...According to the essay” The Future of Capitalism”, the author focused on the market solutions that could effectively address the pressing and future economic and social problems in advanced capitalist economies. I am from China where a communist country is. It is a trend to change the governmental structure to capitalism, because the China’s economy is progressing that provides Chinese residents with better life and personal consciousness. All of these aspects influence the development of economic and governmental construction. In the countries of capitalism, there are three economic problems that exist in the society which the paper indicates the following aspects, such as mass unemployment, income inequality and environmental decay. Unemployment means that a significant portion of the population is not being allowed to participate fully in society. Mass unemployment is the result of economic depression, and income distribution is related to labor market. In the paper cites the two problems are endemic in the capitalist economies in that they are the natural results of the interplay of market force and the drive for capital to expand itself. I think unemployment and inequality are closely related to each other. Unemployment is the reason and inequality is the outcome. If a society wants to maintain its status quo, it must provide corresponding goods and service consumed to ensure the synchronization with the market. Employee and goods have been used up in the produced process...
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...circumstances, public opinion would associate inequality with its negative connotation. Social and economic inequality, by its very nature, necessitates an unfairness between distinct groups of people. A variety of researchers, however, argue that this is a limited point of view that overlooks the positive consequences of stratification. Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy suggest that inequality is a necessary and advantageous phenomenon that benefits all members of a society. In support of their claims, the economists cite economic improvements in China and India, in addition to educational gains in the United States. To explain the recent stratification of the American society, Becker and Murphy introduce a concept that they refer...
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...Assess the role of education form the functionalist perspective Functionalists believe that education performs very important roles for individuals, the economy and the wider social structure. It provides secondary socialisation, passing on shared culture enables individuals to develop their potential and regulates their behaviour. Functionalists argue that education has three broad; socialisation where education helps to maintain society by socialising young people in to key cultural values, such as achievement, individualism, equality of opportunity, social solidarity and democracy. The second one is skills provision in which education teaches the skills required by a modern industrial society. These may be general skills that everyone needs such as literacy and numeracy or the specific skills needed for particular occupations. And the final function is role allocation, where education allocates people to the most appropriate jobs for their talents using examination and qualifications. This is seen to be fair because there is equality of opportunity, everyone has the chance to achieve success in society on the basis of their ability. ...read more. Middle Educational mechanisms such as grades, examinations, references and qualifications are used to sort individuals. Society is this a meritocracy in which people are rewarded for intelligence, ability and effort. Functional importance is decided by length and specialist training required for particular occupations. It is claimed...
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...are robust and sustainable, but will also need to build a workforce that is strong and trained with the right skills (Baily & Bosworth, 2014). This paper will first look at the significant events of the history of U.S. labor to understand the current situation of the U.S. economy and how it has affected the workers. In this paper, U.S. labor, workforce or labor force refers to a pool of people who are employed in the United States. Since manufacturing is a significant source of employment for U.S. workers, the government has made advanced manufacturing as the center of its economic agenda to help with recovering the U.S. economy. Advanced manufacturing, as described in the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report, is an effort to improve the U.S. industry in systems engineering using materials that are cutting edge with innovative technologies (PCAST, 2012). Therefore, this paper will focus on how advanced manufacturing will affect the future for U.S. labor and help decrease unemployment. It will also discuss the different participants of the U.S. labor and how the economy could affect the participation rate of the workers, labor shortages, and skills gap in the future,...
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...society. There is a general feeling that those who are wealthy and powerful are superior to the average person. Social stratification involves not only socio-economic inequality, but the belief system held by people in America. A stratified society exists when there is an unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige. In American society, political power and wealth are not distributed equally (Johnson, 1996). Paul Krugman is an economist and author of the book, 'The Spiral of Inequality' (1996). Krugman believes corporate greed, the decline of organized labor and changes in the way goods are produced are the causes of the growing social and economic inequality in the United States (Anderson, 2003). There is an unspoken general agreement in America that certain occupations deserve higher wages and more respect. Professions, such as physicians, lawyers, athletes and actors, are held in high esteem, whereas custodians, waitresses and trash collectors are considered professions that are not worthy of respect or praise and require minimal skill or intelligence. America most definitely needs skilled physicians and lawyers, but it also needs custodians, trash collectors and others who perform much needed tasks in order for society to thrive and function properly. Due to declining wages in the United States, the inequality of wealth and income is growing (Marshall, 1998). The minimum wage in America has not kept up to the cost of living or median wage (Acs & Gallagher, 2000). A large...
