Homeschooling is the education of children at home rather than in the setting of a school.
Learning Objectives
• Sketch generally the different regulations regarding homeschooling which can be found in the United States
Key Points
• Motivations for home schooling vary, but may include dissatisfaction with the school environment, religious or moral reasons, or dissatisfaction with the quality of academic instruction provided in local schools.
• The legal status of home schooling varies by states, but in all cases, homeschooled students must meet certain requirements and are subject to certain assessments to ensure the quality of education.
• Homeschooled students have varying access to resources, including extracurricular activities.
Key Terms
• home schooling: Homeschooling or home school (also called home education or home-based learning) is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school.
Homeschooling is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. In the United States, about 2.9% of students, or about 1.5 million children, are homeschooled. Most homeschooled children are homeschooled only, but about one in five are also enrolled in public or private schools, which they may attend for 25 hours or less each week. By enrolling part-time at a school, homeschooled students can study subjects such as foreign languages and sciences, which may be more difficult to teach at home. They may also be eligible to participate in academic and athletic extracurricular activities.
Motivations for homeschooling vary, but may include dissatisfaction with the school environment, religious or moral reasons, or dissatisfaction with the quality of academic instruction provided in local schools. Surveys suggest that the most common motivations for homeschooling are concern about the school environment (e.g., safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure), a desire to provide religious or moral instruction, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools. Parents may also choose to homeschool children with special needs that the parent feels the school cannot or will not meet. Other, less common motivations include concerns about family time, finances, travel, and distance.
In the United States education is compulsory. Every state has some form of a compulsory attendance law that requires children in a certain age range to spend a specific amount of time being educated. The most common way for parents to meet these requirements is to have their children attend public school. However, parents have always had some degree of choice in where and how children are educated. Thus, the legality of homeschooling has been debated, and that debate has focused largely on whether it is legal for parents to withhold children from school and educate them in a home setting. Since the 1980s, the focus of the debate has shifted to questions about the distribution of resources and state control over homeschooling. The legality of homeschooling is generally accepted, but debate continues over whether homeschooling communities can access state school funds, facilities, and resources and whether the state can regulate areas like curricula and standardized testing.
Today, homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, although it is regulated in different ways by each state. Homeschooling laws can be divided into three categories. First, in some states, homeschooling is treated like a type of private school. In these states, homeschools are generally required to comply with the same laws that apply to other schools. Homeschools in California, Indiana, and Texas, for example, fall into this category. In other states, the requirements for homeschooling are set by the particular parameters of the compulsory attendance statute. These states’ compulsory attendance laws do not make any specific reference to “homeschooling. ” Homeschools in New Jersey, Maryland, for example, fall into this category. Third, in other states homeschool requirements are based on a statute or group of statutes that specifically applies to homeschooling. In these states, the requirements for homeschooling are set out in the relevant statutes. Often, these statutes refer to homeschooling by another name. For example, in Virginia it is “home instruction,” in South Dakota it is “alternative instruction,” and in Iowa it is “competent private instruction. ”
States also differ in the level of resources they make available to homeschooled students. A minority of states require public schools to give homeschooled students access to district resources, such as school libraries, computer labs, extracurricular activities, or even academic courses. In some communities, homeschoolers may meet with a teacher periodically for curriculum review and suggestions. Other states give districts the option of giving homeschooled students access to such resources.
Access to interscholastic athletic competition varies from state to state. Some state athletic associations ban homeschoolers from interscholastic competition, both by prohibiting homeschoolers to compete for a state federation member school as well as by prohibiting member schools to compete against independent teams made up of homeschoolers. In such states, homeschoolers may only compete amongst other homeschoolers or against schools that are not members of the state’s interscholastic athletic federation. Other states allow homeschoolers to compete for the public schools that they would otherwise attend by virtue of their residence. Still other state interscholastic athletic associations allow homeschoolers to organize teams that compete against other established schools, but do not allow homeschoolers to compete on established school teams. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7E%3A_Homeschooling.txt |
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent manner.
Learning Objectives
• Argue for or against standardized testing based on the key points attributed to proponents and critics in the text
Key Points
• Standardized tests are one common method by which schools measure students’ academic achievement, and they may also be used to measure students’ progress and teachers’ effectiveness, or in order to assess whether students are ready to progress to the next stage in their education.
• One of the main advantages of standardized testing is that the results can be empirically documented.
• Critics point out that standardized tests actually evaluate three things: what students learn in school, what they learn outside of school, and their innate intelligence.
• Critics worry that standardized tests lead teachers to “teach to the test”.
• Testing bias occurs when a test systematically favors one group over another, even though both groups may be equal on the trait the test measures.
• No Child Left Behind required that states assess educational achievement and allocate resources using standardized tests.
• Testing bias occurs when a test systematically favors one group over another, even though both groups are equal on the trait the test measures.
Key Terms
• standardized tests: A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or “standard”, manner.
• No Child Left Behind: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is a United States Act of Congress that came about as wide public concern about the state of education. NCLB is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Title I, the government’s flagship aid program for disadvantaged students. NCLB supports standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education.
• Testing Bias: Testing bias occurs when a test systematically favors one group over another, even though both groups are equal on the trait the test measures.
Standardized tests are one common method by which schools measures students’ academic achievement. These tests may be given periodically and repeatedly to measure students’ progress and teachers’ effectiveness, or they may be given at key points during students’ careers to assess whether they are ready to progress to the next stage in their education—often, the next grade level or college. A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent manner. They are designed so that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are purportedly without bias.
Proponents of Standardized Tests
One of the main advantages of standardized testing is that the results can be empirically documented; the test scores can be shown to have a relative degree of validity and reliability, being generalizable and replicable. Standardized tests allow educators, policymakers, and admissions committees easily and fairly compare results from different students. It may be difficult to account for differences in educational culture across schools, difficulty of a given teacher’s curriculum, differences in teaching style, and techniques and biases that affect grading. This makes standardized tests useful for admissions purposes in higher education, where a school is trying to compare students from across the nation or across the world.
Opponents of Standardized Tests
Critics worry that standardized tests lead teachers to “teach to the test. ” Standardized tests can be useful tools for assessing student achievement, and they can be used to focus instruction on desired outcomes, such as reading and math skills. However, critics feel that overuse and misuse of these tests harms teaching and learning by narrowing the curriculum. While it is possible to use a standardized test without letting its contents determine curriculum and instruction, frequently what is not tested is not taught, and how the subject is tested often becomes a model for how to teach the subject.
Further, standardized tests tend to measure only one sort of knowledge, while discounting creativity and diverse modes of expression. In essence, standardized tests use a one-size-fits-all theory, which is not always an effective way to measure students’ knowledge and comprehension. Students who fail standardized tests may be diagnosed with learning disabilities or disorders instead of recognized for the skills they have, which are consequently left unchallenged and undeveloped.
Finally, critics have expressed concern that standardized tests may create testing bias. Testing bias occurs when a test systematically favors one group over another, even though both groups are equal on the trait the test measures. Critics allege that test makers and facilitators tend to represent a middle class, white background and standardized testing matches the values, habits, and language of the test makers. Students who share that background may have an advantage on standardized tests that has nothing to do with academic achievement or aptitude but is due to shared cultural background.
No Child Left Behind
In 2001, the United States passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all states to test students in public schools statewide to ensure that they are achieving the desired level of minimum education. Although some states already had statewide standardized testing requirements, for many states, this act required them to create new systems. The act reinvigorated debate over the accuracy, efficacy, and justice of relying on standardized tests to measure student achievement.
However, critics charge that standardized tests have become a mandatory curriculum placed into schools without public debate and without any accountability measures of its own. Many feel this ignores basic democratic principles in that control of schools’ curricula is removed from local school boards, which are the nominal curricular authority in the U.S.
The act is especially controversial because it ties funding to standardized test schools. Under the act, students and schools must demonstrate “adequate yearly progress. ” That is, they must show some improvement every year. When a student fails to make adequate yearly progress, schools must provide tutoring or other interventions to help the student improve. When schools fail to show adequate yearly progress, they may lose funding or be taken over by the school board or state.
GED, SAT and ACT
In many places the United States, standardized tests are also used as a graduation requirement. Students must pass a standardized test in order to graduate from high school. The General Educational Development (GED) test, is often used as an alternative to a high school diploma. During high school, students may also take standardized tests as a requirement for applying to college. The most common standardized tests for applying to college are the SAT and ACT. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7F%3A_Standardized_Tests.txt |
Gender-based achievement gaps suggest the existence of gender bias in the classroom.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze both the possible root causes of gender-based achievement gaps and its proposed solutions
Key Points
• Boys outscore girls on most high-stakes tests, including both the math and verbal sections of the SAT.
• Girls may receive negative attention bias from teachers, though much of it may be unintentional.
• Teachers may reinforce gender bias when they give more attention to boys or excuse boys’ behavior with the excuse that “boys will be boys.”
• Single-sex classrooms have been proposed as a solution to gender bias.
• Despite evidence of gender bias, girls outperform boys in reading and writing and have made steady gains in career access.
Key Terms
• The SAT: SAT Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test): a national exam taken annually by high school juniors and seniors.
• achievement gap: The observed and persistent disparity between the performance of groups of students defined by gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, based on a number of educational measures.
• gender bias: A prejudicial stance towards males or females
Gender-based achievement gaps (especially in math and science ) suggest the existence of gender bias in the classroom.
Although most people would like to believe gender bias in the classroom is no longer a problem, evidence points to a persistent achievement gap between boys and girls. Although girls tend to stay in school longer, have better attendance records, and earn better report card grades, boys outscore girls on most high-stakes tests, including both the math and verbal sections of the SAT. Men also outscore women on standardized tests for graduate school, law school, and medical school.
Dissecting Classroom Gender Bias
If test score gaps are evidence of gender bias, where does that gender bias come from? Numerous explanations have been proposed:
• Women and girls may choose to take fewer advanced math or science courses, or they may be discouraged from doing so.
• Cultural norms could influence girls to prepare for their expected role of keeping a home and nurturing children, though such norms are less stringently enforced than in the past.
• Teachers may interact with boys and girls in ways that reinforce gender roles and gender inequality.
Of course, few teachers would admit to bringing gender bias into the classroom, and much of their influence may be unintentional. Nevertheless, teachers may reinforce gender bias when they give more attention to boys or excuse boys’ behavior with the excuse that “boys will be boys. ” Teachers may also reinforce gender bias simply by drawing distinctions between boys and girls. For example, lining up students or seating them by gender affirms the idea that boys and girls should be treated differently. Teachers may also influence students by the way they give praise, encourage a student to correct or expand an answer, criticize, or accept without evaluating a response. Research suggests teachers are more likely to respond to boys with praise or encouragement, whereas they are more likely to respond to girls by simply accepting or acknowledging a response without evaluating it. Because girls are typically socialized to be quiet and passive, teachers may need to actively encourage their participation in class in order to avoid boy-dominated discussion, or a situation in which boys receive more feedback from and interaction with teachers because they more actively participate in class.
One proposed solution to gender bias in the classroom is to separate boys and girls in single-sex classrooms. Theoretically, single-sex classrooms would help students focus without distracting interactions with children of the opposite gender. They could also decrease pressure on girls who feel nervous participating in boy-dominated class discussion. However, empirical studies give mixed evidence as to the efficacy of single-sex schooling, and critics worry that it constitutes a separate-but-equal form of discrimination.
Career Access
Despite evidence of gender bias, female career access has made steady gains in recent years, due largely to the women’s rights movement. More women are now able to work outside the home; although some may be driven to work not as an expression of liberty or equality, but out of economic necessity. Still, women earn only about 75 cents for every dollar earned by men, and many work in low status, sex-stereotyped occupations. In part, that may be due to the college majors women choose. But why, one might ask, would women be more likely to choose college majors that will not benefit them in careers? Sociologists would point to social influences and cultural expectations.
The “Boy Code”
Further, though most research and debate about gender bias in the classroom focuses on bias against girls, recent evidence suggests that boys may be falling behind girls, especially in literacy. In fact, the latest national test scores, collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, show that girls have met or exceeded the reading performance of boys at all age levels; by fourth grade, boys have fallen two years behind girls in their reading and writing skills. The male literacy gap has been attributed to sex-based differences in brain function as well as to social factors like the expectations set by an unwritten “boy code” to discourages boys from expressing emotions. This boy code may make male students less likely to share opinions about literature or express frustrations or difficulties to teachers. Thus, just as social pressures may convince some girls they cannot excel at science or math, social pressures may convince some boys they cannot succeed in reading and writing.
The gendering of school subjects may, in itself, lead to gender bias in the classroom, and, further down the line, gender inequality in the workforce. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7G%3A_Gender_Bias_in_the_Classroom.txt |
There is no standard definition of “gifted,” nor a standard way of implementing gifted education.
Learning Objectives
• List the various forms of education for the gifted and the controversies around gifted education
Key Points
• Common forms of education for the gifted have included acceleration, pull-out, cluster grouping and summer enrichment.
• According to the 1972 Marland Report, gifted youth are more likely than average to experience academic failure and develop social and emotional problems.
• Gifted education received federal support during the Cold War, but that support has recently been eroded.
• Controversies exist over the appropriateness of different forms of gifted education and their emotional effects on students.
Key Terms
• cluster grouping: Cluster grouping is the gathering of four to six gifted and talented or high achieving students in a single classroom for the entire school day.
• gifted: Endowed with special, in particular intellectual, abilities.
• pull-out: Gifted students are pulled out of a heterogeneous classroom to spend a portion of their time in a gifted class.
Though gifted education programs are widespread, there is no standard definition of “gifted,” nor a standard way of implementing gifted education. Gifted education programs are justified by a two-pronged argument: First, gifted and talented youth are not adequately challenged by the standard curriculum and therefore require accelerated curricula or enrichment activities to reach their full potential. Second, gifted and talented youth are inherently at-risk.
This second argument may seem counter-intuitive, but it has gained general credibility. This argument was formally articulated by the 1972 Marland Report by then U.S. Commissioner of Education S. P. Marland. According to the report, gifted youth are more likely than average to experience academic failure and to develop social and emotional problems. Gifted students may experience social rejection and difficulty making friends, as well as grapple with fear of failure and perfectionism. They may intentionally play down their abilities in order to make friends. They are also more prone to depression, anxiety and disengagement, as well as to behavior problems and drug and alcohol abuse. This may be in part due to a need for stimulation beyond what they receive in a typical classroom.
Since the early 20th century, definitions of “gifted” have been based on IQ, or intelligence quotient. Different schools may set different cut-offs for defining giftedness, but a common standard is the top 2% of students with an IQ score of about 140 or above. More general definitions of giftedness may also evaluate students’ capability in areas like intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields. Evaluations may be based on portfolios of student work, classroom observations, and achievement measures.
The 2002 No Child Left Behind law shifted attention away from gifted students. The law aims to bring proficiency of all students to grade level, but critics note it does not address the needs of gifted students who perform above grade level. The act imposes punishments on schools, administrators and teachers when students do not achieve to the plan’s designs, but does not address any achievement standards for high functioning students. This forces schools and teachers to spend their time with low achieving students. As a result of this law, many fear, gifted services have been eroding
Forms of Gifted Education
Gifted education programs take many forms, including a combination of acceleration, pull-out or cluster grouping, and enrichment activities. Acceleration programs may compact curriculum or allow students to self-pace. In compacting, students are pre-tested to determine which skills or content they have already mastered, thus allowing students to skip repetitive practice. This reduces boredom and frees time to work on more challenging material. In self-pacing, students advance at their own speeds. In general, acceleration programs advance students to higher-level material suited to their abilities and preparedness – students may skip grades, skip ahead in particular subjects, or enroll at local community colleges.
An alternative to acceleration is pull-out or cluster grouping, in which gifted students are removed from regular classrooms. In pull-out programs, gifted students spend most of the school day with a regular classroom of mixed abilities, but may be pulled out for an hour or part of a day to practice critical thinking drills, creative exercises, or subjects not introduced in standard curriculums. Pull-out programs are generally ineffective at promoting academic achievement since they do not align with the regular curriculum.
Finally, summer enrichment presents gifted students with extra material above and beyond the standard curriculum. Students spend school days with a regular classroom, but also complete enrichment activities given as a modified assignment by the regular classroom teacher. These could include formal programs like Odyssey of the Mind or academic competitions like National History Day. Summer enrichment programs typically operate like summer camps, as students pay a fee to attend and may enroll in programs that typically focus on one subject. In any case, enrichment work is done in addition to regular school work.
Controversy
Controversies concerning gifted education are varied and often highly politicized. They are as basic as agreeing upon the appropriateness of the term “gifted” or the definition of “giftedness. ” For example, does “giftedness” refer to performance or potential? Many students do not exhibit both at the same time. Measures of general intelligence also remain controversial. Early IQ tests were notorious for producing higher IQ scores for privileged races and classes and lower scores for disadvantaged subgroups. Although IQ tests have changed substantially over the past half century, and many objections to the early tests have been addressed by “culture neutral,” IQ testing remains controversial. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/13%3A_Education/13.07%3A_Issues_in_the_U.S._Education_System/13.7H%3A_The_Gifted.txt |
Education reforms aim at redressing some societal ills, such as gender-, and class-based inequities, or instructional ineffectiveness.
Learning Objectives
• Outline the main motivations for educational reform and the timeline of its various manifestations
Key Points
• Educational reform has been closely tied to efforts to promote democracy.
• Another motivation for reform is the desire to address socioeconomic problems, such as health, wealth and well being, which many people see as having roots in unequal access to education.
• In the 1980s, conservative reformers tried to limit federal involvement in education, and E.D. Hirsch argued education must teach cultural literacy.
• In the 1990s and 2000s, reformers pushed for outcomes-based education with an emphasis on assessment.
• Teachers’ unions are considered by many to be the major barrier to continued reform.
• Persistent issues in educational reform include school funding, school choice, and alternatives to public education.
• Teachers’ unions are considered by many to be the major barrier to continued reform.
Key Terms
• school choice: School choice is a term used to describe a wide array of programs aimed at giving families the opportunity to choose the school their children will attend.
• cultural literacy: Knowledge of and ability to discuss the history of and major concepts underlying a culture, particularly one’s own and those of one’s peers.
• outcomes-based education: Outcome-based education (OBE) is a student-centered learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance, which are called outcomes. OBE contrasts with traditional education, which primarily focuses on the resources that are available to the student, which are called inputs.
Education reform has been pursued for a variety of specific reasons, but, generally, most reforms aim at redressing some societal ills, such as poverty-, gender-, or class-based inequities, or perceived ineffectiveness.
The idea that all children should be provided with a high level of education is a relatively recent idea, and has arisen largely in the context of Western democracy in the twentieth century. In fact, educational reform has been closely tied to efforts to promote democracy. Many students of democracy desire to improve education in order to improve the quality of governance in democratic societies. The necessity of good public education follows logically if one believes that the quality of democratic governance depends on the ability of citizens to make informed, intelligent choices, and education can improve these abilities. In the United States, for example, democratic education was promoted by Thomas Jefferson, who advocated ambitious reforms for public schooling in Virginia.
Another motivation for reform is the desire to address socioeconomic problems, which many people see as having roots in unequal access to education. Starting in the twentieth century, people have attempted to argue that small improvements in education can have large returns in such areas as health, wealth and well being. For example, in developing countries, increases in women’s literacy rates were correlated with increases in women’s health, and increasing primary education was correlated with increasing farming efficiencies and income. Even in developed countries, an individual’s level of education may predict the type of career and level of income that person can expect to achieve.
Other education reforms have been motivated by attempts to improve the effectiveness of instruction. Many modern reforms have attempted to move away from a model of education in which a teacher lectures and delivers facts to a passive student audience. For example, M. Montessori argued that education must take into account the individual needs of each child. John Dewey suggested that effective education poses problems and puzzles that motivate children to learn.
Over the years, education reform has focused on different goals. From the 1950s to the 1970s, many of the proposed and implemented reforms in U.S. education stemmed from the Civil Rights Movement and related trends; examples include ending racial segregation and busing for the purpose of desegregation, affirmative action, and banning of school prayer. In general, these reforms gave more students from more diverse backgrounds access to education.
In the 1980s, the momentum of education reform moved from the left to the right. For example, E.D. Hirsch put forth an influential attack on progressive education. He argued that progressive education failed to teach “cultural literacy,” the facts, phrases, and texts that Hirsch asserted every American had once known and were still essential for decoding basic texts and maintaining communication. Hirsch’s ideas remain significant through the 1990s and into the twenty-first century and are incorporated into classroom practice through textbooks and curricula published under his own imprint.
In the 1990s, most states and districts adopted Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in some form or another. Under OBE, a state would create a committee to adopt standards and choose a quantitative instrument (often, a standardized test) to assess whether the students knew the required content or could perform the required tasks. During this period, the U.S. Congress also set the standards-based National Education Goals (Goals 2000). Many of these goals were based on the principles of outcomes-based education, and not all of the goals were attained by the year 2000 as was intended. The standards-based reform movement culminated in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In general, OBE reforms attempt to increase accountability in education. Rather than reforming the educational process, they focus on the effects that process achieves by measuring outcomes (e.g., student achievement).
A central issue for educational reform advocates today is school choice. Debates over school choice focus on advocates’ claim that school choice can promote excellence in education through competition. A highly competitive “market” for schools would eliminate the need to otherwise enforce accountability from the top down. According to advocates, schools would naturally regulate themselves and attempt to raise standards in order to attract students. Most proposals for school choice call for vouchers. Public education vouchers would permit guardians to select and pay any school, public or private, with public funds currently allocated to local public schools. In theory, children’s guardians will naturally shop for the best schools, much as is already done at the college level.
Many attribute the purportedly slow pace of reform in the United States to the strength of teachers’ unions. In some school districts, labor agreements with teachers’ unions may restrict the ability of school systems to implement merit pay and other reforms. In general, union contracts are more restrictive in districts with high concentrations of poor and minority students.
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Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and to moral values.
Learning Objectives
• Define religion and its essential features
Key Points
• The sociologist Emile Durkheim defined religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. ” By sacred things he meant things “set apart and forbidden — beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them”.
• The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions emphasize belief while others emphasize practice. Some religions focus on subjective experience of the religious individual while others consider activities of the religious community to be most important.
• Social constructionism says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions and thus religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures.
Key Terms
• belief system: The basis of a set of beliefs
• hierarchy: Any group of objects ranked so that everyone but the topmost is subordinate to a specified group above it.
• sacred: Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense, made holy; set apart to religious use; consecrated; not profane or common; as, a sacred place; a sacred day; sacred service
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions, and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe.
Many languages have words that can be translated as “religion,” but they may use them in a very different way, and some have no word for religion at all. For example, the Sanskrit word “dharma,” sometimes translated as “religion,” also means law. Throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial and practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a similar union between “imperial law” and universal or “Buddha law,” but these later became independent sources of power.
The typical dictionary definition of religion refers to a “belief in, or the worship of, a god or gods” or the “service and worship of God or the supernatural. ” However, many writers and scholars have noted that this basic “belief in god” definition fails to capture the diversity of religious thought and experience. Edward Burnett Tylor defined religion as simply “the belief in spiritual beings. ” He argued, in 1871, that narrowing the definition to mean the belief in a supreme deity or judgment after death would exclude many peoples from the category of religious and thus “has the fault of identifying religion rather with particular developments than with the deeper motive which underlies them. ” He also argued that the belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies.
The sociologist Emile Durkheim, in his seminal book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, defined religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. ” By sacred things he meant things “set apart and forbidden — beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them. ” Sacred things are not, however, limited to gods or spirits. On the contrary, a sacred thing can be “a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred. ” Religious beliefs, myths, dogmas, and legends are the representations that express the nature of these sacred things and the virtues and powers that are attributed to them.
The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions place an emphasis on belief while others emphasize practice. Some religions focus on the subjective experience of the religious individual while others consider the activities of the religious community to be most important. Some religions claim to be universal, believing their laws and cosmology to be binding for everyone, while others are intended to be practiced only by a closely-defined or localized group. In many places religion has been associated with public institutions such as education, hospitals, the family, government, and political hierarchy.
One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that has been defined relative to the Abrahamic religions and that thus, religion as a concept has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.01%3A_The_Nature_of_Religion/14.1A%3A_The_Nature_of_Religion.txt |
A conventional social scientific view understands religion as a group’s collective beliefs and rituals relating to the supernatural.
Learning Objectives
• Identify the different elements that comprise religion
Key Points
• Sacred refers to collective interests within different religious practices. Profane acts include individual concerns that are not part of religious rituals.
• Emile Durkheim argues that religion is composed of the sacred elements of social life. However, many see this definition as too broad, since there are many collective interests that most do not consider religious.
• Ritual is an everyday practice that resembles symbolic meaning in different religions.
• Other social scientists view religion as any attempt to answer existential questions. Many also consider this too broad a definition.
• A third social scientific perspective views religion as the collective beliefs and rituals of a group relating to the supernatural. Though not without criticisms, this categorization most closely adheres to the traditional and popular view of what constitutes a religion.
Key Terms
• supernatural: Above nature; that which is beyond or added to nature, often so considered because it is given by God or some force beyond that which humans are born with. In Roman Catholic theology, sanctifying grace is considered to be a supernatural addition to human nature.
• profane: Not sacred or holy, unconsecrated; relating to non-religious matters, secular.
• sacred: Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense, made holy; set apart to religious use; consecrated; not profane or common; as, a sacred place; a sacred day; sacred service
Emile Durkheim argues that religion is comprised of the sacred elements of social life. Durkheim also identifies collective interests and group unity as part of the sacred, whereas individual concerns fall into the profane category. This distinction makes sense when we think about western religious traditions where, for example, the Torah and Bible are considered holy books treated with reverence and respect. Problems quickly emerge, however, when we think about nationalism or consumerism. Under Durkheim’s distinction, both nationalism and consumerism would be considered sacred practices.
The reverence afforded to the U.S. constitution, cars, shoes and former presidents clearly constitutes the sacred and thus religious, though the vast majority of U.S. religious practitioners would disagree that they are members of multiple faith traditions. As a result, some have argued Durkheim’s distinction is not sufficiently narrow to capture the essence of religion. If we want to examine the difference between collective and individual interests, Durkheim’s distinction steers us in the right direction.
Other social scientists view religion as any attempt to answer existential questions, i.e. “is there life after death” and “how does the universe work and what’s my role in it.” This categorization of religion highlights its functional role as serving specific social ends. In doing so, however, this perspective also attracts criticisms for being overly encompassing. Many branches of scientific investigation, for instance, would be considered religious, and even atheism would fit into the frame of attempting to answer existential questions.
A third social scientific perspective views religion as the collective beliefs and rituals of a group relating to the supernatural. If we simply focus on beliefs relating to the supernatural, this too may be broad enough to include atheism. However, when belief and rituals of a group relating to the supernatural are coupled together, the scope seems appropriately narrowed. Though not without criticisms, this categorization most closely adheres to the traditional and popular view of what constitutes a religion.
Hindu Rituals in a Kashmiri Wedding: The Joyful Rhythms of a Kashmiri Wedding
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Supernaturalism refers to any belief system with supernatural forces, such as magic, and, in general, is prevalent in all societies.
Learning Objectives
• Give examples which help distinguish between the very similar concepts of religion and magic
Key Points
• Supernatural forces are not bound to laws of nature; they work outside of them.
• Mana is a classic example of a supernatural force that imbues objects with powers of authority.
• The term religion is reserved for an organized cult with a priesthood and dedicated sites of worship or sacrifice, while magic is prevalent in all societies, regardless of whether they have organized religion or more general systems of animism or shamanism.
Key Terms
• mana: A form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people.
• Supernatural Forces: The supernatural is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature.
• supernaturalism: A belief in the doctrine of supernatural or divine agency as manifested in the world, in human events, religious revelation, miracles, etc.
Supernaturalism
Supernaturalism is perhaps the broadest classification of religious practices, encompassing any belief system dealing with supernatural forces. Supernaturalism asserts the existence of forces beyond human comprehension that frequently interfere, for better or worse, in human affairs. Most simply, the laws of nature do not bind the supernatural. These forces are considered impersonal because they are thought to come and go as they see fit, and can inhabit human and non-human objects alike. In popular culture and fiction, the supernatural is whimsically associated with the paranormal and the occult, which differs from traditional concepts in some religions, such as Catholicism, where divine miracles are considered supernatural.
The concept ‘mana’ is a classic example of a supernatural force that imbues objects with powers and authority. For example, in Polynesian cultures, mana is the force that allows efficacy, or the ability to have an influence in the world. Similarly for Melanesians, mana primarily inhabits objects, like charms or amulets, which confer good fortune to whoever possesses them (though mana can also inhabit people or animals). Mana is not inherently good or evil; its impact depends on how it is used.
Magic
In many cases, it becomes difficult or impossible to draw any meaningful line between beliefs and practices that are magical versus those that are religious. In general, The term religion is reserved for an organized cult with a priesthood and dedicated sites of worship or sacrifice, while magic is prevalent in all societies, regardless of whether they have organized religion or more general systems of animism or shamanism. Religion and magic became conceptually separated with the development of western monotheism, where the distinction arose between supernatural events sanctioned by mainstream religious doctrine (“miracles”) and mere magic rooted in folk belief or occult speculation. In pre-monotheistic religious traditions, there is no fundamental distinction between religious practice and magic; tutelary deities concerned with magic are sometimes called “hermetic deities” or “spirit guides. ”
14.2B: Animism
Animism is the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, either intrinsically or because spirits inhabit them.
Learning Objectives
• Identify some of the key elements of animism and at least one real life instantiation
Key Points
• Pantheism is the belief that everything shares the same spiritual essence—individuals do not have distinct spirits or souls. Animism puts more emphasis on the uniqueness of each individual soul.
• In animist societies, ritual is considered essential to win the favor of the spirits that ward off other malevolent spirits and provide food, shelter, and fertility.
• Shamans, also sometimes called medicine men or women, serve as mediums between the physical world and the world of spirits.
Key Terms
• animism: A belief that spirits inhabit some or all classes of natural objects or phenomena.
• shaman: A member of certain tribal societies who acts as a religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds.
• spirits: The undying essence of a human. The soul.
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, either intrinsically or because spirits inhabit them for a period of time. Unlike supernatural forces, animist spirits may be inherently good or evil. Often, these spirits are thought to be the souls of deceased relatives, and they are not worshiped as deities.
While animists believe everything to be spiritual in nature, they do not necessarily see the spiritual nature of everything in existence as being united (monism), the way pantheists do. Animism puts more emphasis on the uniqueness of each individual soul. In pantheism, everything shares the same spiritual essence—there are no distinct spirits and/or souls. Because humans are considered a part of nature, rather than superior to, or separate from it, animists see themselves on roughly equal footing with other animals, plants, and natural forces, and subsequently have a moral imperative to treat these agents with respect.
In animist societies, ritual is considered essential to win the favor of the spirits that ward off other malevolent spirits and provide food, shelter, and fertility. Shamans, also sometimes called medicine men or women, serve as mediums between the physical world and the world of spirits.
Animism is thought to be the belief system that laid the groundwork for the notion of a soul and the animation of traditionally inanimate objects, allowing every world religion to take those basic principles in other directions. Though earlier philosophers such as Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas discussed animism, the formal definition was postulated by Sir Edward Taylor late in the 19th century. Examples of Animism can be seen in forms of Shinto, Hinduism, Buddhism, pantheism, Paganism, and Neopaganism. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.02%3A_Types_of_Religions/14.2A%3A_Magic_and_Supernaturalism.txt |
Theism refers to any belief system that incorporates a deity.
Learning Objectives
• Create a short sketch in which a monotheist, a deist, a polytheist, and Emile Durkheim enter into a debate about their views on god(s)
Key Points
• Since theism is so common throughout human history, Emile Durkheim saw deities as an extension of human social life.
• Monotheistic traditions conceive of God as omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and active in the governance and organization of the world and universe. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are monotheistic.
• Deism holds that religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of a supreme being as creator.
• Polytheism is the belief that multiple gods exist. Hard polytheism recognizes multiple gods as being distinct and separate beings, while soft polytheism views multiple gods as being connected under the umbrella of a greater whole.
• Panentheism is the belief that the universe is a part of a deity, but that the deity is greater than the universe.
• Polytheism is the belief that multiple gods exist, but do not intervene with the universe.
• Monolatrism refers to the belief that there may be more than one deity, but that only one is worthy of being worshiped.
Key Terms
• polytheism: The belief of the existence of many gods.
• monotheism: The belief in a single god; especially within an organized religion.
• deity: A preternatural or supernatural human or non-human being or entity, or an object that possesses miraculous or supernatural attributes, powers or superpowers (e.g. a god or goddess).
The term theism, first introduced by Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688), derives from the Greek word theos meaning “god”. It refers to any belief system that incorporates the existence of a deity. A deity is a supernatural being thought of as holy, divine or sacred. Though they take a variety of forms, deities are often expressed as taking human form. They are usually immortal, and are commonly assumed to have personalities, consciousness and intellects comparable (albeit superior) to those of humans. Typically, deities do not reveal themselves directly to humans, but make themselves known through their effects in the world. They are thought to dwell mainly in otherworldly or holy places like Heaven, Hell, the sky, the under-world, or in a supernatural plane or celestial sphere.
Due to the ubiquity of theistic traditions, Emilee Durkheim saw the deities as an extension of human social life. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossini contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces like gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in larger groups. He indicates that by including ever watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.
When only one deity is recognized, the faith tradition is called monotheistic. Typically, monotheistic traditions conceive of God as omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and active in governance and organization of the world and the universe. The most prominent modern day monotheistic religions include Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
In contrast to monotheism, deism is the belief that at least one deity exists and created the world, but that the creator(s), though transcendent and supreme, does/do not alter the original plan for the universe. Deism typically rejects supernatural events (prophecies, miracles and divine revelations) prominent in organized religion. Instead, deism holds that religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of a supreme being as creator.
Faith traditions involving more than one deity are called polytheistic. Hard polytheism recognizes multiple gods as being distinct and separate beings. Examples include the Egyptian and Greek religions, as well as certain schools of Hinduism. Soft polytheism views multiple gods as being connected under the umbrella of a greater whole. Some forms of Hinduism like Smartism/Advaita Vedanta are considered soft polytheistic traditions. Polytheism can also be subdivided according to how individual deities are regarded: Henotheism is the belief that while only one deity is worshiped other deities may exist and other people are justified in worshiping those other deities. Monolatrism refers to the belief that there may be more than one deity, but that only one is worthy of being worshiped.
