Economic Inequality in the |
1. The |
|
|
2. Social Darwinism and other biological-based theories of social inequality fall under what theoretical perspective of sociology? (Which sociological perspective do you think best describes the reason why poverty exists? Why?) |
|
|
3. Discuss
the “rags-to-riches” assumption of upward mobility in the |
|
|
4. Briefly, how does the “power elite” thesis (C. W. Mills) differ from the “pluralistic” model proposed by Robert A. Dahl? (You’ll have to look at Chapter 11, pp. 287 and 288 to answer this question). |
|
|
5. Does the
economy have anything to do with public attitudes about poverty in the
|
|
|
6. Discuss
the widening gap between the rich and poor in the |
|
|
7. Discuss
the difference between concepts of Wealth and Income. Know the basic statistics--- The poorest 20
percent of the |
|
|
8. What is
structural mobility? What factors in
the |
|
|
9. What is the “middle class squeeze”? Cite examples from our text (p. 35 that illustrate this). If you have time, research and compare the earnings of 1990 and 1996 male college graduates. Also, examine ability to finance a home (now and in the 1950s) to illustrate this phenomenon. |
|
|
10. Know these concepts: Cyclical unemployment; structural unemployment; and deindustrialization. How do they create social problems? (You’ll find some explanations in Chapter 12 on pages 298 – 300). |
|
|
11. Summarize
the text’s discussion of the rich and poor in the |
|
|
12. Approximately
13 percent of the |
|
|
13. Discuss the
welfare system in the |
|
|
14. Discuss various theories about the causes of poverty. |
|
|
15. Know the key concepts and terms addressed in the chapter. |
.