Sociology of Developing Countries - Essay Example

[Supervisor Sociology of Developing Countries Sociology in Developing countries Sociology is the complete separation of economy and state, similar to the separation of church and state. The theory of Sociology is based on the private ownership of the means of production, which would equal a completely uncontrolled and unregulated economy where all land is privately owned, only an aspect of that premise is based on individual rights. Sociology recognizes that each individual person is the owner of their own life and has the right to live it fully to their on personal manner and long as he doesn't dictate or violate others. The Developing countries South had a social system, which was distinct in many ways. There was an economy relative to the region, where class structure and a system of racial difference which caused the South to become unique to the rest of the nation. Historians such as James Henrietta have said that Sociology was the cause of all evil within the Developing countries South. Developing countries Sociology defined by Max Weber is "a greed forgone", and "acquisition by force, whether directly in war or in the form [of] exploitation of subjects" (Weber, The Viewpoint of Sociology of World Religions). Republicans helped Developing countries Sociology prospering by introducing tariff barriers, making it that all goods coming from abroad had to taxed heavily before entering the country, meaning that prices in the USA for those products raised so the foreign companies could still make a profit. When presented with two items of similar quality, one with ultra-inflated prices from England, and one with a cheap price from Developing countries, it's likely that a normal person would choose the cheap Developing countries home brand product. By doing this Republicans helped the idea of Developing countries Sociology to prosper. As well as being the place to make a fortune, Developing countries also signaled freedom from persecution, in whatever form in came in. People facing religious or political persecution or just plain poverty came to Developing countries to alleviate themselves from negative aspects of life. This was an important part of the Developing countries dream as it made many immigrants cross the seas to seek this liberty. On the surface Developing countries Sociology seemed to be helping the country no-end. There were several visible indications of the prosperity. Mass production meant that technological advances such as washing machines and hovers became available to many families. The inflating wages helped to fund the new streak of consumerism that swept the country, Developing countriess wages were far higher than any comparitable jobs over the world. New motor cars were popping up all over the place, thanks to Henry Ford, a figure often used to symbolize the Developing countries dream as he was so successful, and even today is a household name. A newly founded advertising industry worked its tricky magic amongst the susceptible citizens, making goods seem all the more glamorous. Easy credit helped in the purchase of the goods once a person was dedicated to enriching their life with it. For those who lived far from shops and arcades came mail order catalogues and traveling salesmen, meaning people all over Developing countries could enjoy the wonders of consumerism. Prosperity could also been seen in the low unemployment rates, helped considerably by the roaring construction industry, turning cities around Developing countries in bristling concrete porcupines. Over all this opulence was the booming stock market on Wall Street, rising to an all time high, representing all that was Developing countries Sociology, rapidly increasing from strength to strength, unfortunately building on the unsteady foundation of a dream. In 1928 the number of people living beneath the poverty line - those who do not earn enough to buy basic food, clothing and shelter- increased to an estimated 42% of Developing countries's populace. There were certain groups who suffered the most. Farm income went from an overall amount of $22 billion in 1919 down to $13 billion in 1928. Farmers suffered as new machinery such as combine harvesters made farming more efficient, but farming started to produce far more food than was needed. During the war the surplus had been sold to Europe, but now European farmers could start growing enough for their own needs again. The price of grain collapsed and brought ruin to many small farmers. Farm laborers also lost out as they either lost their jobs, as they could no longer be supported, or because they became redundant due to new machinery. Not all farmers suffered. Big mechanized farms did well. It was commonly the smaller and poorer farmers who lost out. New immigrants faced discrimination from employers. They took whatever work they could. A large number worked in construction but only where there was a construction boom, but constructor worker's wages only rose 4% in the 20s as there was a ready supply of new immigrants ready if the existing ones complained about wages. The unemployment rate amongst new immigrants remained high during the 1920s. The biggest concentration of blacks was in the southern states where many stayed after slavery was abolished. Many blacks made their journey north to find work in large industrial cities such as Detroit. Black workers faced discrimination and white workers were more likely to be taken. Car factories only hired blacks in small numbers, trying to operate on an all white policy. Older industries were undergoing modernization in the 1920s. Workers in the raw material industries - cotton, coal, tin and copper - were suffering. There was overproduction and wages fell. Old textiles were also faced with competition by new artificial fibers such as Rayon. Textile workers were amongst the lowest paid in the country and many lost their jobs anyhow as