HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY (HRM 115) NOTES By Dr. Chipo Hungwe 2016 M I D L A N D S S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y, P. B A G 9055 G W E R U Z I M B A B W E
TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION What is sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of human behaviour and how the group influences it. It is the study of human behaviour in society. Sociology is sometimes referred to as the science of society or the study of human societies. Ritzer (2015:5) defines sociology as the systematic study and the ways in which people are affected by, and affect, the social structures and social processes that are associated with the groups, organisations, cultures societies and the world in which they exist. Giddens (1993:08) defines sociology as the systematic study of human societies, giving special emphasis to modern industrialized societies. Sociology studies industrialised societies with an aim of understanding and predicting the future. Sociology tries to understand the individual s place in society, and society s effect on the individual. Sociology studies human social interactions at both micro and macro levels. The discipline came into being in order to explain the social transformations and upheavals that took place in Europe in the 19 th century. Auguste Comte a French philosopher coined the term sociology in 1838. Sociology and other disciplines Sociology differs from anthropology in that while anthropology studies traditional other societies, sociology studies modern societies. However anthropology helps sociologists in understanding the different forms of human social life that exists. Sociology is different from history, which looks at the past. While psychology deals with mental processes and how they influence human behaviour, sociology looks at culture and how it influences human behaviour. Why study sociology? Helps us to understand how human behaviour is shaped by the group/society. Sociologists are concerned with the relationship/continuum between the micro (small scale, face to face) and macro (groups, organisations, culture) phenomena. Sociology offers a sociological imagination. The term sociological imagination was first used by sociologist CW Mills (1959). The sociological imagination 2
is the ability to situate personal troubles and life trajectories within an informed framework of larger social processes. Ritzer (2015:17) defines the sociological imagination as a way of linking private troubles with public issues. It is a distinctive way of looking at data and reflecting on the world around them. Early thinkers such as Marx and Weber tried to understand the larger processes that were affecting their own personal experiences of the world. An example that distinguishes private troubles from public issues is given by Mills (1959:9) in Matthewman et al (2013: xiii) is that when in a city of 100 000 only one man is unemployed, that is his personal trouble, and for its relief we properly look to the character of the man, his skills and immediate opportunities. But when in a nation of 50 million employees, 15 million men are unemployed, that is an issue and we may not hope to find its solution within the range of opportunities open to any one individual. Therefore the sociological imagination helps us to understand where personal troubles end and public issues begin and to be able to offer solutions to these. Prediction in order to control sociological research helps us predict how the future will be like and thus gives us the ability to control the future. Helps by providing a means of increasing our cultural sensitivities. In terms of social policy, it helps by enabling policy makers make suitable and culturally appropriate societies. In terms of human resource management sociology helps managers to be able to formulate appropriate policies that are acceptable within certain cultures. Basic concepts in sociology Culture According to Taylor (1871 in Cheater 1989:103-123) culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. This definition can be criticized for being vague because it has been applied to a wide range of phenomena (It is too broad). Giddens (1993:08) argues that culture is the way of life of the members of a society or groups within a society. Culture differs from society in that while culture looks at the way of life of a group, society refers to the system of 3
interrelationships connecting individuals within a group. However the difference is not really great and the two are connected. Keesing (1974:80) defines culture as a set of shared meanings and values. Thus culture can be viewed as a cognitive system where it consists of standards for deciding what to do about it and for deciding how to go about doing it Popenoe (1994) defines culture as shared values, language, knowledge and material objects. People learn culture over time. Culture as a resource culture can be liked to a super market where people pick and choose the things they want. Thus people pick and choose the norms and values to use in everyday life. Men and women use several aspects of culture either to attack others or defend themselves. Culture as an instrument of domination (Bourdieu 1984) maintains that culture plays a major role in maintaining social inequality. Based no their social origins, individuals acquire capacities for interpreting and using culture codes that affect their opportunities to maintain or change their social position. In a patriarchal situation, it is culture that upholds the position of men over women. Cheater (1986:06) goes on to argue that culture can be viewed as a set of ideological precepts that can be mobilized into socio-political interacts. Culture as a way of life O Connor and Downing (1995:03) highlight that culture is the essence of a people s way of life, e.g. how they dress, their marriage system, religion etc Culture industries These include newspapers, books, art, music who maintain/perpetuate a people s way of life. The 3 symbols that constitute culture Peterson (1979:137) argues that norms, values and beliefs are the symbols that constitute culture: 4
