Inequality

Question 1

inequality

Answer 1

• Unequal possession of resources

- Unequal access to resources

Question 2

resources

Answer 2

• anything to sustain or improve survival or life chances in society (ie. Education, income, wealth, leisure time)

Question 3

wealth

Answer 3

material assets (land, stocks, businesses)

Question 4

4 ways to get wealth

Answer 4

• Inheritance
• Income (which you get from your occupation, which you get from your education… Education -> occupation -> income -> wealth)
• Gambling/stocks
• Theft

Question 5

net worth

Answer 5

Net worth = assets – liabilities

Question 6

taxes and inequality

Answer 6

Inequality can come from taxes -> if you don’t have resources to incorporate yourself, you’ll have to pay more taxes

Question 7

is Canada really a meritocracy? Why or why not?

Answer 7

• NO
• Social origin (background) leads to human capital, social capital, and cultural capital
• Social origin can directly transfer wealth too
• Human Capital + Social Capital + Cultural Capital = Resource
• • Ex. Education + Networks + Know-how and tastes = Good job

Question 8

wealth inequality vs. income inequality

Answer 8

• Wealth inequality greater than income inequality
• This is because the government tries to even out income inequality through taxes, but they can’t do anything about wealth inequality

Question 9

what 3 things is poverty impacted by?

Answer 9

• Impacted by social disorganization (ie. Access to education, availability of job)
• Impacted by social policies (ie. Minimum wage, tax system)
• Impacted by previous generations (ie. Low SES families)

Question 10

inequality: functionalist perspective

Answer 10

• Unequal reward structure motivates those with skills to fulfill important positions
• Important positions are therefore filled by those with the appropriate skills
• Inequality is necessary and therefore universal
• Ex. Not everyone can be a doctor; only the best should be doctors and society should financially reward them for their high skillset

Question 11

critiques of functionalist perspective of inequality

Answer 11

• payscale doesn’t always reflect importance -> ie. NBA players get paid millions, but their career isn’t critical to society’s survival)
• Social position is mostly inherited or appointed (So best people don’t always get the best job)
• Disproportionate rewards, wage discrimination (think about gender and race)

Question 12

inequality: conflict perspective

Answer 12

• Inequality is oppressive and unproductive
• Inequality is not good to human societies and must be minimized
• Inequality is a result of exploitation by those with power

Question 13

Richard Wilkinson’s views on absolute/relative wealth

Answer 13

Richard Wilkinson argues that it’s better to live without a lot of absolute wealth if others around you are similar, rather than making a ton of money but you’re still poor relative to those around you

Question 14

Millennium Development Goals (MGDs)

Answer 14

• goals set by UN in 2000 to eradicate global poverty, improve education, improve healthcare, achieve gender equality, etc.
• 10 years later, progress has been made for certain MDGs (ie. poverty, education, child mortality, access to clean water) while others lag behind
• Disparity: some nations were successful in progressing towards MDGs, others weren’t

Question 15

global inequality

Answer 15

involves the concentration of resources in certain nations, significantly affecting the opportunities of individuals in poorer and less powerful countries

Question 16

relative vs. absolute poverty

Answer 16

• relative poverty: being unable to live the lifestyle of the average person in your country
• absolute poverty: being barely able, or unable, to afford basic necessities, such as food

Question 17

global stratification

Answer 17

• unequal distribution of resources among nations
• highlights worldwide patterns of social inequality
• various models of global stratification all have one thing in common: they rank countries according to their relative economic status, or gross national product (GNP)

Question 18

1st world vs. 2nd world vs. 3rd world vs. 4th world

Answer 18

• 1st world: capitalistic countries (ex. USA, Canada)
• 2nd world: developed countries that are socialist or communist (ex. Soviet countries)
• 3rd world: poor, undeveloped countries (ex. certain African and Latin American countries)
• 4th world: stigmatized minority groups who don’t have a voice across the globe (ex. homeless people)

Question 19

modernization theory

Answer 19

• societies move through natural stages of development as they progress toward becoming developed societies (i.e., stable, democratic, market oriented, and capitalist)
• low-income countries can improve global economic standing through industrialization and adjustment of cultural values towards work
• critiques: assumes all countries have same resources and want to be as developed as possible

Question 20

core nations vs. peripheral nations vs. semi-peripheral nations

Answer 20

• core nations: dominant capitalist countries, highly industrialized, technological, and urbanized (ex. US)
• peripheral nations: little industrialization; factories owned by core nations (ex. Bangladesh, Malaysia)
• Semi-peripheral nations: in-between; have some power and exploit peripheral nations (ex. Mexico)

Question 21

gross national income

Answer 21

equals all goods and services plus net income earned outside the country by nationals and corporations headquartered in the country doing business out of the country, measured in U.S. dollars

Question 22

2 major issues facing high-income countries

Answer 22

• capital flight: movement of capital from one nation to another (ie. when Canadian factories close and move to Mexico)
• deindustrialization: consequence of capital flight - no new companies open to replace lost jobs

Question 23

debt accumulation

Answer 23

the buildup of external debt, wherein countries borrow money from other nations to fund their expansion or growth goals

Question 24

global feminization of poverty

Answer 24

• around the world, women are bearing a disproportionate percentage of the burden of poverty
• more women live in poor conditions, receive inadequate healthcare, bear the brunt of malnutrition and inadequate drinking water, etc.

Question 25

subjective poverty

Answer 25

• when your actual income does not meet your expectations and perceptions
• up to the individual to define when it’s present

Question 26

chattel slavery vs. debt bondage

Answer 26

• Chattel slavery: one person owns another as property (ex. child prostitution)
• Debt bondage: poor people pledging themselves as servants in exchange for the cost of basic necessities like transportation, room, and board

Question 27

dependency theory

Answer 27

• response to modernization theory
• global inequality is primarily caused by core nations (or high-income nations) exploiting semi-peripheral and peripheral nations (or middle-income and low-income nations), creating a cycle of dependence

Question 28

metropolis-hinterland relationship

Answer 28

the relationship between nations when resources of the hinterlands are shipped to the metropolises where they are converted into manufactured goods and shipped back to the hinterlands for consumption

Question 29

underground economy

Answer 29

an unregulated economy of labour and goods that operates outside of governance, regulatory systems, or human protections