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SOC1023G Social Problems:
Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
Bolender
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
References
Davis, K., & Moore, W. (1945). Some principles of
stratification. American Sociological Review, 10,
242-249.
Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (1997).
Understanding social problems. Cincinnati, OH:
Wadsworth.
Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2000).
Understanding social problems (2nd ed.).
Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth.
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Devotions
For I was hungry and you wouldn’t feed me;
thirsty, and you wouldn’t give me
anything to drink. . . Lord, when did we
ever see you hungry or thirsty. . . and not
help you? . . . When you refuse to help the
least. . . you were refusing help to me. And
they shall go away into eternal
punishment. . .
Jesus is speaking Matthew 25:42, 44b, 45b, 46a (The Living Bible)
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Devotions
There will always be some
among you who are poor. . .
Deuteronomy 15:11a (The Living Bible)
You will always have the
poor among you. . .
Jesus is speaking Matthew 26:11a (The Living Bible)
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
Bolender
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
“. . . the war on the poor is
best ended by jobcentered economic growth
that creates decent public
and private jobs”
(Herbert J. Gans 1992:462)
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Education is very
important in
breaking the cycle
of poverty.
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
As Christian sociologists, we need to
proactively solve the macro problems of
poverty---BUT---remember, there will always be a
certain percentage of the population who
need direct help from others---and as
Christians we are commanded to help
them---in fact, according to Jesus, we
cannot call ourselves Christians unless we
help them!
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Social Stratification
Close system
Allows for little change in social position--individuals
are born into a social position and remain in that
position over a lifetime
Open system
Allows for considerable social mobility--individuals
can move from one social position to another
Is the United States an open or closed system?
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Components of Inequality
Inequality has three major components
Wealth
The sum of an individual’s material resources
including but not limited to income, land, real
estate, trusts, stocks, and bonds--total assets
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
Bolender
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Prestige
The social esteem or respect an individual
commands because of specific attributes, personal
qualities, or achievements
In the United States, prestige tends to be
associated primarily with one’s occupation
Power
The ability of an individual to achieve desired
goals despite resistance from others
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2017
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Karl Marx argued that power is based
in economics.
Max Weber believed that there are
other sources of power, particularly
the power of those who run
bureaucracies.
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Social status
The combination of the three components of
wealth, prestige, and power
Usually all three correlate with each other
A surgeon is a good example.
Sometimes one can rank high in one area and
average in others. A college president is near the top
of the ranking order for prestige, but ranks lower in
the areas of wealth and power.
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Social class
Refers to groups of people who share a
similar position or social status within the
stratification system
Usually wealth is the strongest component
that determines social class
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Life Chances
The opportunity to obtain all that is
valued in society (Max Weber)
Happiness
Health
Income
Education
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Lifestyle
The distinct subculture associated with a
particular social class
Example upper middle class
Car: Range Rover, Leisure: Playing with
computers
Example lower middle class
Car: Geo, Leisure: Sports
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not: StructuralFunctionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert More (1945)
The distribution of resources in society is a
consequence of different individual abilities
Each task requires different levels of expertise
and knowledge, and a differential reward
system helps to assure that the person who
performs a particular role is the most qualified
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
Bolender
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not: StructuralFunctionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm)
Structural-functionalist suggest that offering
differential rewards for different occupational
roles is both functional and necessary for
society’s survival
People are motivated to work harder to achieve
success, and those who are unable to succeed
are limited to undesirable jobs that no one
would otherwise want to perform
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
Bolender
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not: StructuralFunctionalist Perspective (Order Paradigm)
Even though there are elements of this
perspective that do not sound very
Christlike, there have been numerous
experiments in communal living and
socialistic systems--most have been either
total failures or unsuccessful in raising the
standard of living--therefore, from a
macro viewpoint of society, this
perspective is correct in real world
application
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
Bolender
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not: Symbolic Interactionist
Perspective (Pluralist Paradigm)
In a society that values success
(symbol), the poor are defined as
failures. Such definitions result in
lower self-concepts and higher rates
of depression, frustration, and
despair. As a result, many of the poor
are docile and dependent, a
psychological condition known as
learned helplessness.
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not: Conflict
Perspective (Conflict Paradigm)
Inequality of society is a consequence
of the continuous struggle between
the bourgeoisie [boor zhwa ze]
(owners of the means of production)
and the proletariat [pro li tare at]
(workers).
From a conflict perspective, social
status is ascribed rather than
achieved.
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Poverty
Absolute poverty
Chronic absence of the basic necessities of life
Food
Clothing
Shelter
Relative poverty
Refers to not being able to live up to the standard of
living considered normal to members of society
How do you define “normal?”
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Poverty Line
 Federally defined dollar amount below which individuals
or families are considered officially poor
 Specific amount is calculated by estimating how much
money is required to provide a nutritionally adequate
diet and then multiplying that number by three based on
the assumption that Americans spend one-third of their
income on food
 The number of individuals in the household affects the
level of poverty identified for that family
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Feminization of Poverty
The growing trend for women to be
poorer than men
Causes
Lower paying jobs for women
Care of dependent children
Increase in divorce rates
Increase in the number of unmarried births
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Rural Poverty
The poverty rate is higher in small towns and
rural areas than in urban areas
The rural poor live in remote places and are less
visible--the “forgotten poor”
Causes
High unemployment
Fewer job opportunities
Lower wages
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Working Poor
60% of the poor are employed or living
with someone who is employed at least
part of the year
Rising educational requirements in the
workplace is one of the causes of the
working poor
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Unemployed
Of the poor who are unemployed, 50% do
not work because of age, disabilities,
illness, or the inability to find employment
after being displaced or fired
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Underclass
A persistently poor and socially
disadvantaged group
Causes and/or traits
Unskilled
Uneducated or undereducated
Dysfunctional families
Antisocial behavior
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
Homelessness
Causes
Substance abuse
Deinstitutionalization of the mental ill
Few family ties
Housing shortage
Poverty
Unemployment
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
There is a well known Nazarene theologian (still
living) who conducted an experiment several
years ago regarding the homeless. He dressed
and lived as a homeless person for a period of
time. He visited several Nazarene churches to see
how they would react toward him. Several of the
churches neither welcomed him nor offered to
help him.
What would Jesus say about this and how
does this story relate to James chapter 2?
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2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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Unit 10:
The Have and the Have Not
We Have Two Levels of Responsibility
As Christian sociologists, we need to
continually work on eliminating the causes
of poverty at the macro level
As individual Christians, we need to meet
the physical needs of the poor that are in
our community (micro level)
Thursday, May 25,
2017
© 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith
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