Lesson 14: The Have's and the Have Not's Attention Far more Americans now see their country as sharply divided along economic lines... Click HERE to read a 2007 article on this topic...do you think that this is still true today? Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:
Teaching Income and Wealth in the United States Remember when we were discussing the values in American society.Individual success is a pervasive theme in these values and in our society. Much of the American society is governed and controlled by economic forces. Economics, which we will discuss later, has to do with the structures that partake in the process of the distribution of goods, services and wealth in a society. If Economics is such a major aspect of our society, it is not a surprise that individuals with great roles and wealth within our society are highly valued. When we consider inequality in the US we can consider the economic inequality. We can examine a person’s income and a person’s wealth.
Click HERE to view information on Poverty and the Culture of Poverty This
trend is even more pronounced when you take ethnicity, race and gender into
account.
The roots of American culture are
grounded in hard work and Puritan ethics of saving and prudent living. This has fostered a culture that values
individual achievement and rewards it handsomely while at the same time holding
individuals accountable for their own failings.
If you consider this difference you will see a different
value placed on ascribed status and on achieved
status. We make heroes out of those that make it rich on their own,
and downplay those who win lotteries or inherit money.
Weber and Marx
Two earlier sociologists who had a lot to say about
inequality were Max Weber and Karl Marx.
Max Weber
Karl Marx
According to Marx, class is determined by the kind of work
one does and by one’s relationship with the means of production.
A basic conflict exists as the Capitalist Class wishes to
exploit the labor of the Working Class at a profit.Each wants to maximize income to themselves, but increases
in one leads to decreases in the other.Thus the basic mechanism for the conflict perspective is that it is
unfair that individuals can own the means of production and exploit others.
Contemporary Applications of Weber and Marx
Current Weberian models outline the US class structure along the same lines of wealth, power and
prestige…creating the common labels for the class system here.
The American Dream Below are some resources that you will use to engage in the discussion and class activities outlined below. Background Essay on The American Dream Assessment American Dream Project TBA
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