Appunti Society law and development

EXPLANATIONS FOR PERSISTENCE OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

1. Class Exploitation (Marx):

Ownership of resources divides society into:

o Bourgeoisie: Own factories and raw materials, accumulate wealth.

▪ Working class: Own only their labor, paid subsistence wages.

▪

Mechanisms of inequality:

o Workers’ lack of capital ownership and competition from unemployed

▪ workers keep wages low.

Wealth is accumulated by exploiting labor.

▪

Solution: Abolishing capitalism is the only way to end exploitation.

o

2. Social Closure (Weber):

Economic interests are reinforced through exclusion:

o Groups monopolize resources to block outsiders, increasing wages/prices

▪ for themselves.

Example: Licensing requirements protect certain professions, raising

▪ wages for group members.

3. Rank Competition (Veblen):

Inequality arises from competitive display of wealth:

o Individuals signal affluence through luxury goods and leisure activities.

▪ Competitive consumption fuels status hierarchies and economic inequality.

▪

4. Functional Necessity (Davis & Moore):

Inequality is necessary for societal cohesion and efficiency:

o Unequal rewards motivate individuals to fill specialized, functionally

▪ important roles.

Criticism: This approach justifies inequality as beneficial to society.

▪

5. Institutional Mediation (Polanyi):

Markets, if left unregulated, undermine social life and cause poverty and

o dislocation.

Institutions like labor regulations, unions, and monetary policy protect society

o from market excesses.

6. Biological Fitness (Spencer):

Differences in inequality reflect differences in biological fitness (now widely

o discredited).

US ECONOMIC INEQUALITY: A CASE STUDY

Trends in Wage Inequality

Late 1970s: Wage inequality began to rise.

• 1980s: Rapid growth in inequality across industries and occupations.

• 1990s to Present: Slower increase, with top 1% doubling their share of national income

• since 1980.

Key Drivers of Inequality

1. Skill-Biased Technological Change:

Computerization increased demand for high-skilled workers, reducing demand

o for: Middle-skill jobs involving routine tasks.

▪ High demand remained for low-skilled personal services.

▪

Result: Wages for educated workers rose sharply.

o

2. Institutional Shifts:

Decline of unions and minimum wage laws reduced market regulation.

o High progressive income taxes were rolled back, decreasing redistribution.

o

3. Class Bargaining Power (Marx):

Globalization and financialization weakened the bargaining position of workers:

o Capital owners benefited disproportionately.

▪ Middle-income workers saw reduced bargaining power.

▪

4. Occupational Closure (Weeden):

Licensing and professional associations increase wages for specific

o occupations.

Closure strategies connect inequality to segmented labor markets and cultural

o hiring biases.

EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

1. Consumer Behavior (Veblen):

Inequality drives competitive consumption:

o People spend more on visible goods to signal status.

▪ Leads to stress for lower-income individuals trying to keep up.

▪

2. Class Division (Marx):

Rising inequality sharpens divisions between:

o Economic classes.

▪ Occupations.

▪

Consequences:

o Increased residential segregation by income.

▪ Class-differentiated lifestyles and social interactions.

▪ Greater political influence of wealthy elites.

▪

3. Social Stress and Health:

High inequality correlates with poor health outcomes, attributed to the stress of

o being lower in rank.

4. Political Impact:

Wealthy elites have disproportionate influence on public policy.

o

Key Takeaways

Economic inequality is deeply embedded in historical, social, and institutional

• contexts.

Inequality's persistence reflects ownership dynamics, social exclusion, status

• competition, and institutional frameworks.

Its consequences extend to consumer behavior, health, class relations, and political

• systems.

Unit 1: The Fundamentals of Sociocultural Systems

This section lays the groundwork for understanding sociocultural systems by exploring key concepts,

theories, and the methodologies used to study human societies. It emphasizes the integrated nature of

culture, social structures, and the environment, and how these elements interact to shape human

experiences over time.

Key Components of Sociocultural Systems

1. Definition and Scope:

o Sociocultural systems refer to the complex interplay of human behaviors, cultural norms,

and social institutions that emerge in interaction with the environment.

o These systems are dynamic, adapting to environmental changes and human needs.

2. Core Elements:

o Culture: The shared beliefs, practices, and symbols that unify a society. Culture provides a

blueprint for social behavior and norms.

o Social Structure: The organized patterns of relationships and roles that guide social

interaction. This includes institutions like family, religion, and government.

o Environment: The physical and ecological context within which societies exist and interact.

Environmental factors influence and are influenced by sociocultural systems.