Birth of monotheism, modern Judaism and finalizing the Torah: The beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible
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Karl Marx argues that religion works to calm uncertainty over our role in the universe and in society, and to maintain the status quo.
Learning Objectives
• Give an example which either supports or contradicts Marx’s idea that ”religion is the opium of the people”
Key Points
• One of the most frequently paraphrased statements of Karl Marx is, religion is the opium of the people.
• Karl Marx argues that religion plays a significant role in maintaining the status quo by promising rewards in the after-life rather than in this life.
• Social inequalities result from the differences inherent in class structures, such as the inequality between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
Key Terms
• proletariat: the working class or lower class
• status quo: the current state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.
• bourgeoisie: The capitalist class.
One of the most frequently paraphrased statements of Karl Marx is, religion is the opium of the people. It was translated from the German original, “Die Religion… ist das Opium des Volkes,” and is often referred to as “religion is the opiate of the masses. ” Taken in context, Marx is arguing that religion was constructed by people to calm uncertainty over our role in the universe and in society.
Early social theorists offered explanations and analysis of religion in terms of the function of religion in society, the role of religion in the life of the individual, and the nature (and origin) of religion. With ‘the social-conflict approach,’ Karl Marx argues that religion plays a significant role in maintaining the status quo. Marx argues that religion accomplishes this by promising rewards in the after-life rather than in this life. By focusing attention on otherworldly rewards, religion pacifies members by providing a worldview that deflects attention that would otherwise be directed at the inequalities of this world.
Marx’s approach to sociology was critical in the sense that, in contrast to the knowledge for knowledge’s sake approach, it advocated change. Criticism of the system in place when he was writing was inherent in Marx’s approach; because of this, he took a particular stand on the existence of religion, namely, that it should be done away with. His efforts were, in his mind, based solely on what can be called applied science. Marx saw himself as doing sociology and economic theory for the sake of human development. As Christiano states, “Marx did not believe in science for science’s sake…he believed that he was also advancing a theory that would be a useful tool in effecting a revolutionary upheaval of the capitalist system in favor of socialism” (2008, 124). As such, the crux of his arguments was that humans are best guided by reason. Religion, Marx held, was a significant hindrance to reason, inherently masking the truth and misguiding followers. Marx viewed social alienation as the heart of social inequality. The antithesis to this alienation is freedom. Thus, to propagate freedom means to present individuals with the truth and give them a choice to accept or deny it. In this, “Marx never suggested that religion ought to be prohibited” (Christiano 2008, 126). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.04%3A_The_Conflict_Perspective_on_Religion/14.4A%3A_Marx_and_the_Opiate_of_the_Masses.txt |
Marx viewed religion as a tool of social control used by the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat content with an unequal status quo.
Learning Objectives
• Evaluate Karl Marx’s critical approach to religion
Key Points
• The social-conflict approach to religion highlights how religion, as a phenomenon of human behavior, maintains social inequality by advancing a worldview that justifies oppression.
• Karl Marx’s critical approach demanded that action be taken to resolve social inequalities. This was in stark contrast to his scholarly peers, many of whom pursued scholarship for the sake of knowledge, and did not attach to these academic projects overt political goals.
• Karl Marx viewed religion as a social control used to maintain the status quo in a given society.
Key Terms
• status quo: the current state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.
Marxist Theory of Religion
The social-conflict approach is rooted in Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism. According to Marx, in a capitalist society, religion plays a critical role in maintaining an unequal status quo, in which certain groups of people have radically more resources and power than other groups of people. Marx argued that the bourgeoise used religion as a tool to keep the less powerful proletariat pacified. Marx argued that religion was able to do this by promising rewards in the after-life, instead of in this life. It was in this sense that Marx asserted the following. “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the feeling of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless circumstances. It is the opium of the people…The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness” (p.72). In this passage, Marx is calling for the proletariat to discard religion and its deceit about other-worldly events. Only then would this class of people be able to rise up against the bourgeoisie and gain control of the means of production, and only then would they achieve real rewards, in this life. Thus, the social-conflict approach to religion highlights how religion, as a phenomenon of human behavior, functions to maintain social inequality by providing a worldview that justifies oppression.
It should be reiterated here that Marx’s approach to sociology was critical in the sense that it advocated for change in the world. This is in stark contrast to other scholars, many of whom pursue knowledge for knowledge’s sake, and lack overt political aims. Because Marx was committed to criticizing the prevailing organization of society during his time, he took a particularly aggressive stance towards religion. He believed that it was a tool of social control used to maintain an unequal status quo, and that it should be abolished.
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Religious symbolism is the use of acts, artwork, and events to create a mythos expressing the teachings of the religion.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the use of religious symbols as means of representing the ideals and values of a particular religion
Key Points
• Christianity has borrowed from the common stock of significant symbols known to most periods and to all regions of the world.
• Universalism refers to religious, theological and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability.
• Comparative religion is the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices of the world’s religions.
Key Terms
• Universalism: The theological belief that all souls can attain salvation.
• comparative religion: Comparative religion compares the doctrines and practices of the worlds religions.
Religious symbolism is the use by a religion of symbols including archetypes, acts, artwork, events, or natural phenomena. Religions view religious texts, rituals and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals. Symbols help create a resonant mythos expressing the moral values of the society or the teachings of the religion, foster solidarity among adherents, and bring adherents closer to their object of worship.
The symbolism of the early Church was characterized as being understood by initiates only. After the legalization of Christianity in the 4th-century, more recognizable symbols were put in use. Christianity has borrowed from the common stock of significant symbols known to most periods and to all regions of the world.
The study of religious symbolism is either universalist, a component of comparative religion and mythology, or seen in a localized scope within the confines of a religion’s limits and boundaries. Universalism refers to religious, theological and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability. Religion in this context is defined as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe. This is especially true when religion is considered the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
Comparative religion concerns the systematic comparison of the world’s religions. There are many benefits to such a course of inquiry, but in general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion, including ethics, metaphysics and the nature and form of salvation.
Religious symbolism is effective when it appeals to both the intellect and the emotions. The choice of suitable acts and objects is narrow enough that it would not be easy to avoid the appearance of an imitation of other traditions, even if there had been a deliberate attempt to invent an entirely new ritual.
14.5B: Rituals
A ritual is a set of actions performed mainly for their symbolic value, that may be prescribed by the traditions of a community.
Learning Objectives
• Identify the types of and purposes of rituals in various contexts of society, such as religion or politics
Key Points
• The term ritual usually refers to actions which are stylized, while excluding actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers.
• In religion, a ritual can comprise the prescribed outward forms observation within a religion or religious denomination.
• The purposes of rituals are varied and may include fulfillment of religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthening of social bonds, social and moral education, etc.
• The social function of rituals has often been exploited for political ends. Alongside the personal dimensions of worship and reverence, rituals can have a more basic social functions in expressing, fixing, and reinforcing the shared values and beliefs of a society.
• Many animal species use ritualized actions to court or to greet each other or to fight.
Key Terms
• ritual: Rite; a repeated set of actions
• social function: Rituals may serve a social function in that they express, fix, and reinforce the shared values and beliefs of a society.
Rituals
A ritual is a set of actions performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including by a religious community. The term usually refers to actions which are stylized, and usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers. The purposes of rituals are varied. Rituals can fulfill religious obligations or ideals, satisfy spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthen of social bonds, provide social and moral education, demonstrate of respect or submission, allow one to state one’s affiliation, obtain social acceptance or approval for some event—or rituals are sometimes performed just for the pleasure of the ritual itself.
Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all known human societies, past or present. They include not only the various worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also the rites of passage of certain societies, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages and funerals, school “rush” traditions and graduations, club meetings, sports events, Halloween parties, veterans parades, Christmas shopping and more.
In religion, a ritual can comprise the prescribed outward forms of observation within a religion or religious denomination. Although ritual is often used in conjunction with worship performed in a church, the actual relationship between any religion’s doctrine and its ritual(s) can vary considerably from organized religion to non-institutionalized spirituality.
Social Uses of Ritual
The social function of rituals has often been exploited for political ends. Alongside the personal dimensions of worship and reverence, rituals can have social functions that express, fix and reinforce the shared values and beliefs of a society. Rituals can help create a firm sense of group identity. Humans have used rituals to create social bonds and even to nourish interpersonal relationships. For example, nearly all fraternities and sororities have rituals incorporated into their structure, from elaborate and sometimes secret initiation rites, to the formalized structures used to convene a meeting. Thus, numerous aspects of ritual and ritualistic proceedings are ingrained into the workings of those societies.
Ritual actions are not only characteristic of human cultures; animal rituals exist as well. Many animal species use ritualized actions to court or to greet each other, or to fight. At least some ritualized actions have very strong selective purpose in animals. For example, ritualized fights often help avoid or limit strong physical violence between conflicting animals. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.05%3A_The_Symbolic-Interactionist_Perspective_on_Religion/14.5A%3A_Religious_Symbols.txt |
Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the complexity of belief and the categories of belief within society
Key Points
• Religious adherents often distinguish religious belief from superstition. The term superstition refers to what are seen as excessive or false religious behaviors as opposed to proper or accepted religious standards.
• People with pluralist beliefs make no distinction between faith systems, viewing each one as valid within a particular culture.
• People with syncretistic views blend the views of a variety of different religions or traditional beliefs into a unique fusion which suits their particular experience and context.
• People with exclusivist beliefs typically explain other religions as either in error, or as corruptions or counterfeits of the true faith. In monotheistic faiths, references to God are used in constructs such as “God’s Chosen People”.
• People with inclusivist beliefs recognize some truth in all faith systems, highlighting agreements and minimizing differences, but see their own faith as in some way ultimate.
Key Terms
• pluralist beliefs: Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society.
• superstition: A belief, not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, that future events may be influenced by one’s behaviour in some magical or mystical way.
• supernatural power: The supernatural is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature.
Belief
Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics, and worship of a deity or deities; divine intervention in the universe and human life; or values and practices centered on the teachings of a spiritual leader. In contrast to other belief systems, religious beliefs are usually codified.
Belief and Superstition: a Matter of Perspective
Religious adherents often distinguish their own religious beliefs from superstition. Both superstition and many traditional religions are non-materialistic, do not see the world as being subject to laws of cause and effect, and presume that there are immaterial forces influencing our lives. Both religion and superstition seek meaning in otherwise random and chaotic events. However, the term “superstition” refers to what the speaker sees as excessive or false religious behavior as opposed to belief or behavior within a proper or accepted religious standard.
Categories of Belief
People with pluralist beliefs make no distinction between faith systems, viewing each one as valid within a particular culture. People with syncretistic views blend the views of a variety of different religions or traditional beliefs into a unique fusion which suits their particular experience and context. Adherents of particular religions deal with the differing doctrines and practices espoused by other religions in a variety ways.
People with exclusivist beliefs typically explain other religions as either in error, or as corruptions or counterfeits of the true faith. Throughout history, various groups of people have considered themselves as chosen by a deity for a purpose, such as to act as the deity’s agent on earth. In monotheistic faiths, like Abrahamic religions, references to God are often used in constructs such as “God’s Chosen People. ” By contrast, people with inclusivist beliefs recognize some truth in all faith systems, highlighting agreements and minimizing differences, but often see their own faith as in some way ultimate. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.05%3A_The_Symbolic-Interactionist_Perspective_on_Religion/14.5C%3A_Beliefs.txt |
A religious experience is usually an uncommon occurrence in which an individual encounters what he or she considers to be the divine.
Learning Objectives
• Identify the different types of religious experiences a person can have and the impact of each for the person
Key Points
• The German thinker Rudolf Otto argued that all religious experiences are “numinous” experiences. For Otto, this meant that they invoked the mysterium tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling, and the mysterium fascinas, which is the tendency to attract, fascinate, and compel.
• In ecstasy, the believer is understood to have a soul or spirit which can leave the body.
• In enthusiasm, God is understood to be outside, other than, or beyond the believer. In such a belief system, this outer deity is believed to occasionally inhabit and possess the bodies of people. Those who are possessed in this way are often called mediums.
• In the mystical experience, all otherness disappears and the believer becomes one with the transcendent. The believer discovers that he or she is not distinct from other objects, other people, the cosmos, the deity, but part of an interconnected whole.
• The term spiritual awakening can refer to any of a wide range of experiences, including being born again, having a near-death experience, or achieving mystical liberation or enlightenment.
Key Terms
• mystical experience: In the mystical experience, all otherness’disappears and the believer becomes one with the transcendent. The believer discovers that he or she is not distinct from the cosmos, the deity, or the other reality, but one with all of these, as part of an interconnected whole.
• ecstasy: a trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation
• numinous experiences: Numinous is is an English adjective describing the power or presence of a divinity. The numinous experience has both a quality of tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling, and a quality of fascinans, the tendency to attract, fascinate and compel. The numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, in that the person feels to be in communion with a wholly other. The numinous experience can lead in different cases to belief in deities, the supernatural, the sacred, the holy, and/or the transcendent.
Studying Religious Experience
Religious experience is the subjective experience in which an individual reports that he or she has either contacted a transcendent reality, or encountered, in some fashion, the divine. A religious experience is usually uncommon, because it rarely involves everyday activities and life experiences, and because it is enmeshed with a particular individual’s perception of the divine. Studying religious experience objectively is a difficult task, because it is entirely a subjective phenomenon. Definitions of what exactly is divine, and what is not, might differ from person to person. However, scholars have identified certain features that seem to be either common or patterned among many religious experiences. This has allowed them to study religious experience objectively.
Numinous Experience
Rudolf Otto, a German thinker, attempted to theorize a single term that could explain the structure of all religious experience independent of cultural background. In his book, The Idea of the Holy, he identified this and called it the “numinous” experience. For an experience to be numinous, in Otto’s opinion, it needed to involve two things. First, it had to include the mysterium tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling. Secondly, it had to include the mysterium fascinas, which is the tendency to attract, fascinate or compel. According to Otto, a numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, because individuals typically feel that they are opening some unique communication chain with the divine.
Communicating with the Divine
Communication with the divine can express itself in two ways, the first of which relates to ectsasy, the second to enthusiasm. In ecstasy, believers are understood to have a soul or spirit which can leave the body. Characteristic of the shaman, the goal of this type of experience is to leave one’s body and experience transcendental realities. In enthusiasm, on the other hand, God is understood to be outside, other than, or beyond the believer. In this type of experience, a sacred power is believed to enter people occasionally, and gain possession of their bodies. A person capable of being possessed is sometimes called a medium.
Mystical Experience
Mystical experiences are in many ways the opposite of numinous experiences. In mystical experiences, all ‘otherness’ disappears, and the believer recognizes that they are one with the transcendent. The believer discovers that he or she is not distinct from other objects, the cosmos, the deity, or other realities, but part of a grand interconnected whole. This type of experience often comes into tension with institutional religion. Conventional religions, by definition, have strong institutional structures, including formal hierarchies and mandated sacred texts and/or creeds. Adherents of these institutional faiths are expected to respect or follow these mandates closely, all of which rely on demarcations and rigid hierarchies. Because mysticism emphasizes radical unity, which is the opposite of hierarchy, it is often deprecated or persecuted by members of these institutional faiths.
Spiritual Awakening
A spiritual awakening usually involves a person realizing, or becoming aware of, a sacred dimension of reality. While this may or may not be considered a religious experience, a spiritual awakening often has lasting effects upon an individual’s life. The term “spiritual awakening” can refer to a wide range of experiences, including being born again, having a near-death experience, or achieving mystical liberation or enlightenment.
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Cult refers to a religious movement or group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre.
Learning Objectives
• Differentiate cults from sects, according to sociologists
Key Points
• In the 1930s, cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior.
• American sociologist Howard P. Becker created four categories by splitting church into “ecclesia” and “denomination,” and sect into “sect” and “cult”.
• Cults, for Becker, were small religious groups lacking in organization and emphasizing the private nature of personal beliefs. Unlike sects, which are products of religious schism that maintain continuity with traditional beliefs, cults arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.
• Those critical of cults share the assumption that some form of coercive persuasion or mind control is used by cult leaders to recruit and maintain members.
Key Terms
• apostate: A person who has renounced a religion or faith.
• denomination: A class, or society of individuals, called by the same name; a sect; as, a denomination of Christians.
• ecclesia: The congregation, the group of believers, symbolic body or building.
The word “cult” in current popular usage usually refers to a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. Originally denoting a system of ritual practices, the word was introduced into sociological classification in 1932 by American sociologist Howard P. Becker. In the 1930s, cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. They have been criticized by mainstream Christians for their unorthodox beliefs.
Becker’s Typology
Becker created four categories by splitting church into “ecclesia” and “denomination”, and sect into “sect” and “cult.” Cults, for Becker, were small religious groups lacking in organization and emphasizing the private nature of personal beliefs. Sociologists still maintain that unlike sects, which are products of religious schism that maintain continuity with traditional beliefs and practices, cults arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.
While most scholars no longer refer to any new religious movements as cults, some sociologists still favor retaining the word as it was used in church-sect typologies. Other scholars and non-academic researchers who use the word do so from explicitly critical perspectives, focusing on the relationship between cult groups and the individuals who join them. These perspectives share the assumption that some form of coercive persuasion or mind control is used to recruit and maintain members by suppressing their ability to reason, think critically, and make choices in their own best interest. Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual “systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated. ”
Opponents
Secular cult opponents like those belonging to the anti-cult movement tend to define a cult as a group that tends to manipulate, exploit, and control its members. Specific factors in cult behavior are said to include manipulative and authoritarian mind control over members, communal and totalistic organization, aggressive proselytizing, systematic programs of indoctrination, and perpetuation in middle-class communities. The role of former members, or ” apostates,” has been widely studied by social scientists. At times, these individuals become outspoken public critics of the groups they leave. Their motivations, the roles they play in the anti-cult movement, the validity of their testimony, and the narratives they construct, are controversial. According to researchers who have studied apostates, there are several cases where hostile ex-members shade the truth and blow minor incidents out of proportion. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.06%3A_Religious_Organizations/14.6A%3A_Cult.txt |
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political, or philosophical beliefs.
Learning Objectives
• Evaluate the varying ways that sects have been understood over time.
Key Points
• Although in the past the term “sect” was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles.
• The historical usage of the term sect in Christianity has had pejorative connotations, referring to a group or movement with heretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox.
• Among the first to define sects were the sociologists Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch.
• There are differences between sects and cults in the degree that members are recruited and kept. A sect may also have members who choose to leave later, whereas a cult uses any means necessary to keep its members, including coercion.
• Sectarianism is sometimes defined in the sociology of religion as a worldview that emphasizes the unique legitimacy of believers’ creed and practices and that heightens tension with society.
• Sectarian violence refers to violence inspired by sectarianism. Some of the possible inputs for sectarian violence include power struggles, political climate, social climate, cultural climate, and economic landscape.
Key Terms
• cult: A group of people with a religious, philosophical or cultural identity sometimes viewed as a sect, often existing on the margins of society or exploitative towards its members.
• sectarian violence: Sectarian violence or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation or community.
• sectarianism: Rigid adherence to a particular sect, party, or denomination.
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political, or philosophical beliefs. Although in the past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles. The term is occasionally used in a malicious way to suggest the broken-off group follows a more negative path than the original. The historical usage of the term “sect” in Christianity has had pejorative connotations, referring to a group or movement with heretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox.
There are several different sociological definitions and descriptions for the term. Among the first to define them were the sociologists Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. In the church-sect typology, sects are described as newly formed religious groups that form to protest elements of their parent religion. A sect differs from cults in the degree that members are recruited and kept. Whereas the cult is able to enforce its norms and ideas against members, a sect has followers, sympathizers, supporters, or believers. A sect may also have members who choose to leave later, whereas a cult uses any means necessary to keep its members, including coercion.
Sectarianism is sometimes defined in the sociology of religion as a worldview that emphasizes the unique legitimacy of believers’ creed and practices and that heightens tension with the larger society by engaging in boundary-maintaining practices. Wherever people of different religions live in close proximity to each other, religious sectarianism can often be found in varying forms and degrees. In some areas, religious sectarians (for example Protestant and Catholic Christians in the United States) now exist peacefully side-by-side for the most part. Within Islam, there has been conflict at various periods between Sunnis and Shias. Shi’ites consider Sunnis to be damned, due to their refusal to accept the first Caliph as Ali and accept all following descendants of him as infallible and divinely guided. Many Sunni religious leaders, including those inspired by Wahhabism and other ideologies have declared Shias to be heretics and apostates.
The ideological underpinnings of attitudes and behaviors labeled as sectarian are extraordinarily varied. Members of a religious or political group may believe that their own salvation, or the success of their particular objectives, requires aggressively seeking converts from other groups. Adherents of a given faction may believe that for the achievement of their own political or religious project their internal opponents must be purged. Sectarian violence refers to violence inspired by sectarianism. Some of the possible inputs for sectarian violence include power struggles, political climate, social climate, cultural climate, and economic landscape. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.06%3A_Religious_Organizations/14.6B%3A_Sect.txt |
The Christian Church is the assembly of followers of Jesus Christ; in Christianity, a church is the building where its members meet.
Learning Objectives
• Describe the Church as the assembly of followers of Jesus Christ, and the building where its members meet.
Key Points
• The early Church originated in Roman Judea in the first century AD, founded on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who is believed by Christians to be the Son of God and Christ the Messiah.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy each claim to be the original Christian Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church bases its claim primarily on its traditions and beliefs of the original Christian Church.
• The Roman Catholic Church teaches in its doctrine that it is the original Church founded by Christ and the Apostles in the 1st century AD.
• State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.
• Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. Members of the Churches of Christ believe that Jesus founded only one church, that the current divisions between Christians are not God’s will, and that the only basis for restoring Christian unity is the Bible.
• Protestants believe that the Church, as described in the Bible, has a twofold character that can be described as the visible and invisible church. The invisible church consists of all those from every time and place who are vitally united to Christ through regeneration and salvation and who will be eternally united to Jesus Christ in eternal life. The visible church refers to the institutional body on earth which preaches the gospel and administers the sacrament.
• State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.
Key Terms
• Invisible Church: The invisible church or church invisible is a theological concept of an “invisible” body of the elect who are known only to God, in contrast to the “visible church”—that is, the institutional body on earth which preaches the gospel and administers the sacraments.
• assembly: A legislative body; e.g., the General Assembly of the United Nations.
• state churches: State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.
• church: a Christian religious institution or building
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The four traditional notes of the Christian Church are unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity. In the New Testament, the term “church,” which in Greek meant “assembly,” is used for local communities, and in a universal sense to mean all believers. In the Christian religion, a church is the building or structure used to facilitate the meeting of its members.
The “Original” Church
The early Church originated in Roman Judea in the first century AD, founded on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who is believed by Christians to be the Son of God and Christ the Messiah. It is usually thought of as beginning with Jesus’ Apostles. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy each claim to be the original Christian Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church bases its claim primarily on its traditions and beliefs of the original Christian Church. By contrast, the Catholic Church teaches in its doctrine that it is the original Church founded by Christ on the Apostles in the 1st century AD. Since the Protestant Reformation, most Protestant denominations interpret “catholic,” especially in its creedal context, as referring to the Protestant concept of an eternal, invisible church of Christ and the Elect. Anglicans generally understand their tradition as a a middle path between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Christianity on one hand, and Protestantism on the other.
Churches of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian churches associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Members of Churches of Christ believe that Jesus founded only one church, that the current divisions between Christians are not God’s will—the only basis for restoring Christian unity is the Bible. Many Protestants believe that the Church, as described in the Bible, has a twofold character that can be described as the visible and invisible church. The invisible church consists of all those from every time and place who are vitally united to Christ through regeneration and salvation and who will be eternally united to Jesus Christ in eternal life. The visible church—the institutional body on earth which preaches the gospel and administers the sacrament—consists of all those who visibly join themselves to a profession of faith and gathering together to know and serve the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ.
Political Significance
Churches can also have political significance around the world. State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination, given official status or operated by a state. State churches are not necessarily national churches in the ethnic sense of the term, but the two concepts may overlap in a nation state where the state boundary largely corresponds to the distribution of a single ethnic group defined by a specific denomination. State churches, by contrast, may also be minority denominations which are given political recognition by the state. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.06%3A_Religious_Organizations/14.6C%3A_The_Christian_Church.txt |
Ecclesias are different from churches because they typically must compete with other religious voices in a community.
Learning Objectives
• Distinguish ecclesia from churches and denominations.
Key Points
• While a church is an institution that acts as the religious guardian for all members of a community, and that tolerates no competition, an ecclesia is less successful at garnering absolute adherence among all members.
• State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination that are either given official status by a state, or operated directly by a state. State churches in Western Europe are generally ecclesias.
• An ecclesial community is, in Roman Catholic terminology, a Christian religious group that does not meet the Roman Catholic definition of a church.
• In Catholic canon law, a church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognized as the equivalent of a bishop.
Key Terms
• particular church: In Catholic canon law, a particular church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone equivalent to a bishop.
• ecclesial community: An ecclesial community is, in Roman Catholic terminology, a Christian religious group that does not meet the Roman Catholic definition of a “Church”.
• state churches: State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.
Church is a classificatory term used to describe the institutional expression of religion. Churches typically tolerate no religious competition, and serve as the guardians and guides of spiritual life for a particular group of people. Churches can be contrasted with denominations, which do involve competition between religions. A church, through its institutional presence, typically strives to provide an all-encompassing worldview for its adherents. It is also almost always enmeshed with the political and economic structures of a society. A striking historical example of this is the Holy Roman Empire.
A slight modification of the church type is that of ecclesia. Ecclesias include the above characteristics of churches, but they are generally less successful at garnering absolute adherence among all of the members of the society. Ecclesias are also typically not the sole religious body in a particular societal space. The state churches of some European nations would fit this type. State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination that have been given official status by a state, or are directly operated by a state. The Anglican Church of England, for example, is a state church that does not have the adherence of all English citizens. Because of this, it is considered an ecclesia.
An ecclesial community is, in Roman Catholic terminology, a Christian religious group that does not meet the Roman Catholic definition of a church. Although the word “ecclesial” itself stems from the Greek word for “church” or “gathering,” ecclesias are not necessarily churches. The Catholic Church applies the word “Church” only to Christian communities that, in the view of the Catholic Church, “have true sacraments in light of Apostolic succession” and that possess a priesthood and the Eucharist. In this way, certain ecclesia fail to meet the requirements for a church. In Catholic canon law, a particular church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or an equivalent figure. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.06%3A_Religious_Organizations/14.6D%3A_The_Ecclesia.txt |
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.
Learning Objectives
• Explain why denominations form within religions.
Key Points
• Christian denominations include Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism, and the many varieties of Protestantism.
• The four branches of Judaism include Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist.
• The two main branches of Islam are Sunni and Shia.
• Denominationalism is the division of one religion into separate groups, sects, schools of thought, or denominations.
• In Christianity, non-denominational institutions or churches are those not formally aligned with an established denomination, or that remain otherwise officially autonomous.
• Ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation.
• The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and spiritual or humanistic beliefs
Key Terms
• interfaith dialogue: The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e., “faiths”) or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion; this dialogue often promotes understanding between different religions to increase acceptance of others, rather than attempting to synthesize new beliefs.
• ecumenism: Ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation.
• denominationalism: The division of one religion into separate groups, sects, schools of thought, or denominations.
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity. The term describes various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism, and the many varieties of Protestantism). The term also describes the four branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist), and describes the two main branches of Islam (Sunni and Shia). Denominationalism is the division of one religion into separate groups, sects, schools of thought, or denominations.
Denominations often form slowly over time for many reasons. Due to historical accidents of geography, culture and influence between different groups, members of a given religion slowly begin to diverge in their views. Members of a religion may find that they have developed significantly different views on theology, philosophy, religious pluralism, ethics, and religious practices and rituals. Consequently, different denominations may eventually form. In other cases, denominations form very rapidly, from a split or schism in an existing denomination, or if people share an experience of spiritual revival or spiritual awakening and subsequently choose to form a new denomination.
In Christianity, non-denominational institutions or churches are those not formally aligned with an established denomination or those that remain otherwise officially autonomous. Non-denominational congregations may establish a functional denomination via mutual recognition by other congregations with commonly held doctrine, policy, and worship—without formalizing external direction or oversight in such matters. Some non-denominational churches explicitly reject the idea of a formalized denominational structure as a matter of principle, holding that each congregation is better off being autonomous.
In a similar but different vein, ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly with reference to Christian denominations and churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice. Within this particular context, the term ecumenism refers to the idea of a Christian unity in the literal meaning: that there should be a single Christian Church. At a broader level, the term “interfaith dialogue” refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and spiritual or humanistic beliefs—at both an individual and institutional level.
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• Religijne symbole0. Provided by: Wikipedia. Located at: en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Re...e_symbole0.png. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.06%3A_Religious_Organizations/14.6E%3A_Religious_Denominations.txt |
Due to the First Amendment, which grants freedom of religion, there is a diversity of religious beliefs and practices in the U.S.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the relationship between religion and government in the United States
Key Points
• The First Amendment specifically denies the Federal Government the power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference.
• European Rationalist and Protestant ideals influenced the development of separation between state and religious affairs.
• The majority of Americans (76% to 80%) identify themselves as Protestants or Catholics, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively.
Key Terms
• First Amendment: The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
• Religious Organization: Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manage the upkeep of places of worship, e.g., mosques, prayer rooms, other similar edifices or meeting places, and the payment of salaries to priests, ministers, or religious leaders. In addition, such organizations usually have other responsibilities, such as the formation, nomination, or appointment of religious leaders; the establishment of a corpus of doctrine; the disciplining of priests or other people with respect to religious law; and the determination of qualification for membership.
• creed: That which is believed; accepted doctrine, especially religious; a particular set of beliefs; any summary of principles or opinions professed or adhered to.
Religion in the United States is characterized by both a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, and by a high adherence level. A wide variety of religious choices have been available to the U.S. population due to the First Amendment of the Constitution, which allows freedom of religion.
Separation of Church and State in the United States
The framers of the Constitution modeled the provisions concerning religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and rejected any religious test for office. The First Amendment specifically denies the Federal Government the power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. This amendment protects any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced by European Rationalist and Protestant ideals, but was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent their beliefs.
Robert N. Bellah has argued that although the separation of church and state is grounded firmly in the Constitution of the United States, this does not mean that there is no religious dimension in the political society of the United States. He used the term “civil religion” to describe the specific relation between politics and religion in the United States. His 1967 article, “Civil religion in America,” analyzes the inaugural speech of John F. Kennedy: “Considering the separation of church and state, how is a president justified in using the word ‘God’ at all? The answer is that the separation of church and state has not denied the political realm a religious dimension. ”
Robert S. Wood has argued that the United States is a model for the world in terms of how a separation of church and state—no state-run or state-established church—is good for both the church and the state, allowing a variety of religions to flourish. Speaking at the Toronto-based Center for New Religions, Wood said that the freedom of conscience and assembly allowed under such a system has led to a “remarkable religiosity” in the United States that isn’t present in other industrialized nations. Wood believes that the United States operates on “a sort of civic religion,” which includes a generally shared belief in a creator who “expects better of us.” Beyond that, individuals are free to decide how they want to believe and fill in their own creeds and express their conscience. He calls this approach the “genius of religious sentiment in the United States. ”
Religious Affiliation in the United States
The majority of Americans (76% to 80%) identify themselves as Protestants or Catholics, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively, according to one survey by Trinity College. Non-Christian religions (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.) collectively make up about 5% of the adult population. Another 15% of the adult population claims no religious affiliation. When asked, about 5.2% said they did not know or refused to reply. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably by region. The lowest rate is in the West, with 59% reporting a belief in God, and the highest rate is in the South (the “Bible Belt”) at 86%. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.07%3A_The_Structure_of_Religion_in_the_U.S./14.7A%3A_Religion_in_the_U.S..txt |
Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices and by a high adherence level.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the scope of religious diversity in the United States
Key Points
• According to the U.S. Census, the most common religions in the United States are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and unaffiliated religions, including atheists or agnostics.
• Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society.
• Interfaith dialogue refers to dialogue between members of different religions for the goal of reducing conflicts between their religions and to achieve agreed-upon, mutually desirable goals.
• Freedom of religion encompasses all religions acts within the law in a particular region.
Key Terms
• interfaith dialogue: The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e., “faiths”) or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion; this dialogue often promotes understanding between different religions to increase acceptance of others, rather than attempting to synthesize new beliefs.
• religious pluralism: The peaceful coexistence of multiple religions in a community.
• freedom of religion: The right of citizens to hold any religious or non-religious beliefs, and to carry out any practices in accordance with those beliefs, so long as they do not interfere with another person’s legal or civil rights, or any reasonable laws, without fear of harm or prosecution.
Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices and by a high adherence level. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a “very important” role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including those spanning the country’s multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country; these have led the United States to become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.
The U.S. Census does not ask about religion. Various groups have conducted surveys to determine approximate percentages of those affiliated with each religious group. Some surveys ask people to self-identify, while others calculate church memberships. According to the census, religion in the United States is comprised of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the unaffiliated, including atheists or agnostics.
The largest religion in the United States is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population. Due to its large population and history, the United States has numerically more Christians (and more Protestants) than any other country in the world. After Christianity and no-religion, Judaism is the third-largest religious affiliation in the United States, though this identification is not necessarily indicative of religious beliefs or practices. A significant number of people identify themselves as American Jews on ethnic and cultural grounds, rather than religious ones. On the other hand, American Islam effectively began with the arrival of African slaves. It is estimated that about 10% of African slaves transported to the United States were Muslim. Research indicates that Muslims in the United States are generally more assimilated and prosperous than Muslims in Europe.
Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. Religious pluralism is sometimes used as a synonym for interfaith dialogue. Interfaith dialogue refers to dialogue between members of different religions for the goal of reducing conflicts between their religions and to achieve agreed upon mutually desirable goals. Freedom of religion encompasses all religions acting within the law in a particular region, whether or not an individual religion accepts that other religions are legitimate or that freedom of religious choice and religious plurality, in general, are good things.
14.7C: Widespread Belief
Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with around 77% of the population identifying itself as Christian.
