chapter 16 - work & the political economy

what is an economy

what is an economy

social arrangements that organize the production, distribution and consumption of goods

what is hunting and gathering

• allows for stable diets for nomads

• exploit food resources for immediate consumption

• mechanical solidarity

• everyone participates in acquiring food

what is horticulturalism

• 10000 to 12000 years ago

• Based on animal and plan domestication

• Simple work techniques, turning the soil, slash and burn

• Simple and complex horticultural societies

• supports larger groups of people

• Development of sedentary based communities

• Changed when irrigation was introduced

what is pastoralism

• Immerged at same time of horticulturalist

• Usually nomadic

• People make living by tending herds and animal

• Increasing social inequality

what is agriculture

• 6000 to 10000 years ago

• Led to dramatic increase in population

• Use of plows

• Huge impact on humans

• People liberated from food production

• Few agrarian societies evolved into empires

what is pre-industrial / Feudal economy

• Generated productivity form agriculture

• Artisan work (potters, bakers etc.)

• Life revolved around farming - family centered

• Increased gender-division of labour

• Industries around warfare expanded

• Timing becomes more important

what is industrialization

• Development of technology

• Use on non-animate sources of energy to produce goods

• Using new sources of power, centralization of work, mass production, emergence of the factory , specialization, wage work

• Exploitative working conditions in early factories

• Caused rapid growth and immuring social problems

what is post-industrialization

• Reorganization of society from the growth of information technology, global consumerism, integrated financial markets, and cultural pluralism

• Smaller, flexible workplaces

• Increase in PT work

• Based on Knowledge-based activities and providing services

what are the 3 sectors of the economy

primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector

what is the primary sector

Exploiting raw materials from the environment (<2%)

what is the secondary sector

transforms raw materials into consumers goods (10%)

what is the tertiary sector

provides services and incused part-time, precarious work (75%)

what is the Primary Labour market (core jobs)

professions which requires post-secondary education with a stable salary and benefits

what is a profession

prestigious occupations that require a specialized body of knowledge

what are the 6 characteristics of professions

1. Common body of specialized knowledge

2. Regulated performance standards

3. Representative professional organization

4. Perceived by the public as a profession

5. Code of ethics

6. Formal programme of training and professional development

what is the secondary labour market (peripheral jobs)

• Insecure, and temporary, minimal pay, few opportunities to advance

• Called McJobs (high levels of control, predictable and efficient which Devalue, demean and oppress workers)

what are labour unions

• collective bargaining and strikes

• decline in younger members and in private sector

• represent workers to improve wages and working conditions

• worker needs employer more than employer needs workers

• workers have a collective indispensability to the employer

what is the functionalist approach

• oscial stability, social integration, kept at status quo.

• People need to connect to their work

• Occupational group (Durkheim) promotes integration and belonging for workers

what is the conflict theory approach

• alienation of workers (Marx)

  • capitalism leads to particular experience of works where workers dont own their goods and its not important to them which leads to alienation form their product

  • alienation from fellow workers due to job competition

  • can’t fulfill our potential under capitalism

• workers are de-skilled in industrial production

what is the symbolic interactionalist approach

• social drama

• work plays role in our sense of self

• Weber - work is your calling from God (protestantism)

what is Hughe’s Social drama

how our identities are framed through our work (social interactionalism)

what is the feminist theory approach

• women live in 2 worlds (Birurcated consciousness -Dorothy Smith)

• reproductive economy and productive economy

• women’s unpaid work

• need a broader definition of work

what are the global economic systems

capitalism, socialism, communism and state/welfare capitalism

what is capitalism

economic system grounded in private ownership of the means of production (pure capitalism doesn’t exist)

what are the 3 defining features of capitalism

1. Private ownership

2. Ability to pursue personal gain and profit

3. Competition among business

what is state/welfare capitalism

political and economic system combining free-marked principles and social welfare programs

