Politics, Work and the Economy
Chapter Outline
 Politics
 Work and the Economy
Polling Question

Have you registered to vote?
a.
b.
c.
Yes
No
Not eligible
Polling Question

Did you vote in the last election?
a.
b.
c.
Yes
No
Not eligible
Power
 Power is the ability to control others, even against their
will.
 Having more power than others gives you the ability to
get more valued things sooner.
 Having less power than others means you get fewer
valued things later.
 Authority: is the use of legitimate power and force is
unnecessary
The State
 State: institutions responsible for formulating and
carrying out a country’s laws and public policies
 Civil Society: private sphere of social life
 Political parties: compete for control of government
elections
 Lobbies: advise politicians about members’ interests
The State, cont.
 Mass media: keep an eye on the state
 Public opinion: expressed in polls
 Social movements: collective attempts to exercise
power by stepping outside the rules of electoral politics
and engaging in petition-writing campaigns
 Democracies: where citizens in civil society exercised
high degree of control over the state
Institutions of State
and Civil Society
Functionalist View of Politics
 Democracies promote social stability by providing all
citizens with efficient means of achieving their goals
 Pluralism: theory that power is widely dispersed and
no group is disproportionately influential and
decisions are reached through negotiations
Conflict Critique of
Functionalism
 Elite theory: in reality, small groups (“elites”) occupy
the command posts of democratic society’s most
influential institutions make the important decisions
that profoundly affect all members of society
 Intensity of political influence increases as one
ascends class hierarchy
Polling Question

The people running this country don't really care
what happens to you.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Strongly agree
Agree somewhat
Unsure
Disagree somewhat
Strongly disagree
Liberal vs. Conservative
 Liberal: “left wingers” who favor extensive government
involvement in the economy and a strong “social safety
net” of health and welfare benefits to help the less
fortunate members of society
 Conservative: “right wingers” who favor a small role
in government in the economy and a small welfare
state
War
 War is a non-electoral means of achieving political
goals
 Most often countries go to war with themselves for
state control, not with other countries
 2004-2007 U.S.-Iraq war killed 170,000 people
 1998-2004 civil war in Democratic Republic of the
Congo numbered in the millions
Global Trends in Violent Crimes
 INSERT FIGURE 12.2 HERE (PG. 288)
War, cont.
 Factors that determine the risk of war:
 Economic inequality: poor countries more likely to
experience war
 Government instability: countries neither democratic or
autocratic are highest risk
Terrorism


American law defines terrorism as “premeditated,
politically motivated violence against
noncombatant targets including unarmed or offduty military personnel by subnational groups or
clandestine agents”
Broader definition examines how one side may
call terror a legitimate resistance to occupation or
oppression
Polling Question

Terrorism is more likely to take place in the wealthy
nations.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Strongly agree
Agree somewhat
Unsure
Disagree somewhat
Strongly disagree
Work and the Economy
 The economy is the institution that organizes the
production, distribution, and exchange of goods and
services.
 The primary sector includes farming, fishing, logging,
and mining.
 In the secondary sector, raw materials are turned into
finished goods; manufacturing takes place.
 In the tertiary sector, services are bought and sold.
Three Sectors of the Economy
 Each sector of economy rose to dominance for
different period in history
 Agricultural Revolution: use of the plow substantially
increased productivity
 Industrial Revolution: manufacturing, trade and
commerce developed markets
 Postindustrial Revolution: service jobs have become
dominant
Productivity
 The amount of goods or services produced for every
hour worked.
Markets
 Social relations that regulate the exchange of goods
and services.
 In a market, the prices of goods and services are
established by how plentiful they are (supply) and how
much they are wanted (demand).
Division of Labor
 The division of labor refers to the specialization of
work tasks.
 The more specialized the work tasks in a society, the
greater the division of labor.
The Quality of Work
 Bad jobs don’t pay much and require the performance
of routine tasks under close supervision.
 Good jobs offer secure employment, opportunities for
promotion, health insurance, and other fringe
benefits.
Deskilling Thesis
 The process by which work tasks are broken into
simple routines requiring little training.
 Usually accompanied by the use of machinery to
replace labor and increased management control over
workers.
Critique of Deskilling Thesis
 Deskilling underestimates the continuing importance
of skilled labor
 Technological innovations kill off entire job categories
but they create entire new industries with many good
jobs
Twenty Jobs with Largest
Expected Growth
 INSERT TABLE 12.2 HERE (PG. 293)
Primary Labor Market
 Composed disproportionately of highly skilled or well
educated white males.
 They are employed in large corporations that enjoy high
levels of capital investment.
 Employment is relatively secure, earnings are high and
fringe benefits are generous.
Secondary Labor Market
 Contains disproportionately large number of women
and members of racial minorities.
 Employees tend to be unskilled and lack higher
education.
 Employment is insecure, earnings are low and fringe
benefits are meager.
From the Primary to the
Secondary Labor Market
Free Markets
 In a free market, labor supply and demand regulate
wage levels and other benefits.
 If supply is high and demand is low, wages fall.
 If demand is high and supply is low, wages rise.
Regulated Markets
 The primary labor market is a more regulated market.
 Wage levels and benefits are established not just by
the forces of supply and demand but also by the power
of workers and professionals.
Capitalism: Two Features
1.
Private ownership of property.
•
Individuals and corporations own the means of
producing goods and services and are free to buy and
sell property.
2. Competition in the pursuit of profit.
•
Producers compete to offer consumers goods and
services at the lowest price.
Communism: Two Features
Public ownership of property.
2. Government planning.
1.
•
Five-year state plans establish production quotas,
prices, and other aspects of economic activity.
Democratic Socialism: Two
Features
1.
Public ownership of certain basic industries.
•
Most property is privately owned, and competition in
the pursuit of profit is the main motive for business
activity, just as in capitalist societies.
2. Government intervention in the market.
Three Types of Economic
Systems
 INSERT CONCEPT SUMMARY 12.1 HERE (PG. 297)
Corporations
 Legal entities that can enter into contracts and own
property.
 They are taxed at a lower rate than individuals and
owners are normally not liable for the corporation’s
debt or any harm it may cause the public.
 Exercise disproportionate economic and political
influence by forming oligopolies, conglomerates, and
interlocking directorates.
Conglomerates
 Conglomerates are large corporations that operate in
several industries at the same time.
Globalization
 American-owned multinational corporations have
benefited from globalization insofar as moving some
of their operations to low-wage countries has
improved profitability
 Well-paying manufacturing jobs have become less
numerous in the U.S., displaced by outsourcing
1. Power is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
governed in its use by norms and the statuses of
the social organizations that wield it
regarded by subjects as valid and justified
the ability to control others, even against their will
all of these choices
Answer: c

