Social Problems

by Eitzen, D. Stanley; Zinn, Maxine Baca

• ISBN13: 9780205294565
• ISBN10: 0205294561
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-08-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

This best-selling text continues with this new edition its tradition of challenging students to become enthusiastic about exploring the intricacies and mysteries of social life using the sociological perspective. Taking a conflict approach, Eitzen and Baca Zinn focus on the social structure to determine the underlying features of the social world in an effort to help students to understand today's social problems.

Table of Contents

PART ONE THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS	1	(50)
The Sociological Approach to Social Problems	1	(19)
The History of Social Problems Theory	2	(2)
Toward a Definition of Social Problems	4	(3)
Types of Social Problems	7	(3)
Norm Violations	7	(1)
Social Conditions	8	(2)
Social Structure as the Basic Unit of Analysis	10	(6)
Person-Blame Approach versus System-Blame Approach	11	(3)
Reasons for Focusing on the System-Blame Approach	14	(2)
Organization of the Book	16	(1)
Chapter Review	17	(1)
Key Terms	18	(1)
For Further Study	19	(1)
Wealth and Power: The Bias of the System	20	(31)
Capitalism and Socialism	22	(5)
Capitalism	22	(2)
Socialism	24	(3)
The U.S. Economy: The Concentration of Corporate Wealth	27	(9)
Monopolistic Capitalism	27	(3)
Multinational Corporations	30	(1)
The Concentration of Wealth	31	(5)
The Political System: The Links Between Wealth and Power	36	(3)
Government by Interest Groups	36	(1)
The Financing of Political Campaigns	36	(2)
The Candidate Selection Process	38	(1)
The Bias of the Political System	39	(9)
The Consequences of Concentrated Power	41	(2)
Subsidies to Big Business	43	(2)
Trickle-Down Solutions	45	(1)
The Powerless Bear the Burden	46	(2)
Foreign Policy for Corporate Benefit	48	(1)
Chapter Review	48	(1)
Key Terms	49	(1)
For Further Study	50	(1)
PART TWO PROBLEMS OF PEOPLE, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND LOCATION	51	(126)
World Population and Global Inequality	51	(25)
World Population Growth	54	(6)
Poverty	60	(7)
Food and Hunger	61	(4)
Sickness and Disease	65	(1)
The Concentration of Misery in Cities	65	(2)
Priorities of Third World Nations: Military Security or Economic Security?	67	(1)
U.S. Relations with the Third World	67	(6)
Multinational Corporations	68	(4)
U.S. Government	72	(1)
Chapter Review	73	(1)
Key Terms	74	(1)
For Further Study	75	(1)
Threats to the Environment	76	(30)
Worldwide Environmental Problems	77	(10)
Degradation of the Land	79	(1)
Environmental Pollution and Degradation	80	(7)
Global Environmental Crises	87	(4)
Fossil Fuel Dependence, Waste, and Environmental Degradation	87	(2)
The Destruction of the Tropical Rain Forests	89	(1)
Global Warming	90	(1)
Sources of U.S. Environmental Problems	91	(8)
Cultural Sources	92	(3)
Structural Sources	95	(4)
Solutions to the Environmental Crises	99	(3)
The Pro-Business Voluntaristic Approach	99	(1)
The Egalitarian/Authoritarian Plan	99	(1)
The Control of Resource Use	100	(2)
International Implications of Environmental Problems	102	(2)
Chapter Review	104	(1)
Key Terms	105	(1)
For Further Study	105	(1)
Demographic Changes in the United States: The Browning and Graying of Society	106	(33)
The New Immigration and the Changing Racial Landscape	107	(12)
Immigration and Increasing Diversity	110	(1)
The Consequences of the New Immigration	111	(6)
