Society, Seventh Edition Economics and Politics. Society, Seventh Edition Agricultural Revolution The Economy -- The social institution responsible for

Society, Seventh Edition

Economics and Politics


Agricultural Revolution

• The Economy -- The social institution responsible for organizing the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

• Four factors that made the economy a distinct social institution– Agricultural technology– Job specialization– Permanent settlements– Trade


Industrialization Introduced Five Notable Changes To Western Societies

• New sources of energies– Steam-fueled machine operation

• Centralization of work in factories– Impersonal factories replaced cottage industries

• Manufacturing and mass production– Turning raw materials into a wide range of products

• Specialization– Diverse division of labor and lower overall skill

requirements

• Wage labor– Working for strangers with intense supervision


The Information Revolution

Postindustrial economy– a productive system based on service work and high-technology

The information revolution has altered work the fundamental character of work in three ways

• From tangible products to intangible ideas– Creating and manipulating symbols in modern

society

• From mechanical skills to literacy skills– Speaking, writing, and computer knowledge

• From factories to almost anywhere– Laptops, cell phones, virtual office


Figure 12-1 (p. 304)

The Size of Economic Sectors by Income Level of Country


Sectors Of The Economy

• Primary sector– Generation of raw materials from the

environment• Low income countries = 23% of economy• High income countries = 2% of economy

• Secondary sector– Transformation of raw materials into

manufactured goods• Growth rapid in all industrialized nations or those

entering the phase

• Tertiary sector– Economy generates services rather than goods

• Low income countries = 38% of economy• High income countries = 68% of economy


The Global EconomyGlobal Economy – expanding economic

activity with little regard to national borders

This activity has four major consequences• Global division of labor• Products pass through many countries• National governments n longer control the

economic activity within their borders• A small number of businesses now control

a vast share of the world’s wealth


CAPITALISMAn economic system where the natural

resources and the means of producing goods and services is privately owned

Three distinct features:• Private ownership of property

– Key concept of capitalism

• Pursuit of personal profit– Simply a “matter of doing business”

• Competition and consumer sovereignty– The “invisible hand” is at work so leave the

market alone


SOCIALISMAn economic system where the natural

resources and the means of producing goods and services are collectively owned

Three distinct features:• Collective ownership of property

– Limits the right to private property

• Pursuit of collective goals– Pursuit of profits stands at odds

• Government control of the economy– Centrally controlled economy– Consumers should not drive economy


Alternative Systems• Communism – a hypothetical economic

ad political system in which all members of a society are socially equal

• Welfare Capitalism – an economic and political system that combines a mostly market-based economy with extensive social welfare programs

• State Capitalism – an economic and political system in which companies are privately owned but cooperate closely with the government


CAPITALSIM VS. SOCIALSIM• Economic productivity

– GDP is $13,500.00• Economic equality

– More income disparity

• Overall well-being– A high quality of life,

but greater disparities

• Personal freedoms– Are the heart of a

capitalistic system; Need creative forces

• Economic productivity– GDP is $5,000.00

• Economic equality– Less income

disparity• Overall well-being

– Lower standards of living, but less disparity

• Personal freedom– Stress is placed

upon freedom from basic needs


THE WORKFORCE• THE DUAL LABOR MARKET

– PRIMARY LABOR MARKET• EXTENSIVE BENEFITS TO WORKERS

– SECONDARY LABOR MARKET• MINIMAL BENEFITS TO WORKERS

• LABOR UNIONS– ORGANIZED LABOR SEEKING BETTER WAGES AND

BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS– DECLINE OF UNIONS

• LOSS OF HIGHLY UNIONIZED JOBS• CONCESSIONS HAVE INCLUDED DISSOLUTION OF

UNIONS• MANY TEMPORARY WORKERS THESE DAYS


TRAITS OF PROFESSIONALS

Profession – a prestigious white color occupation that requires extensive formal education

• Theoretical knowledge– Extensive schooling

• Self-regulated practice– Participation in associations

• Authority over clients– Follow my suggestions

• Orientation to community rather than self-interest– Not the pay, but the help


TRAITS OF PROFESSIONALS

• PARAPROFESSIONALS– NOT ABLE TO CLAIM FULL PROFESSIONAL

STATUS– Includes paralegals & medical technicians

• SELF-EMPLOYMENT– EARNING A LIVING WITHOUT WORKING

FOR A LARGE CORPORATION•WOMEN FIND FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY


Effects of Computers on Work

• “De-skilling” labor– Machines make decision-makers

obsolete

• Making work more abstract– Understanding rather than “doing”

• Limiting workspace interaction– Isolates workers

• Enhance employer’s control of workers– Electronic monitors


Figure 12-4 (p. 314)

Average Hourly Wages for Workers in Manufacturing,

1999


CORPORATIONAN ORGANIZATION WITH A LEGAL EXISTENCE, INCLUDING RIGHTS

AND LIABILITIES, APART FROM THOSE OF ITS MEMBERS

• ECONOMIC CONCENTRATION– IN 2002, WAL-MART WAS THE LARGEST

• $214 BILLION IN REVENUE• 700,000 EMPLOYEES

• CONGLOMERATES - SEVERAL SMALLER CORPORATIONS– STRATEGY FOR DIVERSIFYING– INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES

