State-Centered Theories of Inequality

Examples of State-Centered Theories of Inequality in the following topics:

• State-Centered Theories

  • According to state-centered theories of inequality, the government should regulate the distribution of resources to protect workers.
  • This latter period reflects a belief in state-centered theories of inequality, as the state sought to regulate the economy to reduce the exploitation of workers.
  • State-centered theories of inequality emphasize the role of governmental policy and economic planning in producing economic stratification.
  • In contrast to market-oriented theories of inequality, state-centered theories do not assert that the capitalist free-market will naturally regulate prices and wages.
  • This map of all states to declare themselves officially socialist at some point in history illustrates the spread of state-centered theories of inequality.

• The Social Reproduction of Inequality

  • According to conflict theorists, this is a predictable result of capitalism and other forces of domination and inequality.
  • Inequality is continually socially reproduced because the whole education system is overlain with a dominant group's ideology.
  • From teaching style to the formal curriculum, schools are a means to convey what constitutes knowledge and appropriate behavior as determined by the state—those in power.
  • Some students may realize the perverse but unacknowledged goals of education, as they begin to see that much of what they learn seems, from their perspective, pointless.
  • In this way, the continuation of privilege and wealth for the elite is made possible.

• Conflict Theory

  • Conflict theory was developed in part to illustrate the limitations of structural-functionalism.
  • Inequalities in power and reward are built into all social structures.
  • Conflict theory was elaborated in the United Kingdom by Max Gluckman and John Rex, in the United States by Lewis A.
  • While societies are in a constant state of change, much of the change is minor.
  • This is particularly true of structural-functionalism and social-conflict theories.

• Stratification

  • A sociologist might use the following types of evidence to support modernization and development theory, dependency theory, and world systems theory respectively: Poor, rural areas of India have seen increased local wealth and income with the introduction of mobile ATMs, suggesting that access to modern capitalism and technology can reduce economic inequality.
  • Inequality occurs when a person's position in the social hierarchy is tied to different access to resources.
  • Inequality largely depends on differences in wealth.
  • According to this theory, in the modern world, the rise of capitalism brought modern attitudes, modern technologies, and modern institutions which helped countries progress and have a higher standard of living.
  • Core nations (e.g. the United States, France, Germany, and Japan) are dominant capitalist countries characterized by high levels of industrialization and urbanization.

• Evaluating Global Theories of Inequality

  • These thinkers are likely to support state-oriented approaches to regulating inequality, with governments instating policies to equally distribute opportunities and resources.
  • Interactionists recognize global inequality, but consider it only in the context of individual relations and, therefore, see no role for state intervention.
  • Whatever sociological theory one adopts to explain the existence of inequality, not all theorists consider inequality to be a problem that needs correction.
  • The idea that all members of a society should be equal is often associated with modern liberalism.
  • Social justice advocates generally argue that inequality is unfair, as it leaves some individuals with greater life chances and higher standards of living than others, regardless of individual worth or merit.

• Power and Inequality

  • Theories of social stratification are based on four basic principles:
  • Conflict theories, such as Marxism, focus on the inaccessibility of resources and lack of social mobility found in stratified societies.
  • In Marxist theory, the capitalist mode of production consists of two main economic parts: the substructure and the superstructure.
  • The superstructure of a society includes its culture, institutions, political power structures, roles, rituals, and state.
  • This has occurred frequently in the United States ever since the American revolution—the U.S.

• Cannon–Bard Theory of Emotion

  • The Cannon–Bard theory of emotion argues that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously but independently.
  • Researchers have developed several theories of how human emotions arise and are represented in the brain.
  • The Cannon–Bard theory of emotion was developed by researchers who criticized the James–Lange theory for its limited ability to account for the wide variety of emotions experienced by human beings.
  • According to the Cannon–Bard theory, emotional expression results from activation of the subcortical centers of the brain.
  • The Cannon–Bard theory states that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously, yet independently.

• Gender Inequality in Politics

  • Women's suffrage, the movement to achieve the female vote, was won gradually at state and local levels during the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  • "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
  • Since gaining the fundamental right to vote in 1920, women have worked in many levels of government in the United States.
  • Hillary Clinton is the current Secretary of State.
  • Women in politics took center stage in the 2008 election.

• James–Lange Theory of Emotion

  • According to the James–Lange theory of emotion, emotions arise from physiological arousal.
  • Researchers have developed several theories of how human emotions arise and are represented in the brain.
  • According to the James–Lange theory of emotion, you would experience a feeling of fear only after this physiological arousal had taken place.
  • The James–Lange theory of emotion states that emotions arise as a result of physiological arousal.
  • The Cannon-Bard theory states that emotional expression results from action of the subcortical centers.

• Introduction

  • Inequality means people have unequal access to scarce and valued resources in society.
  • Statistics on United States and global inequality are widespread and alarming.
  • Just 25 Americans have a combined income almost as great as the combined income of 2 billion of the world's poor.
  • The chapter then turns to dominant theories on stratification, and explores class, race, and gender inequality in more detail.
  • We end with consequences of inequality and theories explaining global inequality.