a) Values these are choice statements that rank behaviour or goals. They are abstract ideals held by members of a given society. Values can also be defined as ideas shared by people about what is desirable, acceptable and right. b) Norms these are more specific than values. They refer to the dos and don ts of social life. These are the rules governing social life which people are expected to observe. Norms can be formal/ written down or informal. Three types of norms are folkways, mores and taboos. Folkways are norms of little strength that may be easily broken without any formal sanctions. Mores (pronounced MO-RA-YS) are strong norms whose violation leads to formal punishment. Taboos are the strongest proscriptive norms considered sacred governing what one must not do. They spell out acts considered unimaginable and unthinkable. Violation of taboos has serious consequences. c) Beliefs these are existential statements about how the world operates that often serve to justify norms and values. Popenoe (1994) defines them as any statement that purports to describe some aspect of collective reality. Beliefs are what people hold to be true or have confidence/faith in. They help us construct our reality and matters of spirituality and cosmology. Culture therefore refers to the norms, values, beliefs, and material goods created by people in society. Norms can be divided mores, folkways and taboos. Subculture- a distinctive culture of a small group existing within mainstream culture Counterculture- a culture of a group that directly challenges mainstream culture What are sanctions?-rewards and punishment for particular conduct. So sanctions can be positive and negative. What is a social institution? - A relatively stable cluster of social structures that is intended to meet the basic needs of societies. Examples include families, schools, and churches. What is society? Ritzer (2015:7) defines it as a complex pattern of social relationships that is bounded in space and persists over time. Lenski and Lenski (1995) define a society as people who interact in a defined territory and share culture. Lenski and Lenski s (1995) theory of the evolution of society 5
These authors differentiate societies by forms of technology. Societies with simple technology (e.g. hunter gatherers) have little control over the nature and therefore can support a few number of people. Societies with complex technology are not better but can support a large number of people who live highly specialised lives. They described 5 types of societies. (a) Hunting and gathering societies These are the simplest forms, using simple tools to hunt animals and gather fruits and vegetation. They consist of small bands of a few dozen people who are nomadic, moving on as they deplete vegetation in an area or follow migratory animals. They rarely form permanent settlement. Everyone s life is much the same and is focused on getting the next meal. They only have spiritual leaders. Women are the primary providers of food. The societies existed around 12 000 years ago. Examples include the Pygmies of central Africa and Bushmen of southern Western Africa. (b) Horticultural and pastoral societies -people discovered the use of hand tools and started raising crops. They also engaged in pastoralism (domestication of animals) e.g. the Tuaregs. These groups remain nomadic but had more populations than the hunter gatherers. Social inequality emerged as societies engaged in slavery, protracted warfare and even cannibalism. Such societies existed between 10-12 000 years ago. (c) Agrarian societies These societies had discovered agriculture. They engaged in large cultivation using ploughs harnessed by animals or more powerful machines. There are high levels of social inequality compared to the previous two, landowners are more important than everyone else. Agriculture propels men into a position of social dominance. (d) Industrial societies These started around the 1750s. They are based on industrialisation (the production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery. 6
Industrial societies emerged as a result of the industrial revolution, with the building of railway lines, discovery of machines and creation of factories. They are characterised by occupational specialisation, loss of traditional values and kinship ties, changes in family organisation, (such as divorce and single parenting) and huge populations concentrated in cities. (e) Post-Industrial societies The term post-industrial society was coined by Daniel Bell (1973). These societies are based on post industrialism (technology that supports an information based economy). There is a move from an economy based on factories and machinery to that based on computers and other electronic devices that create, process, store and apply information. This is also referred to as the information society which is also characterised by the growth of the service industry (ranging from high status service providers such as doctors and lawyers to lower status house cleaners and those who work behind the counters of fast food restaurants). What is socialisation? When children are born into society they are socialised into the way of life of that group. Socialisation is a process of inculcating societies norms and values into an individual. Socialisation takes place in two levels: primary and secondary. Primary socialisation is a process whereby an infant/child acquires the skills/ways of life of a society into which he/she is born. It mainly takes place at home and is done by the parents or family of the young child. Secondary socialisation happens in schools, workplaces, universities, etc. where individuals continually learn to adjust to the demands of society. Socialisation is a life long process that starts from birth and end in the grave or death Roles As an individual is socialised into society s norms and values, he/she learns to take a role. Roles are socially defined expectations that a person in a given status or social position follows. It is the duty one carries out whether at home, in the workplace or at school. For example, my role is to lecture and yours is to be attentive students. Roles are allocated to 7
individuals by society. Where these roles become too many for an individual they can cause role strain/role conflict/role confusion. For example, where one is a student, father, brother, worker, husband, boyfriend, son and an uncle Status This refers to a position that one occupies in the society. It is linked to roles in that for one to perform a certain role they have to occupy a certain social position. For example, to be a teacher you have to occupy a certain position. It can either be achieved or ascribed. An achieved status is not that an individual puts some effort or strives to achieve, e.g. being a teacher, nurse, doctor etc. One is not born in that position. The ascribed status does not require any effort form the individual. One finds herself/ himself in that position, mostly by birth. For example being a prince, chief, woman, man. 8
