3. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Social Darwinism
Herbert Spencer
As in the natural world, humans are involved in constant struggle.
Those who are at the top of the hierarchy are largely there as a
result of a sorting process that rewards superior personal
characteristics, e.g., heightened intelligence, talent, skills, ambition,
and drive. Less endowed people therefore occupy lesser positions
in the structure. Those at the bottom are clearly the most deficient
individuals within the society. Social programs that might help
them to move out of poverty are therefore ill-advised as they will
only perpetuate inferior stock.
Individual
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
4. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Individual
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
Human Capital
aka orthodox or neoclassical labor market theory
Low income is a consequence of low worker productivity. Productivity,
and therefore, income are thought to be most sensitive to improvement
In the attributes and resources of individual workers. Investment in
additional education and training, in particular, are recommended as
the primary means by which one can qualify for more productive,
better-paying occupations.
5. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Individual
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
Functional Theory of Social Stratification
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore
Inequality in reward is universal to all societies as it ensures that the
most capable people are in the most important occupational roles.
High rewards are necessary for attracting people into those
occupations requiring special talent or training. The very high pay
attached to some positions therefore reflects the scarcity of people
with such attributes that would enable them to competently prepare for
and perform these roles.
7. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Individual
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
Culture of Poverty
Oscar Lewis
A largely individual explanation that argues that some poor within a
society, develop certain behaviors or even a way of life that enable
them to adapt to the circumstances of poverty. That is, some poor
have certain beliefs and behavior practices (e.g., ―live for today‖ or
fatalistic attitudes) that help them better cope with impoverished
circumstances. However, these adaptations may prevent the poor
and their offspring from adopting other behaviors that would allow
them to take advantage of relevant mobility opportunities should
they arise.
9. Given
Supply
=
Extra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Cultural Capital
Pierre Bordieu
Annette Lareau
People in different social classes tend to be exposed to different kinds of
perspectives, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, skills, and lifestyles.
Capitalization allows for human potential to be realized, and such effects over time
are accumulated. ―Cumulative advantage‖ describes outcomes for those in the
higher reaches of the class structure (i.e., capital accumulation is varied, rich, and
works to their advantage, ensuring their dominant position). However, those in the
lower classes experience ―cumulative disadvantage,‖ making upward mobility difficult
despite strong motivation and efforts.
Understanding the importance of acquiring cultural capital, privileged groups often
engage their children in ―concerted cultivation‖ (i.e., going to great effort and expense
to provide them with special opportunities and experiences).
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
10. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Social Capital
Wikipedia reference
Mark Granovetter
People vary in the kinds and numbers of people they know. Social
contacts are important sources of information, knowledge, and
opportunity about preparation for entry and mobility within jobs.
Social contacts and consequent social networks vary significantly
across the class structure. Presumably, the higher one’s class
position, the more extensive and helpful is one’s network of social
relationships with regard to these matters.
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
12. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Active Passive
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Acquired
External Internal
$
Social Reproduction
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis
Existing social conditions ensure that one’s offspring and subsequent
generations maintain one’s advantaged or disadvantaged position in the
class structure. Education inequalities are viewed as particularly
important in this regard. For example, schools attended by affluent
children tend to offer a richer and more demanding curriculum than those
in middle and working-class neighborhoods. Schools in low-income areas,
moreover, tend to receive inadequate funding and suffer from a variety of
deficiencies, collectively ensuring that they will fail to serve their students.
Therefore, these students when adults will be in the same class position as
their parents.
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
14. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Active Passive
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
Acquired
External Internal
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice Social Closure - Supply
In terms of supply, social closure is present when social groups
can limit access to relevant preparation opportunities (e.g., via
school segregation or educational discrimination).
It is also evident when a professional organization has such
influence that it can limit the volume of those who might
otherwise enter the profession, and thus increase incomes for
existing practitioners by significantly restricting educational or
training opportunities.
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Education / training –
arbitrary restrictions / advantages
Social / economic inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Class origins / circumstances
Demographic characteristics
(sex, age, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
15. Supply
=
Individual
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
External Internal
$
Supply Summary
Extra-Individual
Wilson
structural
16. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Active Passive
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
Acquired
External Internal
Education / training inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Education / training
– arbitrary restrictions
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Class origins /
circumstances
Demographic
characteristics (sex,
age, race, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Structural Theory
William Julius Wilson
Wilson’s ―structural theory‖ represents an attempt to account for the adverse
circumstances of inner-city black Americans. Although historically situated, it
addresses economic inequality via extensive treatment of both supply and demand
factors.
Wilson holds that black poverty today is far more a matter of class conditions than
overt racism. While the legacy of slavery and historical discrimination placed blacks
at the bottom of the urban class structure by the middle of the 20th century, various
economic, demographic, and cultural factors have since joined to limit their mobility
prospects.