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...Higher Sociology Understanding Human Society 1 Acknowledgements SFEU (Scottish Further Education Unit) gratefully acknowledges the contribution made to this publication by Learning and Teaching Scotland who have granted permission to use material previously produced by Higher Still Development Unit. SFEU also thanks SQA for permission to reproduce parts of the Arrangement documents. Copyright statement Documents on NQ Online can be downloaded free. However, where the publications are the copyright of Learning and Teaching Scotland, educational establishments in Scotland may reproduce them in whole or in part provided that the source is acknowledged and that no profit accrues at any stage. Other users of these publications should contact Learning and Teaching Scotland before reproducing any of them. Please note all rights held by the former Higher Still Development Unit continue to be held by Learning and Teaching Scotland. Contents Statement of Standards 3 Guide to Learning and Teaching Pack 7 Introduction to the Unit and Learning and Teaching Approaches 8 Class stratification 9 Recommended reading and recommended websites for class stratification 10 Introduction to social stratification 11 Class stratification 15 Functionalist theory of class stratification 24 Summary of functionalism ...
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...People can immensely benefit from what social class an individual is positioned in, what race they are assigned, and what gender they identify as. According to Conley, social class, also called socioeconomic status, is “an individual’s position in a stratified social order” (2017 p.521). While social class is composed of any combination of parental education attainment, parental occupation, family income, and family wealth, someone’s social class can have a whopping impact on whether a child attains a decent amount of education in order to provide for oneself. Furthermore, students that come from an upper-class background are encouraged by parents to acquire a higher level of education. Likewise, this urges the students to challenge themselves...
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...Economy of Inequality Drivers of Inequality: socio-economic mechanisms Admin • Major Essay Guidelines in UoS pages 5-6 due Monday May 11th 40% of your total mark for ecop 2616 Submit on time. 2000 words maximum. Penalty for longer essays Prepare carefully What is required? • Critical review of the content of the book, not the author! • Locate the ‘field data’ (your book) within the conceptual, historical and empirical material covered in the course material. • Book summaries receive zero marks. Intro: (1) Short précis of the book. ‘This book covers….” (2) outline the specific issues/concerns that your essay will address; (3) identify the theoretical, conceptual, historical or empirical frameworks covered in the course material that you will use to interpret and critically evaluate the dynamics of inequality highlighted in your book. Body: • a coherent and well organised discussion of the issues you have elected to focus on. • Your argument must be substantiated in a proper academic manner. Use sub-headings if they help organise your ideas. Conclusion: • summary of your argument and any outstanding issues. Where are we up to? • Weeks 1-3: theoretical questions • Weeks 5-7: historical and contemporary patterns of distribution • Weeks 8-11: causal mechanisms • Weeks 12-13: alternatives and conclusion. The cumulative character of inequality • Consequences of inequality often become causes of inequality. - eg labour...
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...Outline and assess functionalist’s explanations of the role of the education system in society. As a theory which places heavy emphasis on the analysis of institutions and their relationship with society, especially with regards to the functions of institutions, Functionalists place a significant amount of focus on the education system. Functionalists believe that education has 3 basic roles. The first being socialistion, the second being to teach skills required by a modern industrial society and the third being to role allocate. However, this perspective is not always accepted, it’s macro theory approach is often seen as too wide bearing to be applied to the study of the education system as well as critics which dispute the functions of the education system as portrayed by functionalists. Nevertheless, its macro theory approach puts the education system in context and is therefore a theory which is notable when discussing the role of the education system. Firstly, it cannot be ignored that one of the main principles of the theory is that society is based upon consensus, - agreement between norms and values. As an institution of secondary socialisation, Functionalist theorists see the education system as one of the main institutions which help to achieve value consensus within society, allowing society to operate in a smooth manner. Durkheim suggested that the education system is an institution which helps to create a “collective consciousness”, uniting society into one body...
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...Jeanette Cepin Power & Inequality In The Workplace Term: Summer 2015 Professor: Bonnie Johnson Final Reflection Essay Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society that with hard work, dedication, and discipline we can accomplish the so called “American Dream”? Some have been able to accomplish this dream, but many still struggle and continue to work non stop in order to reach a dream that is almost impossible to achieve. The United States of America, “the land of the free and opportunities”, hasn’t really been the land of the free, with opportunities for all. During my 7 week summer course, I was able to have a better and deep understanding of how the United States is structured to benefit a certain group while denying others opportunities. How those in power acquired their power, work to maintain it through inequality, how these inequalities can a lot of times be correlated, and how can we work together to make a difference. In order to understand inequality we must first identify what are the factors that contribute in creating it. Social class, which can define one’s position in society, contributes to a form of conflict. Social class divisions have always played a prominent role in America. These class distinctions inflict unfair on all Americans. The idea of social class has been a central concept in determining the opportunities a person is capable of having. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles as well...
