Essentials of Sociology 9 th Edition Chapter 11: Politics and the Economy
Economy This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program t1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Chapter Overview
n Power, Authority, and Violence n The Transformation of Economic Systems n Types of Government n The U.S. Political System n World Economic Systems n Capitalism in a Global n Who Rules the United Economy States? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t2
Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Power
— Power: Ability to get your way despite resistance — Two Types of Power: Authority (Legitimate Power) and Coercion (Illegitimate Power) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t3 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy 3 Types of Authority
(Weber)
Ø Traditional Authority – Authority based on custom, we will always know who is next in line Ø Rational­Legal Authority – Authority is based on written rules; we may not know who is next in line, but we know how they will be elected Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t4 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy 3 Types of
Authority (con’t
(con’t.)
.) Charismatic Authority – a person becomes an authority figure because of his/her outstanding traits — Transfer of authority is problematic — Two ways authority can be transferred: § The authority figure can appoint someone The authority figure can build and organization out of which comes rational­legal authority; this is referred to as Routinization of Charisma
§ Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t5 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Types of Government
Monarchies – King and Queen (e.g., Great Britain) Democracies – Direct and Representative Direct Democracy was the 1 st type of democracy formed by the colonists Representative democracy is the type of government the U.S. has today Dictatorship – Rule by one Oligarchy – Rule by a few Dictatorships and Oligarchies are examples of Totalitarianism (total control by the government) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t6 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy The U.S. Political System
Republicans — Older — Middle to Upper Social Classes — Conservative — Less government Democrats — Younger — Minority Groups — Women more than men — Liberal — Working classes — More government Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t7 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Voting Patterns
— Non­Hispanic Whites most likely to vote — Men and women tend to vote for different presidential candidates — The more people feel they have a stake in the system, the more likely they are to vote — Voter Apathy is present in the U.S.: indifference to voting­Why is it so widespread? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t8 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t9
Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t10
Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Figure 11.1 Which Political Party Dominates? Note: Domination by a political party does not refer to votes for president or Congress. This social map is based on the composition of the states’ upper and lower houses. When different parties dominate a state’s houses, the total number of legislators was used. In Nebraska, where no parties are designated, the percentage vote for president was used. Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009:Table 395.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t11 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Lobbyists and
Special Interests
Special Interest Groups: People Who Think Alike on a Particular Issue and Mobilize for Political Action Lobbyists: People Paid to Influence Legislation who work for Special Interest groups — Often times, lobbyists are people who are retired from the government — The main criticism of Special Interest groups and Lobbyists are that they buy votes Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t12 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy PACs in
U.S. Elections
— PACs are Political Action Committees They are formed to get around the $1,000 contribution rule PAC Money Buys Votes Most PACs Stand for Financial Interests of Specific Groups Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t13 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Functionalist
Perspective
Functionalist Perspective: Pluralism (Diffusion Among Many) — The functionalist perspective believes that the U.S. is ruled by many different groups — There is a check and balance between the main branches of the government: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t14 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Conflict
Perspective Perspective
Conflict Perspective: The Power Elite/Ruling Class (C. Wright Mills and Dumhoff) rule the government Figure 11.2 Power in the United States: The Model Proposed by C. Wright Mills Source: Based on Mills 1956.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t15 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy War and Terrorism
Three Essential Conditions of War (Nicholas Timasheff) 1.Antagonistic Situation – Two or more states confront incompatible objectives 2.Cultural Tradition of War – Leaders of a group see war as an option for dealing with serious disputes with other nations 3.Fuel – Heats the antagonistic situation to a boiling point Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t16 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy War and
Dehumanization
— — — — Moral Cost Reducing People to Objects Breeds Callousness and Cruelty Characterization of Struggle Between Good and Evil — Terrorism ­ Use of Violence to Create Fear Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t17 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy The Transformation of
Economic Systems
— Preindustrial Societies: Birth of Inequality Hunting and Gathering Societies Pastoral and Horticultural Societies Agricultural Societies — Increasing Social and Economic Inequalities Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t18 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy The Transformation of
Economic Systems
— Industrial Societies: Birth of the Machine Brought Previously Unseen Surpluses Factories Exploited Labor More Efficient Machines Led to Conspicuous Consumption — Postindustrial Societies: Birth of Information Age Service Sector Vast Surplus of Goods Extensive Trade among Nations Wider Variety and Quantity of Goods Information Explosion Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t19 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy World Economic
Systems­­Capitalism
Systems
Capitalism
Capitalism: Three components Private Ownership of Means of Production Market Competition Pursuit of Profit — Laissez­Faire Capitalism – Government is not involved in decision making — Welfare or State Capitalism – Individuals have certain rights but are overseen by the government –this is the U.S. economy Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t20 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy World Economic
Systems­­Socialism
Systems
Socialism
Socialism ­ Three components: Public Ownership of Means of Production Central Planning Distribution of Goods without Profit Motive — Needs Decided by Central Committee — Designed to Eliminate Competition — Everyone Works for the Government Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t21 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy The Convergence of
Capitalism and Socialism
— Both capitalist and socialist systems have adopted features from the other — The convergence theory refers to the growing similarities shared by capitalism and socialism — i.e. Western banks in China, unemployment compensation in the U.S. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t22
Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy The Globalization of Capitalism
— Stagnant Paychecks: the productivity of U.S. workers has increased year after year, yet inflation and cost of living has affected the value of a paycheck — New Economic System and Old Divisions of Wealth: U.S. worker face high insecurities in the workplace with layoffs and plant closings. Many are affected by outsourcing. The wealthy are not really affected by the current recession. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t23
Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy Figure 11.4 Average Hourly Earnings of U.S. Workers in Current and Constant Dollars Note: Constant dollars are dollars adjusted for inflation with 1982 as the base. Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 1992:Table 650; 1999:Table 698; 2010:Table 629.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t24 Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy The Globalization of Capitalism Capitalism
The Global Superclass: this term refers to the leaders of the globe’s top multinational companies — This class is very powerful and wealthy — They have access to the top circle of political power around the globe Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. t25
Politics and the Economy Politics and the Economy