Learning Objectives
• Identify the most common and popular religions in the United States
Key Points
• Christian denominations in the U.S. are usually divided into three large groups: Evangelical, Mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic.
• The mainline Protestant Christian denominations were brought to the U.S. by its historic immigrant groups; for this reason they are sometimes referred to as heritage churches.
• Other parts of the world have different widespread beliefs. Islam, for example, dominates the Middle East.
Key Terms
• Roman Catholicism: The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world’s largest Christian church, with more than one billion members worldwide.
• Mainline Protestantism: Mainline Protestant (also sometimes called “mainstream American Protestant”) are certain Protestant churches in the United States that comprised a majority of Americans from the colonial era until the early 20th century.
• evangelicalism: Protestant movement basing its theology almost entirely on Scripture, which is held to be inerrant.
It is common for many societies to be dominated by a single widespread belief. For example, Christianity is the largest and most popular religion in the United States, with around 77% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian as of 2009. Protestant denominations accounted for 51.3%, while Roman Catholicism, at 23.9%, was the largest individual denomination. One study categorizes white evangelicals, 26.3% of the population, as the country’s largest religious cohort, while another study estimates evangelicals of all races at 30–35%. Christianity was introduced to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries by European colonization.
Today, most Christian denominations in the United States are divided into three large groups: Evangelicalism, Mainline Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Christian denominations that do not fall within either of these groups are mostly associated with ethnic minorities, i.e. the various denominations of Eastern Orthodoxy. Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement. In typical usage, the term mainline is contrasted with evangelical. Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be:
• a belief in the need for personal conversion (or being “born again”)
• some expression of the gospel
• a high regard for Biblical authority
• an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Other parts of the world have different widespread beliefs. Islam, for example, dominates the Middle East, with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, and Niger having 90% or more of their population identifying as Muslim. Islam is also the state religion in areas of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.07%3A_The_Structure_of_Religion_in_the_U.S./14.7B%3A_Religious_Diversity.txt |
Ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at creating greater Christian unity or cooperation.
Learning Objectives
• Define ecumenism and its central features
Key Points
• Ecumenism contrasts with interfaith dialogue, which aims at unity, respect, and cooperation among diverse religions, under the auspices of a shared sense of spirituality.
• Despite many disagreements over ecumenism and how to approach interfaith dialogue, there exists a sizable group of Orthodox Christians who are vehemently opposed to any kind of interfaith dialogue.
• The general understanding of the ecumenical movement is that it came from the Roman Catholic Church ‘s attempts to reconcile with Christians who had become separated over theological issues.
Key Terms
• Orthodox Christians: The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian church in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus, all of which — except Bosnia — are majority Eastern Orthodox. It teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles almost 2,000 years ago.
• interfaith dialogue: The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e., “faiths”) or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion; this dialogue often promotes understanding between different religions to increase acceptance of others, rather than attempting to synthesize new beliefs.
• ecumenism: Ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation.
Ecumenism refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. As a term, it usually only refers to predominantly Christian denominations and churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice. Within this particular context, ecumenism refers to the idea that Christians should literally unify under a single Christian church. Ecumenism contrasts with the practice of interfaith dialogue, which is aimed at unity, respect, and cooperation among diverse religions. Interfaith dialogue, also known as interfaith pluralism, refers to “religious unity” not in the sense of a single church, but instead by the advocacy of a greater sense of shared spirituality.
The ecumenical movement is understood to have emerged from the Roman Catholic Church’s attempts reconcile with other Christians who had separated over theological issues. Although this is not the case with all Catholics, most ecumenical Catholics have the goal of reconciling all those with a Christian faith in a single, visible organization, through a union with the Roman Catholic Church. For some Protestants, spiritual unity, and unity in how a church teaches central issues, sufficiently represents this general movement.
The Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches are two distinct bodies of local churches. Within each body, the churches share full communion, although there is not official communion between the two bodies. Many theologians of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxies engage in theological dialogue with each other and with some Western churches, but this stops short of full communion.
Members of the Anglican Communion, in the United Kingdom, have generally embraced the Ecumenical Movement, and actively participate in organizations like the World Council of Churches and the NCCC. Within the Anglican Communion, each member church is allowed to make its own decision with regard to intercommunion.
Despite many disagreements over ecumenism and how to approach interfaith dialogue, there exists a sizable group of Orthodox Christians who are vehemently opposed to any kind of interfaith dialogue, whether with other Christian denominations or with religions outside Christianity. In the Eastern Orthodox world, the monastic community of Mount Athos has voiced its concerns regarding the ecumenist movement. They do not want the Orthodox church to play a part in this more general movement. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.07%3A_The_Structure_of_Religion_in_the_U.S./14.7D%3A_Ecumenism.txt |
Religion plays a “very important” role in the lives of most Americans; a proportion unique among developed nations.
Learning Objectives
• Identify the characteristics and defining features of members belonging to different religions in the United States
Key Points
• The most prevalent religion in the U.S. is Christianity. Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism, while the Spanish, French, and English introduced Catholicism.
• The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as their U.S.-born descendants.
• American Islam effectively began with the arrival of African slaves. Research indicates that Muslims in the U.S. are generally more assimilated and prosperous than Muslims in Europe.
• Buddhism entered the U.S. during the 19th century with the arrival of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia.
• Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years.
• Buddhism entered the U.S. during the 19th century with the arrival of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia.
• The first time Hinduism entered the U.S. is not clearly identifiable.
• Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years.
Key Terms
• American Islam: From the 1880s to 1914, several thousand Muslims immigrated to the United States from the Ottoman Empire and from parts of South Asia; they did not form distinctive settlements, and probably mostly assimilated into the wider society.
• Protestantism: Protestantism is one of the major groupings within Christianity. It has been defined as “any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth. ” More broadly, it means Christianity outside “of a Catholic or Eastern church. “
• Judaism: A world religion tracing its origin to the Hebrew people of the ancient Middle-East, as documented in religious writings known as the Torah or Old Testament.
Religion plays a “very important” role in the lives of most Americans, a proportion unique among developed nations. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including later imports spanning the country’s multicultural immigrant heritage and those founded within the country, These disparate faiths have led the U.S. to become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.
The largest religion in the U.S. is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population. From those queried, roughly 51.3% of Americans are Protestants, 25% are Catholics, 1.7% are Mormons, and 1.7% are of various other Christian denominations. Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism. Among Protestants, Anglicans, Baptists, Puritans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Quaker, and Moravians were the first to settle to the U.S. The Spanish, French and English introduced Catholicism. The religion came with the arrival of Hispanics/Latinos, Irish, Highland Scots, Italians, Dutch, Flemish, Polish, French, Hungarians, German, and Lebanese immigrants.
American Jews are citizens of the Jewish faith or ethnicity. The Jewish community in the U.S. is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as their U.S.-born descendants. Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the U.S. is home to the largest or second largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel. In 2007, the population of American adherents of Judaism was estimated to be approximately 5,128,000, or 1.7% of the total population.
American Islam effectively began with the arrival of African slaves. It is estimated that about 10% of African slaves transported to the U.S. were Muslim. Research indicates that Muslims in the U.S. are generally more assimilated and prosperous than Muslims in Europe. Like other subcultural and religious communities, the Islamic community has generated its own political organizations and charity organizations.
Buddhism entered the U.S. during the 19thcentury with the arrival of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia. The first Buddhist temple was established in San Francisco in 1853 by Chinese Americans. The first time Hinduism entered the U.S. is not clearly identifiable. During the 1960s and 1970s, Hinduism exercised a fascination that contributed to the development of New Age thought. Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years. Around 1900, the state of Punjab of British India was hit hard by British practices of mercantilism. Many Sikhs emigrated to the United States, and began working on farms in California. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.07%3A_The_Structure_of_Religion_in_the_U.S./14.7E%3A_Characteristics_of_Members_of_Different_Religions.txt |
Most modern Western societies are recognized as secular because they enjoy near-complete freedom of religion.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the rise of secularism and its response in the West
Key Points
• The secularization of a society refers to the process it undergoes when it shifts away from closely identifying with religious values and institutions towards affiliating with nonreligious values and institutions.
• The term secularization was coined by the British writer George Jacob Holyoake in 1851 and is most closely associated with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe.
• In a political context, secularization is the separation of the state from the church.
• When speaking of social structures, secularization refers to the increasing division of labor and occupational specialization in society (differentiation).
• Evidence suggests that “no religion ” is becoming an increasingly prevalent religious status in the United States.
Key Terms
• Age of Enlightenment: A period of time ranging from part of the 17th Century through much of the 18th Century, characterized particularly by the importance of logic and reason.
• separation of church and state: The separation of church and state is the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state.
In studies of religion, modern Western societies are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion, the fact that beliefs on religion generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions. Some societies become increasingly secular as the result of social processes, rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement; this process is known as secularization. Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward nonreligious values and secular institutions. The secularization thesis refers to the belief that as societies “progress,” particularly through modernization and rationalization, religion loses its authority in all aspects of social life and governance.
Secularism
Coined by the British writer George Jacob Holyoake in 1851, secularism is often associated with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, and it now plays a major role in Western society. In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of church and state. This can refer to reducing ties between a government and a state religion, replacing laws based on scripture with civil laws, and eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion. This is said to add to democracy by protecting the rights of religious minorities. Due in part to the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons. In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like abortion, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, same- sex marriage, and sex education are the prominent issues many secularist organizations focus on.
Secularization in Different Realms
When discussing social structures, secularization can refer to differentiation. Differentiation refers to the increasing division of labor and occupational specialization in society. When discussing institutions, secularization can refer to the transformation of an institution that had once been considered religious in character into something not thought of as religious. When discussing activities, secularization refers to the transfer of activities from institutions of a religious nature to others without that character. Finally, when discussing religion, secularization can only be used unambiguously to refer to religion in a generic sense. For example, a reference to Christianity is not clear unless one specifies exactly which denominations of Christianity are being discussed.
Responses to Secularization
Because religion continues to be recognized in Western thought as a universal impulse, many religious practitioners have aimed to band together in interfaith dialogue, cooperation, and religious peace-building. Recent interfaith initiatives include “A Common Word,” launched in 2007, which is focused on bringing Muslim and Christian leaders together, the “C1 World Dialogue,” the “Common Ground” initiative between Islam and Buddhism, and a United Nations sponsored “World Interfaith Harmony Week. ”
Some evidence suggests that the fastest growing religious status in the United States is “no religion” Irreligion is the absence of religion, an indifference towards religion, a rejection of religion, or hostility towards religion. When characterized as the rejection of religious belief, it includes atheism and secular humanism. When characterized as hostility towards religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion.
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• Hayley Fields at the Beth Israel Torah Dedication Ceremony. Provided by: Wikimedia. Located at: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hayley_Fields_at_the_Beth_Israel_Torah_Dedication_Ceremony.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Sacred and secular. Provided by: Wikimedia. Located at: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacred_and_secular.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.07%3A_The_Structure_of_Religion_in_the_U.S./14.7F%3A_Secularism_and_the_Future_of_Religion.txt |
Protestantism is one of the major umbrella religions in the U.S., and is constantly evolving in response to political and social changes.
Learning Objectives
• Describe the various sects of Protestantism and four key moments in their history in the U.S., including any resitance to those moments
Key Points
• Evangelicalism is the conversion of individuals, through the preaching of the Word. from a state of sin to a “new birth”.
• The Great Awakening refers to a northeastern Protestant revival movement that took place in the 1730s and 1740s.
• The Second Great Awakening has been called the central and defining event in the development of Afro-Christianity. It began after many African Americans became dissatisfied with their treatment in white churches, and disappointed by their fellow believers’ disinterest in abolishing slavery.
• The Federal Council of Churches, founded in 1908, marked the first major expression of a growing, modern ecumenical movement among Christians in the United States.
• The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States represented, in the 1950s, an extension and expansion of the Federal Council of Churches, the International Council of Religious Education, and several other interchurch ministries.
• Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was but one of many notable black ministers involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
• Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was but one of many notable black ministers involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
Key Terms
• National Council of the Churches of Christ: The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches or NCC) is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace churches.
• Civil Rights Movement: The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for legal equality that occured between approximately 1950 and 1980.
The Movement of Christianity to North America
Christianity was introduced to North America when Europeans began colonizing the continent in the 16th and 17th centuries. Spanish, French and British colonists brought Roman Catholicism to the colonies of New Spain, New France and Maryland, respectively. Colonists from Northern Europe, primarily from Great Britain, introduced Protestantism to a number of areas, including Massachusetts Bay Colony, New Netherlands, the Virginia colony, the Carolina Colony, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Lower Canada. These early Protestant settlers represented a diversity of Protestant sects, including Anglicanism, Baptism, Congregationalism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Quakerism, the Mennonite Church and the Moravian Church.
Evangelicalism and the Great Awakening
Evangelicalism in Protestantism is difficult to both date and define. Scholars have argued that, as a self-conscious movement, evangelicalism did not arise until the mid-17th century, perhaps not until the Great Awakening. The fundamental premise of evangelicalism is that individuals can be converted, through preaching the Word, from a state of sin to a “new birth. ” The Great Awakening refers to a northeastern Protestant revival movement that took place in the 1730s and 1740s.
The first generation of New England Puritans required that church members undergo a conversion experience that they could then describe publicly. While initially popular, their descendants were not as successful in reaping the harvests of redeemed souls. The initial movement began with Jonathan Edwards, a Massachusetts preacher who sought to return to the Pilgrims’ strict Calvinist roots. British preacher George Whitefield, as well as other itinerant preachers, spread the movement, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a dramatic and emotional style. Followers of Edwards, and other preachers of similar religiosity, called themselves the “New Lights” in contrast to the “Old Lights,” who disapproved of their movement. To promote their viewpoints, the two sides established academies and colleges, including Princeton and Williams College. The Great Awakening has been called the first truly American event.
The supporters of the Awakening and its evangelical thrust, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists, became the largest American Protestant denominations by the first decades of the 19th century. By the 1770s, the Baptists were growing rapidly both in the North (where they founded Brown University), and in the South. Opponents of the Awakening or those split by it, Anglicans, Quakers, and Congregationalists, were left behind.
Christianity and Black Populations
The Christianity of the black population was grounded in evangelicalism. The Second Great Awakening has been called the “central and defining event in the development of Afro-Christianity. ” During this movement, Baptists and Methodists converted large numbers of blacks. However, many were disappointed at the treatment they received from their fellow believers. They were also disappointed that Baptists and Methodists, many of whom had advocated for abolition after the American Revolution, ended up backsliding on that commitment. When their discontent could not be contained, forceful black leaders followed what was becoming an American habit, and they formed new denominations. In 1787, Richard Allen and his colleagues in Philadelphia broke away from the Methodist Church and, in 1815, they founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. This church, along with independent black Baptist congregations, flourished as the century progressed.
Coalitions of Churches
The Federal Council of Churches, founded in 1908, marked the first major expression of a growing, modern ecumenical movement among Christians in the United States. It was active in advocating for the reform of public and private policies, particularly as they impacted the lives of impoverished people. This council developed a comprehensive and widely debated Social Creed, which served as a humanitarian “bill of rights” for those seeking improvements in American life.
In 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) represented a dramatic expansion in the development of ecumenical cooperation. It was a merger of the Federal Council of Churches, the International Council of Religious Education, and several other interchurch ministries. Today, the NCC is a joint venture of 35 Christian denominations in the United States. It has 100,000 local congregations and 45,000,000 adherents.
As the center of community life, Black churches played a leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement. Their history, as a focal point for the Black community, and as a link between the Black and White worlds, made them natural for this purpose. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was but one of many notable Black ministers involved in the movement. He helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through non-violent civil disobedience. He was assassinated in 1968. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.08%3A_Major_Religions_in_the_U.S./14.8A%3A_Protestantism.txt |
Catholicism has a long history in the U.S., with the Catholic Church the single largest religious denomination in the United States.
Learning Objectives
• Describe why Catholics in the U.S. were initially perceived as a threat by some Protestants and how that bias was more or less overcome
Key Points
• The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and faith.
• Immigrants in the 19th century made Catholicism the largest religion in the United States.
• Acquisition of territories in the 19th century, formerly possessions of France, Spain, and Mexico, added to the Catholic population in the United States.
Key Terms
• parish: An administrative part of a diocese that has its own church; found in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Church and certain civil government entities.
The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, or the Christian Church that is in full communion with the Pope. It is the largest single religious denomination in the U.S., comprising about 25% of the population. According to a 2011 study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, the U.S. Catholic population is currently 77.7 million. The U.S. has the fourth largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines.
Catholicism arrived in what is now the U.S. during the earliest days of the European colonization of the Americas. The first Catholic missionaries were Spanish, having come with Christopher Columbus to the New World on his second voyage in 1493. They established missions in what are now Florida, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, California, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. French colonization came in the early 18th century, with the French establishing missions in the Louisiana Territory districts – St. Louis, New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Alabama, Natchez, Yazoo, Natchitoches, Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan.
Catholicism’s Growth and Prosecution
Catholicism has grown during the country’s history. It started slowly in the early 19th century through immigration and acquisition of territories with predominately Catholic populations. In the mid-19thcentury, a rapid influx of Irish and German immigrants made Catholicism the largest religion in the U.S. This increase of Catholics was met by widespread prejudice and hostility, often resulting in riots and the burning of churches. The nativist Know Nothing party was first founded in the early 19th century in an attempt to restrict Catholic immigration. This party believed that the U.S. was a Protestant nation and the influx of Catholics threatened its purity and mission..
Since the 1960s, the percentage of Americans who are Catholic has stayed roughly the same, at around 25%, due in large part to increases in the Latino population over the same period.
By far, most Catholics in the U.S. belong to the Latin Church and the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Rite generally refers to the form of worship “liturgical rite” in a church, community owing to cultural and historical differences as well as differences in practice. However, the Vatican II document Orientalium Ecclesiarum “Of the Eastern Churches” acknowledges that these Eastern Catholic communities are “true Churches” and not just rites within the Catholic Church. There are 14 other Churches in the U.S. (23 within the global Catholic Church) that are in communion with Rome and fully recognized in the eyes of the Catholic Church. They have their own bishops and eparchies. The largest of these communities in the U.S. is the Chaldean Catholic Church. Most of these Churches are of Eastern European and Middle Eastern origin. Eastern Catholic Churches are distinguished from Eastern Orthodox, identifiable by their usage of the term Catholic.
By 1850, Catholics had become the country’s largest single denomination. Between 1860 and 1890, their population in the U.S. tripled through immigration; by the end of the decade it would reach seven million. This influx would eventually bring increased political power for the Catholic Church and a greater cultural presence. This led to a growing fear of the Catholic “menace” among America’s Protestants. Some anti-Catholic political movements like the Know Nothings, as well as organizations like the Orange Institution, American Protective Association, and the Ku Klux Klan, were active in the U.S. during this period. Indeed, for most of the country’s history, Catholics have been victims of discrimination and persecution. It was not until the presidency of John F. Kennedy that Catholics lived largely free of suspicion.
There are 68,503,456 registered Catholics in the U.S. (22% of the US population), according to the American Bishops’ count in their Official Catholic Directory 2010. This count primarily rests on the parish assessment tax that pastors evaluate yearly according to the number of registered members and contributors. Estimates of the overall American Catholic population from recent years generally range from 20% to 28%. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.08%3A_Major_Religions_in_the_U.S./14.8B%3A_Catholicism.txt |
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the similarities and differences between Judaism and other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, and identify characteristics of the American Jewish population
Judaism is the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jewish people. It is a monotheistic religion originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God established with the Children of Israel. Rabbinic Judaism holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. The sacred texts of Judaism tends to overlap with many of the stories from Christianity and Islam. The Tanakh consists of the same books as the Christian Old Testament, with minor changes in the order of stories.
Judaism in the United States
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants. Minorities from all Jewish ethnic divisions are also represented, including Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and a number of converts. The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions, as well as encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish religious observance.
Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States is home to the largest or second largest (after Israel) Jewish community in the world. The population of American adherents of Judaism was estimated to be approximately 5,128,000 or 1.7% of the total population in 2007 (301,621,000); including those who identify themselves culturally as Jewish (but not necessarily religiously), this population was estimated at 6,489,000 (2.2%) as of 2008. As a contrast, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics estimated the Israeli Jewish population was 5,664,000 in 2009 (75.4% of the total population).
Jews have been present in what is today the United States of America as early as the 17th century. Large scale Jewish immigration, however, did not begin until the nineteenth century, when, by mid-century, many secular Ashkenazi Jews from Germany arrived in the United States, primarily becoming merchants and shop-owners. There were approximately 250,000 Jews in the United States by 1880, many of them being the educated, and largely secular, German Jews, although a minority population of the older Sephardic Jewish families remained influential.
Jewish immigration to the United States increased dramatically in the early 1880s, as a result of persecution and economic difficulties in parts of Eastern Europe. Most of these new immigrants also were Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, though most came from the poor rural populations of the Russian Empire and the Pale of Settlement, located in modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. During the same period, a great number of Ashkenazi Jews arrived also from Galicia, at that time the most impoverished region of Austro-Hungarian Empire with heavy Jewish urban population, driven out mainly by economic reasons. Most settled in the New York metropolitan area, establishing what became one of the world’s major concentrations of Jewish population.
American Jews are more likely to be atheist or agnostic than most Americans, especially so compared with Protestants or Catholics. A 2003 poll found that while 79% of Americans believe in God, only 48% of American Jews do, compared with 79% and 90% for Catholics and Protestants respectively. While 66% of Americans said they were “absolutely certain” of God’s existence, 24% of American Jews said the same. And though 9 percent of Americans believe there is no God (8% Catholic and 4% Protestant), 19 percent of American Jews believe God does not exist.
Though Jewish views on evolution are varied, most schools of Jewish thought have reconciled Judaism with evolution. A 2009 Harris Poll showed American Jews as the religious group most accepting of evolution, with 80% believing in evolution, compared to 51% for Catholics, 32% for Protestants, and 16% of Born-again Christians. They were also less likely to believe in supernatural phenomena such as miracles, angels, or heaven.
Key Points
• The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants.
• Jewish ethnic divisions are also represented, including Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and a number of converts.
• American Jews are more likely to be atheist or agnostic than most Americans, especially so compared with Protestants or Catholics.
• The Holocaust was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II.
Key Terms
• Sephardi: a Jew of Iberian ancestry, whose native language was Ladino
• agnostic: Doubtful or uncertain about the existence or demonstrability of God or other deity. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.08%3A_Major_Religions_in_the_U.S./14.8C%3A_Judaism.txt |
The American Muslim population is a racially diverse group that has been present in the U.S. since before the Civil War.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the history and characteristics of the American Muslim population in the U.S., including periods of arrival and religious affiliations
Key Points
• Many of the slaves brought to colonial America from Africa were Muslims. By 1800, some 500,000 Africans arrived in what became the United States. Historians estimate that between 15 to 30 percent of all enslaved African men, and less than 15 percent of the enslaved African women, were Muslims.
• American Muslims come from various backgrounds, and are one of the most racially diverse religious groups in the United States according to a 2009 Gallup poll. Native-born American Muslims are mainly African Americans who make up about a quarter of the total Muslim population.
• Unlike many Muslims in Europe, American Muslims do not tend to feel marginalized or isolated from political participation. Several organizations were formed by the American Muslim community to serve as ‘critical consultants’ on U.S. policy regarding Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Mosques are places of worship for Islamic religions.
• In the United States there exist a number of different traditions. As in the rest of the world, the Sunni Muslims are in the majority. Shia Muslims, especially those in the Iranian immigrant community, are also active in community affairs.
Key Terms
• Muslim: A person who is a follower and believer of the Islamic faith.
• mosque: A place of worship for Muslims, corresponding to a church or synagogue in other religions, often having at least one minaret; a masjid.
• Nation of Islam: A religious and political organization with the declared aim of “resurrecting” the spiritual, mental, social and economic condition of the black people of America and the world.
Islam in the United States
Once very small, the Muslim population of the U.S. increased greatly in the 20th century, with much of the growth driven by rising immigration and conversion, and a comparatively high birth rate. In 2005, more people from Islamic countries became legal permanent United States residents than in any year in the previous two decades (nearly 96,000). In 2009, more than 115,000 Muslims became legal residents of the United States.
American Muslims come from various backgrounds, and are one of the most racially diverse religious groups in the United States according to a 2009 Gallup poll. Immigrant communities of Arab and South Asian descent make up the majority of American Muslims. Native-born American Muslims are mainly African-Americans who make up about a quarter of the total Muslim population. Many of these have converted to Islam during the last seventy years. Conversion to Islam in prison and in large urban areas has also contributed to its growth over the years.
Slavery and Islam
Many of the slaves brought to colonial America from Africa were Muslims. By 1800, some 500,000 Africans arrived in what became the United States. Historians estimate that between 15 to 30 percent of all enslaved African men, and less than 15 percent of the enslaved African women, were Muslims. These enslaved Muslims stood out from their compatriots because of their “resistance, determination, and education”.
Modern Migration
Small-scale migration to the U.S. by Muslims began in 1840, with the arrival of Yemenis and Turks, and lasted until World War I. Most of the immigrants, coming from Arab areas of the Ottoman Empire, came with the purpose of making money and returning to their homeland. However, the economic hardships of 19th century America prevented them from prospering. As a result, the immigrants settled in the United States permanently. These immigrants settled primarily in Dearborn, Michigan; Quincy, Massachusetts; and Ross, North Dakota. Ross, North Dakota is the site of the first documented mosque and Muslim cemetery, but it was abandoned and later torn down in the mid-1970s. A new mosque was built in its place in 2005.
Demographics
According to the U.S. Department of State, the largest ethnic groups of American Muslims are those of South Asian, Arab and African-American descent.
There are 1,209 mosques in the United States and the nation’s largest mosque, the Islamic Center of America, is in Dearborn, Michigan. It caters mainly to the Shi’a Muslim congregation; however, all Muslims may attend this mosque. It was rebuilt in 2005 to accommodate over 3,000 people for the increasing Muslim population in the region. Approximately half (50%) of the religious affiliations of Muslims is Sunni, 16% Shia, 22% non-affiliated and, 16% other/non-response. Muslims of Arab decent are mostly Sunni (56%) with minorities who are Shi’a (19%). Bangladeshis (90%), Pakistanis (72%), and Indians (82%) are mainly Sunni, while Iranians are mainly Shi’a (91%). Of African-American Muslims, 48% are Sunni, 34% are unaffiliated (mostly part of the Community of W. Deen Mohammed), 16% other (mostly Nation of Islam and Ahmadiyya) and 2% Shi’a.
Since the arrival of South Asian and Arab communities during the 1990s, there have been divisions with African Americans due to racial and cultural differences. However, since 9/11, the two groups joined together when the immigrant communities looked towards the African Americans for advice on civil rights.
Comparison to Other Religions
Islam has similarities with other American-practiced religions, including Protestantism and Christianity. Some of the similarities include a belief in a single God, who is supreme to all other gods. Many of the religious stories told in these religions share a similar thread, although certain details or the order of the story may be slightly different, depending upon the religious text it comes from. Also, these religious all believe in an afterlife, promoting good behaviors and adherence to religious doctrine in order to ensure entrance to this revered place.
American Islamic Culture
Muslims in the United States have increasingly contributed to American culture; there are various Muslim comedy groups, rap groups, Scout troops and magazines.
Some Muslims in the U.S. are also adherents of certain global movements within Islam such as the Salafi, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Gulen Movement, and the Tablighi Jamaat.
Muslim Integration into American Society
Unlike many Muslims in Europe, American Muslims do not tend to feel marginalized or isolated from political participation. Several organizations were formed by the American Muslim community to serve as ‘critical consultants’ on U.S. policy regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. Other groups have worked with law enforcement agencies to point out Muslims within the United States that they suspect of fostering ‘intolerant attitudes’. Still others have worked to invite interfaith dialogue to improve relations between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans.
A Pew report released in 2009 noted that nearly six-in-ten American adults see Muslims as being subject to discrimination, more than Mormons, Atheists, or Jews. While Muslims comprise less than two percent of the American population, they accounted for approximately one quarter of the religious discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during 2009. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.08%3A_Major_Religions_in_the_U.S./14.8D%3A_Islam.txt |
There are correlations between the degree of religious belief in society and social factors like mortality rates, wealth and happiness.
Learning Objectives
• Identify what might be a tension in understanding highly religious nations and highly religious people
Key Points
• Some sociological research indicates that highly religious, developed nations have higher rates of homicide, mortality, sexually transmitted infections, teen pregnancies, and abortions, whereas so-called “Godless” developed nations have significantly lower mortality rates.
• A BBC research study on religion in Europe suggests that religious belief has declined over the years.
• A study by sociologist Lisa A. Keister found that adherents of Judaism and Episcopalianism attained the most wealth; believers of Catholicism and mainline Protestants were in the middle; and conservative Protestants accumulated the least wealth.
• Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Center and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being “very happy” than the least religiously committed people.
Key Terms
• National Opinion Research Center: NORC at the University of Chicago, established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, is one of the largest and most highly respected social research organizations in the United States.
Religion’s Impact on Societies
Research indicates that in prosperous democracies, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion. As author Stephen Law paraphrases in his book “War For the Children’s Mind,” “The most theistic prosperous democracy, the U.S., is exceptional, but not in the manner Franklin predicted. The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developed democracies, sometimes spectacularly so…The view of the U.S. as a ‘shining city on the hill’ to the rest of the world is falsified when it comes to basic measures of societal health. ” In other words, the U.S., a theistic and prosperous nation, demonstrates that religiosity doesn’t necessarily correlate with creating cultures that reduce death.
The study also notes that more secular, pro-evolution societies come closer to “cultures of life. ” Although these countries are far from perfect, they have, for example, low rates of lethal crime. The authors conclude that the reasonable success of non-religious democracies like Japan, France and Scandinavia has refuted the idea that Godless societies suffer disaster. They add, “Contradicting these conclusions requires demonstrating a positive link between theism and societal conditions in the first world with a similarly large body of data – a doubtful possibility in view of the observable trends. ”
BBC news reported on a study that attempted to use mathematical modeling to predict future religious orientations of populations. The study suggests that religion is headed towards “extinction” in various nations where it has been on the decline: Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. The model considers not only the changing number of people with certain beliefs, but also attempts to assign utility values of a belief as per each nation.
Americans and Religion: A recent Pew survey reveals that, although the majority of Americans may consider themselves to be religious, many are in fact unaware of basic tenets concerning their faith. Byron Pitts reports.
Wealth and Organized Religion
A U.S. study conducted by sociology researcher Lisa A. Keister found that Jewish and Episcopalian adherents attained the most wealth. Believers of Catholicism and mainline Protestants were in the middle, and conservative Protestants accumulated the least wealth. In general, people who attend religious services achieved more wealth than those who do not (taking into account variations of education and other factors). The researcher suggests that wealth accumulation is shaped by family processes.
The median net worth of people believing in the Jewish religion is calculated at \$150,890, while the median net worth of conservative Protestants (including Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, and Christian Scientists) was found at \$26,200. The overall median in the dataset was \$48,200.
Another study by Keister found that “religion affects wealth indirectly through educational attainment, fertility and female labor force participation. ” The study also found evidence of direct effects of religion on wealth attainment.
Religion and Happiness
Religion and happiness have been studied by a number of researchers. The science of positive psychology has identified many components of happiness, and religion seems adapted to satisfy many of them. Some research suggests that both non-religious and religious meaning systems can be quite effective when it comes to managing death anxiety, and that the latter have a few additional advantages.
Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Center and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being “very happy” than the least religiously committed people. An analysis of over 200 social studies contends that “high religiousness predicts a lower risk of depression and drug abuse and fewer suicide attempts, and more reports of satisfaction with sex life and a sense of well-being. ” A review of 498 studies published in peer-reviewed journals concluded that a large majority of them showed a positive correlation between religious commitment and higher levels of perceived well-being and self-esteem and lower levels of hypertension, depression, and clinical delinquency.
A meta-analysis of 34 recent studies published between 1990 and 2001 found that religiosity has a salutary relationship with psychological adjustment related to less psychological distress, more life satisfaction and better self-actualization. Finally, a recent systematic review of 850 research papers concluded that “the majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect and higher morale) and less with depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and drug/alcohol use/abuse. ” | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.08%3A_Major_Religions_in_the_U.S./14.8E%3A_Social_Correlates_of_Religion.txt |
The main religious preferences in the Unites States include (in order): Christianity, unaffiliate, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
Learning Objectives
• Diagram religious and non-religious beliefs in the U.S. according to popularity
Key Points
• The U.S. is a very religiously diverse country. People who identify as Christians in the U.S. encompass the majority of the population, although there are a wide variety of denominations that have developed since the introduction of Christianity in colonial times.
• Unaffiliated beliefs, including atheism and agnosticism, are the second largest group. Judaism is the third largest group, and Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other beliefs are less than one percent of the population.
• According to recent surveys, 83% of Americans identify with a religious denomination. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a “very important” role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations.
• The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion while also preventing the government from establishing a state religion.
Key Terms
• agnosticism: The view that the existence of God or of all deities is unknown, unknowable, unproven, or unprovable.
• denomination: A class, or society of individuals, called by the same name; a sect; as, a denomination of Christians.
Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity of religious beliefs and practices and by a high adherence level. According to recent surveys, 83% of Americans identify with a religious denomination, 40% state that they attend services nearly every week or more, and 58% say that they pray at least weekly. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a “very important” role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including both later imports spanning the country’s multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country; these have led the United States to become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.
The majority of Americans (76% to 80%) identify themselves as Protestants or Catholics, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively. Non-Christian religions (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.), collectively make up about 5% of the adult population. Another 15% of the adult population claims no religious affiliation. When asked, about 5.2% said they did not know or refused to reply. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably by region. The lowest rate is in the West with 59% reporting a belief in God, and the highest rate in the South (the “Bible Belt”) at 86%.
Despite a high level of religious adherence, only 9% of Americans in a 2008 poll said religion was the most important thing in their life, compared with 45% who said family was paramount in their life and 17% who said money and career was paramount. Mark Chaves, a Duke University professor of sociology, religion, and divinity, found that 92% of Americans believed in God in 2008, but that they have significantly less confidence in their religious leaders than they did a generation ago.
