SOCI 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Bowling Alone, Pension, Universal Health Care

• School: UBC
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI 102
• Professor: Katherine Corrigall- Brown

Document Summary

How do states affect society: states shape culture: laws, educational curricular and practices, states provide public goods: clean air, universal health care, states structure our opportunities: create infrastructure, generates incentive, state provides forums for working out social conflicts: States like other institutions change over time. State-society relations over time: early europeans states developed through war, better state bureaucracies gave advantage in war, controlled by nobility, spread of democracy (1776-early 1900s) diffused access and control over state power, 20th century: development of welfare states. Programs to reduce economic inequality in society. Expansion of state agencies, services: late 20th century (mid-1970s onward) Decline in legitimacy and trust of states. Universal programs: programs available to all citizens, regardless of income/ wealth (pension plan, very popular, but expensive and not good at reducing inequality. Means tested programs: programs based on a means test (who needs it, less expensive and better at reducing inequality.