Sociology

Rene Llanos
Soc 412
Final

Question 1. Karl Marx, like Gilman and Du Bois was interested in seeing society change. Karl Marx was interested in seeing a classless society in which capitalism was abolished. Karl Marx saw the world with a materialist view and the first “to develop the structural method, without which there could be no social theory...”(Lemert 2007; pp 49). Through this, Marx was able to to structurally analyze the world he was living in; a world in capitalism was beginning to flourish. He saw society on a macro level, which meant he saw society as a whole. Since Marx longed for a classless society, he first analyzed the current situation he was in. He concluded that capitalism was inherently exploitive since it alienates workers from their labor and the goods they produce (the workers have no say in their workplace and do not own what they produce). His materialist view of the world is apparent in the Communist Manifesto in which he says that class conflict is what makes history, that is, real events instead of ideas like the idealist view. Charlotte Gilman was also interested in social change, but she concentrated on sexism. Unlike Marx, she used standpoint theory as her method (hers being called feminist standpoint theory),and a “symbolic interactionist emphasis on how these gender differences are reinforced and institutionalized through the process of socialization/ social production” (Powerpoint on Gilman). With this standpoint theory she was able to see the situation of women through a micro and macro level. This meant that like Marx, she was able to see the structures that oppress women, from the economic system (capitalism) to the micro level such as family. Gilman believed that the traditional family was inherently exploitive because it kept women dependent on women, which meant they did not have freedom. She developed the word patriarchy, which is used to describe our world which is male is the authority figure. Also unlike Marx she used her personal experiences to develop her sociological views. For example, in The Yellow Wallpaper, she writes about how she was forced to be bed and no do activities that would stress her because she is a woman. Like Marx’s false consciousness in which the worker is socialized that to believe that he is poor because he is lazy and dumb, Gilman writes about how woman learn to be dependent on men and resist their own freedom. Du Bois, like Gilman, wrote interpretive essays, but also conducted empirical studies and wrote political essays. An important concept he came up with was double consciousness, a term which is used to describe one’s twoness such ass Chicanas who are born in the US, but have Mexican parents and being aware of both identities. Like Marx, he saw “racial and social differences as a consequence of the systematic evil of modern capitalism” (Lemert 2007; pp124).

Question 2 It is important to study Marxist theories because capitalism is still alive and well. In other words, because capitalism is still flourishing, the inherent inequalities of race, sex, and class that come with capitalism still exist. Marxist ideas are still relevant because our eight hour work day, worker rights, and unions have been hugely influenced by Marxist principles. Marxist ideas are seen today in the portrayal of the “1%” (the owners of the means of productions) and the 99% (us, who have to participate in wage labor and for the most part do not have any say in what we do). Class is the “structuring of social groups...by any system that distributes wealth income unevenly” (Lemert 2007; pp 47). Class conflict is present in all societies and is the tension that exists between classes. Analysis of structural inequalities is very important to sociology because without analysis we can not know what there is so much inequalities. Using Marxist’s structural analysis today, we can know that capitalism inherently creates and maintains a large poor population since it needs the poor’s labor power.

Question 3 Rationality’s double bind essentially deals with bureaucracy. Lemert writes, “the benefits of rationality-of reason in all its practical forms-seldom outweigh the dehumanizing effects of rigid rules, of obsessive work, of technical ethics without gods, of culture without substance, and so on.” (Lemert 2007; pp 76). That is to say that even though rationality or bureaucracies make clear rules, they are nonetheless apathetic to people’s needs. For example, if only students who earn less than $10,000 are given financial aid, that means that if you make $10,001 you will not receive financial aid because there is a rule set. These bureaucracies (and capitalism) sparked from Protestant ethics such as asceticism. While Weber, unlike Marx, did not see capitalism entirely evil, he did see that the ethics behind capitalism made people work without stop. The Iron cage is modern times with all its rationalities (bureaucracies) and asceticism thats keeps workers trapped in a cage of constant work and rules. Where Marx oversimplified power in thinking that only class makes up power, Weber thought that power can be found in class, status, and party. The upper class obviously has power, but a person does not need to be upper class to have status. A priest can be poor, but will have high status in his community.

Question 4 A collective conscience is a set of morals that a group of people hold up as true. According to Durkheim, this collective conscience shapes the member os that society. It is important to study collective processes we are part of a collective process our whole lives. An anomie is a lack of social morals or rules and Durkheim used it to describe anomic suicides which happen when the person lacks society’s influence and morals. Anomic suicides are more common in organic societies because they are less intergrated and have less a sense of community than mechanical societies. If I found out that most people suffered from anomie, I would try to get people to hang out with their friends and family more. For them to go on vacation, to get to know their neighbors, and have community events. Unfortunately, it seems capitalism creates an organic structure in which people do not even know their neighbors.

Question 5
1. The root of gender inequality continues to be the family and capitalism. Gilman wrote that the traditional family structure-that is still present today- oppresses women by making them rely on the husband and by not being able to head the household. Our economic system continues to pay women less than men even of they do the same work. Feminism needs to adapt to accommodate more than just privileged white women since there are a lot of minority women in the US. In a way Gilman did speak for all women because women are informally second class citizens. Gilman only wrote from privileged white female perspective. Even though Gilman did not put women of color into perspective, Latinas and black women still depend on their husbands for money and get paid less than men or white women.

2. Du Bois color line is what keeps the lighter people and dark skinned people separated both economically and socially. This is important to keep in mind because racism is still prevalent in our country.The veil is how the people of color view the world. They see the color line through the “veil”. It is with this veil that they are able to see the world through both white and black eyes, which is a blessing. Double consciousness is used when someone identifies with more than one culture. In Du Bois’ case, he writes about how that black people “would not Africanize America” but would also not “bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism” (Dubois 1903). Du Bois was one of the first to use interpretive essays, empirical studies, and political essays together.