Topic 2: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY The discipline of sociology can be said to have developed as a result of the following factors: 1. The enlightenment thinkers 2. Industrialization 3. Urbanization 4. Growth of communism 5. The French Revolution 6. The influence of Auguste Comte The enlightenment thinkers: Philosophical foundations The general arguments pursued by enlightenment thinkers were: a) Belief in empiricism they believed that everything must be empirical, that is, proved through experiments or other methods. It is through empiricism that knowledge is increased. If one said the earth is spherical then one had to prove their claim. Empiricism was an attempt to depart from explaining things using the supernatural eternal verities to explain social reality using reason and science. b) Rejection of Papal infallibility they rejected the view that the pope is infallible/does not sin and argued that everyone responsible for his/her actions. They also rejected the point that the new pope was appointed by God and argued that people had the right elect presidents into office, that is, to remove and install governments into office. c) Social and moral progress through science. d) Individualism- seen as the starting point of all knowledge. e) The search for general laws and freedom. Rousseau and Montesquieu: the 2 thinkers we shall study in detail Montesquieu (1698 1755) In his book, Spirit of the laws, he sought laws social and historical development. He argued that social institutions have an interdependent and correlative relationship with 9
one another and are dependant on the form of the whole. Therefore, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Montesquieu studied forms of government such as the republic, aristocracy, monarchy and despotism. He can be credited for being the first to use the comparative method of social research (where he compared several governments from different societies). He also used the ideal type method that was later adopted by Weber on bureaucracy. On power Montesquieu argued that power should not be concentrated in the hands of one man but be distributed among individuals and groups of society. He believed that liberty is best preserved where interest groups check on the government and where laws provide for such checks. His perception of individuals Montesquieu looked at people not as a multitude of individuals but as a society that could be distinguished from others by its customs and institutions. He can be regarded as one of the founders of the sociology of knowledge. Because he argued that the way individuals perceive customs and ideas of society depends on the social position one occupies and hence on the cultural perspective one adopts (which is the whole essence of the sociology of knowledge) Rousseau (1712 1778) Individuals are born free but are everywhere in chains. His main objective was to find a social order whose laws were in harmony with fundamental laws of nature. He sought an alternative to the prevailing order, which, to his mind, precluded man s perfectibility and even deformed and violated his nature. Culture, for Rousseau, is an invention of man and it suppresses man s freedom. On government he argued that governments originated in order to protect the property of the rich. Karl Marx later adopted this idea in his study of class struggles. Why Rousseau is the forerunner of sociology a) He was among the first philosophers to address systematically the origins, forms and consequences of inequality in society. b) He saw clearly that inequality is the main cause of strife and war within and among societies 10
On gender In his writings of Emile and Sophy Rousseau argued that men should be strong and active while women should be weak and passive. This view influenced how he looked at education, for example, where he argued that a woman s education must be planned in relation to man. Women, in as far as he was concerned, existed in order t be pleasing in man s sight, to win his respect and love. These are the ideas heavily criticized by feminists. The ideas of E.T led to an uproar among French conservatives who not only regarded them as dangerous but also as leading to the French reverend and the general upheavals that took place in Europe in the 18 th century. The Conservative Reactions de Bonald & de Maistre (French) These men were disturbed by the ideas of the E.T, which they regarded as destructive. They therefore developed a catholic counter revolutionary philosophy that called for a restoration of the old order/regime (ancient regime) that had been destroyed by the Rev. of 1789. They yearned for the golden past and tried everything in their will to turn back the hands of the clock. These philosophers advanced several propositions on how society should operate. It is those propositions that directly influenced Auguste Comte, Durkheim who were the founding fathers of sociology. Their Propositions were as follows: a) They argued that society is greater than the individuals who comprise it. This was a direct attack on the view held by E.T who stated that only individuals exist and that society is simply the name one gives to those individuals in their interrelationships. b) Far from individuals constituting society, it is society that crates the individuals by means of moral education or what Durkheim later called social facts. c) Every institution in society is positively functional no institution disrupts or is bad for society. They also argued that institutions are parts of a society, which are interdependent and interrelated. 11