Immigration and Agency	117	(1)
The Effects of Immigration on Immigrants: Ethnic Identity or Assimilation?	117	(2)
The Aging Society	119	(6)
The Demographics of an Aging Society	119	(1)
A Demographic Portrait of the Current Elderly Population	120	(5)
Problems of an Aging Society	125	(10)
Social Security	125	(5)
Paying for Health Care	130	(1)
Elderly Abuse	131	(4)
Responses by the Elderly: Human Agency	135	(2)
Chapter Review	137	(1)
Key Terms	137	(1)
For Further Study	138	(1)
Urban Problems in the United States	139	(38)
The Mugging of U.S. Cities	140	(10)
Suburbanization	140	(2)
Metropolitan Deconcentration	142	(2)
Other Sources of Urban Job Loss	144	(2)
Disinvestment	146	(3)
Federal Abandonment	149	(1)
The Declining Quality of Urban Life	150	(19)
Urban Poverty	150	(3)
The Urban Housing Crisis	153	(5)
Decaying Infrastructure	158	(1)
Transportation, Pollution and the Environment	159	(5)
Health and Health Care	164	(2)
Urban Schools	166	(1)
Crime, Drugs, and Gangs	166	(3)
Urban Policy: Rebuilding U.S. Cities	169	(4)
Why Save the Cities?	169	(1)
Policy Alternatives	169	(4)
American Cities at the Turn of the Century	173	(1)
Chapter Review	174	(1)
Key Terms	175	(1)
For Further Study	176	(1)
PART THREE PROBLEMS OF INEQUALITY	177	(131)
Poverty	177	(35)
The Extent of Poverty	178	(8)
Racial Minorities	180	(1)
Women	180	(2)
Children	182	(1)
Elderly	182	(2)
Place	184	(1)
The Poor-Poor	185	(1)
Myths about Poverty	186	(5)
Refusal to Work	186	(1)
Welfare Dependency	186	(4)
The Poor Get Special Advantages	190	(1)
Welfare Is an African American and Latino Program	191	(1)
The Costs of Poverty	191	(3)
The Causes of Poverty	194	(8)
Deficiency Theory I: Innate Inferiority	194	(5)
Deficiency Theory II: Cultural Inferiority	199	(1)
Structural Theories	200	(2)
The Elimination of Poverty	202	(7)
Chapter Review	209	(1)
Key Terms	210	(1)
For Further Study	210	(2)
Racial and Ethnic Inequality	212	(32)
How to Think About Racial and Ethnic Inequality	213	(1)
Racial and Ethnic Minorities	214	(9)
Racial Categories	215	(2)
Differences among Ethnic Groups	217	(6)
Explanations of Racial and Ethnic Inequality	223	(5)
Deficiency Theories	223	(1)
Bias Theories	224	(1)
Structural Discrimination Theories	224	(4)
Discrimination Against African Americans and Latinos: Continuity and Change	228	(8)
Income	229	(2)
Education	231	(2)
Unemployment	233	(1)
Type of Employment	234	(1)
Health	235	(1)
Contemporary Trends and Issues in U.S. Racial and Ethnic Relations	236	(5)
Growing Racial Strife	237	(2)
Economic Polarization in U.S. Inner Cities	239	(2)
Racial Policies at the Turn of the Century	241	(1)
Chapter Review	242	(1)
Key Terms	243	(1)
For Further Study	243	(1)
Gender Inequality	244	(38)
The Differentiation and Ranking of Women and Men	247	(5)
Is Gender Based on Physiological Differences?	247	(3)
Gender and Power	250	(1)
What Causes Gender Inequality?	251	(1)
Socialization versus Structure: Two Approaches to Gender Inequality	252	(1)
Learning Gender	252	(8)
Children at Home	253	(1)
Children at Play	254	(2)
Formal Education	256	(3)
Socialization as Blaming the Victim	259	(1)
Reinforcing Male Dominance	260	(7)
Language	260	(1)
Interpersonal Behavior	260	(1)
Mass Communications Media	261	(1)
Religion	262	(2)
The Law	264	(1)
Politics	264	(3)
Structured Gender Inequality	267	(10)
Occupational Distribution	267	(5)
The Earnings Gap	272	(1)
Race, Gender, and Workplace Segregation	273	(1)
Pay Equity	274	(1)
