Chapter 2 - What kind of society is American society? Flashcards
Ten dimensions on which societies vary:
Technology Economy Economic inequality Political institutions Military role Gender relations Social cleavages Immigration Culture Violence
The three steps in evaluating a society:
what are the main dimensions
what are the main categories or types
which of these types best describes America
What kind of economy does the US practice?
Capitalist economy
The key characteristics of the capitalistic economy:
1) Production is for the market
2) Enterprises are privately owned and organized to maximize profits
3) People who don’t own enterprises earn their living by selling their labor as employees
What kind of capitalism does the US have?
Hyper-Capitalism
Hyper-Capitalism in the US
powerful corporations very weak unions weak public regulation of markets low taxation high levels of economic inequality high degree of globalization
Liberal democracy in the US:
competitive elections
secure civil liberties
constraints on the arbitrary exercise of power
US military budget:
$612,000,000,000
Total tuition at public universities:
$62,000,000,000
What is the most influential social revolution of our times?
Transformation of genders
Immigration:
1920s?
anyone could come to the US
Immigration:
1920s - 1960s
restrictions on immigration
Immigration:
After 1960s
Liberization is immigration to include groups
Immigration:
1980s:
large influx of undocumented immigrants, mostly from Latin American countries
Important aspects of US culture:
Pluralism & tolerance of diversity Individualism Community Religiosity Commercialism & Consumerism