• gives all citizens access to important resources

• means of production is collectively owned

• hard to compete with countries who are able to exploit resources

what is socialism

• Raw materials and the means of production and collectively owned

• Tries to address needs of majority

• Different than communism

what are the 4 defining features of socialism

1. Collective ownership

2. Centralized

3. State-administered planning agency

4. Production and distribution of goods without profit motive

what are politics

endeavours to gain and maintain control of the state apparatus

what is the state

 institutions that maintain a monopoly over legitimate use of force in a given territory

what is the political economy

 interactions of politics, government and governing, and the social and cultural constitution of markets, institutions and actors

• Wallace Clement (defining feature of Canadian sociology)

• Harold Innes (The staples thesis)

what is Harold Innes’ The staple Thesis

Canadian development based on exploitation of raw materials for export

what is power for weber

ability to achieve ones desires despite resistance

what is domination for Weber

situations in which and entire group of people could be directed to comply with commands

what is authority for Weber

describes the situation in which subordinates consider the domination by leaders to be legitimate

what are the 3 types of authority

traditional authority, rational-legal authority, and charismatic authority

what is traditional authority

present when power is legitimated by respecting long-established cultural patterns and traditions (most universal and primitive type of authority - based on patriarchal authority)

• i.e. a chief rules a group

• Irrational aspect from patriarchy which prevents undertaking of large scale economic activity which requires rational planning

what is rational-legal authority

presents when power is legitimated though laws, rules, and regulations

• Rule of law is rationalized

• rise of bureaucracy

• Most relevant for our time of study

what is Bureaucracy

rational organization decide to complete many routine tasks as efficiently as possible

• Central for understanding society - become most dominate form of social control in modern society

what are Weber's defining characteristics of bureaucracies

• Extensive division of labour

• Specific hierarchy of authority

• Ongoing written records

• Written policies and procedures for workers and customers

• Hiring based on rational experience of knowledge

what are the features of bureaucracies

• Decisions based on rationalization

• Specialization of functions - outromanced based

• distinction between official duties and personal relationships

• Authority tied to position (not person)

• Codification of norms with written rules and regulations

• Emergence of hierarchy of authority

• Hiring based on expertise

what is weber’s iron cage - economic organization

• Dehumanizing and depersonalizing experienced of bureaucracy

• It compromises authentic relationships

• Bureaucratic domination allows for the more efficient suppression of the individual in modern society

what are corporations

primary organizational structure in capitalism economies

• legal entity that has rights and liabilities that go beyond those of its individual members

• Can own property and enter into contracts

• Required to pay taxes, at lower rates

• Flexibility to sell interests

• Richest Canadians control the largest corporations, possess disproportionate share of the country’s wealth

what are Global political systems

monarchies, absolute monarchies, constitutional monarchies, authoritarian regimes, dictatorships, totalitarianism, democracy

what are monarchies

power and legitimacy resides in a single person / family passed down generationally

what is an absolute monarchy

monarchs defined through family membership / divine connection (i.e. Russian Zhar and French monarchy)

what is a constitutional monarchy

symbolic in that true leadership is held by elected body

what is an authoritarian regime

controlled by rules who don’t allow citizens to participate

what is a dictatorship

leader relies on personal loyalties and threats of force

what is a totalitarian regime

power through forced, state apparatus attempts to regulate virtually everything, emerges when leader sees their interests in conflict with the interests of the masses (I.e. Nazi regime)

what is a democracy

political system in which individual adult citizens select their representative leaders through an electoral process (a need for obtaining consensus of the masses) - 2 types

what are the 2 types of democracies

participatory democracy and representative democracy

what is a participatory democracy

citizens involved personally in decisions

what is a representative democracy

citizens elect representatives to act on their behalf

what is communism

Marx’s hypothetical economic system in which ownership of means of production is collective and workers labour isn’t exploited

what is a military Juanta

an authoritarian regime where military leaders rule a country after seizing power

what is the prime minister

head of federal government

what is the cabinet

committee of ministers in charge of government departments w

that are senators

non elected officials appointed by federal government to represent their constituents and the interests of Canada

what are back benchers

elected members of parliament who dont hold a cabinet position

what is the govenor general

crown representative at federal level in Canada

what are lieutenant-govenors

crown representative in each province

what is a territorial commissioner

federal government representative in each territory