SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Child Benefit, Elite, Gabriel Kolko
Document Summary
-theory: power held by multiple groups, who has power varies from issue to issue. ->method: find who influenced decision-->evidence shows that multiple groups have influence on decisions. ->critiques: many issues never even come onto the table. ->such as enormous tax rate to redistribute money. ->family allowance to allow children to survive in some reasonable dignity, etc. ->so that christmas and easter are no longer days when every store is closed. ->another critique: if economy does not do well (no jobs, job creation dynamic falters), politicians become unpopular, enormous numbers of very unhappy people. ->don"t need power elite conspiracy theory to explain why government would in general do things to benefit business class election. ->this creates a strong economy-->this is what keeps politicians reelected. ->when economy is failing, it doesn"t matter what else you"re doing, you will lose next. ->in pluralist models of how societies work, there are lots of different groups with different interests.
