sociology final exam

capital

the resources we use to get things we want and need

economic capital

financial resources that are or can be converted into money

economic elite

the minority of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth

social mobility

opportunity to move up or down in the economic hierarchy

proletariat

a class of people who are employed by others and work for a wage

Bourgeoisie

a class of people who employ the workers

means of production

resources that can be used to create wealth

labor

the work people do with their bodies and minds

class consciousness

an understanding that members of a social class share economic interests

socialism

an economic system based on shared ownership of the resources used to create wealth that is then distributed by governments for the enrichment of all

service and information economy

an economy centered on jobs in which workers provide services or work with information

glass ceiling

an invisible barrier that restricts upward mobility

glass floor

an invisible barrier that restricts downward mobility

colorism

prejudice against and discrimination towards people with dark skin compare to those with light skin, regardless of race

How are wealth and income distributed in the U.S.?

The bottom 90% of households share 50% of the income, while the top 10% share the other 50%. About 25% of that income goes to the top 1%. A household in the top 1 percent earned more in two weeks than a middle-class household makes all year.
The richest 1% of Americans control about a third of the countries wealth.

overall not evenly at all

Egalitarian

all people are equal

social stratification

the spitting of people into socioeconomic groups

Why were foraging societies more egalitarian and what factor led to the creation of social stratification?

Foraging societies were on the move, so a person could only own as much as they could carry.
Agriculture led to the creation of social stratification because farmers could not pick up and leave when the weather got bad or crops were bad. People started hoarding stuff in case of these situations.

What kind of economic system is capitalism? What is Marx’s theory of capitalism and what is the dark side of capitalism that he reveals?

Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the resources used to create wealth and the right to gain personal profit. Marx noted the proletariat and bourgeoisie. He argued that the shift to wage labor changed the relationship workers had to their work. He revealed how workers felt very disconnected from their work.

What is alienation in Marx’s theory and why does he argue that workers in a capitalist society feel alienated toward their labor?

Alienation is the idea that there is dissatisfaction and disconnection from the fruit of one’s labor. People feel this way because they work for low wages in bad conditions at jobs they didn't care about.

What is the crisis of capitalism predicted by Marx and what did he predict it would lead to?

Crisis is that the interests of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie were directly opposed.
Bourgeoisie would set up systems that allowed them to extract wealth from workers’ labor, shuffling money upward, enriching the bourgeoisie.
The proletariat would become more poor and unable to purchase goods sold by the bourgeoisie.
Number of bourgeoisie would dwindle, smaller amounts of people would have control of more and more wealth, changing wealth distribution.

What were the characteristics of the Gilded Age?

unusually high economic equality, top 1% so rich that they owned more property than all of the rest of america combined.

How are the characteristics of the gilded age related to free market capitalism?

Very little government regulation of companies, monopolies, workers treated inhumanely, politicians were bribed

What are labor unions? What do they try to accomplish and why are they often resisted by capitalists?

Labor unions - associations that organize workers so they can negotiate with their employers as a group instead of as individuals.
They were highly resisted by capitalists because they advocated for higher wages and overtime pay. Asked for safer workplaces, compensation, etc, and when they joined together, their employers were forced to bargain with them.

What was the New Deal and what kind of changes did it create in American society?

The New deal introduced government regulation to break up monopolies, enforce honest business, and protect workers and their rights to unionize.
a middle class was created as a result

The New Deal - Transfer payments

redistributions of wealth from one social group to another, in order to shuffle some of the money collected by the bourgeoisie back down to the workers

The New Deal - Social safety net

a patchwork of programs intended to ensure that the most economically vulnerable do not go without basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter.

the new deal - living wage

income that allows full time workers to afford their basic needs

the new deal - welfare capitalism

a capitalistic economic system with some socialist policy aimed at distributing the profits of capitalism more evenly across the population, a large number of financially comfortable workers emerged as a result.

Why were the new middle class in the New Deal era mostly white?

Politicians deliberately designed new deal policies to exclude black and hispanic americans or ensure that they received inferior benefits. Occupations held mostly by americans of color were exempted from the new laws.

Why is the contemporary U.S. economy referred to as the New Gilded Age? What led to the emergence of this New Gilded Age?

Its a second time period of very high economic inequality. Politicians have been reversing the policies of the new deal slowly over the past 2 decades. Reducing taxes for the rich etc.

What is a gig economy and how does it impact people?

A gig economy is when workers take piecemeal tasks, work long hours, and have little workplace protections. They don't get paid sick time, overtime, or disability. People put in more and more hours making less money because they have to in order to support themselves.

What does the term precariat refer to?

Precariat is a new class of workers who live economically precarious lives. (economic insecurity)

Who are at the risk of becoming members of the precariat?

college grads

What is the “protestant work ethic” and how is it related to Americans’ lack of care for the poor?

