SOCI 110 Notes after exam 1 Peaksmease PDF

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These are the first set of notes after his first exam, note he may have minor differences in his lectures but I tried to summarise key concepts which may help with studying and his pop quizzes. Professor A. Peaksmease ...

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NB: These notes are beginning after the information that was taught before the first exam. The information here is all that follows after that test. 

SLIDE 1: FUNCTIONALISM Herbert Spencer → viewed society as an organism (JF: 28) Functionalists believe in a status quo → believe that the status quo is a good thing - Change should come slowly, if things change too quickly than there is too much turmoil that would take place in a society - Inherently conflict based (MARX perspective) - Example: equal schooling for all children would lead to a massive disruption of society in the schooling system and workforce 

SLIDE 2: DURKHEIM (image of farmers market in Harrisonburg) - An example to illustrate a small division of labor rather than a large one. We know it's a small DOL because all the parts are traceable. Durkheim is interested in the community NB: marx is closer to the beehive than burkheim is 3 Main things Durkheim is interested in: 1. Division of Labor 2. Social Solidarity 3. Collective conscious  Division of Labour: Increased rapidly after the industrial revolution - Within mechanical communities (small towns/ the amish) - How labor is divided into parts and how those parts are what work together to produce something for the community - Example: Farmers market vs. Grocery store → you have no concept of where the meat in the grocery store came from or how it was package or sold (there is a large division of labor) 

SLIDE 3: COCOA FARMING Video of men explaining how they harvest and sell the cocoa beans but they have no concept of who produced them or what they were used for. Marx would say → there is an issue because they cannot buy the chocolate themselves Durkhiem would say→ there is a large, obvious division of labor 

SLIDE 4: SOCIAL SOLIDARITY Durkhiem refers to societies pre industrial revolution as mechanical societies. The societies after are referred to as organic societies. (Early societies have strong social ties) KEY POINT- he believes in the idea of social solidarity This is a system of social ties which connect people to each other and to the larger society. (Analogy- the cement that binds people together)

Social ties exist because perceived values match each other. For example, someone who went to UVA may see someone wearing a UVA shirt and say “go cavaliers”, this suddenly gives them something in common and is something that ties them together. THE CONCEPT OF NO I IN TEAM Example: The Amish- an isolated community that is unwilling to accept development unless they are certain it will have no impact on the community (ie. no telephones allowed in the homes)  Types of social ties: 1. Altruistic → going beyond yourself 2. Egoistic → you have no identity beyond yourself ie. Facebook friends, how many of them do you actually interact with? 3. Anomic → complete severing of social ties  Passions vs. Restraints: In organic societies there are lots of passions and few restraints whereas it used to be the other way around. For example, our biggest passion is our cellphone. ( In this way we can refer to passions as distractions).  3) COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUS - The idea that everyone is on the same page (prominent in mechanical societies) The amish don't have Laws, they have a collective understanding of the rules. They all speak the same language, practice the same beliefs and religion, and share the same culture. After the industrial revolution societies began losing their collective conscious (collective mindset) Homogenous communities- have less diversity (diversity disrupts the organism)  Image of an OECD Map considering the “better life index” Highest- Norway Lowest- Mexico Education level has also shown to create higher levels of social ties. Studies show that people feel more social support if they have completed tertiary education. Thus, completing higher levels of education indicates higher levels of social support/community. 

SLIDE 5: DATA ASKING ABOUT HAVING DINNER WITH PARENTS  Days of the week

Percentage of children

> 1 day a week

21

6-7

20

1

8 (lowest)

4-7

40 (this is combination of results)

