SOCL 2001 Lecture : Sociology Final Notes
Document Summary
Work and the economy: the economy- the social institution that determines how a society produces, distributes, and consumes goods and services. Capitalism: an economic system in which wealth is in private hands and is invested and reinvested to produce profits, characteristics of capitalism, private ownership, competition, profit. Capitalism and socialism crash course video: invest to increase wealth, industrial capitalism, increase production, decrease price. Pragmatic argument: capitalism provides the most effective way of coordinating a complex economic system, capitalism creates powerful incentives for innovation and economic growth. Argument against state interference: governments rule by command backed up by force, governments are therefore inherently a threat to freedom; the sheer fact of the state implies a restriction on freedom. Economic conditions in capitalism: monopoly- situation in which one person or company controls a particular market or industry, oligopoly- market dominated by a few large suppliers. Discussion: how do oligopolies such as apple or microsoft or disney influence our lives.