Protestant work ethic - the idea that one’s character can and should be measured by one’s dedication to paid work
People associate the poor with laziness, untrustworthiness, and lack of work ethic.

What is the process of “legitimation” and how does a racialized Protestant work ethic legitimate economic inequality?

Legitimation - the process by which a potentially controversial social fact is made acceptable.
Ascribes bad ethics to low-status groups, making it seem like the suffering of the poor is inevitable and sometimes good.

How is poverty traditionally viewed in the U.S.?

Viewed as largely the result of individual inadequacies and failings. (not working hard enough, failure to acquire skills, making bad decisions) Poverty is often seen through a lens of individual pathology. (the idea that hard work is rewarded)

Why does the author argue that poverty affects us all? - rethinking american poverty

We all pay for high rates of poverty. We pay more for health problems, family problems, and a less stable workforce. Undermines our security as a nation.
We end up putting our tax dollars and resources towards the by-products of poverty.

Why is poverty the result of failings in the economic and political levels, rather than individual failing?

Over the past 30 years, the US economy has been producing more and more low-paying jobs, part time jobs, and no benefits.
Approx. one third of all jobs are low paying

why is poverty a moral problem?

injustice, rather than blame should be responsible

What does it mean that race is a modern social construction?

The idea of race is not based on biological differences among people, even though race has become important in determining how we interact. It is a particular way of viewing human difference that is a product of colonial encounters.

race

a group of people who share physical and cultural traits as well as common ancestry

ethnicity

group identity based on notions of similar and shared history, culture, and kinship

colonialism

the practice of acquiring political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

genocide

mass killing of a group of people, especially of those of a particular racial or ethnic group

ideology

a set of principle and ideas that benefits the dominant groups

trail of tears

removal of indians

What were the characteristics of slavery across the world and before the invention of race?

No society had denied the humanity of slaves
Slaves were at times treated bad but they were always still treated as human, and slavery was never attributed to racial inferiority.

What was the original perception of Europeans of indigenous people? What did they do to the indigenous lands and populations?

The europeans admired the indigenous originally, but their relationship deteriorated fast because the spaniards primary motive was to extract gold from the americas
They used weaponry to overpower and enslave the indigenous to compel them to find gold and silver

What were the objectives of European colonizers? Why did they enslave Africans?

They just wanted gold and silver from america
The enslavement of indigenous people was banned, so the Europeans turned to Africans to be their workers. They did not enslave Africans because they thought they were inferior, they just thought they would be good assets.

Who were European indentured servants? What was their relationship with the African Slaves?

European indentured servants were poor people from british cities (peasants)
Slaves were never treated worse than indentured servants before 1660, similar social status

What were the slave codes of the 17th century? Why were they created?

The slave codes of the 1660s spelled outlegal differences between African slaves and European indentured servants. They were created to prevent black people from owning property or bearing arms - these laws specific to black people changes status quo
Greatly changes indentured servants to have much higher social status than african slaves

At what point and for what purpose was the idea of race created? How is it related to the Declaration of Independence?

Race was created to separate indentured europeans form african slaves and prevent black people from owning property and making their way out of slavery eventually. The Declaration of Independence states that all men were created equal, but the men who wrote it all owned african slaves and refused to outlaw slavery. They all made profit from their slaves as well

How was American slavery in the 18th century different from previous forms of slavery?

American slavery in the 18th century was the first form of slavery to deny the humanity of slaves.

What is scientific racism? Provide some examples.

Scientific racism is the use of science to justify or reproduce racial inequality.
Ex: head shape, similarity to chimpanzee photo

Institutional discrimination

systematic denial of resources or opportunities to members of certain groups

Hypersegregation

residential segregation so extreme that many people’s daily lives involve little or no contact with people of other races

Tracking

the practice of placing students in different classrooms according to their perceived ability

adultification

a form of bias in which adult characteristics are attributed to children

Cross-institutional advantages and disadvantages

a phenomenon in which people are positively or negatively served across multiple institutions

Cumulative advantages or disadvantages

advantage or disadvantage that builds over the course of life

Intergenerational advantage or disadvantage

advantage and disadvantage that is passed from parents to children

What are the mechanisms of racial and ethnic residential segregation, both past and present?

In the past, freed slaves fled the north, and segregation laws were implemented to restrict them and keep them in the same areas. A lot of white people left neighborhoods that black people started to move into. Politicians invested in white only schools and neighborhoods.
Today, facebook allows advertisers to filter out people of certain races, immigrants, and people with disabilities. White flight still occurs today

How does residential segregation facilitate the unequal distribution of benefits and harms?

Resource deserts - lack critical amenities because low income people live there, health care deserts, service deserts

environmental racism

The practice of exposing racial and ethnic minorities to more toxins and pollutants than white people

How does unequal access to resources and environmental racism explain the higher rates of contracting and dying of Covid-19 for people of color?

