SOC 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Interlocking Directorate, Oligarchy, Social Darwinism
Document Summary
Answer: the sociological perspective is a perspective on human behavior and its connection to society as a whole. It invites us to look for the connections between the behavior of individual people and the structures of the society in which they live. Typically, we tend to think of our society as just natural. When one uses only the person blame approach, it frees the government, the economy, and the educational system (among other institutions) from blame. The person blame approach ignores the strains that are caused by inequalities within the system. Shifts the blame from institution to individuals so the system goes unchallenged: the well-off retain their advantage, threats they symptom and not the diseases. Blaming the system also presents problems for social scientists as well. Ultimately the system is made up of people. Systemic explanations for social problems is only part of the truth. The system-blame approach may, therefore, absolve individuals from responsibility for their actions.
