The Real World

An Introduction to SociologyFourth Edition

Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

Chapter 11: The Economy, and Work

Why Study Economy or Work?• An economy deals not only

with money but also with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services within a society.

• This is a major link between individuals (micro) and society (macro).

2

Historical and Economic Changes

In the United States, the economy has changed over time. New technologies have also changed the nature of our work.

3

Historical and Economic Changes (cont’d.) • Earliest American economy:

Pre-sixteenth-century Native American societies were either mobile hunting and gathering societies or horticultural societies (which were based on the domestication of animals, farming, and generating a surplus of resources).

4

• The Agricultural Revolution included social and economic changes, population increases, and increased efficiency of food production.

Historical and Economic Changes (cont’d.)

5

• The Industrial Revolution rapidly transformed social life through technological and economic developments including the assembly line, steam power, and urbanization. With this shift to a manufacturing economy, vast numbers of people migrated into cities in search of work.

Historical and Economic Changes (cont’d.)

6

• The Information Revolution refers to the recent social revolution made possible by the development of the microchip in the 1970s, which brought about vast improvements in the ability to manage information.

Historical and Economic Changes (cont’d.)

7

Comparing Economic Systems

• Capitalism is an economic system based on the laws of free market competition, privatization of the means of production, and production for a profit, with an emphasis on supply and demand as a means to set price.

• Encourages efficiency:• New technology• Expansion of markets• Cost cutting

8

Comparing Economic Systems (cont’d.)

• Socialism is an economic system based on the collective ownership of the means of production, collective distribution of goods and services, and government regulation of the economy.

9

• Communism is a system of government that eliminates private property and is the most extreme form of socialism because all citizens work for the government and there are no class distinctions.

Comparing Economic Systems (cont’d.)

10

• All nations’ economies have both capitalist and socialist aspects. For example, the capitalist United States has some socialist economic features, including business subsidies, market regulations, and public aid programs.

Comparing Economic Systems (cont’d.)

11

The Nature of Industrial and Postindustrial Work

• Before the Industrial Revolution, economic production took place in the household—but the birth of the factory led to the workplace and raised new, work-related issues.

12

• Karl Marx argued that when people lose control over their production and the conditions of production, they become alienated and view work as a means to survive rather than a rewarding activity.

The Nature of Industrial and Postindustrial Work(cont’d.)

13

Karl Marx: Alienation• Marx believed workers were

alienated in four ways: • from the product of their labor• from their own productive activity• from their fellow workers• from human nature

14

• In a postindustrial economy, many workers do service work, which often involves direct contact with clients, customers, patients, or students.

The Nature of Industrial and Postindustrial Work (cont’d.)

15

• Other workers in the postindustrial economy are involved in knowledge work, which involves working with information.

The Nature of Industrial and Postindustrial Work (cont’d.)

16

Resistance Strategies: How Workers Cope

• Individuals and groups cope with their working conditions in a variety of ways called resistance strategies (ways that workers express discontent with their working conditions and try to reclaim control of the conditions of their labor).

17

Individual Resistance Strategies

• Individual resistance can include using work time to surf the Web, sabotaging an assembly line, and personalizing a workspace with photos.

18

Collective Resistance Strategies• Collective resistance can

include membership in a union (an association of workers who bargain collectively for increased wages and benefits and better working conditions).

19

Globalization, Economics, and Work

Globalization refers to the cultural and economic changes resulting from dramatically increased international trade and exchange in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

20

21

Globalization, Economics, and Work (cont’d.)

• Transnational corporations are another part of the global economy that transcend national borders so that their products can be manufactured, distributed, marketed, and sold from bases all over the world.

22

Globalization, Economics, and Work (cont’d.)

Companies’ searches for the cheapest way to produce goods often involves outsourcing (“contracting out” or transferring to another country the labor that a company might otherwise have employed its own staff to perform) or the use of a sweatshop (a workplace where workers are subject to below-standard wages, long hours, and poor working conditions).

23

Alternative Ways of Working

• The modern economy is characterized by more diverse and specialized jobs, and more temps and freelancers.

• In a capitalist society, we increasingly rely on the independent, or third, sector, which is made up of nonprofit organizations that take care of necessary but unprofitable social needs.

24

Which of the following best describes you outside of class?

a. employed full-time b. employed part-timec. not employed

Chapter 11: Participation Questions

25

Are you male or female, and how often do you volunteer?

Chapter 11: Participation Questions

a. Male – weekly e. Female – weekly

b. Male – monthly f. Female – monthly

c. Male – once or twice per year g. Female – once or twice per year

d. Male – rarely or never h. Female – rarely or never

26

Have you had any experience with outsourcing (moving of jobs overseas)?

a. My job was outsourced.b. Someone I know had their job

outsourced.c. I have no experience with

outsourcing.

Chapter 11: Participation Questions

27

Chapter 11: Data Workshop Activity

• Refer to the Data Workshop on page 339 to prepare for this activity. We’re going to explore the Global Commodity Chain.

• To start, please take a few moments alone to analyze the things you’re carrying with you today: clothes, backpacks, pencils, etc.

• In groups, we’re going to determine where these items came from, and whether they may have been produced in sweatshops. Take notes throughout the process, especially if something surprises you. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class.

28

© 2014 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.

The Real World4th Edition

AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Kerry Ferrisand

Jill Stein

This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for

Chapter 11

29