From the early colonial days, when some English and German settlers came in search of religious freedom, America has been profoundly influenced by religion. That influence continues in American culture, social life, and politics. Several of the original 13 colonies were established by settlers who wished to practice their own religion within a community of like-minded people: the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by English Puritans (Congregationalists), Pennsylvania by British Quakers, Maryland by English Catholics, and Virginia by English Anglicans.
The U.S. Census does not ask about religion. Various groups have conducted surveys to determine approximate percentages of those affiliated with each religious group. Some surveys ask people to self-identify, while others calculate church memberships. Christianity comprises 59.9% to 78.4% of affiliation, unaffiliated, including atheist or agnostic are 15.0% to 37.3%, Judaism are 1.2 % to 2.2 %, Islam about.6%, Buddhism 0.5 % to 0.9%, Hinduism 0.4% and other religions 1.2% to 1.4% in the United States.
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Political sociology studies the relation between state and society, authority and power, and the methods used to formulate social policy.
Learning Objectives
• Diagram the three major traditional theoretical frameworks of political sociology, plus trends in contemporary sociology
Key Points
• The term ” politics ” is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions. It consists of social relations involving authority or power, the regulation of political units, and the methods used to formulate and apply social policy.
• Traditionally there have been four main areas of research: the socio-political formation of the modern state; how social inequality influences politics; how social movements outside of the formal institutions affect formal politics; and power relationships within and between social groups.
• There are three major theoretical frameworks: pluralism, elite or managerial theory, and class analysis.
• Pluralism sees politics primarily as a contest among competing interest groups. It holds the view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence.
• Elite or managerial theory is sometimes called a state-centered approach. It posits that a small minority—consisting of members of the economic elite and policy-planning networks—holds the most power and that this power is independent of a state’s democratic elections process.
• Social class theory analysis emphasizes the political power of capitalist elites.
Key Terms
• social policy: Guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare.
• politics: the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level, when there are more than 2 people involved
• state: Any sovereign polity. A government.
Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of social relations involving authority or power, the regulation of political units, and the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply social policy.
Contemporary political sociology involves the study of relations between state and society.
In the past, a typical research question in political sociology might have been: “Why do so few American citizens choose to vote? ” or “What difference does it make if women get elected? ”
Modern political sociologists are now focused on questions such as: “How is the body a site of power? “, “How are emotions relevant to global poverty? “, or “What difference does knowledge make to democracy? ”
Traditional Political Sociology
Traditionally there have been four main areas of research in political sociology:
• The socio-political formation of the modern state
• “Who rules? ” How social inequality between groups (class, race, gender, etc.) influences politics
• How public personalities, social movements, and trends outside of the formal institutions of political power affect formal politics
• Power relationships within and between social groups (e.g. families, workplaces, bureaucracy, media, etc.).
Political sociology was traditionally concerned with how social trends, dynamics, and structures of domination affect formal political processes. It also explored how various social forces work together to change political policies. From this perspective there are three major theoretical frameworks: pluralism, elite or managerial theory, and class analysis (which overlaps with Marxist analysis).
Pluralism
Pluralism sees politics as a contest between competing interest groups. It holds the view that politics and decision making are located mostly in the framework of government, but many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence. Groups of individuals try to maximize their interests. There are multiple lines of power that shift as power is a continuous bargaining process between competing groups. Any change under this view will be slow and incremental—groups have different interests and may act as “veto groups” to destroy legislation that they do not agree with.
Elite/Managerial Theory
Elite or managerial theory is sometimes called a state-centered approach. It also seeks to describe and explain power relationships in contemporary society. The theory posits that a small minority—consisting of members of the economic elite and policy-planning networks—holds the most power. This power is independent of a state’s democratic elections process. Through positions in corporations, corporate boards, and policy-planning networks, members of the “elite” are able to exert significant power over the policy decisions of corporations and governments.
Class Analysis
Social class analysis emphasizes the political power of capitalist elites. It can be split into two parts. One is the ‘power structure’ or ‘instrumentalist’ approach; the other is the ‘structuralist’ approach. The power structure approach focuses on determining who rules, while the structuralist approach emphasizes the way a capitalist economy operates, allowing and encouraging the state to do some things but not others.
Contemporary Political Sociology
Contemporary political sociology is concerned with the play of power and politics across societies, which includes, but is not restricted to relations between the state and society. In part, this is a product of the growing complexity of social relations, the impact of social movement organizing, and the relative weakening of the state via globalization. Political sociology is as much focused on micro questions (the formation of identity through social interaction; the politics of knowledge), as it is on macro questions (how to capture and use state power). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.01%3A_Politics_Power_and_Authority/15.1A%3A_Politics.txt |
Power is frequently defined as the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance.
Learning Objectives
• Differentiate between power and constraint, using real life examples
Key Points
• Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. The use of power need not involve coercion, force or the threat of force.
• The sociological examination of power concerns itself with discovering and describing the relative strengths: equal or unequal; stable or subject to periodic change.
• Power may derive from a number of sources, including social class (material wealth can equal power), resource currency (material items such as money, property, food), personal or group charisma, or social influence of tradition (compare ascribed power).
• Researchers have documented the bystander effect: they found that powerful people are three times as likely to first offer help to a stranger in distress.
Key Terms
• unilateralism: A tendency of nations to act on their own, or with only minimal consultation and involvement with other nations.
• bystander effect: When someone is less likely to help another if other potential helpers are present.
• power elite: a small group of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth or political power
• power: The ability to get one’s way even in the face of opposition to one’s goals.
Power is frequently defined by political scientists as the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. The use of power need not involve coercion, force or the threat of force. At one extreme, power closely resembles what English speakers call “influence”, although some authors make a distinction between the two.
The sociological examination of power involves discovering and describing the relative strengths: equal or unequal; stable or subject to periodic change. Sociologists usually analyze relationships in which parties have relatively equal or nearly equal power in terms of constraint rather than of power. Thus power has a connotation of unilateralism. If this were not so, then all relationships could be described in terms of power, and its meaning would be lost.
Power may derive from a number of sources, including social class (material wealth can equal power), resource currency (material items such as money, property, food), personal or group charisma, ascribed power (acting on perceived or assumed abilities, whether these bear testing or not), social influence of tradition (compare ascribed power), etc.
People use more than rewards, threats and information to influence others. In everyday situations, people use a variety of power tactics to push or prompt others into particular action. There are many examples of power tactics that are quite common and employed everyday. Some of these tactics include bullying, collaboration, complaining, criticizing, demanding, disengaging, evading, humor, inspiring, manipulating, negotiating, socializing and supplicating. Recent experimental psychology suggests that the more power one has the less one takes on the perspective of others, implying that the powerful have less empathy.
Powerful people are also more likely to take action. In one example, more powerful people turned off an irritatingly close fan twice as much as less powerful people. Researchers have documented the “bystander effect” and found that powerful people are three times as likely to first offer help to a stranger in distress. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.01%3A_Politics_Power_and_Authority/15.1B%3A_Power.txt |
Authority refers to the use of power that is seen as legitimate or socially approved/recognized.
Learning Objectives
• Give examples of the three types of authority as defined by Max Weber and what distinguishes all of them from coercion or force
Key Points
• Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence. Authority, by contrast, depends on subordinate groups consenting to the use of power wielded by superior groups.
• Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled.
• Weber states that legitimacy distinguishes authority, from coercion, force, power, leadership, persuasion and influence. Superiors, he states, feel that they have a right to issue commands; subordinates perceive an obligation to obey.
• Authoritarianism primarily differs from totalitarianism in that social and economic institutions exist that are not under governmental control.
• The three attributes of authority are status, specialist skills, and social position.
Key Terms
• power: The ability to get one’s way even in the face of opposition to one’s goals.
• authority: The power to enforce rules or give orders.
Authority is the legitimate or socially approved use of power that a person or a group holds over another. Legitimacy is vital to the notion of authority; legitimacy is the main means by which authority is distinguished from more general notions of power. Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence. Authority, by contrast, depends on subordinate groups consenting to the use of power wielded by superior groups.
Max Weber, in his sociological and philosophical work, identified and distinguished three types of legitimate domination (Herrschaft in German, which generally means ‘domination’ or ‘rule’). These have sometimes been translated to English as types of authority, because domination is not seen as a political concept. Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled.
The first type discussed by Weber is rational-legal authority. It is a form of authority with legitimacy that depends on formal rules and established laws of the state, which are usually written down and are often very complex.
The second type of authority is traditional authority, which derives from long-established customs, habits, and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another, it is known as traditional authority.
The third form of authority is charismatic authority. Here, the charisma of the individual or the leader plays an important role.
Weber states that legitimacy distinguishes authority from coercion, force, power, leadership, persuasion, and influence. Superiors, he states, feel that they have a right to issue commands; subordinates perceive an obligation to obey. The degree to which these rights and obligations are felt is based on the perceived legitimacy of the authority. A well-established, respected, democratically elected government typically wields more authority than an ad hoc, temporary, or corrupt government.
15.1D: Authority and Legitimate Violence
Max Weber conceived of the state as a monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force.
Learning Objectives
• Assess Weber’s argument about the state’s relationship to physical force
Key Points
• Weber defines the state as a community successfully claiming authority over legitimate use of physical force in a given territory.
• Besides the police and the military, private force can be used too, as long as it has legitimacy derived from the state.
• The right of self-defense is the right by which civilians acting on their own behalf may engage in violence for the sake of defending one’s own life or the lives of others.
Key Terms
• right of self-defense: The right of self-defense (according to U.S. law) is the right by which civilians acting on their own behalf may engage in violence for the sake of defending one’s own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force.
• the state: A state is a political organization with a centralized government that maintains a monopoly over the legitimate use of force within a certain territory.
• Max Weber: (1864–1920) A German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself.
• monopoly: a situation in which one party or company exclusively provides a particular product or service, dominating that market and generally exerting powerful control over it
Max Weber, in Politics as a Vocation, conceived of the state as a monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force. According to Weber, the state is that entity that “upholds the claim to the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in the enforcement of its order. ” The state’s authority is derived from this: the state can enforce its precepts through force without losing its legitimate authority. This definition of the state has figured prominently in philosophy of law and in political philosophy throughout the twentieth century.
Ownership of territory is another characteristic that Weber deemed prerequisite for a state. Territory is necessary because it defines the scope of the state’s authority: use of force is acceptable, but only in the jurisdiction specified by the state’s lands. Such a monopoly, according to Weber, must occur via a process of legitimation.
The police and the military are the state’s main instruments of legitimate violence, but this does not mean that only public force can be used: private force can be used, too, as long as it has legitimacy derived from the state. The right of self-defense is the right by which civilians acting on their own behalf may engage in violence for the sake of defending one’s own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force. In any instance where an individual uses force to defend a third party, it must be demonstrated that the third party was in a position that required another individual’s intervention. The right of self-defense is a private form of legitimate violence that is recognized by the state. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.01%3A_Politics_Power_and_Authority/15.1C%3A_Authority.txt |
Traditional authority refers to a form of leadership in which authority derives from tradition or custom.
Learning Objectives
• Compare patrimonial government with feudalism within the context of traditional authority
Key Points
• Weber traced traditional domination back to patriarchs, their households, and the ancient tradition of family. In such systems, the master is designated in accordance with the rules of inheritance.
• Patrimonial government occurs when the ruler’s household expands to governmental offices. All officials are personal dependents or favorites of the ruler, and are appointed by him.
• Feudalism replaced the paternal relationship of patrimonalism with a contract of allegiance based on knightly militarism.
Key Terms
• feudalism: A social system that is based on personal ownership of resources and personal fealty between a suzerain (lord) and a vassal (subject). Defining characteristics of feudalism are direct ownership of resources, personal loyalty, and a hierarchical social structure reinforced by religion.
• patrimonial government: A form of governance in which all power flows directly from the leader. The leaders of these countries typically enjoy absolute personal power.
• tradition: A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the way holidays are celebrated.
Traditional Authority
Traditional authority is a type of leadership in which the authority of a ruling regime is largely tied to tradition or custom. In sociology, the concept of traditional authority comes from Max Weber ‘s tripartite classification of authority. In addition to traditional authority, Weber claimed that the other two styles of authority were charismatic authority and rational-legal authority. Weber noted that, in history, these ideal types of domination always seemed to occur in combinations.
Weber traced traditional domination back to patriarchs, their households, and the ancient tradition of the family. In such systems, the master, almost exclusively an older father, is designated in accordance with the rules of inheritance. He has no administrative staff, nor any machinery to enforce his will by force alone. Instead, he depends on the willingness of subservient group members to respect his authority. They obey him based on the belief that this is their duty, sanctioned by tradition.
Patrimonial government is related to this model, but is slightly different. This occurs when a patriarchal ruler’s household expands to governmental offices. In this style of leadership, all officials are personal dependents or favorites of the ruler, and are appointed by the ruler. Their interactions with the ruler are based on paternal authority and filial dependence. Military force is an important instrument of patrimonial rule. Patrimonial dominance has often prevailed in the Orient.
Patrimonalism and Feudalism
In comparison to patrimonalism, feudalism has one major similarity and several important differences. The similarity is that both are based on tradition and have powerful rulers who grant rights in return for military and administrative services. There are two important differences. First, feudalism replaced the paternal relationship of patrimonalism with a contract of allegiance based on knightly militarism. Second, in a patrimonial government, officials are personally dependent on the patriarch. In feudalism, these individuals are replaced with vassals, who have contractual freedom, personal allegiance, and socioeconomic prominence.
Louis XIV of France: Historically, kings have derived their authority from tradition.
15.1F: Rational-Legal Authority
Rational-legal authority is a form of leadership in which authority is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy, and bureaucracy.
Learning Objectives
• Recall the three characteristics of the modern state, according to Weber
Key Points
• Unlike charismatic authority and traditional authority, rational-legal authority derives its powers from the system of bureaucracy and legality.
• Weber defined legal order as a system wherein the rules are enacted and obeyed as legitimate because they are in line with other laws on how they can be enacted and how they should be obeyed.
• The modern state based on rational-legal authority emerged from the patrimonial and feudal struggle for power uniquely in Western civilization.
• A modern state exists where a political community has created an administrative and legal order, binding authority over citizens, and the legitimate use of physical force.
Key Terms
• authority: The power to enforce rules or give orders.
• legal order: A system where the rules are enacted and obeyed as legitimate because they are in line with other laws on how they can be enacted and how they should be obeyed. Further, they are enforced by a government that monopolizes their enactment and the legitimate use of physical force.
• bureaucracy: Structure and regulations in place to control activity. Usually in large organizations and government operations.
Rational-legal authority is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy, and bureaucracy. It is the second of Max Weber ‘s tripartite classification of authority. The majority of the modern states of the twentieth century are rational-legal authorities, according to those who use this form of classification.
Unlike charismatic authority and traditional authority, rational-legal authority derives its powers from the system of bureaucracy and legality. Weber defined legal order as a system wherein the rules are enacted and obeyed as legitimate because they are in line with other laws on how they can be enacted and how they should be obeyed. These rules are enforced by a government that monopolizes their enactment, while holding the legitimate use of physical force.
Weber wrote that the modern state based on rational-legal authority emerged from the patrimonial and feudal struggle for power uniquely in Western civilization. The prerequisites for the modern Western state are the monopoly by a central authority of the means of administration and control; the monopoly of legislative authority; and the organization of officialdom, dependent upon the central authority.
According to Max Weber, a modern state exists where a political community has three elements. First, an administrative and legal order that has been created and can be changed by legislation that also determines its role. Second, it must have binding authority over citizens and actions in its jurisdiction. Lastly, it must possess the right to legitimately use the physical force in its jurisdiction. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.01%3A_Politics_Power_and_Authority/15.1E%3A_Traditional_Authority.txt |
Charismatic authority is power legitimized by a leader’s exceptional personal qualities, which inspire loyalty and obedience from followers.
Learning Objectives
• Create a model of a hypothetical charismatic leader in a hypothetical government which describes the charisma and explains in detail how it is legitimized, used, and maintained
Key Points
• For Weber, charisma applies to “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural powers “.
• In contrast to the current popular use of the term charismatic leader, Weber saw charismatic authority not so much as character traits of the charismatic leader, but as a relationship between the leader and his followers.
• A cult of personality refers to when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise.
• The methods of charismatic succession are search, revelation, designation by original leader, designation by qualified staff, hereditary charisma, and office charisma.
Key Terms
• routinization: Charismatic authority almost always endangers the boundaries set by traditional or rational (legal) authority. It tends to challenge this authority, and is thus often seen as revolutionary. Usually this charismatic authority is incorporated into society. Hereby the challenge that it presents to society will subside. The way in which this happens is called routinization.
• cult of personality: A situation where a leader (often a dictator) has been falsely idolized and made into a national or group icon and is revered as a result.
• revelation: A manifestation of divine truth.
Charismatic authority is one of three forms of authority laid out in Max Weber’s tripartite classification of authority. Weber defined charismatic authority as “resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him”.
Charismatic authority is power legitimized on the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal qualities, or the demonstration of extraordinary insight and accomplishment, which inspire loyalty and obedience from followers. In contrast to the current popular use of the term charismatic leader, Weber saw charismatic authority not so much as character traits of the charismatic leader but as a relationship between the leader and his followers. For Weber, charisma applies to “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. ”
Charismatic authority almost always evolves in the context of boundaries set by traditional or rational-legal authority, but by its nature tends to challenge this authority, and is thus often seen as revolutionary. However, the constant challenge that charismatic authority presents to a particular society will eventually subside as it is incorporated into that society through routinization. Routinization is the process by which “charismatic authority is succeeded by a bureaucracy controlled by a rationally established authority or by a combination of traditional and bureaucratic authority. ”
In politics, charismatic rule is often found in various authoritarian states, autocracies, dictatorships, and theocracies. In order to help to maintain their charismatic authority, such regimes will often establish a vast cult of personality, which is signaled when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. When the leader of such a state dies or leaves office and a new charismatic leader does not appear, such a regime is likely to fall shortly thereafter unless it has become fully routinized.
Lenin, a charismatic leader: Bolshevik political cartoon poster from 1920 depicting Lenin sweeping away monarchists and capitalists; the caption reads, “Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth.”
According to Max Weber, the methods of charismatic succession are search, revelation, designation by original leader, designation by qualified staff, hereditary charisma, and office charisma. These are the various ways in which an individual and a society can contrive to maintain the unique energy and nature of charisma in their leadership. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.01%3A_Politics_Power_and_Authority/15.1G%3A_Charismatic_Authority.txt |
In the United States, transfers of authority generally occur after presidential elections.
Learning Objectives
• Compare presidential transitions with transitional justice using real-life examples
Key Points
• A presidential transition refers to the period of time between the end of a presidential election and the inauguration of a new president.
• In the United States, during a presidential transition, the outgoing, “lame duck” president has lost many of the intangible benefits of a presidency, but the incoming president-elect is not yet legally empowered to enforce policy.
• Transitional justice refers to a range of efforts, on the part of the state, to address past human rights violations. These efforts include both judicial and non-judicial methods.
• In the context of transitional justice, memorialization is used to honor the victims of human rights abuses.
Key Terms
• president-elect: a person who has been elected to a presidency but has not yet been inducted into office
• transitional justice: Transitional justice generally refers to a range of approaches that states may use to address past human rights violations. This includes both judicial and non-judicial approaches.
• Presidential transition: A presidential transition or presidential interregnum refers to the period of time between the end of a presidential election and the inauguration of a new president.
Presidential Transitions
A presidential transition refers to the period of time between the end of a presidential election and the inauguration of a new president. During this time, the incoming president usually designates new governmental personnel, including those individuals who will either serve in the cabinet or lead governmental agencies.
In the United States, the presidential transition extends from the date of the presidential election, in early November, until the twentieth day of January in the following year. This was specified in the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. During a presidential transition, the outgoing president, also known as the “lame duck,” has lost many of the intangible benefits of a presidency. That being said, the incoming president-elect is not yet legally empowered to enforce policy. This ambiguity, between the president-elect and outgoing president, creates the potential for a leadership vacuum, which may be most acutely felt during wartime or times of economic crisis.
Transitional Justice
In other nations, many of which have experienced undemocratic governments and dictators, transitional justice refers to a state’s efforts to address past human rights violations. These efforts can be both judicial and non-judicial, and refer to actions, policies or institutions that are enacted at a point of political transition from violence or repression to societal stability. As a project, transitional justice has a number of goals, including rebuilding social trust, repairing a fractured judicial system, and building a democratic system of governance.
In the context of transitional justice, memorialization is used to honor the victims of human rights abuses. By demonstrating respect and acknowledging the past, national memorials can help governments reconcile tensions with victims. They can also help to establish a record of history and to prevent the recurrence of abuse.
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Various schools of thought consider the state to be either a neutral entity separated from society or an immoral partisan instrument.
Learning Objectives
• Classify the different political theories concerning the function of the state in society
Key Points
• Liberal and conservative theories of the state tend to see the state as a neutral entity separated from society and the economy. These theories treat the economic system of capitalism as a given.
• Marxist theories see the state as a partisan instrument that primarily serves the interests of the upper class. These theories emphasize the relationship between political power and economic power.
• Anarchists believe that the state apparatus should be completely dismantled and an alternative set of social relations created. These social relations would not be based on state power at all.
• Pluralists view the state as a neutral body that simply enacts the will of whichever groups dominate the electoral process.
• A polyarchy, a concept developed by Robert Dahl, refers to the idea that the modern democratic state’s acts in response to the pressures applied to it by a variety of organized interests.
Key Terms
• polyarchy: a government by many persons, of whatever order or class
• pluralist: an advocate of pluralism (in all senses)
• anarchist: One who believes in or advocates the absence of hierarchy and authority in most forms (compare anarchism), especially one who works toward the realization of such.
The State
A state is an organized political community acting under a government. States may be classified as sovereign if they are not dependent on, or subject to, any other power or state. States are considered to be subject to external sovereignty, or hegemony, if their ultimate sovereignty lies in another state. A federated state is a territorial, constitutional community that forms part of a federation. Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government.
Theories of the State
Most political theories of the state can roughly be classified into two categories. The first, which includes liberal or conservative theories, treats capitalism as a given, and concentrates on the function of states in a capitalist society. Theories of this variety view the state as a neutral entity distinct from both society and the economy.
Marxist Theory
Marxist theory, on the other hand, sees politics as intimately intermingled with economic relations, and emphasizes the relationship between economic power and political power. Marxists view the state as a partisan instrument that primarily serves the interests of the upper class. Marx and Engels were clear that communism’s goal was a classless society in which the state would have “withered away. ” For Marxist theorists, the role of the non-socialist state is determined by its function in the global capitalist order. Marx’s early writings portrayed the state as “parasitic,” built upon the superstructure of the economy and working against the public interest. He believed that the state mirrored societal class relations, that it regulated and repressed class struggle, and that it was a tool of political power and domination for the ruling class.
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy that considers states immoral and instead promotes a stateless society, anarchy. Anarchists believe that the state is inherently an instrument of domination and repression, no matter who is in control of it. Anarchists believe that the state apparatus should be completely dismantled and an alternative set of social relations created, which would be unrelated to state power.
Pluralism
Pluralists view society as a collection of individuals and groups competing for political power. They then view the state as a neutral body that simply enacts the will of whichever group dominates the electoral process. Within the pluralist tradition, Robert Dahl developed the theory of the state as a neutral arena for contending interests. He also viewed governmental agencies as simply another set of competing interest groups. The pluralist approach suggests that the modern democratic state acts in response to pressures that are applied by a variety of organized interests. Dahl called this kind of state a polyarchy. Pluralism has been challenged on the ground that it is not supported by empirical evidence. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.02%3A_Government_and_the_State/15.2A%3A_Functions_of_the_State.txt |
A state is an organized political community acting under a government. States differ in sovereignty, governance, geography, and interests.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the central characteristics that define the state
Key Points
• Federated states differ from sovereign states in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government.
• Under the rule of law, no one person can rule and even top government officials are bound by the law.
• The “nation” refers to a large geographical area and the people living there who perceive themselves as having a common identity.
• The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit.
• Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests.
Key Terms
• civil society: All of the institutions, voluntary organizations, and corporate bodies that are less than the state but greater than the family.
• nation state: a political entity (a state) associated with a particular cultural entity (a nation)
• Sovereign states: A sovereign state is a political organization with a centralized government that has supreme independent authority over a geographic area.
States may be classified as sovereign if they are not dependent on, or subject to, any other power or state. Other states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony where ultimate sovereignty lies in another state. A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government.
The concept of the state is different from the concept of government. A government is the particular group of people that controls the state apparatus at a given time. In other words, governments are the means through which state power is employed; for example, by applying the rule of law. The rule of law is a legal maxim whereby governmental decisions are made by applying known legal principles. The rule of law is rule not by one person, as in an absolute monarchy, but by laws, as in a democratic republic; no one person can rule and even top government officials are under and ruled by the law.
The concept of the state is also different from the concept of a nation, which refers to a large geographical area, and the people therein who perceive themselves as having a common identity. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural or ethnic entity. The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The term nation state implies that the two geographically coincide.
In classical thought, the state was identified with political society and civil society as a form of political community. In contrast, modern thought distinguishes the nation state as a political society from civil society as a form of economic society. Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests. It is sometimes considered to include the family and the private sphere and then referred to as the third sector of society, distinct from government and business. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.02%3A_Government_and_the_State/15.2B%3A_Characteristics_of_the_State.txt |
Citizenship carries both rights and responsibilities, as it describes a person with legal rights within a given political order.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the rights and responsibilities of citizenship held by individuals
Key Points
• Citizenship is the state of being a member of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. The term describing all citizens as a whole is citizenry.
• Citizenship generally carries with it the right of political participation in a community, including voting, participating in government, and receiving state protection.
• A person who does not have citizenship in any state is stateless.
• Many people are presumed to be citizens of a nation if they were born within the physical geographic territory of the nation. This policy is called, by the Latin legal term. jus soli, meaning “right of soil. ” A jus sanguinis policy grants citizenship based on ancestry or ethnicity.
• Nationalization is the acquisition of citizenship by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth.
• The term “citizen of the world” has been applied to people who have fewer ties to a particular nation and more of a sense of belonging to the world in general.
Key Terms
• nationalization: Nationalization is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state
• jus soli: A right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognized to any individual born in the territory of the related state.
• jus sanguinis: Jus sanguinis (Latin: right of blood) is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but rather by having one or both parent who are citizens of the nation. It contrasts with jus soli (Latin for “right of soil”).
Legally, citizenship denotes a link between an individual and a state. Under international law, citizenship is synonymous to nationality, although the two may have different meanings under national law. A person who does not have citizenship in any state is stateless.
A person is generally presumed to be a citizen of a nation if one or both of their parents are also a citizen of said nation; this is often called jus sanguinis (Latin legal term), meaning “right of blood. ” A jus sanguinis policy means grants citizenship based on ancestry or ethnicity, and is related to the concept of a nation state common in Europe. Many people are presumed to be citizens of a nation if they were born within the physical geographic territory of the nation. This policy is called by jus soli (Latin legal term), meaning “right of soil. ” These first two factors are usually lumped together under the term birthright citizenship.
Nationalization is the acquisition of citizenship by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth. In general, basic requirements for nationalization are that the applicant hold a legal status as a full-time resident for a minimum period of time, and that the applicant promises to obey and uphold that country’s laws, to which an oath or pledge of allegiance is sometimes added. Citizenship can also be obtained by marrying a citizen, which is termed jure matrimonii.
Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities. In this sense, citizenship was described as “a bundle of rights — primarily, political participation in the life of the community, the right to vote, and the right to receive certain protection from the community, as well as obligations. ” Citizenship is a status in society. It generally describes a person with legal rights within a given political order. It almost always has an element of exclusion, meaning that some people are not citizens; this distinction can sometimes be very important, or not important, depending on a particular society.
More generally, citizenship is seen as the relation between an individual and a particular nation. Certain entities, however, cross national boundaries, such as trade organizations, non-governmental organizations, and multi-national corporations, and sometimes the term “citizen of the world” has been applied in to people who have fewer ties to a particular nation and more of a sense of belonging to the world in general. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.02%3A_Government_and_the_State/15.2C%3A_Citizenship_Rights.txt |
Theories explaining the origins and formation of states all revolve around the ability to centralize power in a sustainable way.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the formation of states and centralization of authority in modern history
Key Points
• States first arose when agriculture and writing made centralized power possible.
• In hydraulic civilizations, water and irrigation were centrally controlled, which consequently led to the general centralization of power in a despotic state.
• According to the coercion theory of state formation, states formed in order to handle the burden of fighting and defending against wars.
• States have continued to grow more rational and bureaucratic, with expanding executive bureaucracies, such as the extensive cabinet system in the United States. Thus, states have evolved from relatively simple but powerful central powers to complex and highly organized institutions.
Key Terms
• Hydraulic civilization: A hydraulic empire (also known as a hydraulic despotism, or water monopoly empire) is a social or government structure which maintains power and control through exclusive control over access to water. It arises through the need for flood control and irrigation, which requires central coordination and a specialized bureaucracy.
• Centralization of power: Centralization of power occurs in governments in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject. In a national context, centralization occurs in the transfer of power to a typically sovereign nation state.
State Formation and the Centralization of Power
Today we take it for granted that different societies are governed by different states, but this has not always been the case. Since the late nineteeth century, virtually the entirety of the world’s inhabitable land has been parceled up into areas with more or less definite borders claimed by various states. Earlier, quite large land areas had been either unclaimed or uninhabited, or inhabited by nomadic peoples who were not organized as states. In fact, for most of human history, people have lived in stateless societies, characterized by a lack of concentrated authority, and the absence of large inequalities in economic and political power.
The first known states were created in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, the Americas (e.g., Aztec civilization, Inca civilization). Most agree that the earliest states emerged when agriculture and writing made it possible to centralize power in a durable way. Agriculture allowed communities to settle and also led to class division: some people devoted all their time to food production, while others were freed to specialize in other activities, such as writing or ruling. Thus, states, as an institution, were a social invention. Political sociologists continue to debate the origins of the state and the processes of state formation.
Hydraulic Civilization
According to one early theory of state formation, the centralized state was developed to administer large public works systems (such as irrigation systems) and to regulate complex economies. This theory was articulated by German American historian Karl August Wittfogel in his book 1957 Oriental Despotis. Wittfogel argued that most of the earliest states were formed in hydraulic civilizations, by which he meant civilizations where leaders controlled people by controlling the water supply. Often, these civilizations relied on complex irrigation systems that had to be centrally managed. The people, therefore, had good reason to give control to a central state, but in giving up control over the irrigation system, they also gave up control over their own livelihoods and, thus, the central state gained immense control over people in general. Although Wittfogel’s theory is well known, it has also been criticized as inaccurate. Modern archaeological and anthropological evidence shows that many early societies were not as centralized, despotic, or unequal as the hydraulic theory would suggest.
Coercion, War, and the State
An alternative theory of state formation focuses on the rise of more modern nation-states and explains their rise by arguing they became necessary for leveraging the resources necessary to fight and defend against wars. Sociologist Charles Tilly is the best known theorist in this tradition. Tilly examined political, social, and technological change in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present and attempted to explain the unprecedented success of the nation-state as the dominant form of state on Earth. In other words, instead of asking (like Wittfogel) where the very first states came from, Tilly asked where the types of states with which we’re most familiar came from, and why they became so common.
According to Tilly’s theory, military innovation in pre-modern Europe (especially gunpowder and mass armies) made war extremely expensive. As a result, only states with a sufficient amount of capital and a large population could afford to pay for their security and ultimately survive in the hostile environment. Thus, the modern states and its institutions (such as taxes) were created to enable war making.
Rationalization and Bureaucracy
Yet another theory of state formation focuses on the long, slow, process of rationalization and bureaucratization that began with the invention of writing. The Greeks were the first people known to have explicitly formulated a political philosophy of the state, and to have rationally analyzed political institutions. In Medieval Europe, feudalism furthered the rationalization and formalization of the state. Feudalism was based on the relationship between lord and vassal, which became central to social organization and, indeed to state organization. The Medieval state was organized by Estates, or parliaments in which key social groups negotiated with the king about legal and economic matters. Since then, states have continued to grow more rational and bureaucratic, with expanding executive bureaucracies, such as the extensive cabinet system in the United States. Thus, states have evolved from relatively simple but powerful central powers to complex and highly organized institutions.
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15.2E: Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state.
Learning Objectives
• Give examples of monarchies in the contemporary world
Key Points
• Monarchy was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times. It is less common today, although several monarchies still exist.
• Modern monarchies often takes the form of a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch retains a unique legal and ceremonial role, but exercises limited or no political power pursuant to a constitution or tradition which allocates governing authority elsewhere.
• Most states only have a single person acting as monarch at any given time, although two monarchs have ruled simultaneously in some countries, a situation known as diarchy.
Key Terms
• diarchy: A form of government where power is shared between two joint authorities.
• hereditary rule: Hereditary rule is a form of government in which all the rulers come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family.
A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication. The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch.
Monarchy was the most common form of government into the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent, at least at the national level. Monarchy now often takes the form of a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch retains a unique legal and ceremonial role, but exercises limited or no political power pursuant to a constitution or tradition which allocates governing authority elsewhere. Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as heads of state. Of these, 16 are Commonwealth realms such as Canada and Australia that recognize the monarch of the United Kingdom as their head of state.
There is no clear definition of monarchy. Even characteristics most commonly associated with monarchies are not universal. For example, monarchies are often though of as highly centralized forms of absolute power. But holding unlimited political power in the state is not the defining characteristic, as many constitutional monarchies such as the United Kingdom and Thailand are considered monarchies yet their monarchs have limited political power. Hereditary rule is often a common characteristic, but some monarchs are elected (e.g., the Pope), and some states with hereditary rulers are nevertheless considered republics (e.g., the Dutch Republic).
Most states only have a single person acting as monarch at any given time, although two monarchs have ruled simultaneously in some countries, a situation known as diarchy. Historically, this was the case in the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta or 17th-century Russia, and there are examples of joint sovereignty of spouses or relatives (such as William and Mary in the Kingdoms of England and Scotland). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.02%3A_Government_and_the_State/15.2D%3A_State_Formation.txt |
States vary based on who holds power, who elects the empowered, and how authority is maintained.
Learning Objectives
• Identify the central features that distinguish different types of states
Key Points
• One way to classify these governments is by looking at how leaders gain power. Under this system, governments fall into general categories of authoritarianism, oligarchy, and democracy.
