Chapter one

Question 1

early philosophers on economic inequality

Answer 1

1. jean-jacque rousseau
2. adam smith
3. karl marx
4. max weber
5. joseph schumpeter

Question 2

jean-jacque rousseau

Answer 2

• discourse on the origin of inequality
• 2 types of inequality:
  1. natural
  2. moral

Question 3

natural inequality

Answer 3

e.g. owing to health status, age, physical strength

Question 4

moral inequality

Answer 4

e.g. owing to private property- those with property develop laws to protect their interests

Question 5

adam smith

Answer 5

• inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations
• inequality innate part of capitalism, therefore we must accept it
• people act only in their own economic self-interest
• economies operate best without government interference
• the market is [naturally; by an ‘invisible hand’] self-regulating and efficient

Question 6

karl marx

Answer 6

• capitalism creates inequality through private property, and the exploitation and surplus extraction of labour
• capitalism must be overthrown; communism only answer to inequality
• factories were very efficient and very profitable
• capitalism encouraged competition; but competition drove down wages/working conditions
• private property encouraged worker exploitation
• called for an end to capitalism

Question 7

max weber

Answer 7

communism would only transfer the power from the capitalist class to the government elites

Question 8

jospeh schumpeter

Answer 8

• inequality result of the huge rewards provided to those who innovate and prospectively invest in innovation
• governments working in the interest of working class would spell the end to capitalism…because it kills the motive of innovation

Question 9

antonio garmsci - prison notebooks

Answer 9

• capitalism reached a hegemonic position in society through contamination within other institutions
• hegemony: dominant group wins the voluntary consent of popular masses
• unlike domination, which uses state force, hegemony works through families, schools and the media

Question 10

ralf dahrendorf

Answer 10

• many more people today have a stake in the capitalist system
• overall increase in the standard of living
• organized labour and union successes
• greater legal protections

Question 11

factors of economic inequality in canada

Answer 11

1. globalization
2. technology
3. tax policy
4. executive/ceo pay
5. union decline/resistance

Question 12

early social responses to poverty in canada

Answer 12

• poor laws: roughly 1500-1900
• relegated church’s responsibility for addressing poverty
• “poverty not fault of individual” ideology
• revised poor laws (1800-1835) made poverty the fault of the individual

Question 13

early institutional care for the poor

Answer 13

1. poor houses
2. workhouse
3. prisons
4. charitable organizations

Question 14

poor houses

Answer 14

• deserved poor; the ones that were poor and its not their own fault
• established to house the destitute
• e.g. elderly who can’t work

Question 15

workhouse

Answer 15

• undeserved poor; those deemed at fault for being poor
• if you are able-bodied you are expected to work to earn things like a place to stay and something to eat
• e.g. mentally ill (could be in either house;depends), unwed pregnant women, widowed women, criminals

Question 16

prisons

Answer 16

many of the people in the prisons were elderly men and some were young pregnant women with nowhere else to go

Question 17

charitable organizations

Answer 17

• mostly middle/upper class women ran charitable agencies
• by 1867, these volunteer organizations were soon overwhelmed because of:
  1. increased urban population
  2. mass unemployment

Question 18

state intervention to class inequality

Answer 18

• poor laws gave way to more stable/legislative intervention
• social policies reflected ideology
• policies today aim to address shortcomings of capitalism

Question 19

structural problems of poverty

Answer 19

1. deindustrialization: manufacturing change
2. costs of living: inflation
3. barriers to opportunities: time, money, location, education, work, family
4. limited access to affordable housing: current housing crisis
5. inability to obtain credit: credit as an obstacle to opportunities

Question 20

poor policy

Answer 20

• low welfare rates
• low minimum wage
• absence of living wage policies
• poor wealth distribution
• neoliberalism

Question 21

living wage policies

Answer 21

• a voluntary commitment of employers to go beyond the minimum standard and pay enough for employees to cover their expenses and participate in community
• enough to provide a decent standard of living
• e.g. sharon has a family of 4, and they would determine how much money a family of 4 needs to live decently

Question 22

neoliberalism - poor policy

Answer 22

• helped the rich become more rich/stay rich
• linked to poorer collective health and well-being