1. Importance of religion and rituals unlike the E.T who viewed religion, rituals, and ceremonies and worship as irrational practices of the past, the C.Rs viewed all these as necessary for the unity of society. Conclusion The discipline of sociology developed as a reaction to the ideas of E.Ts. It developed mainly as counter reaction to the enlightenment era. There are; however, some ideas or notions that were adopted by classical sociologists such as Saint Simon and Comte that directly came from Rousseau and Montesquieu. Urbanisation and industrialisation Industrialisation greatly changed Europe and its people. The discovery and invention of machines such as the Spinning Jenny, led to the construction of factories and workhouses. This led to changes in the laws enacted e.g. the Corn Laws of England 1832 and the factory laws etc. The enclosure act led to the grabbing of land from peasants thus greatly changing in their lifestyles. Poverty increased and there was need to explain all these in sociological terms. It can be argued then, that sociology as a discipline developed in order to explain, describe and understand the social upheavals that took place in Europe. The social reforms had to be understood and an attempt to predict the future made. This led to the people such as German theorist, Ferdinand Tonnies who described the change from traditional societies into modern societies as the move from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft. It was the move from a community to a society. Durkheim in his book Division of labour and Marx in his Das Kapital depict the changes brought in by the new capitalist system. A social satire was also presented by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist (where he depicted the effects of the British poor laws of 1834). The French Revolution of 1789 It is mainly blamed on the E.T. whose ideas are said to have fuelled the Revolution. It culminated in the overthrow of the ancient regime or the Catholic Church rule. This caused much alarm among conservatives who feared the Rev might spread to other 12
countries and topple existing regimes. That is why, such philosophers as Comte and Durkheim were bent on instilling order, progress and social control. The influence of Auguste Comte (1789 1857) He is credited for coining the word sociology, which to him meant a study in social physics. Comte regarded sociology as the last science to develop but also as the most significant and complex of all sciences. Comte was greatly influenced by Saint Simon and the conservative reactionaries. He regarded sociology as a new religion of which he was the high priest. For Comte sociology was a positive philosophy in the sense that it emphasized order, progress and social control. His philosophy is positive in the sense that it opposes the views held which Comte regarded as negative since they had resulted in the French Rev. Comte believed that questioning time-honoured institutions was destructive and threatened to undermine all social life. In terms of gender Comte despised individualism, which he believed was destructive. He was against equality of sexes and he argued that the females or sex is in a state of perpetual infancy therefore could not be equated to males. Moreover women knew nothing about issues of state and governance therefore they should not be allowed to talk. He argued that people who do not know anything about a certain topic should keep quiet and leave everything to the intellectuals. If these people were allowed to talk they brought in dangerous ideas that caused social anarchy. His method of research Comte emphasized his techniques as observation, experiments and comparative analysis as the best of data collection and analysis. He wanted sociology to be modelled along the lines of natural sciences and he believed that like the natural scientists, sociologists would formulate laws to explain human behaviour. Three stages of societal development identified by Comte 1. The theological stage (dominated by religious views) 2. Metaphysical stage (there is a move from religious society to viewing society as a natural system) 13
3. Scientific stage- where there is application of scientific methods to understand society. 14
TOPIC 3: CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGICAL PESPECTIVES The traditional three main perspectives in sociology are functionalism (Structural Functionalism by Radcliffe Brown), Conflict theory and Symbolic Interactionism/Interpretive sociology. Haralambos and Holborn (2013) highlight other recent perspectives such as feminism, critical theory, phenomenology, queer theory and postmodernism. Functionalism Functionalism is the analysis of society in terms of function with regards to specific institutions in a particular society. Examples of institutions include the family, church, school, army police etc. Macionis and Plummer (2005:24) define it as a framework for building theory that envisages society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Functionalism is not a unified body of knowledge but has several strands to it, which include Structural Functionalism by Radcliffe Brown, ideas by Parsons, B. Malinowski etc. Ritzer (2015:37) defines structural functionalism as a set of ideas focused on social structures as well as the functions and dysfunctions that such structures perform. It has a positive view of social structures- that they are desirable, necessary and even impossible to do without. Giddens (1979) argues that functionalism has often been closely associated with the idea that biology provides the appropriate model for sociology. Functionalists argue that society is like a human body where every organ is functional and works for the good of the whole. This whole is greater than the sum of its parts, that is, the society is sui generis. Talcott Parsons He believed that society is a social system and he argued that the central task of sociology is to analyse society as a system. This system has functionally interrelated variables. Parsons (like Durkheim and Comte before him) was preoccupied with maintaining order in the social system. For example during socialisation the basic objective is the inculcation of norms and values of the social system. Parsons assumed that individuals are passive during the socialisation process and thus he concentrated in analysing how the 15