SLIDE 6: ORGANIC SOCIETIES (J:F pg. 56) (image of party scene) Pluralistic- mini-culture Organic societies gave more passions and fewer restraints. - The industrial revolution was an uprooting of symbiosis of our society → things became pluralistic (many worlds) - New York has one of the lowest suicide rates becasue it is an evironment where you can find someone who is also going through the same things as you are (there is a shared perspective) - Durkhiem fears people becoming too INDIVIDUALISTIC. Putnam (in 2000) book BOWLING ALONE: Research indicated that more people are bowling but doing it less in leagues. (doing it by themselves) - Shows that there are less people interacting with each other - In 2000 TV was the #1 social killer→ TV viewing went up and social interaction went down Durkheim values face to face interactions Graph of How the world consumes media: - highest - Indonesia/ philippines - Lowest - Italy - Top for TV - UK/ United states Example of an internet addiction clinic in Algeria → the people here share many symptoms that are very similar with hardcore drug addicts. PEAKS FAV IMAGE- An old lady watching the pope come and everyone else watching the pope through their phone or scrambling to take a picture. Durkehim views mechanical societies as “good societies.” - Better due to lower suicide/crime rates - Stronger social solidarity and collective conscious Nowadays: more people are less connected with the opportunity to be MORE connected. SOCIAL CAPITAL This refers to the social connections one posses - Knowing someone in the know - Knowing people who may be able to provide you information In mechanical societies this term is redundant because everyone knows everyone. Example: Black teen assaulted in own home - He had been living in the home for a year with foster parents and nearby neighbors called the police and reported him as “breaking into a home.” - The neighborhood had low social capital (also notice a change in dynamics with the front porch turning into a back porch) HOUR ECONOMY You sell your time via skill and opportunity You tell people what you are good at and exchange time for other things which others are good at. NB: Organic societies make decisions based on fear Ozark Folk Festival:

Teaches young people the skills of the old folk music and instruments → keeping history alive through teaching. ANOMIE: Something has happened (an event or such) that has led to a complete severing of social ties. - Nothing allowing you to feel connected to society - Key point: a state of anomie is where people are when they reach a mental stage of suicidal Courtroom: Example There is a defendant that had killed his wife and two daughters, the man then attacked the accused person. He was in a state of anomie. The loss of his wife and children removed his social ties to the community and he had “nothing left to lose.” The FUCK IT stage The people that we should fear are the subgroup of homeless males which have nothing to lose, so they behave in dangerous ways. 

SLIDE 7: INTERDEPENDENCE Although we cannot go back to mechanical societies the idea of interdependence is a way of trying to improve on the division of labor. - The Key to getting back to a “good society” Video- Free-t shirt (leads to empathy as a result of being made aware of the division of labor, there is no more disconnect between the steps) - We depend on people more and more as a globalised society but we realize it less and less. - Interdependence is closely related to the division of labor - Typically do not realise our dependency on resources that we usually have access to - A WAY OF EVOLVING INTO A GOOD SOCIETY NB: the ethical barcode assignment Interdependence works to put everyone on the same page (we are all receiving the same information and begin working towards having a collective conscious)  Reiterating Durkheim Durkheim is an optimist All parts of a society works together (collective conscious) Being human= having relationships with others (what it means to be a human being) 

SLIDE 8: A GRAPH OF SATISFACTION COMPARED TO GDP    

As GDP increases, life satisfaction increases. Lowest: Ukraine and russia (low levels of both GDP and satisfaction) 15,000 dollars is the cut off point for life satisfaction ( it appears to stager and level out) PB/J analogy, too many sandwiches are extra and are not leading to any more happiness

  

SLIDE 9: KARL MARX                 

SLIDE 10: KARL MARX: 8 people in the world have the same wealth as 3.6 billion people. If these 3.6 billion people had a collective conscious they would have more power than the 8 wealthiest. (reality- the 8 have a lot more power). ILLUSION OF CHOICE: a small number of companies that are really owned by major brands ie. the cereal aisle only has three brands relatively. The richest 1% own more than 99% of the worlds wealth 

SLIDE 11: GRAPH OF INCOME INEQUALITIES VS MONEY SPENT ON FOREIGN AID There is a clear strong correlation between higher percent of income given to foreing countries and low income inequality ( Highest is Norway and Sweden) The bottom 20% of the USA donates more money than the top 20% of citizens (J:F 1-3) 

SLIDE 12: GRAPH (UN Agreement 1970) There was a UN target set for 0.7% of their national income to be given to charity (Norway and Sweden met the mark) (Only five countries met the mark) ---> the USA is at the bottom with very little proportions of their income to give to charity. 

