SOC 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Social Exclusion, Rock–Paper–Scissors, Socioeconomic Status
18 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Non-egocentric: examines the economic system as a whole, treating the individual"s decisions and efforts as only part of a larger array of factors. Critical: goes beyond appearances to find the hidden mechanisms. Relational: explains individuals experiences in terms of how they are positioned in and connected to social forces, instead of their inherent qualities. Biological reductionism: inequality is caused by or adapts to biologically inherent differences in ability and motivation among people. Functionalism: inequality provides functional benefits to society as a whole. Inequality is necessary in order to provide incentives. Dialectical theory: inequality results from the workings of capitalism as a social system. Specifically, capitalists accumulate wealth by exploiting workers. In exploitation, workers create more value than they are paid; the difference becomes profit. Organism: a system of interdependent parts where each part benefits, and benefits from, the whole. Meritocracy: a system that allocates benefits according to merit and achievement.