• COMPETITION IS A GREY AREA– MONOPOLY: DOMINATION OF A MARKET BY

ONE CORPORATION– OLIGOPOLY: DOMINATION OF A MARKET BY A

FEW CORPORATIONS


Politics & Government

• Politics– The social institution that distributes power, sets a

society’s agenda, and makes decisions

• Power– The ability to achieve desired ends despite resistance

from others

• Government– A formal organization that directs the political life of a

society


AuthorityPower People Perceive As Legitimate, Not Coercive

• Traditional– Power legitimized through respect for long established cultural

patterns

• Rational-legal– Power legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations

• Charismatic– Power legitimized through extraordinary personal abilities that

inspire devotion and obedience– Routinization of charisma

• The transformation of charismatic authority into some combination of traditional and bureaucratic authority


Evolution of Political Systems

• Hunting and Gathering– Like family: specialized roles

• Agrarian Societies– Small elite gaining power

• Political States– Restricted governing

• Modern Nation-States– Modern technology brought about larger-scale political systems

referred to as nation-states


THE MONARCHYRULE BY A SINGLE FAMILY OVER GENERATIONS

TYPICAL OF ANCIENT AGRARIAN SOCIETIES

• ABSOLUTE MONARCHY– Rulers monopolizing power based on divine right– Modern Example: Saudi Arabia

• CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHIES– Modern-day monarchies– More figure head than ruler– Political principles rule– Elected official actually rules– Modern Example: Great Britain, Spain, Denmark, etc


DemocracyLinked to Rational-legal Authority

• Democracy – A political system which gives power to the people as a whole

• Representative Democracy – Authority in hands of elected leaders, accountable to the people

• The U.S. Is not truly democratic – extensive use of unelected bureaucratic officials– rich have more political clout than poor

• Capitalist societies claim to be democratic because of personal liberties while socialist countries claim to be democratic because of economic equality


Global Map 12-3 (p. 318)Political Freedom in Global Perspective


Other Forms

• AuthoritarianismAuthoritarianism– A political system that denies popular participation in

government

• Totalitarianism– A highly centralized political system that

extensively regulates people’s lives


Lobbies

• SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS– POLITICAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN

SOME ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL ISSUE• NRA, AARP, AFL-CIO, ACLU, Christian Coalition

• POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES– ORGANIZATIONS FORMED BY SPECIAL INTEREST

GROUPS, INDEPENDENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES, TO PURSUE POLITICAL AIMS BY RAISING AND SPENDING MONEY


Theoretical Analysis• Pluralist model

– Power is dispersed among many competing interests groups

• The power-elite model– “Real” power is concentrated among the very rich in America

• Can the wealthiest in America ever encounter pressure to not act in their own best interests?

• Marxist model– Power is divided along the lines of a political economy

• Bias is rooted within the nation’s social institutions• Revolution is the only answer


Critical Evaluation• Research evidence can be cited that

supports all there perspectives. In conclusion what we can say is:– Nearly all are allowed to participate in the

political process, but large numbers don’t– Major parties and their candidates tend to be

supported and support capitalist interests of the powerful few

– Third parties are marginalized and excluded from major debates


Political Revolution

• Political Revolution – The overthrow of a political order in order to establish another – Coup d’etat – one leader disposing another

Political Revolutions have common traits• Rising expectations

– Tend to happen when quality of life is improving

• Unresponsive government– Government unwilling or unable to reform

• Radical leadership by intellectuals– Revolution is often “university centered” students play crucial role

• Establishing new legitimacy– Guarding against the counterrevolution


Characteristics of TerrorismActs of violence, or the threat of violence, employed by an

individual or a group as a political strategy

1. Define violence as a legitimate political tactic while bypassing established channels of negotiation

2. Used by governments as well as individualsState Terrorism – use of violence generally without the support of law, by government officials

3. Democratic countries are especially vulnerable to terrorism

4. It is a matter of definition, one person’s terrorist is another's freedom fighter


Quincy Wright’s Five Factors That Promote War

• Perceived threats– Threats to people and territory

• Social problems– Internal problems and frustration

• Political objectives– Show of force and protecting one’s own property

• Moral objectives– Rallying people around morality

• Absence of alternatives– Limited options


Figure 12-7 (p. 327)Deaths of Americans in Eleven U.S. Wars


Militarism• The worlds nations spend $1 trillion annually

– $160.00 for every person on earth

• The politics of war– Military industrial complex – the close association between the

federal government, the military, and the defense industry• Follow the money and the careers of pentagon officials after

they leave the military as see where the two end up

• Nuclear weapons– 25,000 warheads worldwide– Nuclear proliferation – the acquisition of nuclear-weapon

technology by more and more nations


Reducing Chances For War And Increasing Chances Of Peace

• DETERRENCE– BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN SOCIETIES

• HIGH-TECHNOLOGY DEFENSE– STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE

• DIPLOMACY AND DISARMAMENT– KEEP TALKING ABOUT REDUCING ARMS

• RESOLVING UNDERLYING CONFLICT– INCREASE SPENDING ON PROMOTING PEACE

RATHER THAN BUILDING UP MILITARY

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Society, Seventh Edition Economics and Politics. Society, Seventh Edition Agricultural Revolution The Economy -- The social institution responsible for