Social Problems A Critical Power-Conflict Perspective

by Feagin, Joe R.; Baker, David V.; Feagin, Clairece Booher R

• ISBN13: 9780130999276
• ISBN10: 013099927X
• Edition: 6TH
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-29
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

For freshman - sophomore level courses in Social Problems taught from the conflict perspective. This books major contribution is that it develops the critical power conflict perspective as a necessary first step to making sense of the many crucial problems facing United States society. The book provides a well-organized application of the critical power-conflict perspective to the analysis of the roots of major societal troubles found in the patterns of class, racial, and gender stratification and subordination. This textbook shows just how closely interconnected these problems are to the historically defined patterns of classism, racism, and sexism in United States society.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
A Troubled Society	1	(32)
Goals of This Chapter	3	(1)
Americans View Their Lives	3	(6)
Workaday Troubles	4	(2)
Latinos and African Americans	6	(1)
The View from the Home	7	(1)
Problems with Gender Discrimination: Women Workers	7	(1)
Family Tragedies	8	(1)
Interpreting Life's Troubles	8	(1)
Societal Decline: The Genuine Progress Indicator	9	(1)
People Working for Change: Some Examples	10	(3)
The United Farm Workers Union	10	(1)
Clerical Workers' Unions	11	(1)
Striking for Better Conditions	11	(1)
Protesting Toxic Pollution	12	(1)
Traditional Perspectives on Society and Social Problems	13	(4)
The European Background	13	(1)
Corporate Liberalism	14	(1)
Social Problems: The Durkheimian Tradition in the United States	15	(1)
Mainstream Social Science Views of Social Problems	16	(1)
A Critical Power--Conflict Perspective	17	(9)
Background: The Influential Thought of Karl Marx	18	(2)
Contemporary Social Class Perspectives	20	(1)
Perspectives Emphasizing Gender and Race	21	(2)
Latina Sexual Slavery in the United States	23	(3)
Some Working Propositions	26	(7)
Summary	29	(1)
Study Questions	30	(1)
Endnotes	30	(3)
Class Relations and the Problem of Inequality	33	(46)
Goals of This Chapter	33	(1)
Some Revealing Societal Snapshots	34	(3)
Plant Closings	34	(1)
Workplace Hazards	34	(1)
9 Million ``Rolling Fire Bombs''	35	(1)
Toxic Chemicals in the Environment	35	(1)
How Social Scientists Define ``Class'': Some Lessons from the Snapshots	36	(1)
A Closer Look at Class Relations in U.S. Society	37	(8)
The Class Structure	37	(3)
The Capitalist Class	40	(1)
The Working Class	40	(2)
The Managerial Class	42	(1)
The Small-Business Class	43	(1)
Other Important Groups	44	(1)
The Corporate Structure	45	(1)
The State	45	(5)
Capitalism, Large Corporations, and the State: The Example of the Farm Crisis	48	(2)
Contrasting Views of Inequality	50	(1)
The Persisting Problem of Income Inequality	51	(12)
Patterns of Income Inequality	52	(1)
Foreign Workers in the United States	53	(2)
The Very Rich	55	(2)
Effects of Income Inequality: Length and Quality of Life	57	(1)
Education and Income Inequality	57	(2)
Impact on Government	59	(2)
Workers' Real Incomes	61	(1)
A Two-Tiered Society?	62	(1)
The Inequality of Wealth	63	(3)
Wealth in Contemporary America	63	(1)
Families and Corporations	64	(2)
Taxation	66	(2)