• Authoritarian governments differ in who holds power and in how much control they assume over those that they govern, but all are marked by the fact that the empowered are unelected individuals. One well-known example of this type of government is a monarchy.
• An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony. One common example is theocracy.
• Democracy is a form of government in which the right to govern is held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state. All members of the society have equal access to power and all members enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties.
Key Terms
• oligarchy: A government run by only a few, often the wealthy
• Democratic presidential republic: A system of government where an executive branch is led by a president who serves as both head of state and head of government; in such a system, this branch exists separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which it cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss.
• theocracy: Government under the control of a Church or state-sponsored religion
States come in a variety of forms that vary based on who holds power, how positions of leadership are obtained, and how authority is maintained. The United States is a democratic presidential republic: a democratic government headed by a powerful elected executive, the president. The United States originally won its independence from Britain, which was a monarchy, in which power was concentrated in an individual king. Other forms of government include oligarchy and dictatorship or totalitarianism. One way to classify these governments is by looking at how leaders gain power. Under this system, governments fall into general categories of authoritarianism, oligarchy, and democracy.
Authoritarian Governments
Authoritarian governments differ in who holds power and in how much control they assume over those that they govern, but all are marked by the fact that the empowered are unelected individuals. One well-known example of this type of government is a monarchy.
A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication. The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. There is no clear definition of monarchy. Some monarchs hold unlimited political power while many constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom and Thailand, have monarchs with limited political power. Hereditary rule is often a common characteristic, but elective monarchies are also considered monarchies (e.g., The Pope) and some states have hereditary rulers, but are considered republics (e.g., the Dutch Republic). Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as heads of state.
Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system that strives to regulate nearly every aspect of public and private life. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state -controlled mass media, a single party that controls the state, personality cults, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of state terrorism.
Oligarchic Governments
An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony. An oligarchy is different from a true democracy because very few people are given the chance to change things. An oligarchy does not have to be hereditary or monarchic. An oligarchy does not have one clear ruler, but several powerful people who rule. One common example is that of theocracy.
Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state’s supreme civil ruler, or in a broader sense, a form of government in which a state is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. Theocratic governments enact theonomic laws. Theocracies are distinguished from other secular forms of government that have a state religion, or are merely influenced by theological or moral concepts, and monarchies held “by the Grace of God. ”
Democratic Governments
Democracy is a form of government in which the right to govern is held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state. The two principles of a democracy are that all citizens have equal access to power and that all citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others. However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated with balances, such as the separation of powers, to avoid an uneven distribution of political power, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself. Freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are essential so that citizens are informed and able to vote in their personal interests. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.03%3A_Types_of_States/15.3A%3A_Types_of_States.txt |
An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society.
Learning Objectives
• Compare and contrast the different types of oligarchical governments that exist
Key Points
• Like monarchies, oligarchies may depend on blood relations, but they may also depend on wealth, religion, or military hegemony.
• In de jure oligarchies, an elite group is given power by the law. For example, the law may give only nobility the right to vote, or a theocracy may be ruled by a group of religious leaders.
• In de facto oligarchies, those with more resources are able to gain political power, despite laws that ostensibly treat all citizens equally.
• Some contemporary authors have characterized the United States ‘ current state of affairs as being oligarchic in nature.
Key Terms
• elite: A special group or social class of people which have a superior intellectual, social or economic status as, the elite of society.
An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony. Oligarchies are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy. These types of states have been tyrannical throughout history, relying on public servitude and complacency in order to exist.
States may be oligarchies de jure or de facto. In de jure oligarchies, an elite group is given power by the law. The law may give only nobility the right to vote, or a theocracy may be ruled by a group of religious leaders. In de facto oligarchies, those with more resources are able to gain political power, despite laws that ostensibly treat all citizens equally. One example of this is a corporate oligarchy, or corporatocracy—a system in which power effectively rests with a small, elite group of inside individuals, sometimes from a small group of educational institutions, or influential economic entities or devices, such as banks, commercial entities, lobbyists that act in complicity with, or at the whim of the oligarchy, often with little or no regard for constitutionally protected prerogative. Monopolies are sometimes granted to state-controlled entities, such as the Royal Charter granted to the East India Company, or privileged bargaining rights to unions (labor monopolies) with very partisan political interests. Today’s multinational corporations function as corporate oligarchies with influence over democratically elected officials.
Some contemporary authors have characterized the United States’ current state of affairs as being oligarchic in nature. Jeffrey A. Winters argues that “oligarchy and democracy operate within a single system, and American politics is a daily display of their interplay. ” Bernie Sanders (I-VT) opined in a 2010 article from The Nation that an “upper-crust of extremely wealthy families are hell-bent on destroying the democratic vision of a strong middle-class which has made the United States the envy of the world. In its place they are determined to create an oligarchy in which a small number of families control the economic and political life of our country. ”
15.3C: Dictatorship and Totalitarianism
Dictatorships govern without consent of the people and in totalitarian dictatorships the power to govern extends to all aspects of life.
Learning Objectives
• Compare and contrast dictatorships with totalitarian governments
Key Points
• Dictatorship is a form of government in which the ruler has the power to govern without consent of those being governed.
• Totalitarian governments are those that regulate nearly every aspect of public and private behavior.
• Dictatorship concerns the source of the governing power (where the power comes from, the people or a single leader) and totalitarianism concerns the scope of the governing power (what is the government and how extensive is its power).
Key Terms
• totalitarianism: A system of government in which the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control, for example, a dictatorship.
• dictatorship: A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique.
Dictatorship and totalitarianism are often associated, but they are actually two separate phenomena. Dictatorship is a form of government in which the ruler has the power to govern without consent of those being governed. Dictatorship can also be defined simply as “a system that does not adhere to democracy,” where democracy is defined as a form of government where those who govern are selected through contested elections. A dictator’s power can originate in his or her family, political position, or military authority.
Many dictatorships are also totalitarian. Totalitarian governments are those that exert total control over the governed; they regulate nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. Totalitarianism entails a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority, and it strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. Totalitarian regimes stay in political power through all-encompassing propaganda campaigns (disseminated through the state-controlled mass media), a single party that is often marked by political repression, personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror.
In other words, dictatorship concerns the source of the governing power (where the power comes from—the people or a single leader) and totalitarianism concerns the scope of the governing power (what is the government and how extensive is its power). In this sense, dictatorship (government without people’s consent) exists in contrast with democracy (government whose power comes from people) and totalitarianism (where government controls every aspect of people’s lives) exists in contrast with pluralism (where government allows multiple lifestyles and opinions). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.03%3A_Types_of_States/15.3B%3A_Oligarchy.txt |
Democracy is a form of government in which sovereignty is held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the central features of democratic governments
Key Points
• Democracies come in several forms, though all have competitive elections and freedoms of expression.
• Democracies must balance conflicting obligations to try to maximize freedom and protect individual rights.
• In most democracies, citizens are represented by elected lawmakers charged with drafting and voting on laws.
Key Terms
• representative democracy: A policy under the rule of people acting on the behalf of and, to a lesser extent, in the interests of the voting blocks by which they were elected.
• separation of powers: A theoretical model for governance, common in democratic states, which features the division of sovereign power into at least three (but sometimes up to six) organs of state in order to forestall tyranny, by preventing the acquisition of a monopoly of power by a monarch or oligarchy; also, such an arrangement.
• tyranny of the majority: A situation in which a government or other authority democratically supported by a majority of its subjects makes policies or takes actions benefiting that majority, without regard for the rights or welfare of the rest of its subjects.
Democracy is a form of government in which the power of government comes from the people. More formally, we might say that in democracy, the right to govern, or sovereignty, is held by the majority of citizens within a country or state. Even though there is no universally accepted definition of democracy, all definitions include two fundamental principles: First, in a democracy, all citizens have equal access to power. Second, all citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties.
Democracies come in several forms, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others. An essential process in representative democracies is competitive elections that are fair both substantively and procedurally. Furthermore, freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are essential so that citizens are informed and able to vote in their personal interests.
Democracies must balance conflicting obligations to try to maximize freedom and protect individual rights. For example, many democracies limit representation. In a full, direct, democracy, every citizen would be able to vote on every law. But in reality, in most democracies, citizens are represented by elected lawmakers charged with drafting and voting on laws. Many also institute measures such as the separation of powers, which divides executive, judicial, and legislative authority among different branches of government to protect against the possibility that a single government or branch of government could accumulate too much power and become harmful to democracy itself. Although such measures may limit representation, they make lawmaking more efficient and help guard against dangers such as the tyranny of the majority. Although majority rule is often described as a characteristic feature of democracy, without responsible government it is possible for the rights of a minority to be abused by the tyranny of the majority, in which a majority institutes policies abusive to a minority (for example, a racial majority may deny a racial minority access to education, housing, jobs, or other resources). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.03%3A_Types_of_States/15.3D%3A_Democracy.txt |
States are not necessarily the same as nations. New state spaces are redefining borders, and they may not be ruled by national governments.
Learning Objectives
• Explain how political boundaries are changing due to globalization
Key Points
• A global city is a city that is central to the global economic or cultural system, such as New York or London.
• Not only are global cities important economically, but they are also politically unique. In some ways, global cities are more intimately connected to the global economic system and to other global cities than they are to surrounding regions or national settings.
• Another example of a new state space is seen in regional and international governments such as the European Union.
• State power is not restricted to the national level. New state spaces are evolving at both the local level (global cities) and the international level (the European Union).
Key Terms
• European Union: A supranational organization created in the 1950s to bring the nations of Europe into closer economic and political connection. At the beginning of 2007, 27 member nations were Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
• Global city: A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system.
• Political borders: A border is a geographical boundary of political entities or legal jurisdictions.
For the last couple centuries, states have been largely coterminous with nations: the two tend to overlap. But states are not necessary the same as nations, and state boundaries will not necessarily always be the same as national boundaries. Recent sociological work has argued that, with globalization, relevant political borders are changing. This branch of sociology defines new state spaces as geographical spaces that are not governed simply by national governments. Instead, they may be more directly influenced by local, regional, or even international governmental bodies. One of the most prominent theories in this field is that of global cities.
Global Cities
A global city is a city that is central to the global economic system, such as New York or London. According to global cities theory, globalization is not a process that affects all places evenly. Globalization is carried out by certain cities, which can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Some of these cities are absolutely central to the operation of the global economic system, and some are more peripheral. The most complex and central cities are known as global cities.
Not only are global cities important economically, but they are also politically unique. In some ways, global cities are more intimately connected to the global economic system and to other global cities than they are to surrounding regions or national settings. In general, global cities tend to actively influence and participate in international effents and world affairs. They may be national capitals, or they may host the headquarters of international organizations such as the World Bank, NATO, or the UN. They also tend to have large expatriate communities, groups of people from other countries, who give the cities a cosmpolitan flair and also increase the relevance of foreign political events for global cities.
Regional and International Government
Another example of a new state space is seen in regional and international governments such as the European Union. The European Union is a confederation of 27 European states. It was originally formed to encourage and enable economic cooperation, but has grown to have a good deal of political power, most notably directing a Common Agricultural Policy for member states. Thus, citizens of European countries are governed not only by local and national states, but also by the European Union.
State power is not restricted to the national level. New state spaces are evolving at both the local level (global cities) and the international level (the European Union).
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Democracy is an egalitarian form of government in which all the citizens of a nation together determine policy, laws, and state actions.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the definition of democracy: its core qualities, and any controversy over those qualities
Key Points
• The most common system that is deemed democratic in the modern world is parliamentary democracy in which the voting public takes part in elections and chooses politicians to represent them in a legislative assembly.
• A purer form is direct democracy in which the voting public makes direct decisions or participates directly in the political process.
• Elements considered essential to democracy include freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, so that citizens are adequately informed and able to vote according to their own best interests as they see them.
• Majority rule is often listed as a characteristic of democracy. However, it is also possible for a minority to be oppressed by a tyranny of the majority in the absence of governmental or constitutional protections of individual or group rights.
Key Terms
• egalitarian: Characterized by social equality and equal rights for all people.
• civil society: All of the institutions, voluntary organizations, and corporate bodies that are less than the state but greater than the family.
• Parliament: A democratic government’s legislature.
Democracy is an egalitarian form of government in which all the citizens of a nation together determine public policy, the laws, and the actions of their state. It requires that all citizens (meeting certain qualifications) have an equal opportunity to express their opinion. In practice, democracy is the extent to which a given system approximates this ideal. A given political system is referred to as a democracy if it allows a certain approximation to ideal democracy. Although no country has ever granted all its citizens (i.e. including minors) the vote, most countries today hold regular elections based on egalitarian principles, at least in theory.
The most common system that is deemed democratic in the modern world is parliamentary democracy in which the voting public takes part in elections and chooses politicians to represent them in a legislative assembly. The members of the assembly then make decisions with a majority vote. A purer form is direct democracy in which the voting public makes direct decisions or participates directly in the political process. Elements of direct democracy exist on a local level and in exceptions on the national level in many countries, although these systems coexist with representative assemblies.
The term democracy comes from the Greek word δ (dēmokratía), “rule of the people,” which was coined from δ (dēmos), “people,” and κ (kratia), “rule,” in the middle of the 5th-4th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BCE. Other cultures since Greece have significantly contributed to the evolution of democracy, such as Ancient Rome, Europe, and North and South America. The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment and in the American and French Revolutions. The right to vote has been expanded in many jurisdictions over time from relatively narrow groups (such as wealthy men of a particular ethnic group), with New Zealand the first nation to grant universal suffrage for all its citizens in 1893.
Elements considered essential to democracy include freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, so that citizens are adequately informed and able to vote according to their own best interests as they see them. The term “democracy” is often used as shorthand for liberal democracy, which may include elements such as political pluralism, equality before the law, the right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances, due process, civil liberties, human rights, and elements of civil society outside the government. Democracy is often confused with the republic form of government. In some definitions of republic, a republic is a form of democracy. Other definitions make republic a separate, unrelated term.
While there is no universally accepted definition of democracy, equality and freedom have both been identified as important characteristics of democracy since ancient times. These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to legislative processes. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no unreasonable restrictions can apply to anyone seeking to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a constitution.
According to some theories of democracy, popular sovereignty is the founding principle of such a system. However, the democratic principle has also been expressed as “the freedom to call something into being which did not exist before, which was not given … and which therefore, strictly speaking, could not be known. ” This type of freedom, which is connected to human natality, or the capacity to begin anew, sees democracy as “not only a political system… [but] an ideal, an aspiration, really, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it is to be human—of what it is a human should be to be fully human. ”
In the United States, separation of powers is often cited as a central attribute, but in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the dominant principle is that of parliamentary sovereignty (whilst maintaining judicial independence). In other cases, democracy is used to mean direct democracy. Though the term “democracy” is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles are applicable to private organizations and other groups as well.
Majority rule is often listed as a characteristic of democracy. However, it is also possible for a minority to be oppressed by a tyranny of the majority in the absence of governmental or constitutional protections of individual or group rights. An essential part of an ideal representative democracy is competitive elections that are fair both substantively and procedurally. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4A%3A_Democracy.txt |
Participatory democracy emphasized the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems.
Learning Objectives
• List the key qualities of participatory democracy and some of its historical manifestations
Key Points
• Participatory democracy tends to advocate more involved forms of citizen participation than traditional representative democracy.
• Participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a population to make meaningful contributions to decision making, and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities.
• In 8th and 7th century Ancient Greece, the informal distributed power structure of the villages and minor towns began to be displaced with collectives of Oligarchs seizing power as the villages and towns coalesced into city states.
• Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of a law’s legitimacy.
• Demarchy is a hypothetical system where government is heavily decentralized into smaller independent groups and where randomly selected decision makers have been chosen to govern, and each group is responsible for one or several functions in society.
• Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of a law’s legitimacy.
• Demarchy is a hypothetical system where government is heavily decentralized into smaller independent groups. Each group is responsible for one or several functions in society.
Key Terms
• Demarchy: Demarchy (or lottocracy) is a form of government in which the state is governed by randomly selected decision makers who have been selected by sortition (lot) from a broadly inclusive pool of eligible citizens.
• Occupy movement: The Occupy movement is an international protest movement against social and economic inequality; its primary goal is to to make economic structure and power relations in society more fair.
• deliberative democracy: Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy is a form of democracy in which deliberation is central to decision making. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of legitimacy for the lawmaking processes.
Participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. The etymological roots of democracy (Greek demos andkratos) imply that the people are in power and, thus, that all democracies are participatory. However, participatory democracy tends to advocate more involved forms of citizen participation than traditional representative democracy. Participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a population to make meaningful contributions to decision making and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities.
Participatory democracy has been a feature of human society since at least classical times. It is believed to have been a common practice of undeveloped people and hunter-gatherer tribes. In seventh and eighth century ancient Greece, the informal distributed power structure of the villages and minor towns began to be displaced with collectives of oligarchs seizing power as the villages and towns coalesced into city-states. A brief period where a region was governed almost totally by participatory democracy occurred during the Spanish civil war, from 1936-1938, in the parts of Spain controlled by anarchist Republicans. In the 1960s, the promotion and use of participatory democracy was a major theme for elements of the American Left. In 2011, participatory democracy became a notable feature of the Occupy movement, with Occupy camps around the world making decisions based on the outcome of working groups where every protestor gets to have his say, and by general assemblies where the decisions taken by working groups are effectively aggregated together.
Political variants of participatory democracy include consensus democracy, deliberative democracy, demarchy, and grassroots democracy. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of a law’s legitimacy. It adopts elements of both consensus decision making and majority rule. When practiced by small groups, it is possible for decision making to be both fully participatory and deliberative. But for large political entities, the democratic reform dilemma makes it difficult for any system of decision making based on political equality to involve both deliberation and inclusive participation. Demarchy is a hypothetical system where government is heavily decentralized into smaller independent groups and where randomly selected decision makers have been chosen to govern, and each group is responsible for one or several functions in society. The system seeks to avoid problems with centralized and electoral governance, while still providing a stable democratic system.
Some scholars argue for refocusing the term on community-based activity within the domain of civil society, based on the belief that a strong non-governmental public sphere is a precondition for the emergence of a strong liberal democracy. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4B%3A_Participatory_Democracy.txt |
Monarchies, in which sovereignty embodied in a single individual, eventually gave way to liberal democracies.
Learning Objectives
• Distinguish between an absolute monarchy and a constitutional monarchy
Key Points
• When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy and is a form of autocracy.
• Monarchies are associated with political or sociocultural hereditary rule, in which monarchs rule for life (although some monarchs do not hold lifetime positions).
• An absolute monarchy refers to when the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters.
• In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch retains a unique legal and ceremonial role.
• Throughout history, monarchies have been abolished, either through revolutions, legislative reforms, coups d’état, or wars.
• Liberal democracy traces its origins—and its name—to the European 18th century, also known as the Age of Enlightenment.
Key Terms
• Enlightenment: A 17th and 18th-century philosophical movement in European history; the Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason emphasizing rationalism.
• constitutional monarchy: A monarchy in which the monarch’s power is limited by a written constitution.
• absolute monarchy: A state over which a sole monarch has absolute and unlimited power.
A monarchy is a form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual, the monarch. A monarch that has few or no legal restraints in state and political matters is referred to as an absolute monarchy, a form of autocracy. Monarchies are associated with political or sociocultural hereditary rule, in which monarchs rule for life (although some monarchs do not hold lifetime positions). Throughout history, monarchies have been abolished, either through revolutions, legislative reforms, coups d’état or wars. The twentieth century saw a major escalation of this process, with many monarchies violently overthrown by revolution or war, or abolished as part of the process of decolonization. The 21st century has already seen several monarchies abolished, usually by peaceful means in a referendum.
Monarchy was the most common form of government into the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent, at least at the national level. Where it exists, it now often takes the form of constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch retains a unique legal and ceremonial role, but exercises limited or no political power pursuant to a constitution or tradition which allocates governing authority elsewhere. Currently, 44 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state—16 of those are Commonwealth realms that recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state.
Liberal democracy traces its origins, and its name, to the European 18th century, also known as the Age of Enlightenment. At the time, the vast majority of European states were monarchies, with political power held either by the monarch or the aristocracy. Near the end of the 18th century, these ideas inspired the American and French Revolutions, the latter giving birth to the ideology of liberalism, and instituting forms of government that attempted to apply the principles of the Enlightenment philosophers into practice. Reforms and revolutions helped move most European countries towards liberal democracy. Liberalism ceased being a fringe opinion and joined the political mainstream. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4C%3A_Monarchies_and_Liberal_Democracies.txt |
Liberal democracy requires universal suffrage, competitive politics, and the rule of law and is currently the dominant world political ideology.
Learning Objectives
• Defend the notion of liberal democracy using examples from its enlightenment origins
Key Points
• Liberal democracy is a common form of representative democracy.
• According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, with the presence of multiple and distinct political parties.
• The liberal democracies usually have universal suffrage, granting all adult citizens the right to vote regardless of race, gender, or property ownership.
• Liberal democracy traces its origins to the European 18th century, also known as the Age of Enlightenment.
• The Enlightenment intellectuals believed that human affairs should be guided by reason and principles of liberty and equality. They were opposed to the rule of undemocratic and illegitimate monarchies and aristocracies.
• Liberal democracies are currently the dominant form of political ideology in the modern world.
• The rule of law refers to the concept that laws should apply to those who govern as well as to the governed.
• The ideas of the Enlightenment inspired the American Revolution and the French Revolution, which gave birth to the ideology of liberalism.
• Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, reforms and revolutions helped move most European countries towards liberal democracy.
Key Terms
• the rule of law: The rule of law is a legal maxim whereby governmental decisions are made by applying known legal principles.
• Enlightenment: A 17th and 18th-century philosophical movement in European history; the Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason emphasizing rationalism.
• liberalism: Any political movement founded on the autonomy and personal freedom of the individual, progress and reform, and government by law with the consent of the governed.
Liberal democracy is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, with the presence of multiple and distinct political parties. Liberal democracies also usually have universal suffrage, granting all adult citizens the right to vote.
Liberal democracy traces its origins—and its name—to the European 18th century, also known as the Age of Enlightenment. At the time, the vast majority of European states were monarchies, with political power held either by the monarch or the aristocracy. The possibility of democracy had not been seriously considered in political theory since classical antiquity, and the widely held belief was that democracies would be inherently unstable and chaotic in their policies due to the changing whims of the people. It was further believed that democracy was contrary to human nature, as human beings were seen to be inherently evil, violent, and in need of a strong leader to restrain their destructive impulses.
The Enlightenment
These conventional views were first challenged by a relatively small group of Enlightenment intellectuals who believed that human affairs should be guided by reason and principles of liberty and equality. They argued that all people are created equal, and therefore political authority cannot be justified on the basis of so-called noble blood, a supposed privileged connection to God, or any other characteristic alleged to make one person superior to others. They further argued that governments exist to serve the people, not vice versa, and that laws should apply to those who govern as well as to the governed, a concept known as the rule of law.
Reform and Revolution
Near the end of the 18th century, these ideas inspired the American Revolution and the French Revolution, the pair of which gave birth to the ideology of liberalism and instituted forms of government that attempted to apply the principles of Enlightenment philosophy in practice. The dominions of the British Empire became laboratories for liberal democracy from the mid-19th century onward. In Canada, responsible government began in the 1840s and in Australia and New Zealand parliamentary government elected by male suffrage and secret ballot was established from the 1850s and female suffrage achieved from the 1890s.
Reforms and revolutions helped move most European countries towards liberal democracy. Liberalism ceased to be a fringe opinion and joined the political mainstream. The political spectrum changed; traditional monarchy became more and more a fringe view and liberal democracy became more and more mainstream. By the end of the 19th century, liberal democracy was no longer only a liberal idea, but an idea supported by many different ideologies. After World War I and especially after World War II, liberal democracy achieved a dominant position among theories of government and is now endorsed by the vast majority of the political spectrum. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4D%3A_The_Spread_of_Liberal_Democracy.txt |
The United States is a federal constitutional republic in which the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.
Learning Objectives
• Diagram the basic form of the United States government, focusing on its branches and electoral system
Key Points
• The executive branch is headed by the President and is independent of the legislature.
• Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
• The Judicial branch, which is composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, exercises judicial power.
• Suffrage is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older.
• On a national level, the President is elected indirectly by the people through an Electoral College.
• The modern political party system in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
• Special interest groups advocate the cause of their specific constituency.
Key Terms
• legislative power: Legislative power refers to the power of a legislature, or deliberative assembly to pass, amend and repeal laws.
• electoral college: The Electoral College consists of individual state appointed electors who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
• suffrage: The right or chance to vote, express an opinion or participate in a decision.
The United States is a federal constitutional republic in which the President of the United States (the head of state and government), Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments. The executive branch is headed by the President and is independent of the legislature.
Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch, composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, exercises judicial power. The judiciary’s function is to interpret the United States Constitution and federal laws and regulations. This includes resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The federal government’s organization is explained in the Constitution.
In the United States, suffrage is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older. All states and the District of Columbia contribute to the electoral vote for president. Unlike the United Kingdom and other similar parliamentary systems that directly choose a particular political party, Americans vote for a specific candidate. Within the federal government, officials are elected at the federal (national), state and local levels. On a national level, the President is elected indirectly by the people through an Electoral College. People vote for electors who pledge, in turn, to cast their electoral votes for a particular candidate. In modern times, the electors virtually always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of Congress and offices at the state and local levels are directly elected.
The modern political party system in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852, and have controlled the United States Congress since at least 1856. Periodically, several other third parties achieve relatively minor representation at the national and state levels. Among the two major parties, the Democratic Party generally positions itself as left-of-center in American politics and supports a liberal platform, while the Republican Party generally positions itself as right-of-center and supports a conservative platform.
Special interest groups advocate the social, economic, and political causes of their specific constituencies. Business organizations will favor low corporate taxes and restrictions of the right to strike, whereas labor unions will support minimum wage legislation and protection for collective bargaining. Other private interest groups, such as churches and ethnic groups, are more concerned about broader policy issues that can impact their organizations or their beliefs. The amount of money spent by these special interests continues to grow, as campaigns become increasingly expensive. Many Americans have the feeling that these wealthy interests, whether corporations, unions, or specially organized campaign finance organizations called Political Action Committees (PACs), are so powerful that ordinary citizens can do little to counteract their influence. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4E%3A_Democracy_in_the_U.S..txt |
Women’s political participation has increased due to landmark events—women’s suffrage and the election of women to public office.
Learning Objectives
• Break down the achievements and shortcomings of the battle for women’s rights in the U.S.
Key Points
• Women’s rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.
• In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed.
• Woman suffrage in the United States was achieved gradually, at state and local levels, during the 19th century and early 20th century, culminating in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• The Nineteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”.
• The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed measure that stated that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.” The amendment died in 1982 because not enough states had ratified it.
• While women are generally as likely to vote as men in developed countries, women are underrepresented in political positions. Women make up a very small percentage of elected officials, both at local and national levels.
Key Terms
• Equal Rights Amendment: The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women.
• Nineteenth Amendment: The amendment to the United States Constitution, passed in 1920, that gave women the right to vote.
• suffrage: The right or chance to vote, express an opinion or participate in a decision.
Women’s rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies. In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed. The women’s rights movement functions in response to an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls in favor of men and boys.
Women’s suffrage in the United States was achieved gradually, at state and local levels, during the 19th century and early 20th century, culminating in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment stated, “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Politicians responded to the newly enlarged electorate by emphasizing issues of special interest to women—prohibition, child health, public schools, and world peace. Women responded to these issues, but in terms of general voting, they shared the same outlook and the same voting behavior as men.
In the United States, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was created in 1966 with the purpose of bringing about equality for all women. NOW was one important group that fought for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This amendment stated that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.” But there was disagreement on how the proposed amendment would be understood. Supporters believed it would guarantee women equal treatment. But critics feared it might deny women the right be financially supported by their husbands. The amendment died in 1982 because not enough states had ratified it. ERAs have been introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress, but they have never been ratified.
While women are generally as likely to vote in developed countries, they are underrepresented in political positions. Women make up a very small percentage of elected officials, both at local and national levels. In the U.S., for instance, in the 109th Congress (2005-2007) there were only 14 female Senators (out of 100) and 70 Congressional Representatives (out of 435). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4F%3A_The_Political_Participation_of_Women.txt |
Theories of democracy advocate different degrees of participation by the people with the government.
Learning Objectives
• Distinguish between parliamentary democracy, minimal democracy, direct democracy, radical democracy and deliberative democracy, and relate them to the concept of “true” democracy and freedom
Key Points
• Democracy, or “rule by the people,” is an egalitarian form of government in which all the citizens of a nation determine public policy, the laws, and the actions of their state together, requiring that all citizens have an equal opportunity to express their opinion.
• The most common system that is deemed “democratic” in the modern world is parliamentary democracy, in which the voting public takes part in elections and chooses politicians to represent them in a legislative assembly.
• Theoretically, Aristotle contrasted rule by the many (democracy/polity) with rule by the few (oligarchy/aristocracy) and with rule by a single person (tyranny or today autocracy/monarchy).
• Under minimalism, democracy is a system of government in which citizens give teams of political leaders the right to rule in periodic elections.
• Direct democracy holds that citizens should participate directly in making laws and policies, and not do so through their representatives.
• Deliberative democracy is based on the notion that democracy is government by discussion.
• Deliberative democracy is based on the notion that democracy is government by discussion.
• Radical democracy is based on the idea that there are hierarchical and oppressive power relations that exist in society
Key Terms
• democracy: a system of rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives
• autocracy: A form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual.
• deliberative democracy: Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy is a form of democracy in which deliberation is central to decision making. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of legitimacy for the lawmaking processes.
• direct democracy: Direct democracy (or pure democracy) is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives.
What Is A Democracy?
Democracy, or rule by the people, is an egalitarian form of government in which all the citizens of a nation determine public policy, the laws, and the actions of their state together. Democracy requires that all citizens have an equal opportunity to express their opinion. In practice, democracy is the extent to which a given system approximates this ideal, and a given political system is referred to as a democracy if it allows a certain approximation to ideal democracy. Although no country has ever granted all its citizens the right to vote, most countries today hold regular elections based on egalitarian principles, at least in theory.
The most common system that is deemed democratic in the modern world is parliamentary democracy, in which the voting public takes part in elections and chooses politicians to represent them in a legislative assembly. The members of the assembly then make decisions with a majority vote. A purer form is direct democracy in which the voting public makes direct decisions or participates directly in the political process. Elements of direct democracy exist on a local level and, in exceptions, on the national level in many countries, though these systems coexist with representative assemblies.
Theoretically, Aristotle contrasted rule by the many (democracy/polity) with rule by the few (oligarchy/aristocracy) and with rule by a single person (tyranny or autocracy/monarchy). He also thought that there was a good and a bad variant of each system (he considered democracy to be the degenerate counterpart to polity). For Aristotle, the underlying principle of democracy is freedom, since only in a democracy can the citizens have a share in freedom. There are two main aspects of freedom: (1) being ruled and ruling in turn, since everyone is equal according to number, not merit, and; (2) to be able to live as one pleases.
Among political theorists, there are many contending conceptions of democracy:
Minimalist Democracy
Under minimalism, democracy is a system of government in which citizens give teams of political leaders the right to rule in periodic elections. According to this minimalist conception, citizens cannot and should not rule because, for example, on most issues, most of the time, they have no clear views or their views are not well-founded.
Direct Democracy
Direct democracy, on the other hand, holds that citizens should participate directly in making laws and policies, and not do so through their representatives. Proponents of direct democracy offer varied reasons to support this view, declaring that political activity can be valuable in itself, since it socializes and educates citizens, and popular participation can check powerful elites. Most importantly, according to this theory, citizens do not really rule themselves unless they directly decide laws and policies for themselves.
Deliberative Democracy
Deliberative democracy is based on the notion that democracy is government by discussion. Deliberative democrats contend that laws and policies should be based upon reasons that all citizens can accept. The political arena should be one in which leaders and citizens make arguments, listen, and change their minds.
Radical Democracy
Radical democracy is based on the idea that there are hierarchical and oppressive power relations that exist in society. Democracy’s role is to make visible and challenge those relations by allowing for difference, dissent, and antagonisms in the decision making processes. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.04%3A_Democracy/15.4G%3A_Theories_of_Democracy.txt |
The public sphere is composed of voluntary associations that promote social capital and social cohesion while enhancing democracy.
Learning Objectives
• Formulate an argument which advocates for a strong civil society based on the definitions of civil society in this text
Key Points
• Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests.
• Voluntary associations build social capital, trust, and shared values, which are transferred into the political sphere and help to hold society together, facilitating an understanding of the interconnectedness of society and interests within it.
• Critics argue that the public sphere can be undemocratic, noting that civil society actors have now obtained a remarkable amount of political power without anyone directly electing or appointing them.
• The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action.
• The basic belief in public sphere theory is that political action is steered by the public sphere and that the only legitimate governments are those that listen to the public sphere.
• The basic belief in public sphere theory is that political action is steered by the public sphere and that the only legitimate governments are those that listen to the public sphere.
Key Terms
• Sphere of Public Authority: The Sphere of Public Authority is that of the state, the realm of the police, and the ruling class.
• Public sphere: The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. It mediates between the private sphere and the Sphere of Public Authority.
• Third sector: The voluntary sector or community sector (also non-profit sector or “not-for-profit” sector) is the sphere of social activity undertaken by organizations that are for non-profit and non-governmental. This sector is also called the third sector, in reference to the public sector and the private sector. Civic sector is another term for the sector, emphasizing the sector’s relationship to civil society.
Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests. It is sometimes considered to include the family and the private sphere and then referred to as the third sector of society, distinct from government and business. Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon defines civil society as 1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens, or 2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government. Sometimes the term is used in the more general sense of “the elements such as freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, etc, that make up a democratic society. ”
Civil Society and Democratic Political Society
The literature on relations between civil society and democratic political society have their roots in early liberal writings like those of Alexis de Tocqueville. However, they were developed in significant ways by 20th century theorists like Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, who identified the role of political culture in a democratic order as vital. They argued that the political element of many voluntary organizations facilitates better awareness and a more informed citizenry, who make better voting choices, participate in politics, and hold government more accountable as a result. The statutes of these organizations have often been considered micro-constitutions because they accustom participants to the formalities of democratic decision making.
