SOC102H1 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Canada, Economic Inequality, Social Class
SOC102H1
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Lecture 1 –What Is Inequality?
Toronto is a world Centre for millionaires:
- Toronto is 15th among the world’s top 20 millionaire and multi-millionaire havens
- 118 000 millionaires
- 1184 multimillions (net assets > $30 million US)
Recent university grads are increasingly jobless
- Since 2006, unemployment for all university grads has risen
- Ability to find work related to their fields has dropped
- Allowing for inflation, average salaries have also declined
- In the past university grads were more secure
More students now report traumatic emotional problems in the last 12 months (Globe and mail,
Sept 8 2016)
20-25% of Toronto youth are unemployed (not in a job, education or training)
- Aboriginal youth 24.9%
- Visible minority 23.9%
- Non-visible minority youth 19.5%
Why is there rising youth unemployment and anxiety despite great wealth in the city
- Private investors are sending money overseas to gain higher profit via free trade
- Canadian governments are taxing at a low rate to win elections and lure multinational
corporations
- Fewer people are retiring at age 65 these days
Result: high inequalities between classes and generations
Social inequalities: unequal life chances
People have different life chances (max weber)
i.e. Different opportunities to become wealthy, powerful and respected chances are
socially structured, not random
Social inequality is the organization of a society around a set of human differences
- Certain groups are privileged than others
- Opportunities and rewards
- Creates competition (rich vs. poor, male vs. female)
- Societies all vary with different customs, giving privilege to certain groups over others
From birth it is decided what opportunities you get (based on background, upbringing, gender,
skin color, etc.)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Natural Differences:
- Men are biologically different than women
But to what degree do these differences impact the social importance? They become problematic
when we give them social meanings. (ex. Males paid more than females, white>black, tall>short,
etc.)
Human reality is socially constructed:
- The objects, people, animals and ideas we interact with all have social meanings we
construct.
- Social meanings of difference and inequality are also socially constructed
Claims making –certain types of claims are more widely believed than others who access the
public through mass media
- Gains attention if supported by prestigious and wealthy figures who access the public
through mass media
- They align with entrenched values and belief
Many natural inequalities among people…
- What kind of natural differences become social inequalities (ex. Height gives advantage
for basketball players)
- Non-natural inequalities have become constructed (class, race, are both imagined
differences)
The performance of inequalities:
- How people invent or construct inequalities
- How people dramatize or perform inequalities
- How people view inequalities
- How people explain inequalities
- How people justify inequalities
A need to understand unique standpoints:
- What most people consider to be objective is (often) highly subjective
- We all experience different inequalities, therefore it will influence how we see the world
- It’s all relative
Our understanding of objectivity –imagined or completely unbiased (It is deeply flawed)
Comparing societies:
- Countries like: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and New Zealand can prove
that people can be different but remain equal
- Great inequalities are not necessary and is inevitable
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Toronto is 15th among the world"s top 20 millionaire and multi-millionaire havens. 1184 multimillions (net assets > million us) Since 2006, unemployment for all university grads has risen. Ability to find work related to their fields has dropped. Allowing for inflation, average salaries have also declined. In the past university grads were more secure. More students now report traumatic emotional problems in the last 12 months (globe and mail, 20-25% of toronto youth are unemployed (not in a job, education or training) Why is there rising youth unemployment and anxiety despite great wealth in the city. Private investors are sending money overseas to gain higher profit via free trade. Canadian governments are taxing at a low rate to win elections and lure multinational corporations. Fewer people are retiring at age 65 these days. People have different life chances (max weber) i. e. different opportunities to become wealthy, powerful and respected chances are socially structured, not random.
