QUESTION THREE: "Is inequality of social classes inevitable?" The conflict theory put forward by Ralf Dahrendorf begins with a discussion of Marxism and the fact that in industry, the conflict between classes - the capitalist and proletariat (worker) - the worker had a natural inclination to be in conflict with the capitalists who were the authority, the bosses. The same kind of conflict carried over into the political realm as well, sometimes violent. The problem was that there was no system whereby conflicts could be resolved. But Marx's analysis, Dahrendorf goes on, was tainted because of his obsession with proletarian revolution.
At this point in his essay, Dahrendorf, though rejecting Marx in that context, asserts that since there are "interest groups" and "quasi-groups" those must then be considered "classes." And if there are classes, it is then logical to assume there will be groups, and quasi-groups that will always have "conflicting latent interests..." He mentions trade unions and employers' associations; a classic example of those two groups in conflict is the current writer's strike, the Writers Guild of America vs. The big corporations who run the movie studios. The writers claim there is a degree of inequality because they are not being paid for the material they create that goes out on the internet. He also mentions progressive and conservative political parties; there will always be some inequality in social classes, and the progressive parties like the Democrats and Green parties are always going to be at odds with the conservatives, who support business and government and not the "little guy" who is working for minimum wage. So, the answer to the question posed is found in the author's next-to-last paragraph, when he has finished his main narrative and has asserted that through "empirical generalization" that there are "associations and classes" in "many" societies. And in "all known societies" there are "social conflicts."
QUESTION FOUR: How is racial/gender oppression possible (according to feminist thought)? Patricia Hill Collins approaches the subject of the oppression of African-American women through race, class, and...
Accordingly, the significance of the application of the conflict perspective to American food is that its accuracy is so blatantly valid that it has progressed almost unnoticed through our nation's history. Out of the philosophical roots of Marx, conflict theory has evolved and broadened its scope; today, it is most commonly used to evaluate the legal system, but the core conflict remains that between the proletariats and the owners
Sociology According to Peter Berger, there are four motifs of sociological consciousness. These are: 1) the debunking motif, 2) the unrespectability motif, 3) the relativization motif, and 4) the cosmopolitan motif. These four things allow sociologists to sort concepts and understand human psychology slightly better than would be possible without this understanding. Sociologists are human and thus equally subject to the same psychological pitfalls as the cultures and populations that they
Ethical Theory & Moral Practice Debates about theory and practice are ancient. Each generation considers the dynamics that surround issues about the interdependency of theory and praxis to be uniquely challenging. Complexity is a variable closely linked with knowledge. As science has added layer upon layer of knowledge, decision-making dilemmas have been confounded by new and staggering concomitant factors. In concert, theoretical frameworks for social science disciplines have been adapted to
learning theories you selected. I chose social constructivism and critical pedagogy. I have always been fascinated by social constructivism for it enables me to see that much of what I take for granted has, in reality, been shaped by a constantly evolving and developing process of cultural interpretation. As Berger and Luckmann (1996) have explained in their 'Social construction of reality', we are shaped by our cultural perspectives and internalizations but
Social Construction Theory of Reality by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman Applied to the novel "Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman's book entitled, "The Social Construction Theory of Reality" discusses how an individual and the society is related to the construction of reality in life as one perceives it to be. Berger and Luckman present various elements that influence the construction of 'reality' of an individual. The
Companies practically make it mandatory for these people to employ a "nicer than natural" attitude and thus influence them to feel estranged from their emotions. Even with the fact that flight attendants manage to avoid being stressed as a result of their coping mechanism, their thinking can turn in an occupational hazard. Employing such attitudes can lead to serious problems as flight attendants feel detached from their jobs and
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