Consequences of Income and Wealth Inequality	68	(1)
Sources of Capitalists' Wealth	68	(11)
Mercantile and Plantation Capitalism (1700--1850)	68	(1)
Industrial Capitalism (1850--1890)	69	(1)
Early Monopoly Capitalism (1890--1940)	70	(1)
Advanced (Late) Monopoly Capitalism (1940--?)	71	(1)
Summary	72	(2)
Study Questions	74	(1)
Endnotes	74	(5)
Poverty, Unemployment, and Underemployment	79	(35)
Goals of This Chapter	82	(1)
Low Incomes and Poverty	82	(4)
The Extent and Character of Poverty	82	(2)
Questioning the Official Poverty Count	84	(2)
Unemployment, Underemployment, and Poverty	86	(6)
Official Unemployment Statistics	86	(2)
Questioning Official Unemployment Statistics	88	(1)
The Unemployment Link to Poverty	89	(1)
Unemployment's Impact	90	(2)
Capitalism, Unemployment, and Poverty	92	(7)
Capitalism and the Poor	92	(1)
The Intense Quest for Private Profit	92	(2)
Moving to the Sunbelt and Overseas	94	(1)
The Working Poor	95	(1)
Corporate Cultures: Wal-Mart and Costco Stores	96	(3)
A Reform Initiative	99	(1)
The Ideology of Individualism and the Poor	99	(5)
Some Historical Background	100	(1)
Views on the Poor: The 1960s Accent on Structural Issues	100	(1)
Public Opinion	101	(1)
Consequences of the Rationalizations for Poverty	102	(1)
Ideological Socialization	103	(1)
Government Intervention: The Broad Subsidy System	104	(10)
The Context of Aid for the Poor	105	(3)
Summary	108	(1)
Study Questions	109	(1)
Endnotes	110	(4)
Problems of Racism and Racial Inequality	114	(36)
Goals of This Chapter	114	(1)
The Revolutionary Background	115	(2)
Racialized Thinking	117	(1)
Racial Groups and Racism	117	(1)
Social Definition of Racial Groups	117	(1)
Explaining Racial Domination	118	(2)
The Case of African Americans	120	(5)
The Chains of Slavery	120	(1)
The Labor Market: A Racial Split	120	(1)
Recent Gains and Losses in Employment and Income	121	(3)
Issues of Wealth	124	(1)
Patterns of Discrimination: Employment and Housing	125	(8)
Racial Discrimination: Some Dimensions	125	(3)
Persisting Discrimination in Recruitment and Hiring	128	(1)
The Hostile Racial Climate and the Glass Ceiling	128	(2)
Discrimination in Public Places and in Business	130	(1)
Housing Discrimination	131	(1)
Persisting Residential Segregation	132	(1)
White Reactions to Efforts to Reduce Discrimination	133	(9)
Negative White Attitudes	133	(1)
White Supremacists and Hate Crimes	134	(3)
Contexts of White Supremacist Groups	137	(1)
Vindicating Civil Rights-Era Cases: Retrying Segregationists for Decades-Old Murders	138	(2)
Black Protests Against Racial Discrimination and Poverty	140	(2)
The Issue of Contemporary Immigration	142	(8)
Summary	143	(1)
Study Questions	144	(1)
Endnotes	145	(5)
Problems of Gender Roles and Sex Discrimination	150	(49)
Goals of This Chapter	151	(1)
Ideas about Stratification by Gender	151	(1)
Power--Conflict Ideas: A Class Emphasis	151	(1)
Some Feminist Views	152	(1)
Gender and Racial Subordination	153	(1)
Gender Stereotyping	153	(4)
Schools	154	(1)
The Mass Media	155	(1)
Stereotyping in Biologically Oriented Accounts	156	(1)
Family and Home: More Patterns of Oppression	157	(7)
Family Decisions	157	(1)
Childbearing and Child Rearing	158	(1)
Sexuality	159	(1)
Housework and Consumption Work	160	(1)
The Abuse of Domestic Workers	161	(1)
Domestic Violence	162	(1)
Child Sexual Abuse	163	(1)
Sexual Assault Inside and Outside the Home	164	(5)
