Transcript Political Economy: wealth and poverty

Political Economy:
wealth and poverty
Quiz
Issues of Family and Pettigrew
Begin political economy
Discussion of Family
1. Is it possible that dysfunctional families
will become the norm in the U.S.?
2. Is the increasing divorce rate in the
United States leading to an decreased
marriage rate?
3. The strain on the family has been
discussed in class, but is it possible
that this is not strain, but rather, the
development of a new kind of family?
Discussion of Family #1
Is it possible that dysfunctional families
will become the norm in the U.S.?
Following Hochschild, we distinguished 4
types of families;
I suggested that the “dysfunctional
family” was unintended, transitional and
pathological
Many students wanted discussion of that
Recall 4 types in
Hochschild:
Agreed division Disagreement
of labor
and conflict over
DoL
Egalitarian
Modern
Male-dominant Traditional
Dysfunctional
Ambivalent
Are there other types? Is this classification complete or correct?
“Dysfunctional”
Hochschild’s finding was that one of the
commonest forms of family division of labor
was one in which there was substantial
disagreement and confusion, and a great
deal of family maintenance did not get done
by anyone.
I suggested that it was transitional,
pathological and unintentional. This may be
wrong.
Discussion of Family #2
Is the increasing divorce rate in the United
States leading to an decreased marriage rate
– I.e. a larger proportion of children not in a
(2-parent) family at all?
Not logically: one could have a very high
divorce rate with no decrease in the marriage
rate at all.
And empirically, divorced people remarry.
But there might be some trends leading to
both
Discussion of Family #3
The strain on the family has been
discussed in class, but is it possible that
this is not strain, but rather, the
development of a new kind of family,
which does not reflect the family of
classic TV (“Leave it to Beaver”)
More pluralism?
Different dominant form
Some Pettigrew
Questions
1. I do not understand the difference
between an “invisible hand” and an
“invisible fist”.
2. If there are negative and frustrating
outcomes (of “invisible fists” and “dark
clouds” then why do people do them?
3. Doesn’t all unregulated market action
lead to “invisible fists?”
Pettigrew’s concepts
(review)
Outcomes of
individual
choices
Unintended
outcomes of
public policy
Positive
Invisible
Hand
Silver
Lining
Negative
Invisible Dark
Cloud
Fist
If they lead to paradoxes
and frustration, why do we
do them?
1. Individually, we can only change our
behavior.
2. Sometimes we do not know the
outcome.
3. Sometimes the outcomes are different
for different people,
4. Who may have different amounts of
power.
Doesn’t unregulated
market action always
lead to invisible fists?
To some degree: even Adam Smith wanted a
fair amount of collective action for education,
etc.
But sometimes there are relatively few
consequences for others, or those
consequences are relatively benign.
E.g. family farms.
Sociologists stress unintended consequences
for others more than economists
Many of the overall
issues of markets are
about inequality.
The item WLTH POV taps many of the sources of
disagreement about the best scope of markets:
Intrinsically, markets often create and reinforce inequality.
For some people, that is freedom and is OK
For others, it is not.
“In a free society it is alright if a few people accumulate a
lot of wealth and property while many others live in
poverty.”
The class response
About 1/5 agreed; about 3/5
disagreed
WLTH POV -- In a free society it is all right if a few people accumulate
a lot of wealth and property while many others live in poverty
1) agree
2) neither
3) disagree
TOTAL (N)
Freq.
5
7
17
%
17.2
24.1
58.6
29 100.0
Response in the national
sample
In the whole population, a little less than 1/5
agree, and a little more than 1/5 disagree.
WLTH POV -- AGREE OR DISAGREE: -- In a free society, it is all right if
a few people accumulate a lot of wealth and property while many
others live in poverty. (WLTHPOV)
1) AGREE
2) NEITHER
3) DISAGREE
Freq.
524
264
578
%
38.4
19.3
42.3
TOTAL (N)
1366 100.0
Missing
1451
1.
How will various
background
characteristics affect
this item?
Age
2. Income
3. Race
4. Sex
5. Liberalism-conservatism
How will agreement
with this general
attitude affect the item:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Place yourself on the scale from:
I strongly agree that the government should
do more to improve the living standards of
the poor
Agree government should do more
Agree with both
Agree people should help self
Strongly agree that people should help
themselves.
Association between
support for gov’t policy and
WLTH POV
WLTH POV
AGREE
by
GOVERNMENT
AGR.W/BOTH
PEOPLE Missing
TOTAL
62
140
151
353
17.6%
39.7%
42.8%
95
51
3.4%
28.7%
152
71
42.6%
19.9%
399
263
NEITHER 32
18.0%
DISAGRE 134
37.5%
Missing 272
TOTAL
HELP POOR?
228
387
273
995
888
171
100.0%
86
178
100.0%
221
357
100.0%
517
1451
Questions for next
class:
1. What is the main cause of the killing in
the Middle East?
2. What role as U.S. policy played with
regard to it?
3. What should American policy be?
Interesting, useful, nonrequired colloquium
4 Middle Eastern Theorists (one
important sociologist) on the nature of
conflict and dynamic in Israel today
Tollentine 215
Tomorrow (Friday) 12:30
“Spy Game”
The Robert Redford movie hinges on an incident
where to get rid of a leader of the Palestinian
resistance, the CIA had a client group
organization of Lebanon Christians blow up an
apartment complex with a truck bomb.



We would have preferred to do it a different way
And Redford was sorry.
Chomski says it was mosque.
Spy Game continued
1. Did (does) that happen?
2. Is it Typical?
3. Does it matter whether it is a matter of
explicit policy?