Social Problems Exam 1

Charles Derber — Main argument

American capitalism and extreme individualism encourage antisocial behavior that damages people, communities, democracy, and the environment.

Sociopathic society

A society whose dominant values and institutions reward selfish, exploitative, or harmful behavior.

Wilding

Pursuing personal advantage without caring about the harm caused to other people or society.

Petty wilding

Small everyday acts of selfishness, disrespect, exploitation, or disregard for others.

Conversational narcissism

Redirecting conversations toward oneself instead of listening to and supporting the other person.

The American Dream

American success is defined through individual wealth, status, ownership, and competition, often at the expense of community.

Over-socialization

Following society’s dominant values so completely that one engages in harmful behavior to achieve socially approved success.

The Ik

A displaced Ugandan people whose relationships broke down under starvation and extreme scarcity, illustrating how material conditions can destroy solidarity.

Sociocide

The widespread destruction of trust, relationships, communities, and institutions necessary for society to survive.

Social capital

The relationships, networks, trust, and organizations that provide people with support and collective power.

Policide

The destruction of democratic politics and its replacement by authoritarian rule and coercion.

Karl Marx — Main argument

Capitalism produces exploitation, inequality, alienation, competition, and conflict between social classes.

Exploitation — Marx

Workers create more economic value than they receive in wages, while owners keep the surplus as profit.

Alienation — Marx

Workers become disconnected from their labor, products, other workers, and sense of human purpose.

Marx on wilding

Capitalism encourages wilding because it rewards profit, competition, self-interest, and treating other people as instruments.

Émile Durkheim — Main argument

People require social integration and moral regulation; weak social bonds produce egoism, anomie, and social breakdown.

Social integration

The degree to which people feel connected to families, communities, organizations, and society.

Anomie

A condition in which social rules and moral limits become weak or unclear, leaving people without stable guidance.

Egoistic suicide

Suicide connected to insufficient social integration, isolation, and weakened bonds with collective life.

Marx versus Durkheim

Marx emphasizes capitalism and class power; Durkheim emphasizes weakened integration and moral regulation.

Surplus people

People capitalism treats as unnecessary, insecure, replaceable, or economically disposable.

Globalization

The worldwide movement of capital, production, jobs, goods, and finance across national borders.

Globalization and inequality

Companies move production to cheaper locations, weakening workers’ bargaining power and increasing profits for owners while reducing wages and job security.

Vivek Murthy — Main argument

Loneliness and social isolation are major public-health problems created partly by weakened relationships and social institutions.

Loneliness versus isolation

Loneliness is the subjective feeling of inadequate connection; isolation is objectively having few relationships or interactions.

Triangle of extinction

Capitalism, environmental destruction, and militarism reinforce one another and threaten human survival.

Capitalism and climate change

Profit maximization, fossil fuels, consumerism, corporate power, and unlimited growth drive environmental destruction.

American climate exceptionalism

The United States produces unusually high emissions because of consumption, cars, large homes, militarism, fossil-fuel infrastructure, and corporate influence.

Carbon-industrial complex

The corporations, banks, lobbyists, and politicians that profit from fossil fuels and resist serious climate policies.

Green capitalism

The attempt to solve environmental problems through markets and technology; the authors argue it helps but cannot overcome unlimited growth and profit without systemic change.