DSOC 1101 Prelim 2 – Flashcards

low tax rates on mineral land demonstrates political/social power of the capitalist class

those with power often don’t have to pay taxes

huge increase in job opportunities due to the necessity of a larger labor force to supply the war

the economic position of all americans, including blacks, was improving

blacks were being accepted and started to take roles of leadership (economic polarization); the rich are getting richer, the poor poorer, the middle class is shrinking

research, knowledge, & practice

system of methods, principles, and rules for regulating a given discipline; counterfactuals are used to help form theories using this methodology

a system of rigid racial and social stratification that exploited blacks’ labor, restricted their freedom, and virtually eliminated any chances for free and open competition for scarce rewards and privileges

european immigrants met nearly no opposition in labor market while black immigrants faced much opposition in market

describes what could’ve happened in a certain situation had the conditions influencing that situation been different

allow for researchers to compare behavior between similar groups living under different social structures and conditions, as well as examine the cause & effect relationships that lead to the development of these societies

during industrial period, class is the most important determinant of life chances for blacks (race and class still highly correlated, but socioeconomic status is more significant)

the evolving system of class-based discrimination still falls along many of the same dividing lines as the obsolete race-based system of socioeconomic suppression

first dominated by plantation slavery and few smaller, family-run farms; during industrial evolution, labor intensive agriculture led way to a more mechanical method of agriculture

family production -> production for the market

a function of the power of the oppressors; a characteristic of the 3rd dimension of power

the manipulation of hopes, needs, & aspirations of subordinate classes; creates a sense of powerlessness

makes them think that there’s “nothing they can do about it”; makes the powerless people accept and believe the ideologies of the powerful class; suppressed politically and aren’t able to participate

folded because (1) false portrayal of union/manipulation by elites thru media, (2) uneasy relationship of religion, and (3) unintended consequences of actions taken by non-local leadership

bias in rules that govern the distribution of resources (voting); elite prevent the powerless from expressing grievances about the situation (mobilization of bias)

(1) idea (discourse) that Appalachian culture/miners were “backward”
(2) city’s schools: names changed from local names to European names (weberian)

push: mechanization of agriculture
pull: industrialization of north

transformation of individual (family) private property/house hold production into capitalist private propertysome migrated north which had high demand for unskilled labor

some migrated north which had high demand for unskilled labor; tensions between european immigrants and migrating blacks were observed

(1) lack of information in public domain, (2) complexity of organizational structure, and (3) inability to influence shareholders

proposition that power is defined by winners and losers in observable areas of competition

(1) economic inequality is high
(2) concentration of rural poverty is highest

land and a lack of opposition; allowed them to access/control the coal reserves and limit the ability of the citizens to farm; money derived from the natural resources on the land eventually led to political power

a time period when upward mobility exceeds downward mobility, caused by increasing net opportunity over time

notably occurred from 1945-1970; following this period, there was a period in which upward and downward mobility were in balance (exchange mobility)

(1) mechanization of production
(2) development of a labor market

(3) higher concentration of ownership of means of production
(4) failed to reduce poverty–perpetuated white underclass

competition over jobs, competition over urban space, and white resentment towards black strike breakers

various congressional acts (e.g. 1935 wagner act) signed into law; these laws supported efforts at union organizing

political machines in north excluded blacks who didn’t get access to patronage jobs and city contracts; jim crow exclusion of blacks in south was extra legal

technology liberated sharecroppers from rural toil (e.g., picking cotton), and domestic workers from household labor

new forms of racial exclusion and discrimination developed in cities & in industry

racial exclusion starts to transform within context of “modern industrial” development

his views fail to fully account for increased class inequality post-1970 (e.g. evidence for racial bias within criminal justice practices “the new jim crow” described by michelle alexander)

stresses class as the fundamental cause of race, and race as the mechanism that sustains class inequality (based on elite manipulation of southern politics, rendering social reform)

rising class inequality necessitates strengthening this mechanism (e.g. the recent supreme court decision nullifying enforcement of the federal voting rights act)

all people can effectively air their grievances politically; it is in the interests of the powerless to fight inequality–however the poor may believe this is wasting their time

they may also believe that things are as good as they can be; compromise within the law–that law and politics are unbiased

because law and politics are unbiased, and everyone has access to the law and poliitcs, they should be able to improve their situation; if they don’t, there is something wrong with the “deprived group”

(1) power determined by winners & losers in the observable political process (pluralism)
(2) power determined by who makes the rules within the formal & informal political process
(3) power determined by elite influence over hopes and desires of the dominated classes, “engineering of consent”

1st dimension: A has power over B by winning elections
2nd dimension: A has power over B by making election outcomes depend on money (excluding poor from political influence)
3rd dimension: A has power over B by making B think that current democratic practices are best for everyone (although only richly-supported candidates win)

(1) history–did the powerful achieve power thru consensual means, or not
(2) power in relation to contingencies (e.g., voting), often difference across space
(3) observe challenges to power to determining whether consensual, or not

(1) “conscriousness is constituted in the dialect of man’s objectification and action upon the world”
(2) powerless are dependent, develop a culture of silence

captialists attain cultural hegemony over society by training intellectual elites, placing them in strategic positions (related to marx’s ruling ideas)

development related to diffusion of ideas by elites, including how to gain and hold onto power

development related to the means of production, and social relations built around those means of production, including power relations

cultural symbols and generalization used by coal companies to build community consensus to discourage unionization

“backward” mountaineers uplifted by industrial progress & industrial work ethic

industrialization/creating of labor market is foundation for development of capitalism

(racialization)/cultural marginalization of white farmers reflects corporate power to sustain exploitation of labor & natural resources across generations of appalachians

elite power: all 3 dimensions
direct producers: slaves
investors: mostly US/some European

elite power: all 3 dimensions
direct producers: miners/workers
investors: british/US

disposition of profits: US industrialization, british textile industries
social inequality: high

disposition of profits: back to great britain and elsewhere
social inequality: high