system controlled the individuals rather than how the individuals acted t create the social system. For Parsons, institutions performed the following roles: a) Adaptation family or school b) Latency/pattern maintenance prisons, police c) Integration e.g. churches d) Goal attainment e.g. schools, universities, workplaces Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) Books on suicide, Elementary forms of religious life and Division of Labour. Was interested in knowing what holds people together. He was greatly influenced by A. Comte He is best known for his view that sociology should study social facts as things meaning that social life can be analysed as vigorously as objects or events in nature. He was born in France but was a descendant of a Jewish Rabbi. He spent most of his time teaching moral education in French universities. He was thus bent on maintaining social order and repairing the social morality of society. On social facts, Religion and Collective Conscience For Durkheim the subject matter of sociology should be the study of social facts. These are things external to the individual but constraining and overwhelming individual behaviour. Norms, values and culture are good examples of non-material social facts. Other social facts include social morality, collective conscience and religion. Durkheim defined religion as: a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. It is these beliefs and practices that unite people into a single moral community. Various symbols are used in religion. Religion defines the sacred and the profane (everyday). The various systems are, for example, totems which are represented by animals/material objects. The totems symbolize sacred energy and serve as an identity for a clan/group e.g. Shumba, Shiri, Nzou, Hove, etc. In religion men and women feel overpowered by a force greater than themselves resulting from the collective nature of the ceremony (collective effervescence). This collective conscience/morality was reported by Durkheim to be very high in traditional societies e.g. belief in ancestors. 16
Mechanical and organic solidarity Durkheim distinguished two types of morality that exist in traditional and modern society. These are mechanical an organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is dominant in small-scale societies while organic solidarity is dominant in industrial societies. Under mechanical solidarity people in small-scale societies are unified because they are engaged in similar activities with similar responsibilities. In mechanical solidarity individuals share a common view of the world and a common collective conscience. They think feel and act the same and therefore act in concert. The nature of the collective thoughts is limited to the immediate surroundings while the kin group and tribe are the centre and limits of their universe. Such groups tend to be very religious. However, under organic solidarity people are held together by their differences (due to specialization) in urban areas where a high level of interdependency exists e.g. a household in a city needs a supermarket, baker, butchery, telephone etc. Anomie A term coined by Durkheim to describe a state of normlessness (absence of norms). It comes from the Greek word anomia meaning without law or without regulation. It is argued that the transition from small scale to industrial societies led to a decline in common morality. Individuals are said to be experiencing anomie because they sufficient moral restraints, because they have no clear concept of what is and what is not proper behaviour. Durkheim went to an extent of arguing that extreme anomie might lead individuals to commit suicide. Critique of Durkheim s social facts, Paradigm 1. On coercion vs. consensus - Durkheim s emphasis on common morality as the force that binds societies together has problems of its own. Societies are not necessarily held together simply by consensus/common morality. Structures as forms of social organizations are often held together by force or constraint. This 17
creates tensions, which in some cases results in revolutions e.g. the French Rev and the 2 nd Chimurenga. 2. Sectional interests - Another major weakness is that it glosses over the importance of sectional interests in creating the so-called common morality/conscience collective. The sectional interests have various foundations/bases e.g. class, race, ethnicity, age. Durkheim s study of suicide (1952) It was designed to show that certain kinds of social conditions were necessary for individuals to want to continue living. While suicide may seem to be an individual act it is an act that is socially caused by the level of integration one has to his/her society. He argued that people whose integration into society is either too great or too little are more likely to destroy themselves. Several types of suicide identified by Durkheim include: i. Egoistic ii. Anomic iii. Altruistic iv. Fatalistic Egoistic occurs because a person lacks strong supporting ties. Too much individualism means less integration of an individual into society; suicide. Unmarried people more than married or Protestants more than Catholics commonly committed this type of suicide. Anomic occurs due to individual s normlessness. It is when society s regulation of the orientation of the individual was broken-down. The absence of norms leaves people without rules to guide behaviour. This kind of suicide occurs during times of upheavals or great transformations in the society / in times of general unrest/war. Altruistic caused by too much integration into society. It is found among strongly unified social groups e.g. the military, the Moslems (fighting a holy war) where an individual loses a sense of self /individuality and puts the interests of the groups before his or her own e.g. a soldier fighting for his country or Indian women in suttee. However Durkheim s analysis can be criticized because he used government statistics, which might have been manipulated by whoever collected them. 18
Fatalistic suicide happens in extremely oppressive societies people may lose the will to live and prefer to die rather than continue in misery e.g. the inmates of concentration camps during the World War 2. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE This perspective traditionally included feminism and critical theory which have now become stand alone perspectives. Def: It is a framework for building theory that envisages society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change (Macionis and Plummer 2005:26). According to Ritzer (2015:39) conflict theory is a set of ideas focusing on the sources of conflict within society: this theory sees society as held together by coercion and focuses on its negative aspects. Conflict theory is based on the works of Karl Marx though it involves other thinkers such as Ralph Dahrendorf, Lewis Coser, Louis Althusser and W.E.B Du Bois. KARL MARX (1818 1883): Conflict theory He was a renowned but poor philosopher who relied on the wealth of his friend Engels. He was of Jewish descent and was born in 1818 and spent his time writing about the evils of capitalism and suggesting how that system could be overthrown. The main notions advanced by Marx include: alienation, mode of production, means of production, ideology, class struggle and religion, historical materialism. Marx on religion He argued that religion is the opium of the mind (it numbs the mind). It is also the sigh of a poor man. Religion is a form of ideology put in place by the ruling class in order to justify their position. Marx s materialist conception of history (historical materialism) For Marx social change is brought about by economic influences. These are linked to conflicts between classes. It is these conflicts that provide the motive power of historical development; therefore history is the history of class struggle. It is through class struggle than one mode of production is displaced by another e.g. feudalism by capitalism. Marx argued that in any one time there is a mode of production (system of productive relations) 19
