Sociology Exam 5

What is a social institution?

A set of organized instruction or structure that help set up and maintain society

what is the economy

the social institution responsible for the material life of society and providing necessities such as food and resources.

What 3 elements are required for capitalism?

Markets for exchange, private ownership, and control of investment and markets for labor

Markets for exchange

goods are produced to be sold rather than consumed by producers or freely shared

Private ownership and control of investment

Individuals own economic resources, the bourgeoisie owns the means of production

Markets for labor

workers are employees and do not own the firms where they work

corporate capitalism

weak unions, high inequality, little regulation, dominant corporations, government stays out

cooperative capitalism

strong unions, large welfare state, low inequality, redistribution or resources

state capitalism

strong government intervention in the economy; east asian examples show states can manage capitalist growth effectively

deregulation

Removal of government regulations; ecpanded during Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s

Neoliberalism

Belief in greater freedom within the economy and reduced governm

Adam Smith’s core idea

Self-interest promotes national wealth through the invisible hand

Laissez Faire

“let if be”; government should not interfere with the economy

Trickle-down economics

tax cuts and benefits for businesses and wealthy people stimulate growth that eventually benefits everyone

German Dual System

labor representation system with employee participation on company boards, work councils, and strong unions

competitive capitalism

many small firms compete; no single firms dominates the market

Monopoly capitalism

One firms dominates a market, reducing consumer choice

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Law that prohibited monopolies and anti-competitive arrangements

What is a trust

a group of producers controlled by a single board, creating monopoly like power

transnational capitalism

corporations operate globally rather than within a signle

deindustrialization

the closing of factories and decline of manufacturing jobs

4 causes of deindustrialization

Technological change, low foreign labor costs, consumer society, growth of the service sector

Service sector

part of the economy that provides intangible services rather than producing physical goods

social effects of deindustrialization

crime, gangs, poverty, homelessness, broken families, and trapped communities

culural diamond

framework for understanding relationships among creators, cultural objects, and receivers

technical subsystem

creators of cultural products such as artists and writers

managerial subsystem

companies that produce and distribute cultural products

institutional subsystem

media and advertising organizations that promote cultural products

surrogate consumers

first audiences used to test a new cultural product

standardization (Adorno)

cultural products become similar because they are produced for profit

Mass culture theory

suggests cultural products travel through large systems before reaching consumers

conforming

people come to like similar cultural products because they are repeatedly exposed to them

Adorno’s criticism of popular culture

Popular culture is repetitive, profit-driven, and discourages critical thinking

fascism and propaganda

compulsive repetition can encourage conformity and make people susceptible to mass influence