In brief: Deindustrialization has created high unemployment and underemployment,
while a declining tax base, due also to the flight of middle and working class people
to the suburbs, has undermined provision of essential services (decent schools,
health services, etc) within inner cities. Now lacking a substantial black middle-
class, inner-city populations, in turn, reflect the ―concentration effects‖ of poverty,
including a preponderance of single-parent families, drug addiction, violent crime—
all of which further serve to reduce individuals’ life quality and mobility potential, as
well as diminish the likelihood of economic investment from outside sources.
17. Supply
=
Individual
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
External Internal
$
social Darwinism
human capital
functional theory
Supply Complete
cultural capital
social capital
culture of poverty
social reproduction
social closure
Extra-Individual
Wilson
structural
19. Supply
=
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Social movements – boycotts
Revolution
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Marxian / Neo-Marxian
These explanations largely center on the labor process and the
segmentation of the labor force.
Focus on the labor process relates to how work is organized,
performed, and distributed in order to decrease the demand for
more expensive, skilled workers or to cut costs by shedding many
employees from the firm.
Marx, e.g., noted that capitalist producers progressively lessen, or
altogether remove, the skill-component of manufacturing work by
first instituting a complex division of labor which simplifies
production, and then further proceeds by replacing workers with
machines.
20. Supply
=
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Social movements – boycotts
Revolution
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Marxian / Neo-Marxian
Downsizing entails large-scale cost cutting, often motivated by the
quest for short term profits, by terminating large numbers of
workers. Remaining workers are often then required to ―take up
the slack‖ caused by such reductions. Some of vacated positions,
however, may be refilled soon thereafter, perhaps by the same
workers, but now employed as ―temps.‖
Outsourcing part or all of manufacturing to areas of cheaper labor
either within the U.S. or abroad represents the most recent phase of
this process.
21. Supply
=
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Social movements – boycotts
Revolution
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Marxian / Neo-Marxian
A working class segmented by race will be likely be characterized
by significant racial antagonism, and thus unlikely to oppose the
interests of capitalist employers.
22. Supply
=
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Social movements – boycotts
Revolution
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Marxian / Neo-Marxian
Marxian theory also addresses the larger political/economic
environment , e.g., Marx saw the government as ―the ruling
committee of the bourgeoisie.‖
The state accordingly acts in the interests of big business, crafting
laws and policies that favor the interests of the most powerful
corporations over the interests of labor, as well as those of small
business.
24. Supply
=
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Social movements – boycotts
Revolution
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Social Closure - Demand
At the demand level, social closure relates to attempts among those within an
occupation to achieve a monopoly over work performance. That is, demand
may be strongly influenced by the ability of occupational groups to generate
sufficient power to gain control over particular productive functions. Such
activity is evident in the efforts of occupations to ―professionalize‖ (i.e., create
standards of performance and prerequisites for entry) through an organizational
vehicle which then lobbies legislative bodies to impose special requirements
(e.g., training prerequisites and/or licensing) on those who would practice the
craft. Demand for service is thus effectively channeled to only those who are
duly credentialed.
26. Given
Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Demographic change
State of Economy
Technological change
Public perception / taste
Active Passive
Labor/management policy environ.
Immigration law / enforcement
Fiscal and tax policies
Trade policies
Job programs
Education / training pols./progs
Social welfare pols./progs.
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
Division of Labor Discrimination
Mechanization Internal labor market
Downsizing Dual labor market
Outsourcing Split labor market
Multi-tiered structure
Acquired
External Internal
Education / training inequalities
Social networks and contacts
Education / training
– arbitrary restrictions
$
Professionalization
Legislation – Law
Licensure
Rights of practice
Class origins /
circumstances
Demographic
characteristics (sex,
age, race, etc)
Innate intelligence
Raw talent
Perspectives, values, tastes
Information & connections
Work habits
Cultivated talent
Occupational aspirations
Schooling attainment
Structural Theory
Julius Wilson
Finally, Wilson’s ―structural theory‖ represents an attempt to account for the
adverse circumstances of inner-city black Americans. Although historically
situated, it addresses economic inequality via extensive treatment of both supply
and demand factors.
Wilson holds that black poverty today is far more a matter of class conditions than
overt racism. While the legacy of slavery and historical discrimination placed blacks
at the bottom of the urban class structure by the middle of the 20th century, various
economic, demographic, and cultural factors have since joined to limit their mobility
prospects.
In brief: Deindustrialization has created high unemployment and underemployment,
while a declining tax base, due also to the flight of middle and working class people
to the suburbs, has undermined provision of essential services (decent schools,
health services, etc) within inner cities. Now lacking a substantial black middle-
class, inner-city populations, in turn, reflect the ―concentration effects‖ of poverty,
including a preponderance of single-parent families, drug addiction, violent crime—
all of which further serve to reduce individuals’ life quality and mobility potential, as
well as diminish the likelihood of economic investment from outside sources.
28. Supply
=
IndividualExtra-Individual
Occupational Monopoly
Political Economy Industry / Firm
Macro Society / Economy
Societal
Demand
Institutional
Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation
External Internal
$
social Darwinism
human capital
functional theory
culture of poverty
social closure
cultural capital
social capital
Total Complete
Marxian radical
Wilson
structural
social reproduction