Social Inequality Chapter 9 – Contemporary Theories Dr. Roderick Graham Fordham University

Structure vs. Individual Structure? (Labor Market, Institutions) Individual? (Culture, education, personal traits) 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 Theory Answer 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. Institutions 2. Cultural patterns 3. 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 - Culture Bourdieu 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 Produces Upper and Lower Classes People born in diff’t class have diff’t habitus Habitus orders decisions made People tend to make class based decisions keeping them in same class Struggle over Capital in Fields

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 discrimination 2. sex segregation 3. limits in opportunity for investment in human capital Sociologists often turn to other models…

Dual Labor Market Thesis Attempts 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 Thesis There 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 Primary Labor Market Higher Wages Benefits Stable salaries Human capital is important! Secondary Labor Market Low wages (determined by hours worked…not education) Benefits are rare Salaries go up and down with economy Less chance for advancement Core/Monopoly Sector Large corporations (Microsoft, Bank of America) Large Industries (oil companies, steel, auto) Peripheral/Competitive Sector Smaller business (bodegas, restaurants) Service industries (security jobs, cleaning jobs, catering) More labor intensive

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 Occupations 1. 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 Perspective Development 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.

End