More recently, Robert D. Putnam has argued that even non-political organizations in civil society are vital for democracy. This is because they build social capital, trust, and shared values, which are transferred into the political sphere and help to hold society together, facilitating an understanding of the interconnectedness of society, and interests within it.
Others, however, have questioned how democratic civil society actually is. Some have noted that the civil society actors have now obtained a remarkable amount of political power without anyone directly electing or appointing them. It has also been argued that civil society is biased towards the global north. Partha Chatterjee has argued that, in most of the world, “civil society is demographically limited. ” For Jai Sen, civil society is a neo-colonial project driven by global elites in their own interests. Finally, other scholars have argued that, since the concept of civil society is closely related to democracy and representation, it should in turn be linked with ideas of nationality and nationalism.
The Public Sphere
The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. It is “a discursive space in which individuals and groups congregate to discuss matters of mutual interest and, where possible, to reach a common judgment. ” The public sphere can be seen as “a theater in modern societies in which political participation is enacted through the medium of talk” and “a realm of social life in which public opinion can be formed. ”
The public sphere mediates between the private sphere and the Sphere of Public Authority, “The private sphere comprised civil society in the narrower sense, that is to say, the realm of commodity exchange and of social labor. ” Whereas the Sphere of Public Authority dealt with the state, or realm of the police and the ruling class, the public sphere crossed over both these realms and “through the vehicle of public opinion it put the state in touch with the needs of society. ” “This area is conceptually distinct from the state: it [is] a site for the production and circulation of discourses that can in principle be critical of the state. ” The public sphere “is also distinct from the official economy; it is not an arena of market relations but rather one of discursive relations, a theater for debating and deliberating rather than for buying and selling. ” These distinctions between “state apparatuses, economic markets, and democratic associations…are essential to democratic theory. ” The people themselves came to see the public sphere as a regulatory institution against the authority of the state. The study of the public sphere centers on the idea of participatory democracy, and how public opinion becomes political action.
The basic belief in public sphere theory is that political action is steered by the public sphere and that the only legitimate governments are those that listen to the public sphere. “Democratic governance rests on the capacity of and opportunity for citizens to engage in enlightened debate. ” Much of the debate over the public sphere involves what is the basic theoretical structure of the public sphere, how information is deliberated in the public sphere, and what influence the public sphere has over society.
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The United States is a representative federal democracy driven by elections in which citizens’ and lobbyists’ diverse interests compete.
Learning Objectives
• List three defining characteristics of the U.S. political system
Key Points
• U.S. politics are shaped by two major political parties: Democrats and Republicans.
• Citizens have competing interests that differ based on their different backgrounds—the types of jobs they have, their race or age, whether they have children, etc.
• Politics are also shaped by special interest groups, lobbyists, and the media.
Key Terms
• lobbyist: A person remunerated to persuade (to lobby) politicians to vote in a certain way or otherwise use their office to affect a desired result.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, respectively.
The United States is a representative democracy. Citizens elect representatives to national, state, and local government; those representatives create the laws that govern U.S. society. Although nothing in U.S. law requires it, in practice, the political system is dominated by political parties. With rare exceptions, elections are decided between the two major parties: Democrats and Republicans. Although citizens vote for individual candidates, most candidates are affiliated with one part or another. Therefore, much of U.S. politics boils down to party politics.
The United States is also a diverse society, and citizens’ competing interests are reflected in politics. Citizens may have different voting preferences depending on their family backgrounds, the types of jobs they have, their race or age, whether they have children, and so on. To understand the electoral process, we must understand how different interests come into play.
Individual citizens are not the only players in U.S. politics. Although individual citizens are the only ones who can cast votes, special interest groups and lobbyists may influence elections and law-making with money and other resources. At times, this influence has grown so noticeable that some have called into question whether the U.S. is truly a democracy of the people or something more like an oligarchy of special interest groups. The media also play an important role in politics by influencing public sentiment and acting as an information filter.
15.5B: Political Parties and Elections
Political parties seek to influence government policy by nominating select candidates to hold seats in political offices.
Learning Objectives
• Evaluate the party system, both in proportional representation voting systems and two-party systems
Key Points
• Parties participate in electoral campaigns and educational outreach or protest actions.
• Parties often espouse an expressed ideology or vision bolstered by a written platform with specific goals, forming a coalition among disparate interests.
• The type of electoral system is a major factor in determining the type of political party system.
• In countries that have a proportional representation voting system, three or more parties are often elected to parliament in significant proportions, and thus may have more access to public office.
• In two-party systems, two political parties dominate to such an extent that electoral success under the banner of any other party is almost impossible.
• Political parties, still called factions by some, are lobbied vigorously by organizations, businesses, and special interest groups such as trades unions.
• Multi-party systems are systems in which more than two parties are represented and elected to public office.
• Political parties, still called factions by some, are lobbied vigorously by organizations, businesses, and special interest groups such as trades unions.
Key Terms
• faction: A group of people, especially within a political organization, who express a shared belief or opinion different from people who are not part of the group.
• two-party system: A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties.
• proportional representation: A voting principle aimed at securing a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates (usually political parties) obtain in elections, and the percentage of seats they receive in the elected body.
Typically, a political party is a political organization seeking to influence government policy by nominating its own select candidates to hold seats in political office, via the process of electoral campaigning. Parties often espouse an expressed ideology or vision, bolstered by a written platform with specific goals that form a coalition among disparate interests.
The type of electoral system is a major factor in determining the type of party political system. In countries with a simple plurality voting system there can be as few as two parties elected in any given jurisdiction. In countries that have a proportional representation voting system, as exists throughout Europe, or a preferential voting system, such as in Australia or Ireland, three or more parties are often elected to parliament in significant proportions, allowing more access to public office. In a nonpartisan system, no official political parties exist, sometimes due to legal restrictions on political parties. In nonpartisan elections, each candidate is eligible for office on his or her own merits. In nonpartisan legislatures, no formal party alignments within the legislature is common.
In two-party systems, such as in Jamaica and Ghana, the two political parties dominate to such an extent that electoral success under the banner of any other party is virtually impossible. Multi-party systems are systems in which more than two parties are represented and elected to public office. Australia, Canada, Pakistan, India, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Norway are examples of countries with two strong main parties, along with smaller or “third” parties that have also obtained representation. The smaller parties may form part of a coalition government together with one of the larger parties, or act independently.
Political parties, still called factions by some, are lobbied vigorously by organizations, businesses and special interest groups such as trades unions. Money and gifts-in-kind to a party, or its leading members, may be offered as incentives. Such donations are the traditional source of funding for all right-of-center cadre parties. In the late 19th century, these parties faced opposition by the newly founded left-of-center workers’ parties, who formed a new party type—the mass membership party—and a new source of political fundraising—membership dues. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.05%3A_The_U.S._Political_System/15.5A%3A_The_U.S._Political_System.txt |
Voter turnout depends on socioeconomic factors such as education, income, gender, age, and race.
Learning Objectives
• Describe a few factors that determine voter turnout
Key Points
• Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. “Eligible voters” are defined differently in different countries, and the term should not be confused with the total adult population.
• Socioeconomic factors significantly affect how likely individuals are to vote. The most important socioeconomic factor in voter turnout is education. The more educated a person is, the more likely he or she is to vote.
• While women are generally as likely to vote as men in developed countries, women are underrepresented in political positions.
• Age is another crucial factor determining voter turnout. Young people are much less likely to vote than are older people, and they are less likely to be politicians.
• Generally, racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to vote in elections and are underrepresented in political positions.
• Political power is also stratified through income and education. Wealthier and more educated people are more likely to vote.
Key Terms
• voter turnout: Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election.
• socioeconomic factors: Socioeconomic factors include education, income, ethnicity, race, and gender.
• racial and ethnic minorities: A group of people who have a different ethnicity, religion, language, or culture than that of the majority of people in the place where they live.
Voter Turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. “Eligible voters” are defined differently in different countries, and the term should not be confused with the total adult population. After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s. In general, low turnout may be due to disenchantment, indifference, or contentment. Low turnout is often considered to be undesirable, and there is much debate over the factors that affect turnout and how to increase it. In spite of significant study devoted to the issue, scholars are divided on reasons for the decline. The causes of decreasing turnout have been attributed to a wide array of economic, demographic, cultural, technological, and institutional factors. There have been many efforts to increase turnout and encourage voting.
In each nation, some parts of society are more likely to vote than others. In high-turnout nations, these differences tend to be limited: as turnout approaches 90 percent, it becomes difficult to find differences of much significance between voters and nonvoters. In low turnout nations, however, the differences between voters and non-voters can be quite marked. Socioeconomic factors significantly affect whether or not individuals voting tendencies. The most important socioeconomic factor in voter turnout is education. The more educated a person is, the more likely he or she is to vote, even when controlling for other factors such as income and class that are closely associated with education level.
Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Race, Income
There is some debate over the effects of ethnicity, race, and gender on voter turnout. While women are generally as likely as men to vote in developed countries, women are underrepresented in political positions. Women make up a very small percentage of elected officials, both at local and national levels. In the U.S., for instance, in the 109th Congress (2005-2007) there were only 14 female Senators (out of 100) and 70 Congressional Representatives (out of 435).
Age is another crucial factor determining voter turnout. Young people are much less likely to vote than are older people, and they are less likely to be politicians. The lower voting rates of young people in the U.S. help explain why things like Medicare and Social Security in the U.S. are facing looming crises: the elderly will retain many of the benefits of these programs and are unwilling to allow them to be changed even though young people will be the ones to suffer the consequences of these crises.
Generally, racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to vote in elections and are also underrepresented in political positions. If blacks were represented in proportion to their numbers in the U.S., there should be 12 Senators and 52 Members of the House. In 2009, there was 1 black Senator (Roland Burris) and 39 Members of the House. In 2010, the number in the House increased slightly to 41 (7.8 percent), but remained at just 1 percent of the Senate.
Political power is also stratified through income and education. Wealthier and more educated people are more likely to vote. Additionally, wealthier and more educated people are more likely to hold political positions. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, the candidates, John Kerry, and George W. Bush, were both Yale University alumni. John Kerry was a lawyer and George W. Bush had an MBA from Harvard. Both were white, worth millions of dollars, and came from families involved in politics. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.05%3A_The_U.S._Political_System/15.5C%3A_Voting_Behavior.txt |
Lobbying describes paid activity in which special interest groups argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the significance of lobbying according to its multiple instantiations
Key Points
• Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interests hire well-connected, professional advocates, often lawyers.
• Lobbying happens at every level of government, including federal, state, county, municipal, and local governments.
• A lobbyist, according to the legal sense of the word, is a professional, often a lawyer.
• Pro bono clients offer activities like fundraisers and awards ceremonies on neutral territory to meet and socialize with local legislators.
• Corporations which lobby actively tend to be few in number, large, and often sell to the government.
Key Terms
• corporations: Plural of corporation.
• lobbyist: A person remunerated to persuade (to lobby) politicians to vote in a certain way or otherwise use their office to effect a desired result.
Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interests hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is a highly controversial phenomenon, often seen in a negative light by journalists and the American public, and frequently misunderstood. The current pattern suggests much lobbying is done by corporations although a wide variety of coalitions representing diverse groups are possible. Lobbying happens at every level of government, including federal, state, county, municipal, and even local governments.
Lobbyists are intermediaries between client organizations and lawmakers: They explain to legislators what their organizations want, and they explain to their clients what obstacles elected officials face. Many lobbyists work in lobbying firms or law firms, some of which retain clients outside of lobbying. Others work for advocacy groups, trade associations, companies, and state and local governments. Lobbyists can also be one type of government official, such as a governor of a state, who presses officials in Washington for specific legislation.
While the bulk of lobbying happens by business and professional interests who hire paid professionals, some lobbyists represent non-profits and work pro bono for issues in which they are personally interested. Pro bono clients offer activities like fundraisers and awards ceremonies on neutral territory to meet and socialize with local legislators.
Corporations which lobby actively tend to be large corporations, few in number, and often they sell to the government. Most corporations do not hire lobbyists. One study found that the actual number of firms which do lobbying regularly is fewer than 300, and that the percent of firms engaged in lobbying was 10 percent from 1998-2006. Corporations considering lobbying run into substantial barriers to entry: Corporations have to research the relevant laws about lobbying, hire lobbying firms, and cultivate influential people and make connections. For example, when an issue regarding a change in immigration policy arose, large corporations that were currently lobbying switched focus somewhat to take account of the new regulatory world, but new corporations—even ones likely to be affected by any possible rulings on immigration—stayed out of the lobbying fray, according to the study. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.05%3A_The_U.S._Political_System/15.5D%3A_Lobbyists_and_Special_Interest_Groups.txt |
Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups.
Learning Objectives
• Sketch an outline of the general African-American influence on U.S. politics from the mid 1800s to today
Key Points
• African Americans have the highest level of Congressional representation of any minority group in the U.S., though this doesn’t extend to the senate.
• Historically, African Americans were supporters of the Republican Party because it was Republican President Abraham Lincoln who granted freedom to American slaves.
• The African American trend of voting for Democrats can be traced back to the 1930s during the Great Depression, when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program provided economic relief for African Americans.
• African Americans tend to be conservative on issues related to the family but progressive on questions of social justice and social spending. They tend to hold far more conservative opinions on abortion, extramarital sex, and raising children out of wedlock than Democrats as a whole.
Key Terms
• conservative: A person who favors maintenance of the status quo or reversion to some earlier status.
• Great Depression: A major economic collapse that lasted from 1929 to 1940 in the US and a similar period in many other countries.
• Republican Party: The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery activists in 1854, it dominated politics nationally for most of the period 1860-1932. Currently the party’s platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S. political spectrum.
Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups, indicated by the highest level of voter registration and participation in elections among these groups in 2004. African Americans collectively attain higher levels of education than immigrants to the United States. African Americans also have the highest level of Congressional representation of any minority group in the U.S, though this doesn’t extend to the senate.
The large majority of African Americans support the Democratic Party. In the 2004 Presidential Election, Democrat John Kerry received 88 percent of the African American vote, compared to 11 percent for Republican George W. Bush. Although there is an African American lobby in foreign policy, it has not had the impact that African American organizations have had in domestic policy.
Historically, African Americans were supporters of the Republican Party because it was Republican President Abraham Lincoln who granted freedom to American slaves; at the time, the Republicans and Democrats represented the sectional interests of the North and South, respectively, rather than any specific ideology—both right and left were represented equally in both parties.
The African American trend of voting for Democrats can be traced back to the 1930s during the Great Depression, when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program provided economic relief for African Americans. Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition turned the Democratic Party into an organization of the working class and their liberal allies, regardless of region. The African American vote became even more solidly Democratic when Democratic presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for civil rights legislation during the 1960s.
African Americans tend to hold far more conservative opinions on abortion, extramarital sex, and raising children out of wedlock than Democrats as a whole. On financial issues, they are in line with Democrats, generally supporting a more progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce injustice and as well as more government spending on social services. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.05%3A_The_U.S._Political_System/15.5E%3A_African_Americans_as_a_Political_Force.txt |
Hispanics have the ability to be an influential force in politics, a fact that is especially true in areas with high Hispanic populations.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the nuances within the so-called ”Hispanic vote”
Key Points
• The term Hispanic is used in the United States to refer to people with origins in Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica.
• The majority of Hispanics either identify themselves as Democrats or support the Democratic party.
• Due to the homogeneity among Hispanic voters, they have the ability to be an influential force in American politics. This is especially true in areas with high Hispanic populations, and, based on demographic predictions, will continue to be important throughout the 21st century.
• Depending on their ethnicity and background, Hispanics differ on voting trends. For example, Cuban Americans and Colombian Americans tend to favor conservative political ideologies. In contrast, Mexican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, and Dominican Americans tend to favor liberal views.
• The Presidency of George W. Bush had a significant impact on the political leanings of Hispanics and Latinos.
• In the 2006 midterm election, however, due to the unpopularity of the Iraq War, the heated debate concerning illegal immigration, and Republican-related Congressional scandals, Hispanics and Latinos went as strongly Democratic as they have since the Clinton years.
Key Terms
• Hispanic: of or relating to a Spanish-speaking people or culture, as in Latin America.
• midterm election: an election, held every four years, to elect members of Congress; during midterm elections, the president is not elected
• Democratic Party: The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other of which is the Republican Party.
The term Hispanic, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, is used in the United States to identify people with origins in Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, Peru, Cuba, or Costa Rica.
Hispanic Party Affiliation
Depending on their location and background, Hispanics differ on their political views. While Hispanics have a diversity of views, they disproportionately identify themselves as Democratic and/or support Democratic candidates. Only 23% of Hispanics identify as Republicans. For example, in the 2010 midterm elections, in spite of general Republican victories, 60% of Hispanics voted Democratic, while only 38% voted Republican. In 2008, 67% of Hispanics supported Obama. In 2006, 69% of Hispanic voters supported Democratic candidates in congressional races, while only 30% supported Republican candidates.
Demographic Trends
Due to the homogeneity among Hispanic voters, they have the ability to be an influential force in American politics. This is especially true in areas with high Hispanic populations. Statistics indicate that the American Hispanic population is increasing and will continue to do so steadily over the ensuing decades of the 21st century. A 2012 study, conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies, projected that in November 2012, Hispanics would comprise 17.2% of the total U.S. population. The same study showed that, in the United States, Hispanics now constitute 15% of adults, 11.2% of adult citizens, and 8.9% of actual voters. In comparison, the same study showed that in 2012, non-Hispanic whites were expected to constitute 73.4% of the national vote. Non-Hispanic blacks were only expected to represent 12.2% of the national vote.
Political Differences in the Hispanic Community
Hispanics are often classified as a unitary voting bloc, but there are differences in political preferences within this community. For example, Cuban Americans and Colombian Americans tend to favor conservative political ideologies and to support the Republican Party. Mexican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, and Dominican Americans, on the other hand, tend to favor liberal views and to support the Democratic party. That being said, because the latter groups are far more numerous (Mexican Americans account for 64% of Hispanics in the U.S.) the Democratic Party is considered to be in a far stronger position with Hispanics overall. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.05%3A_The_U.S._Political_System/15.5F%3A_Hispanics_as_a_Political_Force.txt |
Media are means of transmitting information, which is important for a democracy in which citizens must make their own informed decisions.
Learning Objectives
• Give a concrete example of gatekeeping that may have political consequences
Key Points
• In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.
• Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites.
• Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television, and the majority of households have more than one.
• A central method in which the media influences the U.S. political system is through gatekeeping, a process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication.
• The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free and charge for access to the rest.
• The U.S. has three leading weekly newsmagazines: Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report.
• The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free and charge for access to the rest.
Key Terms
• media: In communications, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.
• Gatekeeping: Gatekeeping is practiced by gatekeepers, people who control access to something, for example, via a city gate. In the late twentieth century, the term came into metaphorical use, referring to individuals who decide whether a given message will be distributed by a mass medium.
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data. Media are often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose. Media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large revenues, as well as large opposition in many parts of the world.
A central method in which the media influences the U.S. political system is through gatekeeping, a process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication. Gatekeeping occurs at all levels of the media structure, from a reporter deciding which sources are included in a story to editors deciding which stories are printed or covered, and includes media outlet owners and even advertisers. This, in turn, determines to a great extent which issues will be important to Americans and on the agendas of their elected officials.
The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver news and, significantly, the means to look up old news. Some organizations only make limited amounts of their output available for free, and charge for access to the rest. Other organizations allow their archives to be freely browsed. It is possible that the latter type obtain more influence, as they are true to the spirit of freedom of information by virtue of making it free. Anyone who has followed external links only to be confronted with a pay-to-view banner might attest that the reputations of organizations that charge is not enhanced by their charging policy, particularly when the same information is available from sources that don’t charge. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.05%3A_The_U.S._Political_System/15.5G%3A_The_Role_of_the_Media.txt |
There is a correlation between age and political activity/organization.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the ways in which age can influence political participation
Key Points
• Age influences rates of political participation, and it is a determining factor in the issues people care about.
• Older people tend to be more politically active and better organized. They are seen as being more influential in politics.
• Young people are less likely to vote than older people.
• The 2008 election of President Obama illustrated that young people can be organized and mobilized. Obama’s ability to mobilize young people was seen as a crucial factor in his electoral success.
Key Terms
• new media: Interactive digital media, such as the Internet, as opposed to traditional media such as print and television.
• AARP: AARP, formally the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California. The organization is based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is “a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over… dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age, [providing] a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members. “
Age and Politics
Age is an important factor in U.S. politics because there is a correlation between age and rates of political participation and because it is a determining factor in the issues people care about.
Young people are much less likely to vote than are older people and are less likely to be politicians. The lower voting rates of young people in the U.S. help explain why things like Medicare and Social Security in the U.S. are facing looming crises—the elderly will retain many of the benefits of these programs and are unwilling to allow them to be changed even though young people will be the ones to suffer the consequences of these crises. Older people are also more organized, through organizations like the AARP, and they are more likely to vote as a block on issues that affect them directly. As a result, older individuals in the U.S. are seen as having more political power than younger people.
Mobilization According to Age
Given that there is a correlation between age and the issues relevant to those populations, some organizations have capitalized on these relationships in order to push political agendas.
Mobilizing the Elderly
The AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States -based, non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for retired people and people over the age of 50. On the one hand, AARP pursues its mission by providing services such as tax preparation help, discounts, and insurance for its members. On the other hand, AARP pursues its mission by mobilizing its immense resource base to lobby for policy change. AARP claims around 38 million members, making it one of the largest membership organizations in the United States. Its total revenue in 2006 was approximately \$1 billion, of which \$23 million was spent on lobbying. The AARP lobbies for issues that matter to older adults, such as health care and social security.
Mobilizing the Youth
Although they tend to be less organized and participate in lower numbers, young people also influence U.S. politics. Barack Obama was particularly noted for his popularity among young people. Obama’s campaign used the Internet to rally supporters and make his policies known, and the campaign’s use of the Internet targeted 18- to 29-year-olds, the age group most reliant on new media for political information. Obama’s campaign managers understood younger voters tended to ignore politicians because politicians tended to ignore issues which most concerned them. Politicians such as Obama focus on issues that are relevant to certain age groups in order to mobilize support. Obama’s ability to focus on these issues and reach out to young people is seen as one of the reasons for his success in the 2008 presidential election.
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War is an organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict that is carried on between states, nations, or other parties.
Learning Objectives
• Recall three possible outcomes of a civil war
Key Points
• War entails confrontation with weapons, military technology, or equipment used by armed forces who employ military tactics and operational art within the broad categories of military strategy and military logistics.
• Warfare refers to the set of techniques used by a group to carry out war.
• Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary method of coercing the capitulation of the other side, as opposed to the supporting role nuclear weaponry might take in a more conventional war.
• Where evenly matched adversaries decide that the conflict has resulted in a stalemate, they may cease hostilities to avoid further loss of life and property.
• Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in a treaty.
• Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with only a low level of military activity.
• Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in a treaty.
• Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with only a low level of military activity.
Key Terms
• insurgency: rebellion; revolt; the state of being insurgent
• civil war: A war fought between factions of the inhabitants of a single country, or the citizens of a single republic.
• treaty: A binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations.
War is an organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict that is carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional, and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and it is defined as a form of political violence.
War entails confrontation with weapons, military technology, or equipment used by armed forces who employ military tactics and operational art within the broad categories of military strategy and military logistics. War studies by military theorists have sought to identify the philosophy of war and to reduce it to a military science. Conventional warfare is an attempt to reduce an opponent’s military capability through open battle. Conventional war is declared between existing states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used, or they only see limited deployment in support of conventional military goals and maneuvers. Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary method of coercing the capitulation of the other side, as opposed to the supporting role nuclear weaponry might take in a more conventional war.
The political and economic circumstances of peace following a war are highly situational—post-war political and economic realities can not be forecasted. When evenly adversaries decide that a conflict has resulted in a stalemate, they may cease hostilities to avoid further loss of life and property. They may decide to restore the pre-war territorial boundaries, redraw boundaries at the line of military control, or negotiate to keep or exchange captured territory. Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in treaties, such as the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which ended the First World War.
Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with a low level of military activity. In some cases a treaty is never reached, but fighting may trail off and eventually stop after the political demands of the belligerent groups have been reconciled, a political settlement has been negotiated, the combatants are gradually killed or decide the conflict is futile, or the belligerents cease active military engagement but still threaten each other.
15.6B: Terrorism
Terrorism is an act of violence intended to create fear, which is then leveraged in order to achieve goals.
Learning Objectives
• Criticize an instance in history in which the term ”terrorist” or ”terrorism” has been misused to describe a religious group, government, or revolutionary action, using the definition of terrorism in this text
Key Points
• Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their objectives.
• An abiding characteristic of terrorism is indiscriminate use of violence against noncombatants to gain publicity for an individual, group or cause.
• The perpetrators of acts of terrorism can be individuals, groups or states.
• Religious terrorism is terrorism performed by groups or individuals, the motivation of which is typically rooted in faith-based tenets.
• The terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” (someone who engages in terrorism) carry strong negative connotations.
Key Terms
• perpetrator: One who perpetrates; especially, one who commits an offense or crime.
• terrorism: The deliberate commission of an act of violence to create an emotional response through the suffering of the victims in the furtherance of a political or social agenda.
• noncombatant: A non-fighting member of the armed forces
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. Although the term lacks a universal definition, common definitions of terrorism refer to violent acts intended to create fear (terror). These acts are perpetrated for a religious, political, or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians).
Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their objectives. It has been practiced by right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments. An abiding characteristic is the indiscriminate use of violence against noncombatants to gain publicity for a group, cause or individual. Therefore, the power of terrorism comes from its ability to leverage human fear to help achieve these goals.
Terrorists
The terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” carry strong negative connotations. These terms are often used as political labels to condemn such violence as immoral, indiscriminate, or unjustified or to condemn an entire segment of a population. However, some groups, when involved in a liberation struggle, have been called terrorists by the Western governments or media. In some liberation struggles, these same persons can become the leaders or statesman of these liberated nations. Thus, the perpetrators of terrorism can widely vary; terrorists can be individuals, groups or states. According to some definitions, clandestine or semi-clandestine state actors may also carry out terrorist acts outside the framework of a state of war.
Religious Terrorism
Religious terrorism is performed by groups or individuals, the motivation of which is typically rooted in faith-based tenets. Terrorist acts throughout the centuries have been performed on religious grounds with the hope to either spread or enforce a system of belief, viewpoint or opinion. Religious terrorism does not in itself necessarily define a specific religious standpoint or view, but instead usually defines an individual or group interpretation of that belief system ‘s teachings. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/15%3A_Government/15.06%3A_War_and_Terrorism/15.6A%3A_War.txt |
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict or war.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the difference between principled pacifism and pragmatic pacifism, and what they share in common
Key Points
• Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true interests of all.
• A peace movement is a social movement seeking to achieve ideals like the ending of a particular war.
• Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong.
• Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and inter-personal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found.
Key Terms
• pragmatic pacifism: Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and interpersonal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found.
• principled pacifism: Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong.
• international relations: International relations (I.R.) is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations (MNCs).
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict or war. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true interests of all. In international relations, peacetime is not only the absence of war or conflict, but also the presence of cultural and economic understanding.
Peace Movements
A peace movement is a social movement seeking to achieve ideals like the ending of a particular war (or all wars), while also minimizing inter-human violence with the goal of achieving world peace. Means to achieve these ends usually include advocacy, non-violent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, moral purchasing, supporting anti-war political candidates, demonstrations, lobbying to create legislation, and pacifism.
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes should be peacefully resolved. Other views of pacifism include:
• calls for abolition of the institutions of the military and war
• opposition to any organization of society through governmental force (anarchist or libertarian pacifism)
• rejection of physical violence to obtain political, economic or social goals
• opposition to violence under any circumstance, including defense of self and others
Pacifism may be based on moral principles or pragmatism. Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong. Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and inter-personal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found. Pacifists in general reject theories of a “just war. ”
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In the most simple of terms, economies consist of producing goods and exchanging them; they are fundamentally social systems.
Key Points
• Economies can be formal or informal, and economic activity can occur in various economic systems.
• Adam Smith is credited with formalizing capitalism in his 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations.
• Capitalism results from the interaction of commodities, money, labor, means of production, and production by consumers, laborers, and investors. The government avoids significant interference in the economy— the economy relies upon the law of supply and demand.
• Socialism is another type of economic system that seriously reorients the social and political institutions associated with the economy. Socialism and communism emphasize the public ownership of the means of production and public reallocation of wealth.
• An informal economy is economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; the terms “under the table” and “off the books” typically refer to this type of economy. Informal economic activity can be found in various economic systems.
• Many European countries have robust socialist parties and policies.
Key Terms
• production: Production is the act of creating output, a good or service which has value and contributes to the utility of individuals.
• money: A generally accepted means of exchange and measure of value.
• economy: The system of production and distribution and consumption. The overall measure of a currency system; as the national economy.
In the most simple of terms, economies consist of producing goods and exchanging them. Economies can be divided into formal economies and informal economies. A formal economy is the legal economy of a nation-state, as measured by a government’s gross national product (GNP), or the market value of all products and services produced by a country’s companies in a given year. Informal economies are frequently less institutionalized and include all economic practices that are neither taxed nor monitored by a government.
Economies are fundamentally social systems. They require exchanges or transactions; it is impossible for an individual to participate in an economy entirely independent of others. One cannot think of economies as discrete entities; economic systems necessarily interact with social and political systems.
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic and social system in which capital and non-labor factors of production, or the means of production, are privately controlled; labor, goods, and capital are traded in markets; profits are taken by owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to laborers. Though capitalism has developed incrementally since the sixteenth century, Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith is largely credited with outlining the theory in its most fully-fledged form in his 1776 tome An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
The Market
A market is a central space of exchange through which people are able to buy and sell goods and services. In a capitalist economy, the prices of goods and services is mainly controlled through the principles of supply and demand and competition. “Supply and demand” refers to the balancing of the amount of a good or service produced and the amount available for sale. Prices rise when demand exceeds supply and fall when supply exceeds demand. The market coordinates itself through pricing until a new equilibrium price and quantity is reached. Competition arises when many producers are trying to sell the same or similar kinds of products to the same buyers.
The Government
Though the market is encouraged to act on its own, in any capitalist economy, the government is intimately involved in regulating the economy. This can be done through anti-trust laws or minimum wage laws. On a far more basic level, the government allows individuals to own private property and individuals to work where they please. The government generally allows businesses to set wages and prices for products without much interference. The government is responsible for issuing money, supervising public utilities, and enforcing private contracts. Laws protect competition and prohibit unfair business practices. Government agencies regulate the standards of service in many industries, such as airlines and broadcasting, and they finance a wide range of programs. Additionally, the government regulates the flow of capital and uses methods such as interest rates to control factors such as inflation and unemployment. Though the government in capitalist nations largely adheres to the basic principles of economic interference, it largely engages with the economy.
Socialism
Capitalism functions in distinction from socialism, or various theories of economic organization that advocate public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production. Socialism calls for public allocation of resources, creating a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended. Many socialists criticize capitalism for unfairly concentrating power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through the exploitation of lower classes.
The Informal Economy
An informal economy is economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government. Although the informal economy is often associated with developing countries, all economic systems contain an informal economy in some proportion. Informal economic activity is a dynamic process which includes many aspects of economic and social theory: exchange, regulation, and enforcement. By its nature, the informal economy is difficult to observe, study, define, and measure. The terms “under the table” and “off the books” typically refer to this type of economy, and there are various examples for this type of economic activity, including the sale and distribution of illegal drugs or unreported payments for house cleaning or baby sitting, among others. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1A%3A_The_Economy.txt |
Capitalism is a system that includes private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods for profit, competitive markets, etc.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the different views on capitalism (economical, political and historical) and the impact of capitalism on democracy
Key Points
• Economists usually focus on the degree that government does not have control over markets (laissez-faire), and on property rights.
• Most political economists emphasize private property, power relations, wage labor, and class and emphasize capitalism as a unique historical formation.
• Market failure occurs when an externality is present and a market will either under-produce a product with a positive externalization or overproduce a product that generates a negative externalization.
• The extension of universal adult male suffrage in 19th century Britain occurred with the development of industrial capitalism, and democracy became widespread at the same time as capitalism, leading many theorists to posit a causal relationship between them—claiming that one affects the other.
Key Terms
• wage labor: The socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer, where the worker sells their labor under a formal or informal employment contract.
• voluntary exchange: Voluntary exchange is the act of buyers and sellers freely and willingly engaging in market transactions. Moreover, transactions are made in such a way that both the buyer and the seller are better off after the exchange than before it occurred.
• externality: In economics, an externality, or transaction spillover, is a cost or benefit that is not transmitted through prices and is incurred by a party who was not involved as either a buyer or seller of the goods or services causing the cost or benefit.
Capitalism is generally considered by scholars to be an economic system that includes private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit or income, the accumulation of capital, competitive markets, voluntary exchange, and wage labor. The designation is applied to a variety of historical cases, which vary in time, geography, politics, and culture.
Economists, political economists and historians have taken different perspectives on the analysis of capitalism. Economists usually focus on the degree that government does not have control over markets (laissez-faire economics), and on property rights. Most political economists emphasize private property, power relations, wage labor, class and capitalism’s as a unique historical formation. Capitalism is generally viewed as encouraging economic growth. The differing extents to which different markets are free, as well as the rules defining private property, are a matter of politics and policy, and many states have what are termed mixed economies. A number of political ideologies have emerged in support of various types of capitalism, the most prominent being economic liberalism.
The relationship between the state, its formal mechanisms, and capitalist societies has been debated in many fields of social and political theory, with active discussion since the 19th century. Hernando de Soto is a contemporary economist who has argued that an important characteristic of capitalism is the functioning state protection of property rights in a formal property system where ownership and transactions are clearly recorded.
The relationship between democracy and capitalism is a contentious area in theory and popular political movements. The extension of universal adult male suffrage in 19th century Britain occurred along with the development of industrial capitalism, and democracy became widespread at the same time as capitalism, leading many theorists to posit a causal relationship between them—claiming each affects the other. However, in the 20th century, capitalism also accompanied a variety of political formations quite distinct from liberal democracies, including fascist regimes, absolute monarchies, and single-party states. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1B%3A_Capitalism.txt |
Karl Marx saw capitalism as a progressive historical stage that would eventually be followed by socialism.