They are vulnerable in the way they work, riding long distances on public transport, cramped living conditions, multigenerational households, struggle to access timely testing and treatment.

How is residential segregation connected to inequitable education (explain inequality between schools and within schools)?

Best educational opportunities are usually reserved for white students, harsh discipline to people with color, less resources given to schools with more people of color
Achievement gaps
Funding for schools comes from local property owners - children living in poor neighborhoods get poor education

How is policing of schools racially charged and how does it contribute to “school-to-prison pipeline”?

Children of color are treated as though they have malicious intent (adultification)
School to prison pipeline is a practice of disciplining and punishing children and youth in school that routes them out of education and into the criminal justice system
Being labeled increases likelihood of a child to engage in criminal activity

How is criminalization of marijuana related to racism and anti-immigrant sentiments?

Anti-immigrant propaganda spread that mexicans were using weed too much and it needed to be criminalized - in turn the government demonized marijuana

How are mass incarceration and deportation race-related?

Drugs are used as a way to deport people of color and hispanics

3 levels of racism

Institutionalized racism - 

* Initial historical insult
* Structural barriers
* Societal norms
* Unearned privilege

Personally mediated racism - 

* Intentional 
* Unintentional
* Condoned by societal norms

Internalized racism - 

* Reflects system of privilege
* Undermines collective action
* Reflects societal values

Patriarch/property marriage

a model of marriage in which women and children are owned by men

breadwinner/homemaker marriage

a model of marriage that involves a wage-earning spouse supporting a stay at home spouse and children

Family wage

an income, paid to man, that is large enough to support a non-working wife and children

Heteronormative

promoting heterosexuality as the only or preferred sexual identity, making other sexual desires invisible or casting them as inferior

Mononormative

promoting monogamy, or the requirement that spouses have sexual relations only with eachother

pro-natal

promoting childbearing and stigmatizing choosing to go child-free

Partnership unions

a relationship model based on love and companionship between equals

sexism

the production of unjust outcomes for people perceived to be biologically female

androcentrism

the production of unjust outcomes for people who perform femininity

hegemonic masculinity

the form of masculinity that constitutes the most widely admired and rewarded kind of person in any given culture

second shift

the unpaid work of housekeeping and childcare that faces family members once they return home from their paid jobs

glass escalator

an invisible ride to the top offered to men in female-dominated occupations

male flight

 a phenomenon in which men start abandoning an activity when women start adopting it 

How did industrialization change family relations and created the ideology of separate spheres?

Before industrialization, home and work were one (farms, small businesses) - nobody went to work

After industrialization - people worked in large scale operations like factories and mines, urban populations sprung and created workplaces and cities

How did capitalist economy’s need for workers contribute to the end of the breadwinner/homemaker marriage?

During WWII, women in the middle class flooded the workforce to fill jobs men went to war had

Civil rights act made sex discrimination in the workplace illegal

Why is it that only the poorest and richest families are likely to leave one parent at home?

childcare is too expensive for poor people, rich people can afford to only have one income

What is the “ideal worker norm” and how do gender norms put women at a disadvantage in the workplace? What is “mommy track”?

Ideal worker norm - the idea that an employee should devote themselves to their jobs wholly and without the idea of being distracted by family

mommy track - women opt to sacrifice moving up at their job to raise their kids

Why are many families adopting a specialized division of labor rather than a shared division of labor?

Because men mostly have higher paying jobs while women focus on taking care of the house and kids. Work and home are still gendered

How does the ideology of intensive motherhood put pressure on women both at home and at work?

They feel that their kids need them to be intense mothers and care for them all the time at home, and at work mothers get passed up for promotions and opportunities at work because of mommy track.

What is feminization of poverty and what is the reason for it?

women , trans women, and gay, bi and gender nonconforming men at the bottom of the payscale and heterosexual cis men are at the top 

Men usually have more opportunities for promotion and “glass escalator”

What is androcentric pay scale and how is it related to job segregations?

 Positive correlation between the number of men in an occupation relative to women and the wages paid to employees.

Why do sociologists describe the state of gender inequality in the Western world as a stalled revolution?

 Women embrace being masculine but men are reluctant to embrace femininity because it has a negative effect on them.

Social reproduction

the process by which society maintains an enduring character from generation to generation

power elite

a relatively small group of interconnected people who occupy top positions in important social institutions

social capital

the idea that a small group of networked individuals controls the most powerful positions in our social institutions

cultural capital

symbolic resources that communicate one’s social status

collectivism

the idea that people are interdependent actors with responsibilities primarily to the group

What is the difference between the pluralist theory of power and the elite theory of power?

Pluralist theory of power - competing groups work together to achieve their goals

Elite theory of power - individuals control the most powerful positions

How do the power elite maintain their control by moving between social institutions?

They use their power in one place to get to another