Power is the ability to control others, even
against their will.
2. A civil society is composed of:
a.
legislative, executive, and judiciary branches
plus the bureaucratic institutions of the state
b.
autocratic, authoritarian, and democratic
institutions of the state
c.
political parties, lobbies, the mass media,
public opinion, and social movements
d.
all of these choices
Answer: c

A civil society is composed of: political parties,
lobbies, the mass media, public opinion, and
social movements.
3. Which of the following theories holds that small
groups occupying the command posts of America’s
most influential institutions make the important
decisions that affect all members of society?
a.
b.
c.
d.
elite theory
state-centered theory
power resource theory
pluralist theory
Answer: a
 Elite theory holds that small groups occupying the
command posts of America’s most influential
institutions make the important decisions that affect
all members of society.
4. Which of the following theories holds that power
is widely dispersed in society and that, as a result,
no single group enjoys disproportionate influence
in the political process?
a. elite theory
b. state-centered theory
c. power resource theory
d. pluralist theory
e. democratic theory
Answer: d
 Pluralist theory holds that power is widely dispersed
in society and that, as a result, no single group enjoys
disproportionate influence in the political process?
5. Which of the following types of governments
places a country at the highest risk of societal or
civil war?
a.
b.
c.
d.
democratic government
autocratic government
intermediate types of government (partly
democratic, partly autocratic)
totalitarian government
Answer: c

Intermediate types of government (partly
democratic, partly autocratic) places a country
at the highest risk of societal or civil war.
6. The economy is the institution that organizes the:
a.
b.
c.
d.
production of goods and services
distribution of goods and services
exchange of goods and services
all of these choices
Answer: d
 The economy is the institution that organizes the
production, distribution and exchange of goods
and services.
7. Braverman's deskilling thesis involves which of the
following elements?
a.
b.
c.
d.
reliance on part-time labor
the breakdown of complex tasks into simple routines
the replacement of human labor with machines
wherever possible
the breakdown of complex tasks into simple routines,
and the replacement of human labor with machines
wherever possible
Answer: d

Braverman's deskilling thesis involves the
breakdown of complex tasks into simple
routines, and the replacement of human labor
with machines wherever possible.
8. In the secondary labor market, workers tend to be:
a.
b.
c.
d.
highly skilled or well-educated
male and white
employed in industries with high levels of capital
investment
none of these choices
Answer: d
 In the secondary labor market, workers don’t tend to
be: highly skilled or well-educated, male and white or
employed in industries with high levels of capital
investment.
9. Which of the following economic systems is
characterized by public ownership of certain basic
industries and vigorous intervention in the market on
the part of government to redistribute income?
a.
b.
c.
d.
capitalism
democratic socialism
corporatism
communism
Answer: b.
 Democratic socialism is characterized by public
ownership of certain basic industries and vigorous
intervention in the market on the part of government
to redistribute income?
10. Which of the following economic systems is
characterized by public ownership of property and
government planning?
a. capitalism
b. communism
c. corporatism
d. democratic socialism
e. none of these choices
Answer: b
 Communism is characterized by public ownership of
property and government planning.
11. Which of the following are strategies corporations
use to exercise economic and political influence?
a.
b.
c.
d.
the formation of oligopolies
the formation of conglomerates
the establishment of interlocking directorates
all of these choices
Answer: d

The following are strategies corporations use to
exercise economic and political influence: the
formation of oligopolies, the formation of
conglomerates and the establishment of
interlocking directorates.