SLIDE 13: PIE CHART Most millionaires: USA 41% China 3% → note that the percentage of millionaires has very little to do with the population of a country. Higher number of millionaires = a higher income inequality between citizens. Examples: Rolls Royce (bought a single number license plate and spent 8 million dollars on it) 

SLIDE 14: POVERTY (EXTREME POVERTY 2014) Continent of Africa covered in 80, 60, 70% - New money standard 1.90 (new number for extreme poverty) (so many people have come out of the original 1.25 a day) - Not everyone in africa is living in extreme poverty - Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia account for 95% of the global poor. 

SLIDE 15: EXTREME POVERTY When asking UK students whether or not they thought that over the last 30 years the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty has, the students said: - Increased- 50% - Decreased- 10% From 1987→ 2013 extreme poverty has gone down, meaning 35% of the world's population was under a 1.9o in 1987 day whereas in 2013 its 10% East Asia and the Pacific has made a noticeable decline from 60% → 5% from 1987 to 2013 If you want your children to live beyond 5 years of age and have your basic needs met you need to be making 7.40 a day. Using this data we would have 4.2 billion people living in extreme poverty, our current population is 7.3 billion 

SLIDE 16: GLOBAL INCOME DISTRIBUTION 1993 Half of the population of China/India are below the poverty line vs. 2011 where china has experienced a massive decline in extreme poverty - China is the new population of the middle class - Developed countries have a high population of middle class, higher GDP’s, China is going through its own industrial revolution - More middle class people means there is more disposable income - thus people buy more stuff - OXFAM says to get rid of extreme poverty would take 60 billion dollars a year  VIDEO: INSIDE CHINA'S GHOST CITIES China's Population- 1.3 billion people  In the next decade it is predicted that 350 million people will move from the land to the city. The largest population movement on the planet (in human history) leading to the rise of the megacity. Chong Ching- 31 ½ million people and most people haven't even heard of it . They have a full throttle philosophy. 30 story hotel was built in 2 weeks.

LING GUN- an hours drive from Shanghai, built for nearly 1 million (it has become an entirely vacant city) GHOST CITIES- huge residential areas w/ roads, malls, hospitals and other amenities and no one has moved into them. 700 million people in China live on less than 2 dollars a day, they cannot afford to live in the city. (the largest property bubble that has ever existed) Still between 4 and 5 hundred million people still living in what China's government considers inadequate living. 

SLIDE 17: MARX PREMISES 1. Humans must produce (production) 2. Humans choose our relationship with nature 3. Humans pour themselves into their work 4. Societies evolve 5. Scarcity/ distribution “Production is the first premise of all human existence...men must be in a position to live in order to make history.”  1. Humans must produce a. To have our basic needs met we have to engage in production b. We lack the basic instincts to survive on our own 2. Choose our relationship with nature a. Humans see themselves as separate from nature rather than a part of it 3. Something special about what we produce a. People naturally want to pour themselves into what they do b. Video of the drummer → he loves what he does c. People love to produce (without it them become alienated)  MARX KEY PREMISE: To be human → to pour yourself into your work He believes we learn all these rules to be a better “cog in the machine” - Believes we are inherently creative people and that factory work is taking away from human creativity 4. Societies evolve a. Primitive communism- similar to durkheim's mechanical societies, primitive, small homogeneous communities b. Feudalism- people who give themselves more power, kings, queens, who rule over communities c. Capitalism-natural step in society d. communism - on a GRAND SCALE What we value is? (each society values something different) Within all societies there is a VALUE SYSTEM. Modern day capitalism is like a funnel (a money funnel) Capitalism funnel→ I wonder how much money I can get from that idea 7 generation principle → I wonder how my actions today will impact those 7 generations from now



SLIDE 18: DISCRETIONARY SPENDING PIE CHART (1.19 trillion) Trump's budget request 5% spent on education Total federal spending: Social security - 33% Medicare- 27% Military- 16% 

SLIDE 19: MARX FINAL PREMISE Obstacles to the good society KEY COMPONENT #1 Scarcity: - When you can't produce enough for all? Solution: capitalism - Huge spike in population after the industrial revolution - Increased healthcare/ standard of living - Rise of CITIES Income and satisfaction: Higher income = more happiness  Advanced economies