Spousal Rape	166	(1)
Date Rape	166	(1)
Rape and Law Enforcement	167	(1)
Sexual Terrorism in Prisons	168	(1)
Employment Outside the Home	169	(14)
Occupational Segregation of Women Workers	170	(1)
The Occupational Gap	170	(2)
Comparable Pay for Comparable Work?	172	(2)
Employment Discrimination	174	(1)
Recruitment Practices	175	(1)
Screening and Tracking Practices	175	(1)
Promotion Practices	176	(3)
Sexual Harassment	179	(1)
Other Discrimination in the Workplace	180	(2)
Double Jeopardy: The Situation of Women of Color	182	(1)
Discrimination in Housing, Law, and Politics	183	(4)
Housing	183	(1)
Law and Politics	184	(3)
The Resurgence of Femininity	187	(1)
Some Hazards to Being Male	187	(12)
Gender-Role Problems	187	(2)
Men Moving into Traditionally Female Jobs	189	(1)
Summary	190	(1)
Study Questions	191	(1)
Endnotes	191	(8)
Problems in Education	199	(43)
Goals of This Chapter	200	(1)
The Growing Scope of Education	201	(1)
Roots: The Development of Public Schools	201	(5)
Public Schools in Urban Areas	201	(1)
High Schools	202	(2)
Labor Movement Resistance	204	(1)
School Choice and Schools-for-Profit	204	(2)
Tracking Systems and the Curriculum	206	(4)
Two-Tiered Schooling	207	(1)
The Content of Schooling	208	(1)
The Educational Needs of American Indian School Children	209	(1)
Testing and Public Schooling	210	(4)
``Intelligence'' Tests	210	(1)
Racial Issues	211	(3)
High Schools Today	214	(3)
Restlessness in Suburbia	214	(1)
Learning Consumerism	214	(1)
Teen Sitting and Discipline Problems	215	(2)
Colleges and Universities	217	(3)
Tracking in Higher Education	218	(1)
Government, Corporations, and Universities	219	(1)
Diplomas, Credentials, and ``Human Capital''	220	(3)
Student Protests	220	(1)
Qualifications and Credentialism	221	(1)
New Concerns for ``Human Capital''	221	(2)
Discrimination and Related Problems	223	(9)
Schools for Children of Color	223	(1)
The Struggle for Desegregation	224	(1)
Does More Education Bring Higher Incomes?	225	(1)
Dropouts or ``Pushouts''?	226	(1)
Racial Inequality in College Environments	226	(3)
Latinos and Issues of Language	229	(2)
Stereotyping and Asian Americans	231	(1)
Persisting Gender Discrimination	232	(10)
Elementary and Secondary Schools	232	(1)
Higher Education	233	(1)
Summary	234	(2)
Study Questions	236	(1)
Endnotes	236	(6)
Problems in Health and Medical Care	242	(42)
Goals of This Chapter	242	(1)
Health Statistics	243	(3)
Death and Illness Rates	243	(1)
Health Care Services	243	(2)
The High Cost of Health Care	245	(1)
High-Technology Medicine	246	(7)
The Bureaucratization of Medicine	246	(2)
Technology or Corporate Decisions?	248	(1)
The High-Tech Focus	249	(1)
Medical Education: The Move to Hospitals and Offices	250	(2)
Benefits and Problems	252	(1)
Health Care: Private Control and Private Profit	253	(9)
The Medical-Industrial Complex Today	253	(1)
Profits	253	(2)
Fee-for-Service Physicians	255	(1)
Corporate Profits	256	(1)
Private For-Profit Hospitals	257	(1)
Blood Banks and Profits	258	(1)
Drugs and Profits	259	(1)
Consumers, Drugs, and Advertising	260	(1)
Profits from Poor Countries	261	(1)
Income and Health	262	(1)
Racial and Gender Discrimination	263	(5)
Racial Discrimination	263	(2)
Sexism in Health Care	265	(2)
Abortion and Control	267	(1)
Government Intervention in Health Care	268	(2)
A Shift in the 1930s	268	(1)
