SOC 2 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Fetus, Americanization, Labeling Theory
“Seeing Connections” by Schwalbe
• Every realm of a person’s life connects and affects themselves
• No social mindfulness (example)
• To please discontent from high taxes, taxes are lowered by having budget cuts
on public amenities
• This causes unemployment, poverty, crime
• now needed to pay for better law enforcement
• Higher taxes are split between poor and middle class
• Much larger amount of money put into military than protecting citizens which
backfires on people’s well-being (health, housing, education)
• Not using connections
• Claim: The problem with schools stems from deficiency in students
• Using connections:
• Students do poorly because they are tired and hungry because parents
cannot afford because of high unemployment. Thus, there is a lack of
motivation to stay in school
• Superiority of a man between a couple at home is brought to the
workplace environment between men and women
• The problem of hiring a maid to lessen the inequality between dividing chores within a
couple:
• It may lessen the inequality between the couple, but not society. The couple, who
is probably financially equipped to hire a maid, (more likely to be a woman)
reinforces the idea that their wealth makes them worthy enough to have others
do their “dirty work” for them, thus bringing further dividing socioeconomic
classes as well. If both equally did their share of chores, the need for a maid
would be avoided.
• Analyzing moral problems
• Look at effects of an issue disregarding a personal moral standpoint on the
subject to seek solutions rather than pure argument
• Ex. while abortion may seem immoral to abort a fetus, it shows inequality
to deny a woman from getting a choice to abort a child as if she cannot
make any wise choices compared to men
• Reading Indexes
• Index: signs that represent something
• brings together reasoning of society
• Ex. unpaved road is associated with poverty, shown by government
priorities (gov officials will respond quicker to fixing roads to people with
more money)
• Non-obvious index: huge amount of money is spent on military/war because
countries use armies to become more powerful; people with wealth feel entitled
to exploit others
• Ex. conditions in inner-city show how economy works
• factories moved out of the city to better locations which caused
unemployment in cities
• Lack of compassion of white americans to fix this problem stems from
racism (direct index)
• Unwillingness for white americans to fix this problem comes from
insecurity of their own economic status and “achievements” (indirect
index)
• lifestyle/rules of students teach how to be a good worker
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• Teachers may emphasize creativity and diff habits, but school doesn’t
reinforce it because it wouldn’t make employers want these future
workers
• Recognizing the past helps evolve for the future rather than get stuck in problems
• Ex. refusing programs for racial minorities because racism is “a thing of
the past”
• Ex. Women taking man’s last name in marriage
• It is not just about knowing past events; it is understanding how people
reacted to these events to be able to know how to address them in the
present and react appropriately to continue/avoid past events in the future
• Using men-dominated nouns makes it unclear in a “supposedly equal”
society of how some men believe it is right way to treat women
• Ideas set (do not necessarily cause) and guide/reinforce behavior
• Using the term “male” in nouns subconsciously creates a lower role for women
compared to men
• Fixing little things (such as minding language habits regarding gender) can lead to fixing
bigger things (such as ending sexual violence in women)
• Cannot avoid thinking about future for better living in future generations
• Actions today can affect people & society in future
The Credit Card by Riter
• credit card is an American symbol
• Money and credit cards drives the modern consumer society
• Inequality:
• Men favored over women
• Homemakers have trouble with credit without outside income
• Favors wealthy
• Culture blames individual with the problem of credit debt rather than the
consumerist society
• Ind. is defined and pressured in society by credit card
• Advantages of credit card:
• Allows a wealthier lifestyle
• Advantage of sales
• Mobility ease (not strapped to store/in person)
• No currency issue when purchasing out of country
• Allows for purchases even when income is low
• Better organization with finances
• Tax-deductible expenses
• Prevent fraud by refusing to pay certain purchases that aren’t yours
• Personal choice of payment method
• Safer against crime
• Not bulky/not easy to lose
• no great costs on economy
• Problem of credit cards
• Back then, saving was much more popular than spending due to the credit card
• Population grew, but total personal savings went down
• Now: more people live paycheck to paycheck
• People owe so much money that they could fall under personal bankruptcy and
cause bankruptcy as a nation
• The individual is always blamed for their own debt as a “medical” problem that can be
treated
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• Reasons:
• America emphasizes individualism
• “Medical” problem can be treated while a large-scale social problem is
much harder to fix
• The government releases high taxes when ind. Could increase personal savings to lower
debt
• Government sets example to nation to be in debt
• Does not try to discourage individual debt
• Businesses try their best to make consumers spend and more which causes their debt
• Easily accessible by using credit card
• Banks discourage savings by placing high interest rates
• Home equity line of credit entice homeowners to use this money, but result in the
inability to pay for the original message plus the loan
• Credit cards are encouraged in advertisements which doesn’t put individuals in blame for
debit harder to get other kinds of credit without building up credit which causes a spiral
of eventual debt
• Large institutions trap people into consumer spending
• Financial institutions create unrealistic standards
• Companies target college students for long-term usage
• College kids are uneducated about credit spending and fall to debt after graduation
• People often bail kids out of debt due to uneducated spending
• Encourage college kids to spend money they don’t have
• Manipulated campaigns start them young to create long customers lead to new debt
• More frequent in highschool students
• Schools need financial management programs or credit cards would take over
• Struggle connecting macro (big industries) and micro (individual) relationship
• Individual problems only affect those in proximity but match problems affect a
large person of the public
• When many individuals have the same problem, it becomes a social issue
• Ex. cigs are similar problem imposing on the people as credit cards
• Credit cards should have the same warning consequences like cigs have on the
packaging
• Marx theory focuses on companies and the bad treatment of workers that face these
problems, eventually leading to an uprising
• Theory not right for america
• Capitalism goes beyond just consumer spending; they encourage spending
• Capitalists produce more for less but rely on credit for profit
• Simmel: the money economy
• Money and credit tempts cards overspending
• Bribery and mean machinations are much easier with money and credit cards
• No privacy
• Weber: rationalization
• Credit cards contribute to rationalization of americans by creating an environment
focused on “modern world has come to be increasingly dominated by structures
devoted to efficiency, predictability, calculability, and technological control”
• Culture of people who thrive on consumerism
• Globalization and americanization
• American influence so strong it spreads to other nations
• American culture spreading conflicts with cultural and individuals
• Micro-macro relationship
• Individuals fuel the industry by purchasing frequently
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Document Summary
It may lessen the inequality between the couple, but not society. The credit card by riter: credit card is an american symbol, money and credit cards drives the modern consumer society. Inequality: men favored over women, homemakers have trouble with credit without outside income, favors wealthy, culture blames individual with the problem of credit debt rather than the consumerist society. Medical problem can be treated while a large-scale social problem is much harder to fix: the government releases high taxes when ind. Ideas come from deep assumptions; normally don"t think of outrageous assumptions because person"s behavior is so deeply rooted: people only notice ideas when they are challenged. Hollywood perception of native americans generalized all native. Large financial investment: advantage of kids: confirmation of sentimental value; love, affection, family, past: children are workers, present: love and family, other cultures still hold old views ex. China: values shift to providing for the future of kids.
