Social InequalityChapter 9 – Contemporary Theories

Dr. Roderick GrahamFordham University

Structure vs. Individual

INEQUALITY?

Functionalist Theories“Society is an organism that survives because

certain components perform vital functions” (like how the liver and heart performs functions for the human body)

- Durkheimian Approach

Davis and Moore TheoryAnswer two questions…(1) why do we have social stratification in our

society(2) why positions, not people, are ranked

Davis and Moore Theory

1. Jobs whose skills are more scarce or jobs that are most important for the functioning of society are given more rewards

2. People compete for vigorously for these high reward jobs

3. The most talented people fill the most important positions for society

??? What do we mean by “important”???? Do you agree with this theory?

Criticism of Davis-Moore They posit a utopia where everyone gets the position in

which they competed the hardest for (due to racism, class constraints, etc)

Stratification need not be functional and work for the betterment of society. Stratification can be “dysfunctional” and lead to a less prosperous society.

How can stratification be dysfunctional?

(many modern scholars do not accept the idea that stratification is always functional…instead concern themselves with how the system is reproduced)

Theories of Reproduction How do groups in power maintain their

monopolization of resources?

Theories look at the roles of…

1. Institutions2.Cultural patterns3. Individual strengths/weaknesses

Theories of Reproduction - Institutions Oliver and Shapiro – unfair housing practices

have systematically led blacks to get less from their home investment…slaverly leads to less wealth investment over time

Bowles and Gintis – schools reproduce inequality by (1) setting up a system where failure in school justifies failure in job market, and (2) different schools produce different skills…leading to differences in occupations

Theories of Reproduction - CultureBourdieu and Cultural Capital

- Cultural capital – knowledge, experience, and attitudes one develops over a lifetime

- The cultural capital of the upper classes is more valued than the capital of the lower classes

How does one end up in a class (with more or less cultural capital)?...

Theories of Reproduction - Culture

Theories of Reproduction - Culture Because of a person’s habitus (attitudes about

life) they tend to choose careers that reproduce their class position…they tend to choose cultural activities that are of their class…as a consequence they never increase their cultural capital (or allow it to decrease)

What are some cultural activities of the “upper classes”?

Do you think that “upper classes” choose different majors?

What about clothes?

Role of the Individual Recall from the opening that sociologists

constantly struggle between privileging the role of structure or the role of the individual. The prior theories focused on structure.

Social constructionists privilege the individual What do we mean by social construction?

Role of the Individual An example of looking at inequality through

how the individual constructs their world…

Macleod’s Aint no Making It.

Case study suggesting that there is individual agency, and that people can affect the structure that one is enmeshed in

Labor Market Theories

Derived from economics

Focus on differences in income/wages

Labor Market Theories: Neo-Classical The resources a person contributes to society

receives a wage equal to those resources

As demand for an individual’s skills increases, his wages should increase (supply and demand model)

In this model, the way to combat poverty and inequality is to invest more in training and education

This model seems logical…from your experiences, do you think this model explains inequality?

Neo-Classical Model…Education and Earnings

Labor Market Theories – NeoClassical It seems logical…but even with more people going

to college, there is MORE inequality in the US than ever before….

There are some problems with the neoclassical model when trying to explain the reproduction of inequality…

1. It cannot take into account discrimination2.sex segregation 3. limits in opportunity for investment in human capital

Sociologists often turn to other models…

Dual Labor Market ThesisAttempts to improve on the neoclassical model… Why education and training programs do not reduce

inequality Why discrimination against minorities? Why employers use education as a “screening device” to

hire culturally acceptable people?

Dual Labor Market ThesisThere are two qualitatively distinct labor markets (job markets) in America. These two labor markets are associated with two qualitatively distinct economic sectors (industries).

Dual Labor Market Thesis

Dual Labor Market Thesis Minorities and women are disproportionately found in

the secondary sector There is very low movement between these labor

markets.

Workers are poor not because they do not participate in the economy, but because they are excluded from the benefits found in the core/monopoly sector.

Arguments for the working poor and missing class focus on the troubles that people have who work 9 to 5 in jobs that do not provide the advantages of jobs in the core sector

Radical Perspective Emphasis on the historical development of the

labor market (Marxist approach)

Development of Occupations1.With the introduction of mass production,

workers were working side by side…this was a problem for capitalists…why?

2.Capitalists promoted labor segmentation (managers, administrators, and middle managers)

3.The growth of bureaucracy supported this labor segemnations

Radical PerspectiveDevelopment of Dual Sectors (Historical Development)

1.The primary/core sector developed first (manufacture, industry, banking)

2.Businesses developed around the primary sector. Workers had disposable incomes and needed to be fed (restaurants/deli)…the businesses needed to be cleaned (housekeeping). Unlike the primary sector, these jobs were seasonal or sporadic, as they depended upon the fortunes of the primary sector.

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