Politics, Work, And Technology Flashcards
Politics
Who gets what, when, and how
Politics is a war over reality and the distribution of power within that reality, an attempt to construct facts that identify with one’s worldview.
Political sociology
The study of power and the relationships between societies, states, and political conflict.
Helps us to see politics in our everyday lives - where the decisions and patterns of political and economic institutions regulate, govern, and control our livelihoods.
How are our choices made for us?
Pluralism
Pluralist theory says that power is widely dispersed, no one group has disproportionate influence.
- no single power centre can dominate consistently
Elite theory
Says to at small groups occupying the command posts of the most influential institutions make important decisions that affect the members of society.
Command posts: military, government, corporations
Elites from different networks have different interests, they do not all collectively agree on decisions.
Elite theory critique of pluralism
Elite theory critiques pluralism by arguing that despite the appearance of a multitude of groups having a say in democracy, real power is actually concentrated in the hands of a small, elite group.
- elites come from upper class families and reproduce their power onto the generation
Indigenous and feminist approach to the analysis of politics
Research has shown that gender played a role into how people were able to excercise power.
Indigenous women leaders were playing a “catch up” role of proving themselves as capable political leaders.
Women leaders were expected to take care of the “soft” issues of the community like health services, social services, and child care.
They are treated with disrespect, an example is when a women leader said something and it was ignored, but when a man later said the same thing they acted like it was the most brilliant idea they’ve ever heard
Symbolic interactionalist approach to power distribution
Focuses on agency, symbols, and culture.
People do not vote on their material interests, instead they vote based off “coalitions of symbols” (group of symbols that represent support for an idea)
For example:
Trumps symbols are authentic, untraditional, impulsive, “politically incorrect”
While, Clinton’s symbols are the opposite such as traditional, established, “politically correct”
Boundary work
Refers to the processes through which social, moral, or intellectual distinctions are made between groups.
Often involves defining who is included and excluded from certain social groups, activities, or spaces based on differences such as class, gender, race.
Trump does boundary work around hardworking white people and:
- criminal “illegal” immigrants
- vote fraud - white people votes are legitimate, immigrant votes are not
Marx Critique of Elite theory
Focuses too much on the elites themselves, instead of the economic systems that create the elites, inequality, etc.
He also suggested that the interconnections between elites form a ruling class which acts to reinforce capitalism
Marx view on politics
He says that politics are the modes in which class domination and resistance are exercised and reproduced.
Neoliberalism
An economic-political ideology that argues for the supremacy of the market and the individual.
- it describes a set of economic policies that emphasize the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade, and open markets.
Critiques: although neoliberalism stimulates increased economic growth, it increases social division and inequality.
It encourages free flow of capital and temporary workers. Policies focus on temporary foreign works instead of making them citizens (they are only considered labourers not people of the country).
Fordism
Method of industrial management based on assembly-line methods of producing inexpensive, commodities in high volume.
Scientific management (Taylorism)
A system for improving productivity, by training labourers to remove unnecessary actions.
- it dehumanizes the workplace
Wearable tech influence on the workplace
Wearable tech monitors or measures the actions you carry out, so it is able to tell how well you do your job. This is another form of control from the ruling class as they govern us organizing our conduct.
- makes us act in the way that employers want us to, and we lose sense of self
A form of control system
How is technology political?
It shapes and is shaped by societal power, norms, and values. It’s affects us in a way that promotes the dominant ideologies and political agendas.