New Programs in the 1960s	268	(2)
Alternative Health Care	270	(1)
Health Care Financing	270	(2)
Warehouses for the Aged and Disabled: The Nursing Home Industry	272	(12)
Numbers and Private Homes	272	(1)
Nursing for Profit	272
Eugenics in the United States	53	(225)
Summary	278	(1)
Study Questions	279	(1)
Endnotes	279	(5)
Problems of Crime and Criminal Justice	284	(45)
Goals of This Chapter	285	(1)
Types of Law Violations	285	(2)
Street Crime	287	(5)
Official Statistics: An Inadequate Measure of Crime	287	(1)
Dimensions of Street Crime	288	(1)
Explaining Street Crime	289	(1)
A Power--Conflict Perspective: Low Wages and Unemployment	290	(1)
The Structural Solution	291	(1)
Crimes of Personal Violence	291	(1)
Crimes by the Powerful	292	(7)
Corporate Crime	293	(1)
Who Pays?	294	(2)
Punishment	296	(2)
Occupational and Small-Business Crime	298	(1)
Crimes by Government Officials	299	(3)
The President's Men	299	(2)
The FBI and the CIA	301	(1)
Corporations and Government	301	(1)
Organized Crime, Business, and Government	302	(2)
Prosecuting Criminals	304	(25)
The Police	304	(2)
The Courts	306	(3)
The Death Penalty Issue	309	(3)
Prisons and Jails	312	(1)
Prosecutorial Misconduct and Wrongful Capital Convictions	313	(3)
Overcrowding: A National Scandal	316	(1)
Prison Riots	316	(2)
Female Prisoners	318	(1)
An Alternative Approach	318	(1)
Summary	319	(2)
Study Questions	321	(1)
Endnotes	321	(8)
Problems Labeled ``Deviance'': Homelessness, Mental Illness, Drug Addiction, and Homosexuality	329	(40)
Goals of This Chapter	329	(1)
Perspectives on Deviance	329	(3)
Accenting Maladjusted Individuals	329	(1)
Toward a Critical Power--Conflict Approach to ``Deviance''	330	(2)
The Treatment of Those Labeled Deviant	332	(1)
Homelessness	332	(8)
Reactions to the Homeless as ``Trash''	332	(1)
Who Are the Homeless?	333	(2)
Causes of Homelessness	335	(2)
Deinstitutionalization of Mentally Impaired Persons	337	(1)
Local Responses to Homelessness	337	(3)
Mental Illness	340	(3)
Labeling the ``Mentally Ill''	340	(3)
Drug and Other Substance Addiction	343	(12)
What Substance Use Is Illegal?	343	(1)
Tobacco Use: An Ancient Addiction	343	(1)
The Role of Large Corporations in Tobacco Use	344	(2)
Alcohol: Another Major Addiction	346	(2)
Illegal Drug Use	348	(1)
Who Controls the Illegal Drug Trade?	349	(1)
The World of Illegal Drug Users	350	(1)
Indiscriminately Prescribing ``Legal'' Drugs	351	(1)
Illegal Drugs and Neighborhoods	352	(1)
Law Enforcement	352	(2)
Illegal Drugs and Government Policy in Central America	354	(1)
The Legalization Debate	354	(1)
Homosexuality	355	(14)
Labeling Sexual Behavior as Deviance	355	(2)
Sexism and Public Reactions to Gays and Lesbians	357	(1)
Gays and Lesbians in the Military	358	(2)
Politics and Organizing Gay and Lesbian Communities	360	(1)
AIDS and the Gay and Lesbian Community	361	(1)
Summary	362	(1)
Study Questions	363	(1)
Endnotes	364	(5)
Problems of Work and Worker Alienation	369	(39)
Goals of This Chapter	370	(1)
Dangers in the Workplace	370	(9)
Accidents and Injuries	370	(1)
Occupational Illnesses	370	(2)
Responsibility for Dangers	372	(2)
Toxic Exposure	374	(1)
Safety Regulation	375	(2)
The Right-to-Know Movement	377	(2)
Alienation and Work	379	(8)
The Concept of Alienation	379	(1)
Dissatisfaction with Work	380	(1)
The Health Impact	381	(1)
Desire for More Control	381	(1)