that is in place. He identified several modes of production in the history of humankind. These are: (a) Primitive communalism (b) Slavery (c) Feudalism (d) Capitalism (e) Socialism- resources and means of production are collectively owned. Transitory phase towards communism. (f) Communism- an economic and political system where all societal members are socially equal It is sometimes viewed as the same as socialism, however it is the finest form of socialism. Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system in which resources and means of producing goods and services are privately owned (Macionis and Plummer 2005). The common characteristics of capitalism are: private ownership of property, pursuit of personal profit (greed) and free competition, consumer sovereignty and markets (laisseiz faire approach, no government regulation and interference in the market). Marx highlighted the problems of the capitalist mode of production and the classes that it formed. He argued that capitalism sowed its own seeds for destruction capitalism is its own grave digger. Marx also identified means of production, which include: land, labour, capital (these are also referred to as factors of production). The bourgeoisie owned the land and capital while labour was owned by the proletariat or the working class. Marx also stated that the capitalist mode of production has two main features; the base and the superstructure. The base contains all the economic factors of production while the superstructure is said to contain institutions whose functions are governed by the relations found in the base. Such institutions include: schools, hospitals, prisons, workplaces, the family, church etc. Superstructure (ideology, myths, laws, politics, cultural and educational institutions) 20
Base (also referred to as the infrastructure comprises the means of production and relations of production) Basic argument= whatever happens in the area of politics, law, family, etc. it is determined by the economic base. Therefore those will automatically wield political power. The base determines the superstructure. For Marx the state reflects property relations and class differences. The political state is the true mirror of various aspects of private interests and at its ultimate height the state tends to be private property. Therefore, individual rights e.g. the right to association, freedom of expression etc, are illusory. This is because in a capitalist system it is the propertied that often enjoy these rights and not the property less. Because the lawmakers are recruited from the propertied class, it is the propertied that enjoy the rights enshrined within the constitution. While Marx argues that order in society is a result of the dissemination of the ruling class ideology and the suppression of weaker classes, Durkheim and the functionalists believe that order is a result of the collective conscience. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Special emphasis will be laid on the ideas by GEORGE MEAD, CHARLES HORTON COOLEY, GOFFMAN & BLUMER (theories of development and socialisation) Def: a perspective that is concerned with the meanings that people place on their own and other people s behaviour. Ritzer (2015:45) defines it as a sociological perspective focusing on the role of symbols and how their meanings are shared and understood by those involved in human interaction [words, gestures and even symbols are symbols-they stand in for things]. Aims and key assumptions of Symbolic Interactionism To show how individuals interpret and make sense of the social world in which they live. To show that society s institutions are ultimately created, changed and maintained by people through interaction. 21
To highlight that people do not act or react automatically but carefully consider and even rehearse what they intend to do. People take into account other people involved and the situation in which they find themselves. The expectations and reactions of other people greatly affect an individual s behaviour. People give meanings to things/ symbols and act or react on the basis of these meanings. The symbolic meanings are intimately connected with our understanding of what it is to be and to behave as a human being. The looking glass self concept by Cooley (1934) It describes the three processes through which each of us develops a sense of self (who we are). These are; A. We imagine how our actions appear to others B. We imagine how other people judge these actions C. We make some sort of self judgement based on the presumed judgements of others *Therefore other people become the mirror or looking glass that we use to judge our selves. George Mead on the significant and the generalised others Significant others = Individuals who are most important in our development, parents, friends etc. Generalised others=society at large *Argument= we act or behave by taking into consideration the viewpoints, attitudes and expectations of society as a whole or a community of people whom we are aware of. The three stages of development by Mead 1. The preparatory stage (2yrs) stage of developing self consciousness 2. The play stage (5yrs) = child tries to act out certain roles of other people especially parents by behaving as they do. The significance of the play stage is that it is likely to involve the child in a great deal of role-playing. Through taking the roles of others the child is able to know who she is by being who she is not. The role in each case is organised by norms as the child learns them. 22