Learning Objectives
• Examine Karl Marx’s view on capitalism and the criticisms of the capitalist system
Key Points
• Karl Marx saw capitalism as a progressive historical stage that would eventually stagnate due to internal contradictions and be followed by socialism.
• Marxists define capital as “a social, economic relation” between people (rather than between people and things). In this sense they seek to abolish capital.
• Revolutionary socialists believe that capitalism can only be overcome through revolution.
• Social democrats believe that structural change can come slowly through political reforms to capitalism.
• Marxists define capital as “a social, economic relation” between people (rather than between people and things).
• Normative Marxism advocates a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism that would lead to socialism, before eventually transforming into communism after class antagonisms and the state ceased to exist.
Key Terms
• revolution: A political upheaval in a government or nation-state characterized by great change.
• socialism: Any of various economic and political philosophies that support social equality, collective decision-making, distribution of income based on contribution and public ownership of productive capital and natural resources, as advocated by socialists.
• progressive: Favoring or promoting progress; advanced.
Capitalism has been the subject of criticism from many perspectives during its history. Criticisms range from people who disagree with the principles of capitalism in its entirety, to those who disagree with particular outcomes of capitalism. Among those wishing to replace capitalism with a different method of production and social organization, a distinction can be made between those believing that capitalism can only be overcome with revolution (e.g., revolutionary socialism) and those believing that structural change can come slowly through political reforms to capitalism (e.g., classic social democracy).
Karl Marx saw capitalism as a progressive historical stage that would eventually stagnate due to internal contradictions and be followed by socialism. Marxists define capital as “a social, economic relation” between people (rather than between people and things). In this sense they seek to abolish capital. They believe that private ownership of the means of production enriches capitalists (owners of capital) at the expense of workers. In brief, they argue that the owners of the means of production exploit the workforce.
In Karl Marx’s view, the dynamic of capital would eventually impoverish the working class and thereby create the social conditions for a revolution. Private ownership over the means of production and distribution is seen as creating a dependence of non-owning classes on the ruling class, and ultimately as a source of restriction of human freedom.
Marxists have offered various related lines of argument claiming that capitalism is a contradiction-laden system characterized by recurring crises that have a tendency towards increasing severity. They have argued that this tendency of the system to unravel, combined with a socialization process that links workers in a worldwide market, create the objective conditions for revolutionary change. Capitalism is seen as just one stage in the evolution of the economic system.
Normative Marxism advocates for a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism that would lead to socialism, before eventually transforming into communism after class antagonisms and the state cease to exist. Marxism influenced social democratic and labor parties as well as some moderate democratic socialists, who seek change through existing democratic channels instead of revolution, and believe that capitalism should be regulated rather than abolished. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1C%3A_The_Marxist_Critique_of_Capitalism.txt |
Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are socially owned and used to meet human needs, not to create profits.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the various implementations of socialism, from reformism to revolutionary socialism
Key Points
• Socialists critique capitalism, arguing that it creates inequality and limits human potential. Socialists maintain that capitalism derives wealth from a system of labor exploitation and then concentrates wealth and power within a small segment of society that controls the means of production.
• As a political movement, socialism includes a diverse array of political philosophies, ranging from reformism to revolutionary socialism, from a planned economy to market socialism.
• A planned economy is a type of economy consisting of a mixture of public ownership of the means of production and the coordination of production and distribution through state planning.
• Market socialism consists of publicly owned or cooperatively owned enterprises operating in a market economy.
• Socialists argue that socialism would allow for wealth to be distributed based on how much one contributes to society, as opposed to how much capital one owns. A primary goal of socialism is social equality and a distribution of wealth based on one’s contribution to society.
Key Terms
• planned economy: An economic system in which government directly manages supply and demand for goods and services by controlling production, prices, and distribution in accordance with a long-term design and schedule of objectives.
• market socialism: Market socialism refers to various economic systems where the means of production are either publicly owned or cooperatively owned and operated for a profit in a market economy. The profit generated by the firms would be used to directly remunerate employees or would be the source of public finance or could be distributed among the population through a social dividend.
• socialism: Any of various economic and political philosophies that support social equality, collective decision-making, distribution of income based on contribution and public ownership of productive capital and natural resources, as advocated by socialists.
Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are socially owned and used to meet human needs instead of to create profits. The means of production refers to the tools, technology, buildings, and other materials used to make the goods or services in an economy. Social ownership of the means of production can take many forms. It could refer to cooperative enterprises, common ownership, direct public ownership, or autonomous state enterprises. Social ownership contrasts with capitalist ownership, in which the means of production are used to create a profit. In a socialist economic system, the means of production would instead be used to directly satisfy economic demands and human needs. Accounting would be based on physical quantities or a direct measure of labor-time instead of on profits and expenses.
Although socialism is often associated with Karl Marx, it has evolved to take a variety of forms. As a political movement, socialism includes a diverse array of political philosophies, ranging from reformism to revolutionary socialism, from a planned economy to market socialism. In a planned economy, the means of production are publicly owned and the government is in charge of coordinating and distributing production. By contrast, in market socialism, the means of production may be publicly or cooperatively owned, but they operate in a market economy. That is, market socialism uses the market and monetary prices to allocate and account for the means of production and the products they create. Just like in capitalism, the means of production generate profit; however, that profit would be used to remunerate employees or finance public institutions, not to benefit private owners.
The Significance of Socialism: Karl Marx helped to create the system of social thought now called Marxism.
Socialists critique capitalism, arguing that it derives wealth from a system of labor exploitation and then concentrates wealth and power within a small segment of society that controls the means of production. As a result, society is stratified, split into classes according to who owns the means of production and who is forced to sell their labor; as a result, individuals do not all have the same opportunity to maximize their potential. A capitalist society, they argue, does not utilize available technology and resources to their maximum potential in the interests of the public. Instead, it focuses on satisfying market-induced wants as opposed to human needs. Socialists argue that socialism would allow for wealth to be distributed based on how much one contributes to society, as opposed to how much capital one owns. A primary goal of socialism is social equality and a distribution of wealth based on one’s contribution to society, and an economic arrangement that would serve the interests of society as a whole. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1D%3A_Socialism.txt |
Critiques of socialism generally refer to its lack of efficiency and feasibility, as well as the political/social effects of such a system.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the various criticisms of socialism
Key Points
• Some critics consider socialism to be a purely theoretical concept that should be criticized on theoretical grounds; others hold that certain historical examples exist, making it possible to criticize on practical grounds.
• Some critics of socialism argue that income sharing reduces individual incentives to work; incomes should be individualized as much as possible.
• Milton Friedman, an economist, argued that socialism—which he defined as state ownership over the means of production —impedes technological progress due to stifled competition.
• The philosopher Friedrich Hayek argued that the road to socialism leads society to totalitarianism.
Key Terms
• classical liberals: Classical liberals believe in classical liberalism, a political ideology developed in the 19th century that advocates limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and individual liberties including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets.
• economic liberals: Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in organizing the economy on individualist lines, such that the greatest possible number of economic decisions are made by private individuals and not by collective institutions.
• libertarian: A believer in a political doctrine that emphasizes individual liberty and a lack of governmental regulation and oversight both in matters of the economy (‘free market’) and in personal behavior.
Criticism of socialism refers to a critique of socialist models of economic organization, efficiency, and feasibility, as well as the political and social implications of such a system. Some of these criticisms are not directed toward socialism as a system, but directed toward the socialist movement, socialist political parties, or existing socialist states. Some critics consider socialism to be a purely theoretical concept that should be criticized on theoretical grounds; others hold that certain historical examples exist, making it possible to criticize on practical grounds.
Economic liberals, pro-capitalist libertarians, and some classical liberals view private enterprise, private ownership of the means of production, and the market exchange as central to conceptions of freedom and liberty. Milton Friedman, an economist, argued that socialism—which he defined as state ownership over the means of production—impedes technological progress due to stifled competition. He pointed to the U.S. to see where socialism fails, observing that the most technologically backward areas are those where government owns the means of production. Some critics of socialism argue that income sharing reduces individual incentives to work; incomes should be individualized as much as possible. Critics of socialism have argued that in any society where everyone holds equal wealth there can be no material incentive to work because one does not receive rewards for a work well done.
The philosopher Friedrich Hayek argued in his book The Road to Serfdom that the more even distribution of wealth through the nationalization of the means of production advocated by certain socialists cannot be achieved without a loss of political, economic, and human rights. According to Hayek, to achieve control over means of production and distribution of wealth, it is necessary for such socialists to acquire significant powers of coercion. He argued that the road to socialism leads society to totalitarianism, and that fascism and Nazism were the inevitable outcome of socialist trends in Italy and Germany during the preceding period.
Milton Friedman argued that the absence of voluntary economic activity makes it too easy for repressive political leaders to grant themselves coercive powers. Friedman’s view was shared by Friedrich Hayek and John Maynard Keynes, both of whom believed that capitalism is vital for freedom to survive and thrive. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1E%3A_The_Capitalist_Critique_of_Socialism.txt |
Democratic socialism combines the political philosophy of democracy with the economic philosophy of socialism.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss democratic socialism and how it differs from other ideas held by the government about the working class
Key Points
• Democratic socialism is contrasted with political movements that resort to authoritarian means to achieve a transition to socialism. It advocates the immediate creation of decentralized economic democracy from the grassroots level.
• Democratic socialists distinguish themselves from Leninists, who believe in an organized revolution instigated and directed by an overarching vanguard party that operates on the basis of democratic centralism.
• Eugene V. Debs, one of the most famous American socialists, led a movement centered around democratic socialism and made five bids for president.
• In Britain, the democratic socialist tradition was represented in particular by William Morris’ Socialist League and, in the 1880s, by the Fabian Society.
• In Britain, the democratic socialist tradition was represented in particular by William Morris’ Socialist League and, in the 1880s, by the Fabian Society.
Key Terms
• Fabian Society: The Fabian Society is a British socialist organization whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means.
• Leninism: In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism.
• democratic socialism: A left-wing ideology that aims to introduce democracy into the workforce, i.e. worker cooperatives, and ensure public provision of basic human needs.
Democratic socialism combines the political philosophy of democracy with the economic philosophy of socialism. The term can refer to a range of political and economic organizational schemes. On one end, democratic socialism may combine a democratic national political system with a national economy based on socialist principles. On the other end, democratic socialism may refer to a system that uses democratic principles to organize workers in a firm or community (for example, in worker cooperatives).
The term is used by socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation. Democratic socialism contrasts with political movements that resort to authoritarian means to achieve a transition to socialism. Rather than focus on central planning, democratic socialism advocates the immediate creation of decentralized economic democracy from the grassroots level—undertaken by and for the working class itself. Specifically, it is a term used to distinguish between socialists who favor a grassroots-level, spontaneous revolution (referred to as gradualism) from those socialists who favor Leninism (organized revolution instigated and directed by an overarching vanguard party that operates on the basis of democratic centralism).
Historical Examples
The term has also been used by various historians to describe the ideal of economic socialism in an established political democracy. Democratic socialism became a prominent movement at the end of the 19th century. In the United States, Eugene V. Debs, one of the most famous American socialists, led a movement centered around democratic socialism. Debs made five bids for president: once in 1900 as candidate of the Social Democratic Party and then four more times on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. In Britain, the democratic socialist tradition was represented historically by William Morris’s Socialist League and, in the 1880s, by the Fabian Society.
François Hollande and France: France is an example of a democratic socialist state. In 2012, French voters elected the Socialist Party candidate, François Hollande, into office with the expectation that he will meet his campaign promises to introduce greater socialist policy. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1F%3A_Democratic_Socialism.txt |
The informal economy consists of economic activity that is neither taxed nor regulated by a government.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the impact of the informal economy on formal economy, such as the black market or working “under the table”
Key Points
• Informal economies include economic practices that are not included in the calculation of GNP (the market value of all products and services produced by a country’s companies in a given year).
• Participation in the informal economy may result from lack of other options (e.g. people may buy goods on the black market because these goods are unavailable through conventional means). Participation may also be driven by a wish to avoid regulation or taxation.
• The growth of the informal economy is often attributed to changing social or economic environments. For example, with the adoption of more technologically intensive forms of production, many workers have been forced out of formal sector work and into informal employment.
• Growing regulation and taxation may also force people into the informal economy.
• The informal economy accounts for about 15 percent of employment in developed countries such as the United States.
Key Terms
• Progressive Era: The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s.
• industrial paternalism: Industrial paternalism is a form of welfare capitalism especially common in the United States. It refers to the practice of businesses providing welfare-like services to employees.
• welfare capitalism: Welfare capitalism refers either to the combination of a capitalist economic system with a welfare state or, in the American context, to the practice of businesses providing welfare-like services to employees.
The informal economy consists of economic activity that is neither taxed nor regulated by a government. This is in contrast to the formal economy; a formal economy includes economic activity that is legal according to national law. Formal economy goods may be taxed and are included in the calculation of a government’s gross national product (GNP), which is the market value of all products and services produced by a country’s companies in a given year. Informal economies are frequently less institutionalized and include all economic practices that are not included in the calculation of GNP. Informal economies therefore include such disparate practices as the drug trade and babysitting—anything that isn’t reported to the government or factored into the nation’s GNP. All economies have informal elements.
The original use of the term ‘informal sector’ is attributed to the economic development model put forward by W. Arthur Lewis, used to describe employment or livelihood creation and sustainability primarily within the developing world. It was used to describe a type of employment that was viewed as falling outside of the modern industrial sector. Participation in the informal economy may result from lack of other options (e.g. people may buy goods on the black market because these goods are unavailable through conventional means). Participation may also be driven by a wish to avoid regulation or taxation. This may manifest as unreported employment, hidden from the state for tax, social security or labor law purposes, but legal in all other aspects.
The growth of the informal economy is often attributed to changing social or economic environments. For example, with the adoption of more technologically intensive forms of production, many workers have been forced out of formal sector work and into informal employment. Arguably the most influential book on informal economy is Hernando de Soto’s The Other Path. De Soto and his team argue that excessive regulation in the Peruvian (and other Latin American) economies force a large part of the economy into informality and thus prevent economic development. In a widely cited experiment, his team tried to legally register a small garment factory in Lima. This took more than one hundred administrative steps and almost a year of full-time work. Whereas de Soto’s work is popular with policymakers and champions of free market policies, many scholars of the informal economy have criticized it both for methodological flaws and normative bias.
The informal economy accounts for about 15 percent of employment in developed countries such as the United States. By contrast, it makes up 48 percent of non-agricultural employment in North Africa, 51 percent in Latin America, 65 percent in Asia, and 72 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. If agricultural employment is included, the percentages rise—beyond 90 percent in places like India and many sub-Saharan African countries.
Burkina Faso: Informal economy at the centre of solidarity: Many workers in Burkina Faso participate in the country’s informal economy. This video describes how the informal economy fails to provide some of the same social benefits as work in the formal economy. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.01%3A_Economic_Systems/16.1G%3A_Informal_Economy.txt |
Welfare capitalism refers to a welfare state in a capitalist economic system or to businesses providing welfare-like services to employees.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss how welfare capitalism impacts the worker and the business, in terms of costs and benefits for both
Key Points
• In the United States, the mid-twentieth century marked the height of business provisions for employees, including benefits such as more generous retirement packages and health care.
• Not all companies provided good benefits, so workers appealed to government, which imposed minimum labor standards (e.g., the minimum wage) to protect workers.
• Welfare capitalism still operates in the United States, where the government ensures minimum labor standards; some companies continue to offer benefits.
Key Terms
• Progressive Era: The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s.
• industrial paternalism: Industrial paternalism is a form of welfare capitalism especially common in the United States. It refers to the practice of businesses providing welfare-like services to employees.
• welfare capitalism: Welfare capitalism refers either to the combination of a capitalist economic system with a welfare state or, in the American context, to the practice of businesses providing welfare-like services to employees.
Welfare capitalism refers either to the combination of a capitalist economic system with a welfare state or, in the American context, to the practice of private businesses providing welfare-like services to employees. In this second form of welfare capitalism, also known as industrial paternalism, companies have a two-fold interest in providing these services. First, the companies act in a paternalistic manner, giving employees what managers think is best for them. Second, the companies recognize that providing workers with some minor benefits can forestall complaints about larger structural issues, such as unsafe conditions and long hours.
Following this logic, in the nineteenth century, some manufacturing companies began offering new benefits for their employees. Companies sponsored sports teams, established social clubs, and provided educational and cultural activities for workers. Some companies even provided housing, such as the boarding houses provided for female employees of textile manufacturers in Lowell, Massachusetts. The mid-twentieth century marked the height of business provisions for employees, including benefits such as more generous retirement packages and health care.
However, even at the peak of this form of welfare capitalism, not all workers enjoyed the same benefits. Business-led welfare capitalism was only common in American industries that employed skilled labor. Not all companies freely choose to provide even minor benefits to workers. As workers became frustrated with meager or nonexistent benefits, they appealed to government for help, giving rise to the first form of welfare capitalism: welfare provisions provided by the state within the context of a capitalist economy. In the United States, workers formed labor unions to gain greater collective bargaining power. In addition to directly challenging businesses, they lobbied the government to enact basic standards of labor. In the United States, the first two decades of the twentieth century—the Progressive Era—saw an increase in the number of protections the government was able to extend to workers. Yet by mid-century, many of these protections had been pushed back through the court system.
Today, the government provides very basic standards by which employers must abide, such as minimum wage standards. Anything above the minimum required by the government is at the employer’s discretion. Recently, companies have begun to invest even more in the perks provided by the business in an effort to satisfy employees. Companies have found that employees make fewer demands and are more productive when they are happier, so companies such as Google have spent millions of dollars making their businesses enjoyable places to work.
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Pre-industrial typically have predominantly agricultural economies and limited production, division of labor, and class variation.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the different types of societies and economies that existed during the pre-Industrial age
Key Points
• A hunter-gatherer society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to an agricultural society that relies mainly on domesticated species.
• Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the ninth and fifteenth centuries, and, broadly defined, was a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor.
• Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire.
Key Terms
• pre-industrial society: Pre-industrial society refers to specific social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution. It is followed by the industrial society.
• manorialism: A political, economic, and social system in medieval and early modern Europe; originally a form of serfdom but later a looser system in which land was administered via the local manor.
• feudalism: A social system that is based on personal ownership of resources and personal fealty between a suzerain (lord) and a vassal (subject). Defining characteristics of feudalism are direct ownership of resources, personal loyalty, and a hierarchical social structure reinforced by religion.
Pre-industrial societies are societies that existed before the Industrial Revolution, which took place in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some remote societies today may share characteristics with these historical societies, and may, therefore, also be referred to as pre-industrial. In general, pre-industrial societies share certain social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization, including limited production, a predominantly agricultural economy, limited division of labor, limited variation of social class, and parochialism at large. While pre-industrial societies share these characteristics in common, they may otherwise take on very different forms. Two specific forms of pre-industrial society are hunter-gatherer societies and feudal societies.
A hunter-gatherer society is one in which most or all food is obtained by gathering wild plants and hunting wild animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunter-gatherer societies tend to be very mobile, following their food sources. They tend to have relatively non-hierarchical, egalitarian social structures, often including a high degree of gender equality. Full-time leaders, bureaucrats, or artisans are rarely supported by these societies. Hunter-gatherer group membership is often based on kinship and band (or tribe) membership. Following the invention of agriculture, hunter-gatherers in most parts of the world were displaced by farming or pastoral groups who staked out land and settled it, cultivating it or turning it into pasture for livestock. Only a few contemporary societies are classified as hunter-gatherers, and many supplement their foraging activity with farming or raising domesticated animals.
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the nineteenth and fifteenth centuries. Broadly speaking, feudalism structured society around relationships based on land ownership. Feudal lords were landowners; in exchange for access to land for living and farming, serfs offered lords their service or labor. This arrangement (land access in exchange for labor) is sometimes called “manorialism,” an organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire. Manorialism was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, until it was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market economy and new forms of agrarian contract.
Feudal Systems: This video explains the basics of feudal societies in Europe. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2A%3A_Preindustrial_Societies-_The_Birth_of_Inequality.txt |
During the Industrial Revolution (roughly 1750 to 1850) changes in technology had a profound effect on social and economic conditions.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the shift from manual to machine based labor during the First and Second Industrial Revolutions
Key Points
• The First Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th century, merged into the Second Industrial Revolution around 1850.
• Great Britain provided the legal and cultural foundations that enabled entrepreneurs to pioneer the Industrial Revolution.
• Starting in the latter part of the 18th century, there began a transition in parts of Great Britain’s previously manual labor and draft-animal-based economy towards machine-based manufacturing.
• The introduction of steam power fuelled primarily by coal, wider utilization of water wheels, and powered machinery—mainly in textile manufacturing—underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity.
• The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world, a process that continues as industrialization today.
Key Terms
• Industrial Revolution: The major technological, socioeconomic, and cultural change in the late 18th and early 19th century, resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labor to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing.
• steam power: Power derived from water heated into steam, usually converted to motive power by a reciprocating engine or turbine.
• industrialization: A process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state
The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in the United Kingdom, and then subsequently spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and eventually the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. In the two centuries following 1800, the world’s average per capita income increased more than tenfold, while the world’s population increased over sixfold.
The First Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th century, merged into the Second Industrial Revolution around 1850, when technological and economic progress gained momentum with the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generation. The period of time covered by the Industrial Revolution varies with different historians. Eric Hobsbawm held that it “broke out” in Britain in the 1780s and was not fully felt until the 1830s or 1840s, while T. S. Ashton held that it occurred roughly between 1760 and 1830.
Great Britain provided the legal and cultural foundations that enabled entrepreneurs to pioneer the Industrial Revolution. Starting in the later part of the 18th century, there began a transition in parts of Great Britain’s previously manual labor and draft-animal-based economy toward machine-based manufacturing. It started with the mechanization of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. With the transition away from an agricultural-based economy and toward machine-based manufacturing came a great influx of population from the countryside and into the towns and cities, which swelled in population.
The introduction of steam power fuelled primarily by coal, wider utilization of water wheels, and powered machinery—mainly in textile manufacturing —underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity. The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacturing of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world, a process that continues as industrialization today. The impact of this change on society was enormous. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2B%3A_Industrial_Societies-_The_Birth_of_the_Machine.txt |
In the “Information Age,” individuals can transfer and have instant access to information, leading to a profound economic transformation.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the impact the Information Age has on the accessibility and breadth of information available to society
Key Points
• The Information Age formed by capitalizing on the computer microminiaturization advances, with a transition spanning from the advent of the personal computer in the late 1970s to the Internet reaching a critical mass in the early 1990s.
• Though the Internet itself has existed since 1969, it was the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989 by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee and its implementation in 1991 that allowed the Internet to truly became a global network.
• In the latter decades of the 20th century, the industrial world has been shifting into a service economy, where an increasing number of people hold jobs as clerks in stores, office workers, teachers, nurses, etc.
Key Terms
• service economy: Service economy refers to the increased importance of the service sector compared to the manufacturing sector. The service economy in developing countries is mostly concentrated in financial services, hospitality, retail, health, human services, information technology, and education.
• the internet: A global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard internet protocol suite (often called TCP/IP, although not all applications use TCP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies.
• Information Age: The current era, characterized by the increasing importance and availability of information (especially by means of computers), as opposed to previous eras (such as the Industrial Age) in which most endeavors related to some physical, man-made process or product.
The Information Age is a concept that characterizes the current age by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely and have instant access to information that would have been difficult or impossible to access in the past. The idea is linked to the concept of a digital age or digital revolution, as most of this information is instantaneously available online. It carries with it the ramifications of a shift from an industrialized economy to an economy based on the manipulation of information, or an information society.
The Information Age formed by capitalizing on computer microminiaturization advances. The transition spans from the advent of the personal computer in the late 1970s to the Internet reaching a critical mass in the early 1990s, with the public’s adoption of the Internet in the two decades following 1990. The Information Age has allowed rapid global communications and networking to shape modern society due to the fast evolution of technology use in daily life.
Though the Internet itself has existed since 1969, it was the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989 by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee and its implementation in 1991 that allowed the Internet to truly became a global network. Today, the Internet has become the ultimate platform for accelerating the flow of information and is the fastest-growing form of media.
Concurrently, during the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe, there was a steady trend away from people holding Industrial Age manufacturing jobs. An increasing number of people held jobs as clerks in stores, office workers, teachers, nurses, etc. Many argue that jobs traditionally associated with the middle class (assembly line workers, data processors, foremen, and supervisors) are beginning to disappear, either through outsourcing or automation. Individuals who lose their jobs must either move up, joining a group of “mind workers” (engineers, attorneys, scientists, professors, executives, journalists, consultants, etc.), or settle for low-skill, low-wage service jobs. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2C%3A_Postindustrial_Societies-_The_Birth_of_the_Information_Age.txt |
Some thinkers argue that in the last few decades trends associated with globalization have increased the mobility of people and capital.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the shift in the job market and increase in international trade due to an increase in globalization
Key Points
• The world economy generally refers to the economy based on the national economies of all of the world’s countries.
• Although international trade has been associated with the development of capitalism for over five hundred years, some thinkers argue that a number of trends associated with globalization have acted to increase the mobility of people and capital since the last quarter of the 20th century.
• The global financial system is the financial system consisting of institutions and regulators that act on the international level, as opposed to those that act on a national or regional level.
• Globalization refers to the increasing global relationships of culture, people, and economic activity.
• The establishment of the WTO in 1995 led to an anti-globalization movement that was primarily concerned with the negative impact of globalization in developing countries.
• Critiques of economic globalization typically look at both the damage to the planet as well as the human costs.
Key Terms
• global financial system: The global financial system is the financial system consisting of institutions and regulators that act on the international level, as opposed to those that act on a national or regional level. The main players are the global institutions, such as International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlements, national agencies and government departments, e.g., central banks and finance ministries, private institutions acting on the global scale, e.g., banks and hedge funds, and regional institutions, e.g., the Eurozone.
• WTO: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. It officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. It deals with regulation of trade between participating countries and provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements and for resolving disputes.
• globalization: A common term for processes of international integration arising from increasing human connectivity and interchange of worldviews, products, ideas, and other cultural phenomena. In particular, advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, represent major driving factors in globalization and precipitate the further interdependence of economic and cultural activities.
The term “world economy” refers to the economic situation of all of the world’s countries. It is common to limit discussion of world economy exclusively to human economic activity. World economy is typically judged in monetary terms, even in cases in which there is no efficient market to help valuate certain goods or services, or in cases in which a lack of independent research or government cooperation makes establishing figures difficult.
The global financial system is the financial system consisting of institutions and regulators that act on the international level, as opposed to those that act on a national or regional level. The main players are global institutions, such as International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the Bank for International Settlements; national agencies and government departments (e.g., central banks and finance ministries); private institutions acting on the global scale (e.g., banks, hedge funds), and regional institutions such as the Eurozone.
Although international trade has always existed, some thinkers argue that a number of trends associated with globalization have caused an increase in the mobility of people and capital since the last quarter of the 20th century. Today, these trends have bolstered the argument that capitalism should now be viewed as a true world system, given that all national economies trade with capitalist states and are therefore influenced by capitalist policies.
Globalization refers to the increasing global relationships of culture, people, and economic activity. It is generally used to refer to economic globalization: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import quotas; and the reduction of restrictions on the movement of capital and on investment. Globalization may contribute to economic growth in developed and developing countries through increased specialization and the principle of comparative advantage. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2D%3A_Capitalism_in_a_Global_Economy.txt |
Global trade (exchange across international borders) has increased with better transportation and governments adopting free trade.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the impact of global trade on society and industry, ranging from mercantilism to free trade orientation
Key Points
• While international trade has been present throughout much of history, its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries as free trade has overtaken mercantilism and governments have reduced tariffs and other barriers to trade.
• Traditionally, trade was regulated through bilateral treaties between two nations, but it is increasingly regulated by multilateral agreements and international bodies, such as the World Trade Organization.
• Free trade is on the rise, but most countries maintain some level of protectionism in the form of subsidies or tariffs to protect industries considered essential to national security or national economies (e.g., food and steel production ).
• Arguments against free trade criticize the assumptions of economic theories underlying it and its possible social and political effects, including inequality and cultural homogenization.
• In the last few decades, fair trade has been proposed as an alternative to free trade.
• Economic arguments against free trade criticize the assumptions or conclusions of economic theories.
• Sociopolitical arguments against free trade cite social and political effects that economic arguments do not capture.
• An alternative concept to free trade in the last decades has been become fair trade.
Key Terms
• protectionism: A policy of protecting the domestic producers of a product by imposing tariffs, quotas, or other barriers on imports.
• World Trade Organization: An international organization designed by its founders to supervise and liberalize international trade.
• free trade: international trade free from government interference, especially trade free from tariffs or duties on imports
Global trade is the exchange of money, goods, and services across international borders. As transportation has improved, global trade has increased, and businesses have pressured governments to relax restrictions on trade. In most countries, global trade now accounts for many of the goods and services bought or sold, and many companies earn profits from global trade.
For centuries, governments restricted international trade based on the principles of mercantilism, which maintained that countries were all competing to maximize their stores of gold. Accordingly, governments imposed high tariffs to limit imports and promoted exports in order to sell their goods in exchange for more gold. But in the nineteenth century, especially in the United Kingdom, mercantilism gradually gave way to a belief in free trade.
Free Trade: Economist Milton Friedman explains the importance of free trade.
Following a free trade orientation, governments do not discriminate against imports by imposing tariffs or promoting exports with subsides. Since the mid-twentieth century, nations have increasingly reduced tariff barriers and currency restrictions on international trade. But even though many countries have moved toward free trade, other trade barriers remain in place: import quotas, taxes, and diverse means of subsidizing domestic industries can all hinder trade.
As global trade has grown, governments have faced the problem of regulating trade that originates or ends outside their jurisdiction. Traditionally, governments regulated international trade through bilateral treaties that were negotiated between two nations. But as trade has become more global and more complex, trade negotiations have expanded to include more countries. Now, trade is regulated in part by worldwide agreements, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a multilateral agreement that went into effect in 1948. In 1995, GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization ( WTO ), an international body that supervises global trade.
Most countries in the world are members of the WTO, which limits in certain ways but does not eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers. Most countries are also members of regional free trade areas that lower trade barriers among participating countries. Trade agreements are negotiated by independent nations with their own interests and values in mind, which often include values and interests other than maximum global output. As a consequence, some level of protectionism is used by almost every nation, in the form of subsidies or tariffs to protect industries a nation considers essential, such as food and steel production.
Economic arguments against free trade criticize the assumptions or conclusions of economic theories. Critics note that free trade may exacerbate inequality among countries and within them. Free trade may favor developing nations in certain areas, may benefit only the wealthy within countries, may increase offshoring, and may destabilize financial markets. Sociopolitical arguments against free trade cite social and political effects that economic arguments do not capture, such as political stability, national security, human rights, and environmental protection. Critics note that free trade undermines cultural diversity, causes dislocation and pain, and undermines national security. In response, fair trade, or an economic system that emphasizes living wages for the producers of goods, has developed as an alternative to free trade in the last several years. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2E%3A_Global_Trade-_Inequalities_and_Conflict.txt |
Microfinance is usually understood as the provision of financial services to micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the use of microfinance and microcredit for industry, including the benefits and criticisms
Key Points
• The modern use of the expression “microfinancing” has roots in the 1970s. At this time, organizations such as the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, led by Muhammad Yunus, were starting to shape the modern microfinance industry.
• Microfinance is a broad category of services, one of which is microcredit. Microcredit is the provision of credit services to poor clients. Although microcredit is only one of the aspects of microfinance, conflation of the two terms is endemic in public discourse.
• An important source of detailed data on selected microfinance institutions is the MicroBanking Bulletin, which is published by Microfinance Information Exchange.
• Most criticisms of microfinance are actually just criticisms of microcredit. Other microfinance services, like savings, remittances, payments, and insurance, are rarely criticized. For example, many have criticized the high interest rates microfinance charges to borrowers.
Key Terms
• microfinance: finance that is provided to unemployed or low-income people or groups
• microcredit: the practice of making very small loans, especially to poor people to promote self-employment; microlending
• Grameen Bank: The Grameen Bank, a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh, makes small loans (known as microcredit or “grameencredit) to the impoverished without requiring collateral.
Microfinance
In microfinance, financial services are provided to micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses, many of whom lack access to banking services because of the high transaction costs associated with serving these types of clients. There are two main mechanisms for delivering microfinance services. Relationship-based banking deals with individual entrepreneurs and individual businesses. In group-based models, several entrepreneurs unite to apply for loans and services as a group.
Microcredit
Microfinance is a broad category of services that includes microcredit. Microcredit is the provision of credit services to poor clients. Although microcredit is only one type of microfinance, conflation of the two terms is endemic in public discourse. Critics often attack microcredit while referring to it indiscriminately as either ‘microcredit’ or ‘microfinance’. Due to the broad range of microfinance services, some argue that it is difficult to objectively assess its impact. Very few studies have tried to assess its full impact, although there have been several studies that examined particular cases.
The History of Microfinance
The history of microfinance dates back to the middle of the 19th century, when Lysander Spooner, a theorist, argued that entrepreneurs and farmers could be raised out of poverty if they were given small credits. Independently of Spooner, around this time, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen established the first cooperative lending banks to support rural German farmers.
The modern use of the term “microfinancing” dates back to 1970s. At this time, organizations such as the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, led by Muhammad Yunus, were beginning to shape the modern microfinance industry.
An important source of detailed data on microfinance institutions is the MicroBanking Bulletin, which is published by the Microfinance Information Exchange. At the end of 2009, this organization was tracking 1,084 microfinance initiatives that were serving 74 million borrowers (\$38 billion in outstanding loans) and 67 million savers (\$23 billion in deposits).
Criticisms of Microfinance
Most criticisms of microfinance are actually just criticisms of microcredit. Other microfinance services, like savings, remittances, payments and insurance, are rarely criticized. For example, many people have criticized the high interest rates microfinance charges to borrowers. In 2006, in a sample of 704 microfinance institutions that voluntarily submitted reports to the MicroBanking Bulletin, the real average portfolio yield was 22.3% annually. That being said, the annual rates charged to clients were higher, because these rates included local inflation and the bad debt expenses of the microfinance institution. Recently, Muhammad Yunus has tried to react to this point. In his latest book, he argues that microfinance institutions should face penalties if they are found to be charging more than 15% above their long-term operating costs. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2F%3A_Microfinancing.txt |
Industry has become more information driven and less labor intensive, leading to a polarization between high- and low-skilled jobs.
