summary - explaining reward inequality

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IndividualBeyond Individual

Occupational Monopoly

Political Economy Industry / Firm

Macro Society / Economy

Societal

Demand

Institutional

Labor Process Labor Market Segmentation

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Skeletal Summary

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IndividualExtra-Individual




Societal

Demand

Institutional


External Internal

$social Darwinism

human capital functional theory

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Given

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IndividualExtra-IndividualActive Passive

Societal

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Social DarwinismHerbert 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

Given

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Societal

Demand

Institutional

Acquired

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Individual





Human Capitalaka 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 improvementIn 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.

Given

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Individual





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.

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Societal

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culture of poverty

Given

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Societal

Demand

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Acquired

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Individual





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.

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Societal

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cultural capital social

capital

Given

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Extra-IndividualActive Passive

Societal

Demand

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Acquired

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Cultural Capital Pierre BordieuAnnette 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).





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru66mtZ9miI&feature=related

Given

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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.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capital

http://si.umich.edu/~rfrost/courses/SI110/readings/In_Out_and_Beyond/Granovetter.pdf

http://si.umich.edu/~rfrost/courses/SI110/readings/In_Out_and_Beyond/Granovetter.pdf

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Societal

Demand

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social reproduction

Given

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Societal

Demand

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Acquired

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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.





http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/bg/bg-ch-5.html



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Societal

Demand

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External Internal

$

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social closure

Given

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Macro Society / EconomyDemographic 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


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.





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Individual




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Extra-Individual

Wilsonstructural

Given

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Active Passive


Societal

Demand

Institutional




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


Structural TheoryWilliam 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.

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Individual




Societal

Demand

Institutional


External Internal

$social Darwinism

human capital functional theory

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capital

culture of poverty

social reproduction

social closure

Extra-Individual

Wilsonstructural

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Societal

Demand

Institutional


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Demand Summary

Marxian radical

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Macro Society / EconomyDemographic change State of Economy Technological change Public perception / taste Social movements – boycotts Revolution


Societal

Demand

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$


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.

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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.

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Societal

Demand

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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.

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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.

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Societal

Demand

Institutional


External Internal

$social closure

Demand Summary

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Societal

Demand

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Social Closure - DemandAt 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.

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Societal

Demand

Institutional


External Internal

$

Demand Summary

Wilsonstructural

Given

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Active Passive


Societal

Demand

Institutional




Acquired

External Internal

Education / training inequalities Social networks and contacts

Education / training – arbitrary restrictions

$


Class origins / circumstances Demographic characteristics (sex, age, race, etc) Innate intelligence Raw talent


Structural TheoryJulius 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.

Supply=





Societal

Demand

Institutional


External Internal

$social closure

Demand Complete

Marxian radical

Wilsonstructural

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Societal

Demand

Institutional


External Internal

$social Darwinism

human capital functional theoryculture of poverty

social closure


capital

Total Complete

Marxian radical

Wilsonstructural

social reproduction

The End