chapter 6 Flashcards
theodore dalrymple
- critical of social sciences because they have taught people that they are not accountable and things can be attributed to external control
- e.g., promotion of the idea that ‘the system’ (i.e., societal structure) is to blame
- the collapse of the British character: from sturdy independence, admirable stoicism, and civility replaced with the constant whine of excuses, complaints and special pleading
- poverty is not caused by economics but by a dysfunctional set of values
agency
- free-will
- capacity and motivation/determination of individuals to choose their actions
structure constrains agency
- “choice depends upon freedom to choose”
- rules are already in place and therefore society constrains us
- e.g. choices in life are limited if you don’t have the means to fulfill choices like going to school or travelling with no money
actors/agents
individuals who take part in an action that is meaningful or intentional
action
meaningful behaviour from the point of view of the actor/actors involved
how sociologists view agency
- ‘bounded discretion’
- ‘choice with constraint’
- ‘situated agency’
‘bounded discretion’
e.g. choosing to go to university but you have to pay tuition to go
‘choice within constraint’
e.g. we have a choice but there are limitations
‘situated agency’
agency that is specific to time and place
habitus
- relatively stable sets of attitudes and beliefs that social actors hold and that reflect their social circumstances, such as their class background, gender, ethnicity, or race
- habitus practices influence the behaviour, preferences and choices of individuals
- social behaviours are based on past experiences
max weber - the intersection between structure and agency
- weber believes “we are never so free as when we are behaving rationally”
- proposed 4 ideal types of action/social action
4 ideal types of action/social action
- traditional
- affectual
- value-rational
- instrumental-rational
traditional
- habitual; taken place in past
- no or limited agency
affectual
- behaviour motivated by an emotional response
- e.g. giving money to a panhandler because it makes you feel good about yourself or because you feel empathy for them and want to help
- no or limited agency
value-rational
- striving for a goal where behaviour is based on conviction
- e.g. help and give money to the panhandler because they have a value system that supports that action
- no or limited agency
instrumental- rational
- goals and means are chosen based on rational thinking
- e.g. deciding between not giving them money even if you don’t think they will use it well or giving it to them because they seem like they are suffering
- e.g. debate between giving because of this… and not giving because of this…
- using agency here
structuration theory
- seeks to address the tension between macro and micro-sociological approaches
- suggests that an actor’s behaviour is influenced by social structures but that social structures are created and reinforced by actors
- e.g. if we all chose to be vegan, the meat section and animal product sections in stores would shrink whereas vegan food sections would increase
the broken social ladder - social mobility
- on average it takes 4.5 generations for someone born into an impoverished/low-income family to approach the mean income in their society
- canada has a very high degree of social mobility compared to peer countries
- rural Canadians and Indigenous Canadians have much lower mobility levels meaning they take longer to get out of poverty
mobility issues - “sticky floors”
- at a structural level the “floors are sticky”, making it hard to keep moving
- those born into disadvantage find it difficult to escape
- meritocracy suggests a choice in our actions at the individual level, however, “sticky floors” play a role in constraining agency
mobility issues - “sticky ceilings”
- those born into wealth are much more likely to remain in the upper class because of opportunity hoarding
opportunity hoarding
where those who control resources exclude others from access to these resources or the benefits associated with them
