Political
Economy
Chapter
17 and 18: Sociology , Schaefer, 1995-2010
Power
and Property
Property:
A social relationship
vs. a thing
Rights, privileges, and
responsibilities Ownership and power
Ownership:
Private
Public (state) Communal
Communal Ownership:
Communism (primitive
vs. advanced).
Private Ownership:
Capitalism
Personal profit
(accumulation) Free
market ==> Competition.Private interests
lead to public good Or, private affluence==>public
squalor? Productive capacity--high. Capitalism
in modern societies : They
Rule
Entrepreneurial==>Corporate
(Monopolies/Oligopolies): 500 Businesses responsible for 75% of the
GNP. Ownership:
dispersed, yet concentrated. Separation
of owner from manager Interlocking
directorates Advertising
vs competition: USA spends more than rest of the world; over $ 100
billion/year==> expand markets, create needs: Anomie. Paper entrepreneurialism:
buying and selling of wealth vs. products. Illicit activities Multinational
Corporations (see also: wikipedia )(see Youtube and the list )
Public (state) Ownership:
Socialism
Social needs Central
planning Private affluence==>inequality Productive
capacity--problematic, distribution--more efficient Authoritarian,
Totalitarian ,
Democratic
Convergence:
Post-industrial/post-modern
reality.
Harrington and Levinson:
The Perils of a Dual Economy
Division of
Labor and the Structure of Occupations.
Primary, Secondary
and Tertiary occupations.
The Structure of the US Labor Force Specialization
(organic solidarity), efficient, 1850-323 occupations, today over 30,000.
Alienation Professionalization
Occupation
requiring extensive, systematic knowledge and training. High pay, prestige. Skill=knowledge
vs technique Autonomy Association
and internal regulation Controlled
admission--certification Code of ethics
G.B. Shaw: Professions
as a conspiracy
Control and
Organization of Property ==>Power. See
also: Theoretical
Models in Political Sociology by Ted
Goertzel (professor in the Sociology Department at Rutgers University) for
a thorough review of classic theories that are still relevant today.
Power is a capacity:
Latent force Force is manifest power Institutionalized Power
is Authority Authority rests in the
State
The State vs. Government==>
Political Order (social organization of power)
Legitimate force
Force: authority (legitimate) Coercion: illegitimate
power Influence--persuasion
Authority :
Position (Status) within the Social Structure
Traditional
Charismatic (dynamic)
(routinization) (impact of mass media) Legal Rational-- (Rationalization)
Position vs person Stable Rules and regulations.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Traditional versus Legal Rational Authority
The Role of
the State Functions of the State:
Hobbs -social
contract , preservation of order.
Norms-law Arbitration of disputes Planning and direction Affairs with other states Also, care and protection,
economic,.....
Conflict:
Tool of the dominant
class (a bit simplistic); but- the role of the state in establishing and maintaining
the status quo.
Rousseau :
(on the social
contract )-"You need me for I am rich and you are poor. Let's make
a contract. You get the privilege and honor of serving me, as long as you
give me what you have for the trouble I take in ruling you."Critical relationship
between the State and the Economic System: Circulation
of Elites Work
and revolution
Forms of the
State:
Authoritarian Totalitarian Democratic
(representative vs. pure)
Advanced
Economy--stability Restraint
on Power No
significant divisions Possibility
of dissent Access
to Information Diffusion
of Power
Political
Processes
Political Socialization
Party System: 2 party/majority
rule vs multi-party and proportional representation Participation :
apathy and efficacy (Government
Satisfaction Quiz from the Pew Research Center)Women and Politics==>
role ambiguity
The Distribution
of Power and Control
Interest groups/lobbying/PACs
(pressure groups)
Conflict: benefit to
affluent. See
also: Theoretical
Models in Political Sociology by Ted
Goertzel (professor in the Sociology Department at Rutgers University)
for a thorough review of classic theories that are still relevant today.
Power
Elite and Ruling Class Models
C. Wright Mills:
Power
Elite (an alternative view )Relatively independent
groups: Political, Corporate, and Military . They
Rule .
VIDEO
Interest
group leaders, legislators, P.O. leaders Unorganized,
exploited masses Domhoff: Ruling
Class (pdf )
(Ruling
Class local copy )
1% of population,
owners of income producing property 13% of income 30% of wealth Not conspiracy, individuals,
networks, interlocking boards, schools, recreation, etc. Act in own interest,
influence political processes, etc. Dahl (below)
Failed to trace how
local elites are networked to others at the national level Domhoff demonstrates
integrated network of local elites that seemingly constitute national
control group
Research
on Power
Pluralism
Veto Groups: Interest
groups that have the ability to prevent the exercise of power by others, keep
debate open. Union, Professions, Social
movements, etc. Political leaders forced
to work with these groups
From
oligarchy to pluralism (excerpt from Who Governs?
Democracy and Power in an American City (1961) on questa.com)(the book
on google books) New Haven--Few
"Decision Makers" But--community
power-diffuse, variety of interests and participation in decision making based
on specific concerns.
Conclusions:
Question whether many
issues ever reach the arena of public debate. Local and national elites
set the agenda, determine the "playing rules," and referee the game. Outcome always benefits
their interests. Overall--power is unequally
distributed. The Internet: Cyberactivism
and the power of immediate access. Capitalist network that runs the world (October 2011)
Health and Health Care
URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/010/polecon.htmlrok@umsl.edu References and
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