Review of Work and Economy Problems

Summary

1. Capitalism and socialism are two primary types of economic systems in the world today. Capitalism involves private ownership, the pursuit of profit, and competition for profit, while socialism involves the collective ownership of goods and resources and efforts for the common good. Several nations practice democratic socialism, which is meant to combine the best of capitalism and socialism.
2. The labor force involves about 170 million people in the US, who work full-time, part-time, or are looking for work but unemployed. These millions of people face a variety of social problems in the institution of work. 
3. According to functionalism, the economy makes society possible by providing essential goods and services while work gives people income and self-fulfillment, but institutions can fail to prepare people for the workforce or fail to provide jobs. According to conflict theory, work is alienating and the economic elite uses its control of the economy and methods of exploitation to maintain their elite position. Symbolic interactionism focuses on social interaction in the workplace and how workers perceive the work that they do, as well as how stereotypes and other biases come into the workplace. 
4. Gender inequality in the workplace is manifested through the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling. Women earn only about 82-84% of what men earn on average. Several reasons account for this gap, including gendered occupational segregation in the workplace, differing levels of job experience due to gendered expectations of family labor, the devaluing of women’s work, and sexist discrimination by employers.
5. Other forms of institutionalized employment discrimination have been well-documented, including race discrimination and age discrimination. From an intersectional perspective, racism and sexism can come together to create double discrimination for women of color, and can also involve triple discrimination when ageism is at play. 
6. Work and economy problems also include concerns such as stagnated and low wages, postindustrialization and practices such as offshoring and outsourcing, and the decline of labor unions that protect workers from harm and exploitation at the hands of employers. 
7. Unemployment is the state of looking for work but not having work, and has an array of adverse consequences including reduced economic, social, and emotional well-being. Underemployment is often overlooked, though many people experience it in the form of being far overqualified or working part-time when they prefer a full-time job. 
8. Examples of workplace crime include employee theft, which in part overlaps with white-collar crime, and violence such as shootings in the workplace. Certain workplaces may be characterized as sweatshops if they have harsh working conditions and few protections. These and other types of workplaces such as factories and farms involve a high degree of injury and fatalities, including accidents that leave up to hundreds of workers injured or dead. 
9. Policies, programs, and practices of the institutions of the state and work can help address problems of work and economy. Affirmative action and the EEOC are intended to protect workers from employment discrimination and catch up women and people of color who have experienced centuries of it. The government, employers, individuals, and groups may use their agency in improving work and economy problems such as implementing stronger programs to support the unemployed and engaging in collective action to force social change such as with the Labor Movement. 

  

Questions

1. In what ways is capitalism a better economic system than socialism, and in what ways is socialism a better economic system than capitalism?
2. What do you think are the values aligned with capitalism and with socialism, and what might their implications be for workers?
3. To what extent do you think that capitalism is to blame for problems in work and economy, and why?
4. Which of the three sociological perspectives on work and economy do you most prefer, and why?
5. On a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), how satisfied are/were you with your current or most recent job, why do you think that you ranked it at that level, and what might conflict theory have to say about this?
6. How could you use a symbolic interactionist approach to understand some aspect of a job you have held or hold now?
7. Do you think that it's a good or bad development that fewer workers belong to labor unions now than a few decades ago, and why?
8. What do you think are the most important strategies for improving work and economy problems?

  

Action Steps

1. Use your sociological imagination: Think of how a coworker or family member struggling with their job may have been impacted by larger social forces such as employment discrimination, alienation, or harmful work conditions. 
2. Support unions, nonprofits, and similar organizations: Volunteer or work at a local labor union or another organization engaging in efforts to improve workplace conditions, wages, benefits, or policies. 
3. Use your individual agency: Start or join a group that tries to educate the public about the gender pay gap, harmful workplace conditions, the pitfalls of capitalism, and so on.
4. Engage in collective action: Research local or national groups that are engaged in organized action around work and economy problems, select one, and figure out how to get involved in their efforts.