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...The flexibility of labour markets and the elite-orientated education of liberal market economies in the UK and the US result in higher degrees of inequality compared to coordinated market economies. Discuss. Student ID: 0956592 Word count (excluding references): 2492 This paper will discuss and analyze whether the flexibility of labour markets and the elite orientated education in liberal market economies, found in the UK and the US are the only reasons for higher degrees of inequality, compared to coordinated market economies. In order to understand the labour markets of liberal market economies and coordinated market economies, they must be defined in terms of their differences, which can affect the flexibility of their labour markets. Furthermore, it is important to note that there are numerous inequalities which may emerge in this analysis. Namely, gender inequality, class inequality, and wage inequality as well as some other perspectives will be examined. The aim of this paper is recognize which inequalities are more prominent in either liberal market economies or coordinated market economies, in relation to the flexibility of relevant labour market. Drawing on the work of Polanyi (1994), Esteves-Abe et al. (2001) suggest that market failures in economies can be avoided depending on the type and the extent of the social protection offered from national institutions. Liberal market economies, such as the US and UK, have an institutional framework which accents...
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...There are a multitude of observations that can be made when analyzing the life of youth today, then of our parents in the 1960-70’s era. Economic and social transformations that have a direct impact on youth and how it is experienced today, particularly in the workplace, can be evaluated through the sociological concepts of Globalisation and Social Change which are noticeably intertwined in this analysis. We see in Australia that Globalisation has been a driver in exacerbating inequality in our society from that of the youth under the dependent age of 21 in the 1960-70’s era to now. Through the increase in worldly connectedness via technological communication and immigration we are met with diversity which has stimulated social change. Social...
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...Journal of Business Studies Quarterly 2010, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 65-82 ISSN 2152-1034 Gender Compensation Discrimination: An Exploration of Gender Compensation Gap and the Higher Education Connection Judith E. Grey-Bowen, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Donovan A. McFarlane, The Donovan Society LLC and Frederick Taylor University Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender gap and the potential factors that contribute to income inequality. Since the passing of the equal pay act, the median weekly earnings of women is still just seventy eight cents on each dollar that men earn (Center for American Progress, 2010). To put this in context, the pay gap in 1970 was sixty two cents and in 1992 it was seventy five cents (Institute for Women’s Research, 1993). Undervaluation of women’s work, occupational gender segregation, and discriminatory treatment in the workplace continue to hamper efforts to reduce the gender pay gap. A pay check is women’s and men’s most important source of income. Therefore, it is surprising, discriminatory and unfair to know that after both genders have worked satisfactorily on the same job; they do not receive the same pay. The gender pay gap is the best way to measure pay inequality between men and women. The authors discuss Gender Compensation Discrimination and examine the historical trends in pay difference, the various causes and the methods and paths considered for closing the Gender Compensation Gap. Key words: Gender Compensation...
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...Disparities in Educational Attainment Introduction History is inherently dominated by men. Women, however, have played major roles in the world as well. Society had always accepted a lifestyle of the man bringing home the money and the woman cooking, cleaning and raising the children. This is not entirely true because women started their movement for equality when Africa was colonized by Europe. Women were more negatively affected than positively influenced during colonialism in Africa. Discussion Women's status and power receded mainly due to the fact colonialism affected each part of their lives, consisting of, but not limited to, education, economic status and ancestry. Colonial proprietors thought men should have power over the crop growing and manufacturing of crops because the European powers thought men would be better suited in this area to be successful than women (unescostat.unesco.org ). Males, in comparison, were taught regularly the newest ideas that were used to aid their production and agricultural proficiency. The men were given the ability to use plows and types of transportation such as bikes and automobiles (White 2003), while the women were forced to work by hand and carry everything to and fro. Women prepared themselves for acts to show what was wanted including rural opposition, cultural self-rule, work movements, and spiritual and political demonstrations (Rosenstone 2006). In fairly non-violent actions in Ghana and Nigeria, women wrote letters...
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...study focuses on diverse factors that affect the development of women in Mombasa County. Background of the Study Gender disparities in employment opportunities and economic investment patterns in Kenya have continued to widen across all sectors of the economy and at various levels of development intervention. This trend has led to increased unemployment, under-employment, poverty and powerlessness among many Kenyan women. Part of the reason for the persistent inequality is the slow process of mainstreaming gender into employment creation and poverty eradication policies, programmes and strategies in a coordinated, multi-sectorial and crosscutting way. The other reason relates to the existence of social, cultural and structural barriers to effective female participation in the labour force. These and other factors have jointly contributed to the low pay and productivity of women’s labour and to their continued under-representation in senior management positions within the public and private sectors. Gender inequality is widespread in virtually all employment sectors. Statistics shows that women are well represented in business administration enrolment figures and the rapid expansion of this sector has given them a healthy share of lower and middle-level management positions. Their progress to top...
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