How Workplace Inequality Operates	275	(2)
Women and Men in Families	277	(1)
The Costs and Consequences of Sexism	277	(1)
Who Benefits?	277	(1)
The Social and Individual Costs	277	(1)
Fighting the System	278	(2)
Feminist Movements in the United States	278	(1)
Women's Struggles at Century's End	279	(1)
Chapter Review	280	(1)
Key Terms	281	(1)
For Further Study	281	(1)
Sexual Orientation	282	(26)
Social Deviance	283	(3)
The Gay and Lesbian Community: An Overview	286	(4)
Defining Homosexuality	286	(1)
The Roots of Homosexuality	286	(1)
Numbers: How Many Homosexuals?	287	(1)
Interpersonal Relationships and Domestic Arrangements among Homosexuals	288	(2)
Discrimination	290	(12)
Ideological Oppression	290	(5)
Legal Oppression: The Law, the Courts, and the Police	295	(5)
Occupational Discrimination	300	(2)
Fighting the System: Human Agency	302	(3)
Chapter Review	305	(1)
Key Terms	306	(1)
For Further Study	307	(1)
PART FOUR INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS	308	(160)
Work	308	(32)
The Problems of Work	309	(13)
The Control of Workers	309	(2)
Alienation	311	(1)
Dangerous Working Conditions	312	(3)
Sweatshops	315	(1)
Unions and Their Decline	316	(2)
Discrimination in the Workplace: The Perpetuation of Inequality	318	(2)
Unemployment	320	(2)
The Structural Transformation of the Economy	322	(6)
The New Technologies Based on Microelectronics	323	(1)
Globalization of the Economy	324	(1)
Capital Flight	325	(1)
From Manufacturing to Services	326	(2)
Age of Discontinuity	328	(7)
Technology and Jobs	328	(4)
The Global Economy and Domestic Jobs	332	(1)
Demography and Jobs	332	(1)
The Changing Economy, Demography, and the Future of Work	333	(2)
The Transformation of the Economy and the Bifurcation of the United States	335	(2)
Chapter Review	337	(1)
Key Terms	338	(1)
For Further Study	339	(1)
Families	340	(38)
The Mythical Family in the United States	341	(2)
Families in Contemporary U.S. Society: The Family in Capitalism	343	(3)
Stratification and Family Life: Unequal Life Chances	346	(6)
Structural Transformation and Family Life	349	(2)
The Changing Composition of Households and Families	351	(1)
Parents and Children	352	(12)
Social Supports for Working Parents	353	(5)
Single Parents and Their Children	358	(3)
Children's Economic Status	361	(3)
Divorce	364	(5)
The Consequences of Divorce	366	(2)
Children and Divorce	368	(1)
Violence in U.S. Families	369	(7)
Family Organization and Violence	369	(1)
Spouse Abuse	369	(3)
Child Abuse and Neglect	372	(3)
Consequences	375	(1)
Chapter Review	376	(1)
Key Terms	377	(1)
For Further Study	377	(1)
Education	378	(32)
The Characteristics of Education in the United States	379	(7)
Education as a Conserving Force	379	(1)
Mass Education	380	(1)
Local Control of Education	381	(4)
The Competitive Nature of U.S. Education	385	(1)
The ``Sifting and Sorting'' Function of Schools	385	(1)
The Preoccupation with Order and Control	385	(1)
The Political Economy of Education in Corporate Society	386	(2)
The Role of Education in Corporate Society	387	(1)
Social-Class Biases of the Educational System	387	(1)
Education and Inequality	388	(14)
The Relation between School Success and Socioeconomic Success	388	(9)
Segregation	397	(1)
Tracking and Teachers' Expectations	398	(4)
Possible Ways to Promote Equality of Opportunity	402	(6)
Reforming the Financing of Education	402	(3)
Special Programs for the Disadvantaged	405	(2)
Reforming Schools to Allow Each Individual to Realize Her or His Potential	407	(1)
