Social problems - Coursework Example

Social Problems What is the difference between an objective definition of social problems and a ive definition? Why would a concern about bias and values be part of the issue about subjective vs objective definitions? How does social power influence this notion of bias and objectivity? Even though social problems take different forms, they all have two common important elements. The two are objective social conditions and the subjective interpretation of those social conditions. The objective element of a social problem is the existence of any social condition.

People become aware of their social conditions their own life experiences, through education, and through media. On the other hand, the subjective element of social problems refers to the belief that a certain social condition is harmful to the society, or to a section of the society and it can be changed. Problems such as drug addiction, poverty, crime and pollution do exist. These conditions are not considered as social problems but they can cause a lot of destruction is a society (Eitzen and Zinn 2).

What is the difference between norm violations and social conditions as types of social problems? Which is a person blame and which a systems blame approach? Why doe the authors of this book believe the focus should be on social conditions (system blame) rather than norm violations (person blame)? Do you agree with them? Why or why not? As social problems, norm violations tend to assume that there is a standard behavior. People studying norm violations are normally interested in failures in the society criminals, the school dropouts, and the mental ill.

On the other hand, norm violations are symptoms of social problems and not the problem itself. For example, deviants are victims who need to entirely carry the blame. The second type of social problems involves conditions that tend to cause material and psychic suffering for some people. In addition, there is the person-blame approach which is the approach of understanding people’s social problems. In this approach, those who deviate are considered as the source of trouble. The authors of this book believe that the focus should be on system blame and not person blame since blaming an individual gives the government a chance to take control of dissidents more easily.

In most cases, deviants are normally sent to hospitals or prisons for rehabilitation. It is therefore right for the authors to base on system blame (Eitzen and Zinn 4).What is the basic difference between US capitalism and social welfare state capitalism? What do people gain from the welfare state type that we don’t have? Welfare state capitalism is a type of capitalism is a type of capitalism that has comprehensive social welfare policies. It also involves businesses and organizations providing welfare services to their employees. For U.S capitalism, it involves policies of large, non-unionized companies that have internal welfare systems for employees.

Welfare capitalist employers offer a lot of benefits to their employees. The employees are company-sponsored sports teams, company newsletters, and cafeteria plans (Eitzen and Zinn 7).What does Fisher mean when he says Americas level of inequality is by design? How does social policy influence that design? What would be your basic answer to that set of questions he asks in the third column of the box (don’t answer every one, just think about the list and answer in a sentence or two By saying that Americas level of inequality is by design, Fischer means that the gap widening gap between the rich and the poor in America is not caused by natural factors.

The social cause of this design results from uneven distribution of rewards through regulating taxes, market, and government spending. It is also caused by racial inequality.What is the main difference between capitalism and socialism? How might the capitalism we have in the USA help create the significant problems we have (see box p.26)? How does the Swedish model (box p.28) alleviate those same kinds of problems? Capitalism involves a market-based economy that has corporate and private ownership means of productions.

Profits earned from goods and services are reinvested into the economy to boost economic growth. Socialism involves means of production being owned by public enterprises and cooperatives. Capitalism in the U.S leads to unfair distribution of resources which can lead to market monopolies or oligopolies (Eitzen and Zinn 6). The Swedish model advocates for equal distribution of resources.What are the main reasons we have monopolistic capitalism today? How does monopolistic capitalism create more power for huge corporations (hint: look at fig. 2.1).

How might that influence the list of social problems documented in the p. 26 box? In the U.S, the process of creating systematic biasness is mostly directed by and favors only the powerful in the society. The wealthy always advantaged in a society. Some advantages are obvious while others are more subtle. In addition, choices made by people in a society are always limited by systematic biasness. Systematic biasness is social constraints on those who decisions in the political arena. They tend to promote the status quo.

Culture always develops expectations and norm that what exists is automatically good since it has been there for a long period of time (Eitzen and Zinn 15).Briefly explain the unequal distribution of income and wealth in the USA, using relevant facts from the text and figures. How does our current government tax policy make us more unequal, not less? Unequal distribution of income in the U.S is attributed to the tax policies. For instance, if the Gini Index of a country is at 0.469, it is an indication that about 1% of the nation’s rich households takes thirty times more than what average Americans do.

As result of the tax policy, the rich benefit from the poor. How do lobbying and the funding of political campaigns illustrate the links between wealth and power? Political campaigns always consume a lot of nation’s money. It therefore means that the powerful in the society use their status for their benefit. When the book talks about a bias in the political system, what does it mean?  What are some examples of the bias? Who benefits, and who loses from this bias? The political system in the U.

S is too biased since power is concentrated to the few. For instance, politicians tend to implement policies for the benefit of the few and not everyone. How might the bias in the system influence the social problems we have in the USA? Think in terms of cause and solution. The bias in the system enables only a few to access power. The powerful will implement policies that affect others and benefit themselves. Social issues resulting from selfishness become many. The U.S needs a political system that will benefit and accommodate everyone.

How is our democracy affected by the bias in the system? That is, does this bias produce  more or less democracy? Explain your answerBias in the system compromises the democratic right of the citizens. All American citizens need to be informed and air their views on issues affecting them. Therefore, this bias hinders citizens from having a democratic right of being involved in matters affecting their lives. Work citedEitzen , Stanley and Maxine Zinn.

Social Problems. New York: Pearson Education, 2013.