Lower income %

Higher Income %

Difference

Israel

48

68

20

USA

56

72

16

Greece

30

42

12

Pattern = the rich are always happier than the poor  Emerging economies

Lower income %

Higher income %

Difference

Mexico

72

82

10

Egypt

6

14

8

Pattern= in emerging economies the richer always experience a higher satisfaction. Also notice that the lower income percentage of mexico has the same happiness level as the higher income percentage of the USA. KEY COMPONENT #2: Distribution In 1960 → 34% of individuals lives in urban areas In 2019 → 56% of individuals live in urban areas Estimated in 2050 → 69% of individuals with 10 billion as the estimated global population at that time In order to provide for all of these people Marx proposes a solution = technological innovation (technological innovation is fueled by capitalism)

Chicago illinois population in 1840 → less than 5,000 people// in 1910 there were 2.2 million. This massive increase happened in 70 years.  Marx is concerned with the bourgeoisie (booshwazee) (the owners) → These are the people that rely on making a profit. Prolateriot → (workers) concerned with raising their wages. --Apple wants to make profit so they continue to innovate-- the iphone 5 met everyone's basic needs but because of competition by nearby companies they continue to innovate in order to continue increasing their profit-- Capitalism focuses on profit which drives innovation. (it is a vehicle for change) - “The drive for profit is a werewolf like hunger that takes no account of the health or life of the workers unless society forces it to do so. Pg. 120 Amazon go→ the workers are either exploited or obsolete (cogs in a machine, turning boxes, opening chicken legs) --Samsara food production-- created and driven by capitalism and consumerism, Marx is concerned with the workers - their profit, their health, their profit compared to their bosses profit (major gap)  Capitalism addresses scarcity but the profits of capitalism is not distributed equally. In 2012→ 2.6 million people died of aids (80% of the deaths occurred in sub-saharan Africa) In 2014→ 1.2 million The cost of aid treatment nowadays is 113$ (t0 keep people alive) → AIDS problem is solved yet the solution itself is not distributed equally amongst all who need it.  ALTHOUGH TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION SOLVES THE PROBLEM OF SCARCITY, IT DOES NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE PROBLEMS OF DISTRIBUTION IE. WHERE THE PRODUCTS NEEDS TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION TO ALL RATHER THAN TO THE PROFITABLE.  World population: The percentage of people who live in urban areas within the united states is 82.5% The highest percentage of people distributed in urban areas is China --India is currently growing faster than china-- Russia's median age is 40, and their yearly change is very low. An ageing population = shift in the demographic dividend 

SLIDE 20 MARX AND THE WORKERS “The workers have nothing to lose but their chains; they have a whole world to gain, workers of all countries unite.” - Marx famous quote Recap of marx premises: 1. Humans must produce 2. Chose our relationship with nature

3. Humans must pour themselves into their work 4. Societies evolve 5. scarcity/ distribution Marx believed that the workers should join together to form a collective conscious in order to reach the “good society” --Most workers do not feel or are aware that they are oppressed-- this is known as a F  ALSE CONSCIOUSNESS 

SLIDE 21: GLOBAL CRISIS/ GLOBAL RESILIENCE Marx and the workers- His end state is-- ALIENATION (Durkheim's anomie) Factory city - A factory in China that is so large is the size of a city and the workers themselves live there. The factory provides education and housing and they live onsite. Marx→ are the workers able to pour themselves into this work? ALIENATION →  a disorienting sense of exclusion and separation 4 parts to alienation: I. Individuals become alienated from the PROCESS  itself→ most akin to durkheim's “division of labour” -- the workers are unaware of the other processes which are going on in the system II. Individuals are alienated from the P  RODUCT A. There is a deskilling, a job due to technological innovation that has caused a worker to become an appendage to the machine. III. Individuals become alienated from the C  OMMUNITY A. The other workers become alienated from each other. They become ANTAGONISTIC towards each other. This is known as HORIZONTAL HOSTILITY (there is blame on people most like you, whereas th...