The Impact on Dignity and Self-Respect	381	(1)
Is White-Collar Work a Way Out?	382	(1)
Is High-Tech a Way Out?	383	(1)
The Increase in Contingent Work	384	(3)
Resistance and Change in the Workplace	387	(6)
The Fight for Better Wages and Conditions	388	(1)
Unions and Worker Protests	389	(2)
Ongoing Class Struggle	391	(2)
Strategies for Controlling Workers	393	(15)
Scientific Management (Taylorism)	393	(1)
The Team Concept: A New Type of Taylorism	393	(1)
Hierarchical Control	394	(1)
Automation and Technical Control	394	(1)
Job Losses and Capital Flight	395	(3)
Workers Fighting Back: Plant Closing Laws	398	(3)
Summary	401	(1)
Study Questions	402	(1)
Endnotes	403	(5)
Environmental, Energy, and Military-Industrial Problems	408	(50)
Goals of This Chapter	408	(1)
An Environmental Snapshot	409	(1)
Environmental Pollution and Degradation	410	(17)
Toxic Chemicals	410	(1)
Ozone Depletion	411	(1)
Waste Disposal	412	(3)
Water Pollution	415	(3)
Air Pollution	418	(1)
Private Profits and the Costs of Pollution	419	(1)
Pollution Prevention Measures	420	(1)
The Military-Industrial Establishment as Polluter	421	(1)
Citizens Fighting Pollution	422	(3)
Modest Government Action on Pollution	425	(1)
A Global Perspective	426	(1)
Energy Problems	427	(7)
Energy Consumption and Waste	427	(1)
Alternative Energy Technologies	428	(1)
Energy, Class, and Race	428	(1)
Oil and Energy Problems	429	(2)
Resource Depletion and Pollution: Automobiles, Trucks, and Buses	431	(1)
The Decline of Mass Transit	432	(2)
Nuclear Power and Nuclear Pollution	434	(6)
Major Problems	434	(2)
Pollution from Nuclear Wastes	436	(1)
Nuclear Technology: The Military Connection	437	(2)
Is a Major Disaster Possible?	439	(1)
Can People Bring Change?	440	(1)
The Military-Industrial Complex: A Social Problem?	440	(7)
Nuclear Weaponry	440	(1)
War in Historical Perspective	441	(1)
War in the Nuclear Age	442	(1)
The Military-Industrial Complex: Keeping War Alive	443	(2)
Arms Sales Abroad	445	(1)
``Weapons Welfarism''	446	(1)
Ecological Crises, Consumerism, and Capitalism	447	(11)
Summary	448	(2)
Study Questions	450	(1)
Endnotes	450	(8)
Remedying Social Problems	458	(49)
Goals of This Chapter	459	(1)
The Mass Media and Information Control	459	(2)
The Mass Media	459	(2)
Prepolitical Thought?	461	(1)
People Protesting and Organizing for Change	462	(19)
Women's Groups	464	(2)
Union Movements	466	(2)
Older Americans	468	(1)
Americans of Color	469	(4)
The Consumer and Public Interest Movement	473	(1)
Antinuclear and Antiwar Protest	474	(1)
Environmental Action Groups	475	(2)
Other Community Action Groups	477	(1)
Prospects for Expanded Progressive Grassroots Action	478	(2)
Conservative and Reactionary Groups	480	(1)
Alternative Social Systems	481	(5)
Varieties of Socialism	481	(1)
A Social Welfare State	482	(2)
A Note on Government Intervention in the United States	484	(1)
Democratic Socialism in the Kibbutz	485	(1)
The Possibility of Economic Democracy	486	(11)
Democratic Socialism in the United States	487	(1)
Workplace Democracy	488	(1)
Views of Democratic Socialism and Economic Democracy: The Future?	489	(3)
Beyond Racism and Sexism in the United States	492	(1)
The Transitional Stage to Economic Democracy	493	(2)
The Beneficial Impact of a Truly Democratic Economy	495	(2)
The Future of Democracy	497	(10)
Summary	500	(1)
Study Questions	501	(1)
Endnotes	501	(6)
Index	507