3. The game stage (8years) -this is where the child learns to adjust her behaviour to the expectations of the general others. *Society becomes part of us because of our learned understanding of its expectations (norms) that we internalise in our personality structure. We learn this understanding through language (a symbol) and we integrate it into our personality through the use of language and role-playing. FEMINISM Feminist theory is a set of ideas critical of the situation confronting women and offering solutions for improving, if not revolutionising, their situation (Ritzer 2015:41). Unlike Marxists, feminists see the exploitation of women by men as the most important source of exploitation, rather than the working class by the ruling class (Haralambos and Holborn 2013). There are various strands of feminism, however feminists have certain common ideas, such as the belief in male domination (patriarchy) and that sociology as a discipline has for a long time been malestream/male dominated. Some of the feminist thinkers are Ann Oakley(1974), Judith Butler (1990), Valerie Bryson (1999), Mary Daly (1978), Shulamith Firestone (1972) Sylvia Walby (2011), Bell Hooks (1982 [writes on black feminism)] and Kate Millet (1970). POSTMODERNISM This perspective began in the 1970s and gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s. There are various stands of postmodernism, however the main arguments include: a rejection of the traditional theories of explaining behaviour (functionalism, Marxism and Interactionism- these are the grand theories). Ritzer (2015:45) defines postmodernism as a set of ideas oriented in opposition to modern theory, by, for example, rejecting or deconstructing the grand narratives of modern social theory. It is sometimes referred to as Anti-modernism. Haralambos and Holborn (2013) state that postmodernists believe that social behaviour is no longer shaped as it used to be by people s background and socialisation. They argue that factors such as class, gender and ethnic group influence people a great deal less than they used to, as people are much freer to choose their own identity and lifestyle. For example people have a choice as to whether to be heterosexual 23
or homosexual, where they live, what clothes to wear etc. Some of the thinkers are: Jean Baudrillard (1983) and Jean Lyotard (1984). Lyotard believes that all attempts to come up with general theories (grand explanations) of society are doomed to failure because society is too complex to be understood from a single perspective. Baudrillard argues that society has been bombarded by media images to the extent that individuals cannot distinguish between reality and media image and characters. He writes about the dissolution of life into TV and says TV watches us, TV alienates us, TV manipulates us and TV informs us (Haralambos and Holborn 2013:990). Thus society is characterised by simulation (an inauthentic or fake version of something) and hyper-consumption (where we consume more than we really want or can afford). 24
TOPIC 4: SOCIAL STRATIFICATION DEF: Social stratification refers to the ways in which the members of a society rank people as superior or inferior to one another in social standing. All human societies even the simplest have levels of social rank as one of the mechanisms influencing how their members relate to one another. Social stratification is an example of social differentiation, a means by which individuals distinguish themselves from one another. Giddens (1993) views stratification as the structured inequalities between different groupings of people. According to Matthewman et al (2013) social stratification refers to the systemic ways that groups of people are organised unequally within a broad social hierarchy. Stratification ranks people in a hierarchy. Key notions Stratification is a characteristic of society that leads to differential access to resources. It persists across generations as social positions shift from parents to their children thus remaining in the same social position. However some people may experience social mobility. Stratification is everywhere but varies from society to society. It sometimes involves beliefs. People belonging to a particular group or hierarchy share an identity. Stratification describes both a condition and a process (Matthewman et al 2013). Theories of class and stratification 1. MARXISM 2. WEBERIAN 3. FUNCTIONALISM Marxism Main argument = history is the history of class struggles (workers have nothing to lose except their chains). An individual s class position is determined by his/ her relationship to the means of production. In capitalism there are two main classes that struggle for resources. Marx predicted that eventually the working class would realise their exploitation by capitalists 25
and they would unite in a revolution to destroy the capitalist system. The working class would institute a more benign form of economic system the communist system. Key points raised by Marx 1. He wanted to explain social inequalities brought in by different modes of production. He however, concentrated on the differences in wealth brought in by capitalism. 2. He defined a class as a group of people sharing the same relationship to the means of production. This is economic determinism (criticised by Weber as a monocausal explanation). 3. Where individuals in a class realise their common situation and common enemy and unite in order to change the situation, they are said to have class-consciousness. Therefore they are a class for itself. However, where such realisation has not been made (among peasants who are in competition with each other), the class is said to be a class in itself (meaning that they are a class objectively but not in subjective). 4. Marx foresaw class polarisation that would ultimately lead to two great classes fighting each other. Polarisation was defined as a situation where remnant classes from past modes of production were either absorbed into the working class or the capitalist class. Since classes are in perpetual conflict, a revolution is not only inevitable but also necessary to remove inequality. 5. According to Marx the working class is a growing force and a nucleus for social change. It is the working class that would lead the revolution against the capitalists. 6. With increasing mechanisation, specialisation and division of labour, workers would become deskilled and lose their individual craftsmanship. They would no longer be able to claim products as heirs but would become alienated and increasingly replaceable. Because they are paid low wages workers would be pauperised. Weber s (1864-1920) theory of class He was the first critic of Marx. While agreeing that the economic factors were a major determinant of stratification, Weber also postulated that STATUS (prestige) and PARTY (power) were important. 26