Learning Objectives
• Examine the impact of the Information Age on the workforce, from automation to polarization
Key Points
• The Information Age has impacted the workforce in several ways. This poses problems for workers in industrial societies, which are still to be solved.
• Jobs traditionally associated with the middle class are beginning to disappear, either through outsourcing or automation.
• Individuals who lose their jobs due to automation or outsourcing must either move up, joining a group of “mind workers,” or settle for low-skill, low-wage service jobs.
• Another way the Information Age has impacted the workforce is that automation and computerization have resulted in higher productivity but that is coupled with net job loss.
• Industry is becoming more information-intensive and less labor and capital-intensive. This trend has important implications for the workforce; workers are becoming increasingly productive as the value of their labor decreases.
Key Terms
• mind workers: A term for Information Age workers such as engineers, attorneys, scientists, professors, executives, journalists, and consultants.
• automation: The act or process of converting the controlling of a machine or device to a more automatic system, such as computer or electronic controls.
• Information Age: The current era, characterized by the increasing importance and availability of information (especially by means of computers), as opposed to previous eras (such as the Industrial Age) in which most endeavors related to some physical, man-made process or product.
The Information Age has impacted the workforce in several ways. First, it has created a situation in which workers who perform easily automated tasks are being forced to find work that is less automated. Secondly, workers are being forced to compete in a global job market. Thirdly, workers are being replaced by computers that can do the job more effectively and faster. This poses problems for workers in industrial societies which are still to be solved. Solutions that involve having the workers work less hours are usually met with high resistance from the workers.
Jobs traditionally associated with the middle class (assembly line workers, data processors, foremen, and supervisors) are beginning to disappear, either through outsourcing or automation. Individuals who lose their jobs must either move up— joining a group of “mind workers” (engineers, attorneys, scientists, professors, executives, journalists, consultants)— or settle for low-skill, low-wage service jobs. The “mind workers” form about 20 percent of the workforce. They are able to compete successfully in the world market and command higher wages. Conversely, production workers and service workers in industrialized nations are unable to compete with workers in developing countries. They either lose their jobs through outsourcing or are forced to accept wage cuts.
There is another way in which the Information Age has impacted the workforce: automation and computerization have resulted in higher productivity. In the United States for example, from Jan 1972 to August 2010, the number of people employed in manufacturing jobs fell from 17,500,000 to 11,500,000 but manufacturing value rose 270 percent. It initially appeared that job loss in the industrial sector might be partially offset by the rapid growth of jobs in the IT sector. However, after the recession of March 2001, the number of jobs in the IT sector dropped sharply and continued to drop until 2003. Even the IT sector is not immune to this problem.
Industry is becoming more information-intensive and less labor and capital-intensive. This trend has important implications for the workforce; workers are becoming increasingly productive as the value of their labor decreases. However, there are also important implications for capitalism itself. Not only is the value of labor decreased, the value of capital is also diminished. In the classical model, investments in human capital and financial capital are important predictors of the performance of a new venture.
The polarization of jobs into relatively high-skill, high wage jobs and low-skill, low-wage jobs has led to a growing disparity between incomes of the rich and poor. The United States seems to have been more impacted than most countries with income inequality beginning to rise in the late 1970s, and the rate of disparity continuing to rise sharply in the twenty-first century. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2G%3A_The_Changing_Face_of_the_Workplace.txt |
Deindustrialization occurs when a country or region loses industrial capacity due to relocation or increased efficiency.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the impact of deindustrialization on both a global and regional scale, as well as the role technology plays in deindustrialization
Key Points
• The term ” deindustrialization crisis” has been used to describe the decline of manufacturing in a number of countries and the flight of jobs away from cities.
• Detroit and the American automobile industry are regarded as the prototypical examples of how deindustrialization can negatively impact an area and population. They are by no means the only examples of this phenomenon.
• In the U.S., the population of the great manufacturing cities of the Midwest and Northeast has declined significantly due to deindustrialization. Manufacturing jobs have been eliminated or relocated to the Southeast and Southwest, where labor is cheaper.
• Due to increasing efficiency and productivity, manufacturing today makes up a smaller share of the U.S. workforce than it has at any time in the past hundred years.
• The population of the great manufacturing cities of the northeast has declined significantly: Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Buffalo, NY, have all lost half their population or more in the past half-century.
• The widespread perception of deindustrialization in the United States is due to shifting patterns in the geography and political geography of production: from the heavily unionized Northeast and Midwest towards the right-to-work states of the Southeast and the high supply of workers willing to accept low wages in the Southwest.
Key Terms
• Detroit: the largest city and former capital of Michigan, a major port on the Detroit River, known as the traditional automotive center of the U.S.
• right-to-work states: Right-to-work states have passed laws that prohibit union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees’ membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. Right-to-work laws exist in twenty-three U.S. states, mostly in the southern and western United States.
• deindustrialization: The loss or deprivation of industrial capacity or strength.
Deindustrialization
Deindustrialization occurs when a country or region loses industrial capacity, especially heavy industry or manufacturing industry. This process is often attributed to off-shoring, which is itself a consequence of increased global free trade. Deindustrialization is, in a sense, the opposite of industrialization, and, like industrialization, deindustrialization may have far-reaching economic and social consequences. The term “deindustrialization crisis” has been used to describe the decline of manufacturing in a number of countries, including the U.S., which have lost large numbers of urban manufacturing jobs since the 1970s.
American Deindustrialization
The city of Detroit, and the U.S. automobile industry, are regarded as the prototypical examples of deindustrialization’s negative effects, but Detroit is not an isolated example. The population of the United States has nearly doubled since the 1950s, adding approximately 150 million people. However, during this same period (1950–2007), the population of the great American manufacturing cities declined significantly. Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Buffalo have all lost half their population or more in the past half-century. Baltimore lost almost a third of its population, and Philadelphia lost nearly a quarter of its own.
Regional Deindustrialization
In the United States, the deindustrialization of Midwestern and Northeastern cities has occurred in response to shifting patterns in the geography of production. Just as many American companies have moved their manufacturing operations to developing nations, where they can hire workers for far lower wages, so too have manufacturers in the United States relocated from the heavily unionized Northeast and Midwest toward the Southeast and Southwest. In these areas, right-to-work states limit the power of unions to raise wages. Additionally, the high supply of workers forces those workers who are employed to accept low wages.
The Impact of Technology
In order to save costs, manufacturers have done more than merely relocate. They have also eliminated jobs, as technological innovation has reduced the demand for manual labor. Though total industrial employment has been relatively stable over the past forty years, the overall U.S. labor force has increased dramatically, resulting in a massive reduction in the percent of the labor force that is engaged in industry. While 35% of workers were involved in industry in the late 1960s, under 20% are today. Manufacturing is thus less prominent in American life and the American economy now than it has been at any other point for hundreds of years. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2H%3A_Deindustrialization.txt |
Corporations have powerful legal rights, and some have revenues that exceed the revenues of sovereign nations.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the structure and function of corporations within society
Key Points
• Despite being unlike natural persons, corporations are recognized by the law to have rights and responsibilities like natural persons. For example, corporations can exercise or be responsible for human rights. They can even be convicted of criminal offenses, such as fraud and manslaughter.
• Multinational corporations are important factors in the processes of globalization. A Transnational Corporation (TNC) differs from a traditional MNC in that it does not identify itself with one national home.
• The rapid rise of multinational corporations has been a topic of concern among intellectuals, activists, and the public who perceive them as threatening basic civil rights like privacy.
• Methods for attracting foreign investment have be criticized as a race to the bottom. They have also been described as a push, by corporations, for greater autonomy.
• Because of their size, multinationals can have a significant impact on government policy, primarily through the threat of market withdrawal.
Key Terms
• corporation: A group of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members.
• globalization: A common term for processes of international integration arising from increasing human connectivity and interchange of worldviews, products, ideas, and other cultural phenomena. In particular, advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, represent major driving factors in globalization and precipitate the further interdependence of economic and cultural activities.
• Multinational corporations: A multinational corporation (MNC) is a corporate enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country.
Corporations
The word corporation is widely used to describe incorporated entities, especially those that have a large number of shareholders. Despite not being natural persons, the law recognizes corporations as having rights and responsibilities like natural persons. Corporations can exercise human rights against real individuals and the state, they can be responsible for human rights violations, and they can even be convicted of criminal offenses, such as fraud and manslaughter. Once incorporated, a corporation has artificial personhood everywhere it operates, until the corporation is dissolved. Often, a corporation is legally a citizen of the state (or other jurisdiction) in which it is incorporated.
Multinational and Transnational Corporations
A multinational corporation (MNC) is a corporation that either manages production or delivers services in more than one country. Some multinational corporations are very large, with revenues that exceed some nation’s national revenues. Multinational corporations can have a powerful influence on both local economies and the world economy. They play an important role in international relations and globalization. A transnational corporation (TNC) differs from a traditional MNC in that it does not identify itself with a single national home. While traditional MNCs are national companies with foreign subsidiaries, TNCs spread out their operations in many countries. This allows them to sustain high levels of local responsiveness.
The rapid rise of multinational corporations has been a topic of concern among intellectuals, activists and laymen, who perceive it as a threat to basic civil rights like privacy. Scholars have pointed out that multinationals have had a long history of interference in the policies of sovereign nation states. Anti-corporate advocates express the commonly held view that corporations answer only to shareholders, and give little consideration to human rights, environmental concerns, or other cultural issues.
Corporations and Governments
Multinational corporations are important factors in the processes of globalization. National and local governments often compete against one another to attract MNC facilities, with the expectation of increased tax revenue, employment, and economic activity. To compete, political entities may offer MNCs incentives such as tax breaks, governmental assistance, subsidies, or lax environmental and labor regulations. Because of their size, multinationals can have a significant impact on government policy, primarily through the threat of market withdrawal. Confrontations between corporations and governments have occurred when governments have tried to force MNCs to make their intellectual property public. This is a state effort to transfer technology to local entrepreneurs. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2I%3A_Corporations_and_Corporate_Power.txt |
Recently, industry has become more information-intensive, which has led to higher productivity but also higher unemployment and inequality.
Learning Objectives
• Examine how the Information Age is leading to higher productivity but fewer jobs, which lead to polarization between incomes of the rich and poor
Key Points
• Industry is becoming more information -intensive, less labor-intensive, and less capital-intensive. Jobs traditionally associated with the middle class are beginning to disappear, either through outsourcing or automation.
• Automation and computerization have resulted in higher productivity, but they have also led to higher unemployment and a net job loss.
• Individuals who lose their jobs can respond in several ways. They can either specialize, and join a group of “mind workers,” or settle for low-skill, low-wage service jobs. The resulting polarization has led to a growing disparity between incomes of the rich and poor.
• Jobs traditionally associated with the middle class are beginning to disappear, either through outsourcing or automation.
• Individuals who lose their jobs must either move up, joining a group of “mind workers,” or settle for low-skill, low-wage service jobs.
• There is another way in which the Information Age has impacted the workforce: automation and computerization have resulted in higher productivity coupled with net job loss.
Key Terms
• mind workers: A term for Information Age workers such as engineers, attorneys, scientists, professors, executives, journalists, and consultants.
• automation: The act or process of converting the controlling of a machine or device to a more automatic system, such as computer or electronic controls.
• Information Age: The current era, characterized by the increasing importance and availability of information (especially by means of computers), as opposed to previous eras (such as the Industrial Age) in which most endeavors related to some physical, man-made process or product.
Industry in the Information Age
In general, industry is becoming more information-intensive, less labor-intensive, and less capital-intensive. These trends have led observers to call the modern era the information age. The trend toward an information-based economy has important implications for the workforce. While productivity stands to increase dramatically, unemployment is also rising, and jobs are increasingly polarized into the following two categories: high-skill, high-wage jobs, and low-skill, low-wage jobs. Additionally, for the first time, workers are being forced to compete in a global job market, in which jobs tend to be attracted by countries with lower wages.
The Disappearance of Manufacturing Jobs
As technology advances, workers are becoming increasingly productive, but the value of labor, and the demand for labor, are both decreasing. Workers who perform easily automated tasks are being replaced by technology that can do the work faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. As a result, automation and computerization have led to both higher productivity and a net job loss. In the United States, from January, 1972 to August, 2010, the number of people employed in manufacturing jobs fell from 17,500,000 to 11,500,000. During the same time period, the value of production from manufacturing increased 270%.
In general, jobs that are traditionally associated with the middle class (assembly line workers, data processors, foremen, and supervisors) are beginning to disappear due to automation. They are also disappearing because of outsourcing, which has become more common in an era of global free trade. Production and service workers in industrialized nations are unable to compete with workers in developing countries, who are willing to tolerate much lower wages. As a result, in industrialized nations like the U.S., those working in production have either lost their jobs or been forced to accept wage cuts.
“Mind Workers”
Individuals who lose their jobs can respond in several ways. They can either settle for low-skill, low-wage jobs, or they can move up, joining a group called “mind workers. ” This category includes engineers, attorneys, scientists, professors, executives, journalists, and consultants. Currently, these “mind workers” form about 20% of the workforce. They are able to compete successfully in the world market and command high wages. Increasingly, jobs in countries like the United States are polarized into low-skill, low-wage jobs or the high-skill, high-wage jobs of these “mind workers. ” Because of this polarization, there is a growing disparity between the incomes of the rich and poor. In the United States, income inequality began to rise in the 1970s and has increased even more quickly during the 21st century. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2J%3A_Ominous_Trends_in_the_U.S..txt |
After WWII, decolonization ended formal colonialism, but economic inequality has given rise to neocolonialism.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the concepts of colonialism, decolonization and neocolonialism in terms of society and economic impact
Key Points
• Colonization was motivated by economics. European powers sought to expand their markets and acquire raw materials overseas.
• Decolonization occurred in response to independence movements in colonized territories when European powers determined that the benefits of maintaining colonies was not worth the costs.
• Neocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control.
• Neocolonialism is motivated by economics. Countries and corporations seek to achieve favorable economic policies overseas and do so by pinning loans to particular actions on the part of African states.
• The dependency principle refers to the claim that post-colonial states have no choice but to accept Western conditions for loans, because they desperately need the money to support their own domestic policies.
Key Terms
• dependency principle: The notion that resources flow from a “periphery” of poor and underdeveloped states to a “core” of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former. It is a central contention of the dependency theory that poor states are impoverished and rich ones are enriched by the way poor states are integrated into the “world system. “
• colony: A territory under the immediate political control of a ruling state.
• metropole: The parent-state of a colony.
When speaking of colonialism, most people imagine the European colonization of Africa. Historically, the period of colonization tends to refer to the era from the sixteenth century until the mid-twentieth century, during which ships from Europe were actively seeking out new territories, new peoples, and new markets to acquire. However, colonialism has been practiced throughout history and all over the world. In general, colonialism occurs when people from one territory establish or acquire, maintain, and expand colonies in another territory. In colonialism, the metropole or colonizing power claims sovereignty over the colony.
Often, colonization is driven by a desire for economic expansion. In the sixteenth century, European colonization of Africa contributed significantly to European economic development. European colonization intensified because Europeans had just developed galleons or ships that could navigate more easily all the way to Africa. Easier access to foreign lands encouraged European nobles and merchants to seek out new territories in an effort to acquire raw materials and develop new markets. Extracting raw materials from foreign lands provided the fuel for the Industrial Revolution, and the practice of slavery provided Europeans with a new source of labor power.
At the same time that colonialism benefited European economies, it had devastating consequences for African economies. Colonized territories were forced to depend on colonizers for trade. Local institutions and political structures were dismantled and replaced with ones imposed by colonial powers.
After World War II, colonial systems were dismantled in a process referred to as decolonization. Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, or the claim of a formerly colonized people for independence and self-determination. In part, decolonization was the result of independence movements in colonized territories. In part, it was also the result of an calculated economic decision made by colonial powers. The cost of maintaining colonial empires had begun to exceed their value for the European powers.
Decolonization has had a significant impact on the economies of the newly formed states. First and foremost, newly independent African states had to develop an economic system. Moreover, even though the former colonies were now formally independent, they were still rather dependent on the West for assistance in developing economic and political structures. Thus, Western corporations still had a significant amount of control over the new states. Newly independent states borrowed money from the West in order to fund their own development, resulting in a new system of debt. For decades, this debt has been politically impossible for many countries to pay off and still exists.
Although decolonization ended formal colonialism, unequal economic relationships between the developed West and newly independent states had set up a system referred to as neocolonialism. Neocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control. External forces exert power in Africa in two ways. First, multinational corporations (MNCs), or companies with operations in multiple countries, apply pressure for certain political behaviors to suit their own interests. For example, if an American company wants to farm in Ethiopia, the company can apply pressure on the Ethiopian government to grant them certain conditions in exchange for the investment in the land. This function operates because of the dependency principle. In other words, many African countries are so desperate to bring in revenue to support their domestic agendas that it is in their interests to accept unsavory conditions from foreign companies. In this way, foreign companies exert significant influence over post-colonial states. The combination of the degree of the influence and the dependency principle creates a situation that in many ways mirrors colonialism. Second, foreign countries can exert influence over post-colonial states by only offering loans under certain conditions. This, again, invokes the dependency principle and mirrors colonialism.
Neocolonialism: Some argue that the financial institutions of the post-World War II world are themselves instruments of neocolonialism. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.02%3A_The_Transformation_of_Economic_Systems/16.2K%3A_Colonialism_Decolonization_and_Neo-Colonialism.txt |
A trade bloc is an agreement where regional barriers to trade are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.
Key Points
• Trade blocs can be stand-alone agreements between several states, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or part of a regional organization, such as the European Union.
• A single market is a type of trade bloc that is composed of a free trade area for goods, with common policies on product regulation, as well as freedom of movement on capital, labor, enterprise, and services.
• A common market is a first stage towards a single market, and may be limited initially to a free trade area with relatively free movement of capital and of services, but not so advanced in reduction of the rest of the trade barriers.
Key Terms
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): An agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. It came into force in 1994.
• Common market: A common market is a first stage towards a single market, and may be limited initially to a free trade area with relatively free movement of capital and of services, but not so advanced in reduction of the rest of the trade barriers.
• trade bloc: A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade, (tariffs and non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.
A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alone agreements between several states, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or part of a regional organization, such as the European Union.
A single market is a type of trade bloc that is composed of a free trade area for goods, with common policies on product regulation, as well as freedom of movement on capital, labor, enterprise, and services. According to the principles of capitalism, a single market has many benefits. With full freedom of movement for all the factors of production between the member countries, the factors of production become more efficiently allocated, further increasing productivity. However, entering a trade bloc also strengthens ties between member parties. In so doing, member parties not only share each others’ strengths but also each others’ weaknesses.
Economist Jeffrey J. Scott argues that for a trade bloc to be successful, members must share four common traits: similar levels of per capita national income, geographic proximity, similar or compatible trading regimes, and a political commitment to regional organization. For better or for worse, trade blocs are prevalent. Since 1997, more than 50% of all world commerce was conducted under the auspices of regional trade blocs, such as NAFTA.
A common market is a first stage towards a single market, and may be limited initially to a free trade area with relatively free movement of capital and of services, but not so advanced in reduction of the rest of the trade barriers.
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Although we usually think of work as paid, unpaid work is equally important to the economy.
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the differences, importance and implications of both paid and unpaid work
Key Points
• An hourly worker is an employee paid an hourly wage for their services, as opposed to a fixed salary. A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract.
• Unpaid workers work without pay.
• An internship is a system of on-the-job training for white-collar and professional careers. Although interns are typically college or university students, they can also be high school students or post-graduate adults.
• Unpaid work includes work done by family members to maintain a household. This work is usually done by women, and includes tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and rearing children.
• An internship is a system of on-the-job training for white-collar and professional careers. Although interns are typically college or university students, they can also be high school students or post-graduate adults.
Key Terms
• alienation: Emotional isolation or dissociation.
• specialization: applying to some specialty or limited object; assigning to a specific use; as, specialized knowledge
• Division of labor: A division of labour is the dividing and specializing of cooperative labour into specifically circumscribed tasks and roles.
Most of the time when we think of work, we think of paid work. Workers may be paid in a variety of ways, most commonly hourly wages or salaries. An hourly worker is an employee paid an hourly wage for their services, as opposed to a fixed salary. Hourly workers may often be found in service and manufacturing occupations, but are common across a variety of fields. A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract.
Many types of work, however, are unpaid. Unpaid workers work without pay. These may be members of a family or cooperative; conscripts or forced labor; volunteer workers who work for charity or amusement; students who take intern positions as work experience; or conventional workers who are not paid because their enterprise is short of money. Internships are a common type of unpaid work.
An internship is a system of on-the-job training for white-collar and professional careers. Internships for professional careers are similar to apprenticeships for trade and vocational jobs. Although interns are typically college or university students, they can also be high school students or post-graduate adults. Generally, the internship is an exchange of services for experience between the student and his or her employer. Students exchange their cheap or free labor to gain experience in a particular field. They can also use an internship to determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or gain school credit. Some interns also find permanent, paid employment with the companies in which they interned. Thus, employers also benefit, as experienced interns need little or no training when they begin full-time, regular employment.
Another important type of unpaid work is work done by family members to maintain a household. Unpaid domestic work has traditionally been done by women (e.g., wives and mothers). Their work may include cooking, cleaning, rearing children, or managing household expenses. As more women enter the paid workforce, many find themselves returning home after a day of paid work to continue working a “second shift” of unpaid domestic work. Though unpaid, this domestic work is crucial to the economy: it keeps workers alive and healthy and helps raise new generations of workers to keep the paid economy running. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.03%3A_Work/16.3A%3A_The_Importance_of_Paid_and_Unpaid_Work.txt |
Division of labor is the specialization of cooperative labor in specific, circumscribed tasks and roles.
Learning Objectives
• Examine how the division of labor can lead to alienation and less satisfaction in the workforce
Key Points
• A more complex division of labor is closely associated with the growth of economic output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and the complexity of industrialization processes.
• In a division of labor, the production process is broken down into a sequence of stages, and workers are assigned to particular stages.
• Increasing the specialization of work might lead to workers with low overall skills and a lack of enthusiasm for their work.
• Karl Marx described the process of alienation as follows. In his view, workers would become more and more specialized, and work would become more and more repetitive, until eventually the workers would be completely alienated from the process of production.
• Labor hierarchy is a very common feature of the modern workplace structure.
Key Terms
• Division of labor: A division of labour is the dividing and specializing of cooperative labour into specifically circumscribed tasks and roles.
• specialization: applying to some specialty or limited object; assigning to a specific use; as, specialized knowledge
• alienation: Emotional isolation or dissociation.
Division of Labor
In a division of labor, the production process is broken down into a sequence of stages, and workers are assigned to particular stages. Cooperative labor is specialized into specific, circumscribed tasks, which individuals in specific roles accomplish. Historically, as societies have developed more and more complex divisions of labors, the economies of those societies has grown proportionately, both in trade output and living standards. A complex division of labor appears to be strongly correlated with the rise of capitalism, as well as the rise of complex industrial production.
Marxist Alienation
While it can have benefits for productivity, the specialization of labor can lead to workers with low overall skills and low enthusiasm. This viewpoint was extended and refined by Karl Marx. He described the process of specialization as alienation. In his view, workers become more and more specialized, and their work becomes more and more repetitive, until eventually they are completely alienated from the production process. He believed people could only be liberated if they were involved in the full scope of economic production, and he considered the strict division of labor only a temporary, necessary evil.
Globalization and the Division of Labor
In the modern world, those who think most about the division of labor are involved in the fields of management and organization. Now that labor has been specialized not just nationally but globally, people often wonder what type of division of labor would be the most beautiful, fair, ideal, and efficient. It is widely accepted that the division of labor is to a great extent inevitable, simply because no one person can do every task at once. Labor hierarchy is a very common feature of the modern workplace structure, but of course, the way these hierarchies are structured can be influenced by a variety of factors.
The issue reaches its broadest scope in conversations about globalization, which is often euphemistically defined as the expansion of world trade based on comparative advantage. Theoretically, in an era of globalization, countries specialize in the work they can do at the lowest opportunity cost. Critics however allege that international specialization cannot be explained sufficiently in terms of “the work nations do best. ” Instead, critics think this specialization is guided more by commercial criteria, which favor some countries over others.
16.3C: Industrial Work
Industrial labor is labor in industry, usually manufacturing, but it may also include service work, such as cleaning or cooking.
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the impact of the Industrial Revolution on workers and the shift from small scale to large scale workforces
Key Points
• Before the Industrial Revolution, most production took place in homes or in small workshops. After the Industrial Revolution, production increasingly took place in factories, giving rise to industrial labor.
• A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor.
• Karl Marx used the term proletariat to describe the industrial working class.
• A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor.
• Karl Marx used the term proletariat to describe the industrial working class.
Key Terms
• proletariat: the working class or lower class
• Industrial labor: Industrial labor is labor in industry, mostly understood as manufacturing, but can include related service workers, such as cleaners and cooks.
• blue-collar worker: A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution dramatically changed labor practices. New technology made workers much more efficient and productive, but these developments were expensive. Building new industrial machines required enormous investments. To be able to afford these investments, production had to take place on a larger scale. Before the Industrial Revolution, most production took place in homes or in small workshops. After the Industrial Revolution, production increasingly took place in factories, many of which were situated together in industrial districts.
Industrial labor is defined as labor in industry. In most cases, this is understood as manufacturing, the type of labor that takes place in factories, on assembly lines, and that which involves heavy machinery. This being said, industrial labor also includes service jobs that rose up alongside, and as a result of, industrial production. Industrial labor includes factory workers, but it may also include service workers, such as cleaners and cooks.
Karl Marx referred to industrial laborers as members of the proletariat. In common parlance, these people are often referred to as blue-collar workers. Blue-collar work may be skilled or unskilled, and includes manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanics, maintenance, technical installation, and other types of physical work. Often, blue-collar workers physically build or maintain something.
The New Blue-Collar Worker: This clip from CNN shows the development of a new type of blue-collar worker in South Carolina.
The term “blue collar” refers to the type of clothing often worn by industrial workers. Industrial and manual workers often wear durable canvas or cotton clothing that may be soiled during the course of their work. Navy and light blue colors conceal potential dirt or grease on workers’ clothing, helping them appear cleaner. For the same reason, blue is a popular color for overalls. Some blue-collar workers have uniforms embroidered with either the business’ name or the individual’s name. | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Economy/16.03%3A_Work/16.3B%3A_Importance_of_Division_of_Labor.txt |
Learning Objectives
• Examine the impact of fertility rates on society and the various ways fertility is computed and discussed
In demography, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to produce, which is called fecundity. To estimate how quickly a population is growing, demographers must know how frequently people are added to the population by being born, so they measure fertility. There are a number of different approaches to measuring fertility rate—such as crude birth rate (CBR), general fertility rate (GFR), child-woman ratio (CWR), total fertility rate (TFR), gross reproduction rate (GRR), and net reproduction rate (NRR).
Crude birth rate (CBR) is the number of live births in a given year per 1,000 people alive at the middle of that year. General fertility rate (GFR) is the number of births in a year divided by the number of women of childbearing age (usually 15 to 49 years old, or sometimes 15 to 44 years old), times 1000. It focuses on potential mothers only, and takes the age distribution into account. Child-Woman Ratio (CWR) is the ratio of the number of children under 5 to the number of women 15-49, times 1000.
Cohort Measures
Age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) is the number of births in a year to women in a 5-year age group, divided by the number of all women in that age group, times 1000. The usual age groups are 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, etc.
Total fertility rate (TFR) is the total number of children a woman would bear during her lifetime if she were to experience the prevailing age-specific fertility rates of women and survive until the end of her reproductive life. TFR equals the sum for all age groups of 5 times each ASFR rate. The TFR is a synthetic rate, not based on the fertility of any real group of women since this would involve waiting until they had completed childbearing. The TFR represents the average number of children a woman would have were she to fast-forward through all her childbearing years in a single year, under all the age-specific fertility rates for that year.
The TFR (or TPFR—total period fertility rate) is a better index of fertility than the crude birth rate because it is independent of the age structure of the population, but it is a poorer estimate of actual completed family size than the total cohort fertility rate. In particular, the TFR does not necessarily predict how many children young women now will eventually have, as their fertility rates in years to come may change from those of older women now.
Gross reproduction rate (GRR) is the number of girl babies who would be born to a woman completing her reproductive life at current age-specific fertility rates. It assumes that all of the baby girls will grow up and live to at least age 50. Like the TFR, the GRR ignores life expectancy. It assumes that all women will survive at least until the end of their reproductive lives.
Net reproduction rate (NRR) starts with the GRR and adds the realistic assumption that some of the women will die before age 59; therefore they will not be alive to bear some of the potential babies that were counted in the GRR. NRR is always lower than GRR, but in countries where mortality is very low, almost all the baby girls grow up to be potential mothers, and the NRR is practically the same as GRR.
Factors Impacting Fertility
Human fertility depends on a long list of factors, including physical health and nutrition, sexual behavior, culture, instinct, endocrinology, timing, economics, way of life, and emotions. Fertility rates vary among countries and cultures because these factors vary. Demographers study the factors that affect fertility in order to better understand fertility patterns and their variance. Three of the major categories they study are physical health and nutrition, sexual behavior and human fertility, and political issues regarding childbirth and childrearing.
Population Control
The birth rate is an issue of concern for many governments and policymakers. Some, including those of Italy and Malaysia, seek to increase the national birth rate using pronatal measures such as financial incentives to new mothers. Conversely, other countries have policies to reduce the birth rate, such as China’s former one-child policy.
In some places, government policies have been focused on reducing birth rates by improving women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Typically, high birth rates have been associated with health impairments and low life expectancy, low living standards, low status of women, and low levels of education. There are claims that as countries go through economic development and social change, birth rate declines. Indeed, demographers consistently find that one of the strongest predictors of fertility rates is women’s educational attainment. Almost universally, higher levels of educational attainment correspond to lower fertility rates.
Key Points
• There are a number of different approaches to measuring fertility rate —such as crude birth rate (CBR), general fertility rate (GFR), child-woman ratio (CWR), total fertility rate (TFR), gross reproduction rate (GRR), and net reproduction rate (NRR).
• Fertility rates are influenced by a number of factors, including intentional measures such as contraception and major social events.
• Demographers have posited a demographic-economic paradox, in which fertility rates decline as countries become more economically developed.
• Almost universally, higher levels of educational attainment correspond to lower fertility rates.
Key Terms
• fertility: The birthrate of a population; the number of live births per 1000 people per year.
• contraception: The use of a device or procedure to prevent conception as a result of sexual activity.
• fecundity: Ability to produce offspring.
In demography, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to produce, which is called fecundity. To estimate how quickly a population is growing, demographers must know how frequently people are added to the population by being born, so they measure fertility. There are a number of different approaches to measuring fertility rate—such as crude birth rate (CBR), general fertility rate (GFR), child-woman ratio (CWR), total fertility rate (TFR), gross reproduction rate (GRR), and net reproduction rate (NRR). | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/17%3A_Population_and_Urbanization/17.01%3A_Population_Dynamics/17.1A%3A_Fertility.txt |
Learning Objectives
• Explain the various ways mortality is calculated, such as the crude death rate, infant mortality rate and life expectancy
Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 (out of 1,000) in a population of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.95% out of the total. This measure is also called the crude death rate. As of July 2009 the crude death rate for the whole world is about 8.37 per 1000 per year according to the current CIA World Factbook.
Just as demographers measure fertility in different ways, they also measure mortality in various ways. Some of the more common demographic measures of mortality include the crude death rate (the annual number of deaths per 1000 people), the infant mortality rate, or the annual number of deaths of children less than 1 year old per thousand live births, and life expectancy, which measures the number of years that an individual at a given age can expect to live, given present mortality rates.
Like fertility, mortality also depends on the age and gender distribution of a population. Older people are more likely to die, so countries with a higher proportion of old people may also have a higher mortality rate. Similarly, men and women may have different life expectancies; therefore, mortality rates can vary with the gender distribution of a population. Thus, for example, the number of deaths per 1000 people can be higher for developed nations than in less-developed countries, despite life expectancy being higher in developed countries due to better standards of health. This happens because developed countries typically have a completely different population age distribution, with a much higher proportion of older people, due to both lower recent birth rates and lower mortality rates.
To more accurately estimate mortality rates, demographers calculate age and gender specific mortality rates. These rates are compiled in a life table, which shows the mortality rate separate for each age group and gender. A life table is necessary to give a good estimate of life expectancy.
Like fertility, mortality rates vary between countries, especially between developing and developed countries. Overall, developing countries tend to have higher mortality rates, higher infant mortality rates, and lower life expectancies. The causes of death also tend to vary between countries. For example, mortality due to malnutrition tends to be much higher in developing countries, whereas in developed countries, people are more likely to die of age-related diseases.
Sociologists have theorized that one of the best predictors of longevity, or a high life expectancy, is education, even when other factors are controlled, people with more education tend to live longer. A few additional years of schooling statistically corresponds to several additional years of life expectancy and vastly improved health in old age. The mechanism through which this works is not the schooling itself, but rather schooling’s influence on other health-related behaviors. Education tends to lower the likelihood of smoking and engaging in unhealthy and high risk behaviors. Education also increases the probability of engaging in healthy behaviors, like exercise.
Key Points
• Like fertility, mortality rate can be measured in a number of ways.
• Specific measures of mortality include the crude death rate, the infant mortality rate, and life expectancy.
• Infant mortality rates measure the annual number of deaths of chldren less than 1 year old per thousand live births.
• Life expectancy measures the number of years that an individual at a given age can expect to live, given present mortality rates.
• Different causes of death become more or less prevalent as countries become more economically developed, and death rates vary between countries.
• Different causes of death become more or less prevalent as countries become more economically developed, and death rates vary between countries.
Key Terms
• Causes of death: The causes of death tend to vary between countries. For example, mortality due to malnutrition tends to be much higher in developing countries, whereas in developed countries, people are more likely to die of age-related diseases.
• life table: In actuarial science and demography, a life table is a table which shows, for each age, what the probability is that a person of that age will die before his or her next birthday (“probability of death”).
• crude death rate: the total number of deaths per year per 1000 people | textbooks/socialsci/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/17%3A_Population_and_Urbanization/17.01%3A_Population_Dynamics/17.1B%3A_Mortality.txt |
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