Theoretical Frameworks

1. Structural-Functionalism:

o Focuses on how different parts of a sociocultural system contribute to societal stability and

functioning.

o Views society as an organism where institutions like religion, education, and economy

perform specific functions to maintain equilibrium.

2. Conflict Theory:

o Emphasizes power dynamics and the struggles between different social groups.

o Highlights how societal structures often favor the elite, leading to inequalities and conflicts.

3. Symbolic Interactionism:

o Examines how individuals interact based on shared symbols and meanings.

o Stresses the subjective nature of social reality and the importance of understanding human

experiences through communication and interpretation.

4. Ecological Anthropology:

o Studies the relationship between sociocultural systems and their environments.

o Focuses on how human activities adapt to and transform ecological contexts.

Systems Thinking

• Sociocultural systems are viewed as open systems that exchange energy, information, and materials

with their environment.

• Feedback loops are critical for maintaining balance:

o Positive Feedback: Leads to system growth or change.

o Negative Feedback: Promotes stability by counteracting deviations.

Processes of Change

1. Innovation:

o New ideas, technologies, or practices introduced within a system.

o Innovations often arise from problem-solving or environmental pressures.

2. Diffusion:

o The spread of cultural elements between societies.

o Influenced by trade, migration, and communication.

3. Adaptation:

o The process by which systems adjust to environmental challenges.

o Can lead to evolutionary changes in social structures and cultural practices.

4. Integration:

o The coordination of different subsystems to function cohesively.

o High levels of integration contribute to societal stability, while disintegration may lead to

chaos or collapse.

Human Agency vs. Structural Constraints

• Highlights the tension between individual actions and larger structural forces.

• While sociocultural systems influence behavior, individuals have the capacity to innovate, resist, or

transform these systems.

Methodological Approaches

1. Comparative Analysis:

o Studying similarities and differences across cultures to identify universal patterns.

2. Ethnography:

o In-depth, qualitative research focused on specific cultural groups.

3. Quantitative Methods:

o Statistical analysis to uncover trends and correlations in social behavior.

UNIT 3: CAPITAL

CAPITALISM: CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSEQUENCES

Definition: Capitalism is an economic and political system driven

• by rational enterprise in pursuit of profit.

Core Features:

• Corporations produce goods/services for sale in markets to

o maximize profit.

Profit accumulation leads to:

o Environmental depletion and pollution.

▪ Increasing division of labor and growing underclass.

▪ Surplus expropriation from poorer to richer countries.

▪ Concentration of power at the top of organizations.

▪ Commodification of social life and decline of primary

▪ groups.

Rising anomie, alienation, and rationalization.

▪

HISTORICAL RISE OF CAPITALISM

1. Failure of Feudalism:

Feudal system relied on small, manor-based production units

o with peasants supporting lords.

Causes of its decline:

o Little Ice Age (1300s): Lower agricultural productivity

▪ led to hunger and epidemics.

Lack of incentives for technological advancement in

▪ agriculture.

Peasantry unable to support the growing aristocracy.

▪

Results:

o 1 di 11

Transition to sheep farming for wool trade displaced

▪ peasants.

Rural populations moved to towns, creating labor for

▪ urban industries.

2. Political-Economic Structure of Feudalism:

Decentralized political power (kings, lords, towns, churches)

o limited elite control over trade.

Political alliances between bourgeoisie and monarchs

o allowed merchants to pursue interests.

State centralization enabled tax reforms, stronger

o bureaucracies, and better-equipped armies.

3. Geography:

Europe's size and access to rivers, oceans, and the

o Mediterranean encouraged maritime trade.

Territorial expansion provided raw materials, slaves, and

o markets for European elites.

4. Development of Nation-States:

Rationalized civil and tax laws supported the growth of

o banking, finance, and investment.

Nation-states facilitated colonization, property protection, and

o labor law development.

5. Discovery of the New World and Global Domination:

State-sponsored enterprises enriched European elites

o through control over wealth from Asia, Africa, and the

Americas.

Wealth funded technological advancements and

o strengthened exploitative global economic relations.

6. Cultural Superstructures: 2 di 11

Ideologies (e.g., Protestant ethic, nationalism,

o capitalism’s

Enlightenment ideas) justified and supported

structural changes.

Cultural elements aligned with structural interests were

o reinforced, while others were abandoned.

CAPITALIST WORLD-SYSTEM

1. Core Concepts:

Marx: Capitalism has an international scope, with nation-

o states operating within a global capitalist system.

Wallerstein: Capitalist world-systems rely on global trade

o and a division of labor.

2. Types of World-Systems:

World-Empires: Extract surplus goods/services through

o military power and tribute.

World-Economies: Extract surplus through profit, without a

o unified political system.

3. Divisions in the