Restructuring Society	408	(1)
Chapter Review	408	(1)
Key Terms	409	(1)
For Further Study	409	(1)
Health and Health Care Delivery	410	(32)
Unequal Access to Health Care	411	(12)
Social Class	412	(5)
Race	417	(4)
Gender	421	(2)
Class, Race, and Gender: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Battle Against HIV/AIDS	423	(11)
The Changing Social Organization of Health Care Delivery	427	(1)
The Fee-for-Service System	427	(1)
The Shift to Managed Care	428	(4)
The Shift from Private to For-Profit Hospitals	432	(2)
Toward a Better Health Care System: Some Alternatives	434	(5)
Reforms within the Medical Community	435	(1)
National Health Insurance	436	(1)
Societal Changes	437	(2)
Chapter Review	439	(1)
Key Terms	440	(1)
For Further Study	440	(2)
National Security	442	(26)
The U. S. Defense Establishment	445	(11)
How Big Is the U.S. Military?	446	(1)
What Does the End of the Cold War Mean for the Military?	446	(6)
The Economic Beneficiaries of Military Spending	452
Waste in Defense Spending	450	(2)
The Domestic Social Impacts of Military Spending	452	(4)
The Threat of Domestic Terrorism	456	(7)
The Ideology of the New Revolutionaries	457	(2)
The Movement's Followers	459	(3)
How Can the Threat of Domestic Terrorism Be Reduced?	462	(1)
The New National Security	463	(2)
Children	463	(1)
Crime	464	(1)
Cities	464	(1)
Chapter Review	465	(2)
Key Terms	467	(1)
For Further Study	467	(1)
PART FIVE SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND INDIVIDUAL DEVIANCE	468	(69)
Crime and Justice	468	(34)
Crime in Society	469	(17)
What Is Crime?	469	(2)
Crime Rates	471	(2)
Demographic Characteristics of People Arrested for Crimes	473	(4)
Categories of Crime	477	(9)
The Unjust System of Justice	486	(11)
The Laws	487	(1)
The Police	488	(1)
The Judicial Process	489	(4)
The Correctional System	493	(4)
The Unjust Imposition of the Label ``Criminal''	497	(3)
Chapter Review	500	(1)
Key Terms	500	(1)
For Further Study	501	(1)
Drugs	502	(35)
Drugs in Society	504	(15)
Types and Effects of Psychoactive Drugs	504	(8)
Drug Patterns by Class and Race	512	(4)
The Impact of Social Factors on Drug Use	516	(1)
Medical and Social Pressures to Use Drugs	517	(2)
The Politics of Drugs	519	(9)
The Historical Legality of Drugs	520	(1)
Factors Influencing Drug Laws and Enforcement	521	(5)
The Consequences of Official Drug Policies	526	(2)
Alternatives	528	(6)
Prohibition Through Criminal Laws and Police Enforcement	529	(1)
Regulation of Trade or Use Through Licensing and Taxation	529	(3)
Noninterference	532	(2)
Chapter Review	534	(1)
Key Terms	535	(1)
For Further Study	536	(1)
PART SIX SOLUTIONS	537	(24)
A Progressive Plan to Solve Society's Social Problems	537	(24)
Social Problems and Social Policy	538	(1)
Sociology, Social Problems, and Social Change	539	(3)
The Sociological Paradox: Structure and Agency	540	(1)
The Sociological Dilemma: Recognition and Rejection	540	(2)
Progressive Principles to Guide Public Policy	542	(7)
Is a Progressive Social Policy Possible?	549	(5)
Should a Progressive Plan Be Adopted by U.S. Society?	549	(1)
Financing the Progressive Agenda	550	(1)
Is There any Hope of Instituting a Social Agenda Based on Progressive Principles?	550	(4)
Human Agency: Social Change from the Bottom Up	554	(5)
Individuals Protesting and Organizing for Change	554	(5)
Chapter Review	559	(1)
Key Terms	559	(1)
For Further Study	560	(1)
Bibliography	561	(21)
Name Index	582	(5)
Subject Index	587