* Life chances and marketability (a recognised skill or capacity that is deemed to have a particular value within the labour market. Key points 1. He defined a class as a plurality of people sharing the same market situation or market value. In short class = market situation. This definition would produce an infinite number of classes since small differences exist between people. Weber s classes are not necessarily conscious of their situation. 2. He believed there are 3 sources of stratification, economic class, social status and political power. A status group is defined as a group of people sharing the same social honour or lifestyle. Status, unlike class is not objectively given but depends on people s subjective evaluations of social differences. It is based on prestige or esteem. However, status groups are shaped by lifestyles that are in turn affected by income, values and education. There is therefore a relationship between economic class and social status since those in a high social status tend to have greater economic power. However this is not always the case since an aristocratic family may still have social honour but living in genteel poverty, in the same manner that a rich person may be denied respect in society because of their background or social ties. This is very true of the Jewish people in Europe who own many businesses but lack political power. Soldiers and police officers of our day also yield much legal power but have few or no property. This disputes Marx argument that the base determines the superstructure. 3. Weber argued that society is not composed of two classes only but there is a middle class that is divided into upper and lower middleclass. They belong to the whitecollar category though they also do not own property but they enjoy the advantageous life chances that come with their skills. He also divided the working class into unskilled manual workers, semi-skilled manual workers and skilled manual workers. They all fall within the blue-collar category and own no property they only have manual skills. 4. Weber therefore did not believe in the polarisation of classes since there are small differences that exist among and between workers. The revolution was therefore not inevitable but only possible according to Weber. 5. Because of advantageous life chances Weber argued that the middle class would grow and workers would enjoy high-class positions and grow rich. Thus Weber 27
believed in the embourgeoisement of the middle class (doctors, lawyers) through for example buying shares in organisation. This process would slowly make the middle class owners of property. Because of this process it would now be difficult for individuals to strike let alone unite in a revolution. 6. Classes perpetuate themselves through social closure (boundary formation and difficult upward social mobility) and social reproduction (from one generation to the other). Similarities between Marx and Weber s theorisation of stratification 1. Both argue that the bourgeoisie exploits the working class in order to have surplus value/ profits 2. The worker must and is compelled by the whip of hunger to sell his labour for survival. 3. The worker is a free human being in the sense that he is not a slave (he is paid for services) and also that he does not own any property. 4. Group conflict is a basic ingredient of society. 5. People are motivated by self interest, 6. Those who do not have property can defend their interests less well than those who own property. 7. Economic institutions are of fundamental importance in shaping the rest of society. 8. Those in power promote ideas and values that help them maintain their dominance 9. Only when exploitation becomes extremely obvious will the powerless revolt. THE FUNCTIONALIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Emphasis is mainly placed on the views of Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. Key arguments 28
1. Stratification is functional and necessary. Some jobs are more important than others and require hard training e.g. medical doctors, pilots etc. therefore after training the individuals deserve better rewards for their efforts. 2. Class is universal in complex human societies because it serves to produce and maintain division of labour that is believed to be necessary for any society. 3. Some tasks (such as farming and health care) are essential to the survival of society and people must be motivated to undertake them. However, some of these essential tasks are more difficult and require some skill and training. 4. Society must motivate people to take up these jobs and must also select the most talented people and motivate them to take the jobs requiring their particular abilities. 5. This motivation is done by highly rewarding some tasks thereby making them more attractive and ensuring an ample supply of applications. This system of differential distribution of social rewards is social stratification. 6. Social stratification persists even in democratic societies devoted to ideologies of social equality because of the need to ensure that significant social positions will be filled and conscientiously performed. Critique of the functionalist argument i. There are problems in defining an important job. What is an important job? How come some jobs are important for survival but they are lowly paid (e.g. farming). ii. Not all highly rewarded positions are difficult or socially imperative (air hostesses, movie stars) nor are all similar statuses rewarded similarly in all societies. Therefore high rewards do not demonstrate the importance of the job or the degree of skill needed to perform it. iii. It is not necessarily true that the most talented and intelligent people occupy these high rewarding jobs but sometimes, chance and opportunity determines. iv. Class positions tend to be inherited from one generation to the other. v. While division of labour is necessary, a class system is not necessary to carry it out (see division of labour in pre capitalist societies). Contemporary theories of stratification 29