mechanization could do the job quicker, cheaper and more efficiently with only a minimum of staff. Basically, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. All this inequality in society, the rich-poor divide was about to be brought to a dreadful reality. As the Wall Street stock market grew and grew it became more and more unstable. The average man on the street knew nothing of the mechanism of the stock market, not knowing that anything that rose to that height would have to fall eventually. People kept on buying stocks and shares, kept on investing on this idea of an Developing countries dream, the reverie that any man could become rich if they tried hard enough. As the market swelled some people knew what was inevitable. Once they had told a few people, and those people had told a few more the rumor of a crash only needs a little time before it actually occurs. The stock market relies on the trust of its investors, be they small investors or huge companies, and when that trust is dispirited it's only a matter of time before it all comes falling down above their heads. As the speculation went out of control, and companies overproduced and no longer made any more money, the whole market collapsed, and when a towering monolith such as this falls, it's going to make a sizable dent. It triggered off the great depression, people lost all their money, all jobs were stopped, property was taken away and life became a nightmare to all involved. Of course, some people survived relatively unscathed, but, as normal, those people were the rich. (Bowles, et al) Is Developing countries Sociology crumbling Recent revelations of corporate crookedness and accounting scandals have shaken the very foundations of the Developing countries capitalist model. Corporate Developing countries's fall from grace has been sudden and complete. The Enron, WorldCom and Xerox exposures have unveiled the darker side of western style Sociology where, in the quest for short-term gains, wrongdoings are often overlooked. The financial fallout of WorldCom, for instance, is staggering. Its shareholders, once the owners of a $120-billion company, are now left with virtually nothing. Banks and bondholders have $41 billion in loans to WorldCom. A large chunk of this is unlikely to be repaid. The collapse of Andersen, one of the big five accounting firms has, in the wake of the Enron scandal, added a new dimension to the systemic infirmities. This corporate-accounting firm-capital market' nexus has perhaps proved to be the last straw for the Developing countries capitalist system. Corporate entities often fix a target price for their shares, and these are achieved with the help of obliging accounting firms that dress up the accounts so as to generate the required price-earnings ratio. Fudging of accounts seems to have evolved into a fine art. The depth of degradation to which unbridled corporate greed can lead has become all too obvious. These developments cannot be dismissed, as some apologists of Developing countries Sociology are doing, as isolated incidents. They are systemic. But don't write off Developing countries Sociology just yet "The Developing countries economy is the most creative and enterprising and productive system ever devised" (http://truthnews.com/world/2002070097.htm), George Bush told a Wall Street audience this week, before moving on to acknowledge some recent embarrassments. He was right about this, of course. The anguish of some Developing countries commentators over the spate of corporate scandals and over what these reveal about the supposedly rotten core of Developing countries Sociology is about as exaggerated-and in many cases as downright phoney-as the corresponding delight of their European counterparts. An intelligent response to the Enrons and WorldComs needs to begin by acknowledging the strengths of Developing countries's basic model and the dangers of attempting to fix what is not broken. Equally, though, the scandals do show that repairs are needed if the most creative, enterprising and productive system ever devised is to realize its full potential. A good deal of what went on in Developing countries (and European) boardrooms in the latter part of the 1990s, which is only now coming to light, should be regarded as no great surprise. This is not the first time that the mania accompanying a speculative bubble-in this case, in shares in "new economy" businesses-has induced a willing suspension of disbelief in almost all quarters. It is true that bosses of companies such as Enron and WorldCom violated investors' trust and brought ruin on their companies' owners. It is right that, having been found out, they should be punished, not excused. But everybody should at least bear in mind that these benders and breakers of the law had lots of help-not just from the auditing profession, which stands alongside them in the dock, but from many of the same people now crying out for retribution. The whole concept of an Developing countries dream could have worked if the country had taken their time, realized that there was no rush, if companies had expanded slowly and if people hadn't been so interested in the stock market. Of course all these problems came from the idea of an Developing countries dream and people, being only human, are selfish and want to have more money, and more money is what is offered in a system of Sociology. The Developing countries dream soon turned sour and turned into an Developing countries nightmare. Works Cited Weber, Max, The Viewpoint of Sociology of World Religions: as retrieved from http://www.ne.jp/asahi/moriyuki/abukuma/weber/world/viewpoint/viewpoint.html on April 29, 2004 Pitts, Joe, The Bush Plan To Deal With Corporate Crooks (2002), as retrieved from http://truthnews.com/world/2002070097.htm on April 29, 2004 Bowles, et al, Understanding Sociology: Competition, Command, and Change in the U.S. Economy, 2nd Edition (NY: Harper Collins, 1993) Read More