Sociologists Are Angry And You Should Be Too : Reflection On Readings Essay

Racial oppression in the United States has been present for almost a century now. Although slavery was abolished in the 1860s, people associated in target groups are still being mistreated by racial oppression in different ways. In the article “Being Poor, Black, and American” written by William Julius Wilson, a sociologist and professor at Harvard University, Wilson shows that political, economic, and cultural forces are the primary forces that contains the distinction between target and agent group positions. From the immigration policies, the workplace policies, and stereotypical views portrayed by society, these all have an impact on how an individual can live their life. Altogether, these forces ultimately keep people in check with society’s rules and regulations on what is right and wrong and keep them from stepping out of their place.

Social inequality is a situation where some members of the society enjoy different amounts of wealth prestige and power. The society has placed its members in rankings through unequal economics rewards and power. American society like all other nations has had its systems of socially stratifying its inhabitants. This began from the era of slavery where there was legalized inequality and human ownership among other forms. Zinn portrays this inequality even up to the present where racism acts continue to occur as indicated by the various killings carried out by the police to the black young men with an excuse that they were caught in an act of crime. In the present society, the social class system has dominated the American society. The upper class includes those who are extremely wealthy and they are few, the upper-middle class includes those who have affluent professions like the doctors and lawyers. The other group is the lower-middle class which includes the nurses and small business owners among others with less affluent professions. The others are the working class where most people lie and finally the lower class who are mostly dependants. According to Zinn, American children become conscious of their social class through

Karl Marx and Max Weber were influential sociologists that paved the way for modern sociological school of thought. Both, Karl Marx and Max Weber contributed a lot to the study and foundation of sociology. Without their contributions sociology would not be as prominent as it is today. From the contribution of how sociology should be studied, to how they applied their theories to everyday life has influenced many sociologists. Predominantly, both of these theorists’ discussed the effects of capitalism, how it has developed, shaped and changed society into what it is today. Specifically, Karl Marx’s contribution of the bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat class and Max Weber’s social stratification has helped individuals to understand how modern day society has transformed into what it is today. Particularly, this paper will lie out Weber’s theory of social stratification and Marx’s theory of the bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat class; additionally this essay will also compare and contrast the ideas of these two influential sociologists. Finally this essay will criticize both of these sociologists’ theories and display that Marx and Weber do not explain how modern day society and classes have been formed.

Many believe that civil rights movements have completely eradicated racial injustices and inequality in the United States. Michelle alexander disprove this myth in her book “The New Jim Crow.” Alexander claims racial caste did not die with slavery. She implies that the racial caste system in America has been reformed multiple times to meet “the needs and demands of current political climates” (alexander 52). She believes that mass incarceration which she refers to as “The New Jim Crow” is the current caste system in the United States. By elaborating on the history of racial caste in America and by including quotes from politicians such as Nixon and Lyndon Johnson, Alexander effectively persuades her reader that the United States has not achieved

Weber claims that economic interest is at the forefront of class status as well as social power. Weber goes onto note that in past time periods, mainly the Middle Ages, economic interest was monopolized causing the gap between the rich and poor to be vast (p. 106). The organization of people around specific situations, or class struggles, in fact strengthens class structures, mainly because they reinforce the boundaries. However, he feels that this does not make a class a community since the assumption that people in similar class situations must share similar ideals and beliefs is over-simplifying a complex situation.

In class, we talked about discrimination in society through economic inequality with Marx, and then with Durkheim. We discussed the positive viewing of individualism in society through inequality. Max Weber is comparable to Karl Marx because they both focus on inequality and capitalism. However, unlike Marx, Weber views the uneconomic actions in society. He has an interpretive view, and as an interpretive sociologist, this means he focuses on the concerns of the society itself and not the people

The concept of white privilege helps to highlight the hypocritical nature of the American ideologies of democracy and meritocracy. Ask yourself: Do we live truly in a democratic system if the voices of our nation’s disenfranchised people are not heard? Or are we truly a nation that functions on a meritocratic system if every person-- regardless of socioeconomic background or race-- is not given the same opportunities for development? The concepts of white privilege and male privilege, as used by McIntosh, are meant to unveil the hidden schemes of American ideology.

other societies in which this was not true, such as in the Estates System of

The purpose of the textbook, Who Rules America? by G. William Domhoff, is to explain his theory of Class Domination. My essay emphasises the relation of social class to power, the existence of a Corporate community, the relationship of the Corporate community to the upper class, and various methods used by the Corporate community to dominate the U.S Political System. Furthermore, my essay will discuss the potential limits to corporate power in America.

Society was changing substantially within America, specifically during the World War eras. One must understand American society prior to WWI to note the significant changes that resulted in post-WWII society. Post-WWII society was dominated by the “culture of exclusion.” Essentially, the “culture of exclusion” excluded individuals from American society because of their race, class, and gender. This exclusion included people of color, lower class citizens, and women. Race was an ongoing struggle since the birth of America, and it only seemed to divide people even more so through time. People of color were excluded from American society through sharecropping, immigration restrictions, and governmental institutions. Class was altered through the New Deal, public housing, and the lack of education provided for non-whites which led to lower statuses. Finally, in terms of gender, there was a continued emphasize on the family wage system with the males as the breadwinners. They were denied their rights to work which were given to them during the World War era. This paper will outline the specific changes that occurred within race, class, and gender due to the “culture of exclusion.”

There are very few jokes about sociologists. This is frustrating for the sociologists, especially if they compare themselves with their more favored second cousins, the psychologists, who have pretty much taken over that sector of American humor that used to be occupied by clergymen. A psychologist, introduced as such at a party, at once finds himself the object of considerable attention and uncomfortable mirth. A sociologist in the same circumtance is likely to meet with no more of a reaction than if he had been announced as an insurance salesman. He will have to win his attention the hard way, just like everyone else. This is annoying and unfair, but it may also be instructive. The dearth of jokes about sociologists

The bourgeoisie owns the means of production; such as machines or tools that can be used to produce valuable objects (Guest 400). The proletariat only possess their own labor power, which they sell to the bourgeoisie to live. Then, the bourgeoisie promote their own ideologies and values as the norm for the entire society, and in turn those ideas and values are accepted by the proletariat. Weber's analysis of class is similar to Marx's, but Weber adds in power and prestige. Marx focused more on wealth than prestige. Prestige is the reputation and influence certain people possess because of their membership in some groups (Guest 402). So different jobs may hold higher or lower prestige than others in certain cultures. Like in China, the highest ranking occupation is Mayor but in the US it is physician (Guest 403). Weber also describes life chances as the opportunities that a person has to improve their quality of living. Factors that play into life chances would be wealth, education, health, food, shelter, and clothes. The described class positions determine access to these things. By bringing in status, Weber provides a more flexible view of the details of social differences, and their problems for those individuals of one

Weber argues that social mobility can either move us upwards or downwards depending on our choices and opportunities. While Marx does recognise social mobility, he relates this mainly to the petty bourgeoisie, and its likelihood of being absorbed by the other two classes due to its transitional nature. For Marx, class is a clearly defined and

Max Weber 's analysis of class is similar to Marx 's, but he discusses class in the context of social stratification more generally. Max Weber conceived sociology as a comprehensive science of social action. In his

According to the differences of Max Weber and Karl Marx, the notion of Marx, social class division and social stratification has basically been a low level of production. Weber's analysis suggested that economics no longer play an important role in today's society.