Meeks, Loretta F., Wendell A. Meeks, and Claudia A. Warren. [2000] 2005. "Racial Desegregation: Magnet Schools, Vouchers, Privatization, and Home Schooling". Pp. 297-303 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
The Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education was that "separate but equal is inherently unequal", and rendered illegal racial segregation. What it did not do was prescribe means to implement desegregation and phase out segregation: "Some see this as synonymous with legalizing freedom but not abolishing slavery".
Current demographics illustrate the rising population of minority groups in relation to the majority, tendency of inner-city public schools to be mostly minority students, rising per-capita cost of public education, and declining scores in standardized measures of achievement.
Showing posts with label economic determinism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic determinism. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Excerpt: The Garment Industry in the Restructuring Global Economy
Bonacich, Edna, Lucie Cheng, Norma Chinchilla, Nora Hamilton, and Paul Ong. [1994] 2005. "The Garment Industry in the Restructuring Global Economy". Pp. 155-162 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
The authors describe globalization (in particular the global restructuring of the world economy) as the manufacturing and production of goods shifts from the more industrialized countries to the "newly industrializing" countries, and then to the less industrialized countries. This restructuring has given rise to new kinds of transnational corporations that coordinate manufacturing in multiple locations and are "supragovernmental actors that make decisions on the basis of profit-making criteria without input from representative governments".
The chief effect of global restructuring from a social perspective is the integration of peasants and farmers into the global economy. These "first generation wage-workers" often migrate between capitalist and noncapitalist sectors and are often exploited through harsh working conditions and low pay. Many find themselves displaced or unable to survive and emigrate to more developed countries with hopes of finding a better life.
The authors describe globalization (in particular the global restructuring of the world economy) as the manufacturing and production of goods shifts from the more industrialized countries to the "newly industrializing" countries, and then to the less industrialized countries. This restructuring has given rise to new kinds of transnational corporations that coordinate manufacturing in multiple locations and are "supragovernmental actors that make decisions on the basis of profit-making criteria without input from representative governments".
The chief effect of global restructuring from a social perspective is the integration of peasants and farmers into the global economy. These "first generation wage-workers" often migrate between capitalist and noncapitalist sectors and are often exploited through harsh working conditions and low pay. Many find themselves displaced or unable to survive and emigrate to more developed countries with hopes of finding a better life.
Excerpt: Wealth Matters
Conley, Dalton M. [1999] 2005. "Wealth Matters". Pp. 143-148 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
This is a powerful article with a powerful point: social and economic class is not described by income, but by wealth. Dalton Conley contrasts two real families that are strikingly similar; both were young couples with two small children, both were low-income (at or just above the poverty line), both fathers were laid off from a sheet-metal factory and ended up taking minimum-wage jobs, and both had the same living expenses.
The only real difference between them was their assets. The first family owned their home, due to a loan from his parents and a mortgage co-signed by hers. The second family rented a "cheap" apartment in a bad neighborhood, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run; they lived under poor conditions, drained their savings, fought, and eventually divorced.
This is a powerful article with a powerful point: social and economic class is not described by income, but by wealth. Dalton Conley contrasts two real families that are strikingly similar; both were young couples with two small children, both were low-income (at or just above the poverty line), both fathers were laid off from a sheet-metal factory and ended up taking minimum-wage jobs, and both had the same living expenses.
The only real difference between them was their assets. The first family owned their home, due to a loan from his parents and a mortgage co-signed by hers. The second family rented a "cheap" apartment in a bad neighborhood, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run; they lived under poor conditions, drained their savings, fought, and eventually divorced.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Excerpt: The Communist Manifesto
Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. [1848] 2005. "The Communist Manifesto". Pp. 132-135 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
I have a copy of the full document elsewhere, and a quick comparison reveals that the excerpt has less than half the content of the original...
The essay, published in 1848, effectively defines the conflict perspective in terms of class: "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles".
I have a copy of the full document elsewhere, and a quick comparison reveals that the excerpt has less than half the content of the original...
The essay, published in 1848, effectively defines the conflict perspective in terms of class: "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles".
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