Capitalism: Pros and Cons

      Capitalism is the organization of society in such a way that the wealth and means of production are privately owned by capitalist. Like many other terms in society, there are pros and cons.
Pros:
- People are in control of their own destiny
- They have a lot of freedom in society
-There is a lot of competition
Cons:
- Inequality arises
- Increases competition
- Economy becomes more money-oriented
        Karl Marx believes that capitalism is the means of production. He believes that capitalism creates two competing classes, the bourgeoisie who owned and controlled the means of production and the proletariat who were the common workers who owned nothing but their right to sell their labor. It is also believed that the proletariat is going to being large and overthrow the bourgeoisie and end capitalism. I have not decided if I am a big fan of capitalism but I like the idea of it.

Globalization: A pro or a con???

Globalization is the system of interaction among the countries of the world in order to develop the global economy. Is it more of a benefit or is it more of a disadvantage? Here are some of the main pros and cons of globalization:

Pros of globalization:

·        Productivity grows more quickly

·        Innovative ideas are created

·        People start to see different cultures through the items traded

·        Better technology

Cons of globalization:

·        Countries start to lose their culture

·        High unemployment

·        More competition can rise which can lead to a war

·        Recession occurs

So as we can see, globalization affects us in both good and bad ways. Globalization has a bad effect on poor countries and it can cause those countries to become poorer because they are trying to be competitive with other countries. Maybe we shouldn’t see globalization as a good thing at all but it does have a lot of good things to contribute. 

Positivist or Interactionist?

     Sociologists spend their time doing experiments and asking questions so that they get solve sociological issues. The question is which approach helps to get more reliable answers: positivist or interactionist? It is difficult to decide because they both contribute to helping sociologists. The positivist approach is based on statistics and limited questionnaires. This approach seems to be more reliable but what if the statistics aren't accurate? The interactionist approach goes more in-depth because of unstructured interviews. This approach can be seen as biased and unreliable because what if the person that you are interviewing isn't telling the truth? It is hard to decide which approach would be most helpful. They can both lead to false information. However, they are both helpful to sociologists. Which one do you think is most helpful? 

The Culture of Poverty

    Poverty is a common thing in this society. It is difficult to move up in society without the correct resources to do so. While doing some research on the culture of poverty, I came upon a statistic which stated that it is estimated that more than 35 million Americans live in poverty today (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Causes-and-Effects-of-Poverty.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26882.html). It then came to my mind that America isn't the only victim of poverty.
     In sociology, the word poverty is based on those who lack what is needed by most Americans to live decently because they earn less than half of the nation's median income (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Causes-and-Effects-of-Poverty.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26882.html). Culture of poverty is when nothing can be done to change someones economic outcomes. The people who have experienced this type of poverty tend to feel powerless and hopeless. As a result of this, people could end up homeless and stressed.

Popular Culture

       What do we think about when someone says "popular culture"? Some might say, "hmmm how did that come about?" Some would say that we are being controlled by the elite. Even though we might not see it, they have a strong power over us. An example would be like the mass looking up to the celebritiy figures. If a certain celebrity was to do a certain hairstyle or wear a certain type of clothing, we would try to do the same hairstyle or wear the same clothes as that celebrity. We almost look up to them as a role model and as a leader.
      The mass media also control our popular culture. Mass media influences our population through music, television, movies, magazines, etc. The mass media gives us a sense of what is important and what isnt. It also has an influence on gender roles. This means that it determines how a male/female should  act as in how they speak and the roles they have in society. It is evident that the media has control over our culture. They influence many things that helps to shape our society.

Symbolic Interactionism

    Symbolic interactionism is a social psychological theory developed by Herbert Blumer. According to Blumer, the three important priniciples of this theory revolves around meaning, language, and thought. Symbolic interactionism is saying that society gives you a role and you decide whether or not to accept it. Charles Cooley looks at symbolic interactionism as a “looking glass self” which means that we see ourselves to be a reflection of other peoples judgement and that our self-concepts are created in “primary groups”. George Mead on the other hand, believes that humans act to situations based on their meaning of the situation. It is said that by interacting with others, we develop a sense of self.

Function in society

Sorry, my blog is really late but I think that the functionalism theory does a better job at explaining how society continues to operate. I think that we all do have a function in society and with everyone having a certain function,society is able to function and meet the needs/goals that society needs to survive. Mrs. Basi gave us the example that her function in
society is being a teacher and a mother. By being a teacher, she is able to teach us and by being a mother, she is able to take care of her son. Without this order in society, there would not be as much order as we have with everyone having their specific function.

ONLINE CLASS!!!!!

     Online classes can have its ups and downs. First of all, online class teachers require that by the end of the week, we should’ve already handed in three assignments. This might be a good way to finish the class faster but we have other homework from school to do. It is hard to spend two hours on each of the assignments that we need to do for our online class with the extra homework we get from school. It is also hard to communicate with the teachers because sometimes they take forever to respond to our calls and/or e-mails. Honestly, when I am doing my online class I get distracted by facebook and twitter. Maybe they should make online classes more interesting. However, there are positive things that come with taking an online class. You can take a class online if you really wanted to take a specific class but you can’t take it in school because you probably need to take a class that is required for graduation. Another thing is that with an online class, you can take extra classes that can help you get your high school credits faster. You also have the advantage of working on your own time even though it takes forever to finish an online class. It is hard to juggle online classes and your school work but if you have that push in you, you can do the online classes without a problem. If you are lazy or just a busy person, it can be hard to keep up with the online class. Another problem is that with online classes we have to teach ourselves. Not a lot of people have the ability to learn new information on their own. Yes, the online teachers are there to help but it’s hard to get a hold of them when you need them.

Republican Primary Election

     So I honestly do not know much about politics. I personally think it’s boring. But, the blog topic for this week is about the Republican primary. From my research, a primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for an election. I found out that Mitt Romney won the election. Some members of the Republican Party stated that if this was the general election, Romney would have defeated President Obama (www.usatoday.com). He claims that under Obama’s presidency, a lot of people lost their jobs and that there was more foreclosure.  Romney declared that he will get America to a balanced budget without raising taxes. Romney sounds like a determined person but actions speak louder than words.

Technology! Technology! Technology!

Technology is an important tool. Students use technology as a resource for school.  High school students use technology not only to communicate for projects but to look up information and to type papers for English class. In my school, technology is limited. In the morning, students line up at the media center just to use the computers. When the media center opens up, everyone pushes and struggles just to make it to a computer but not everyone makes it to a computer so they have to wait until someone is done just to use one. Sometimes, other people take long to use the computers so the ones waiting on a computer might not get the chance to use it. With more technology in my school, everyone would be able to get their papers and research done on time. This shows that technology is critical in schools and with limited technology, students can be deprived of the information and typing up essays for school. 

Two words...GIVE BACK!!!

      Giving back to the community is a way to help your community become a better place. I know that sometimes we do not have the time to give back but doing even a little thing like donating clothes is better than not doing anything at all. The feeling you get when you give back is a feeling that you will never forget. I have experienced this feeling on Christmas day when I went to feed the homeless. Seeing the smiles on their faces made me the happiest person alive. Hearing them say "thank you", with the most sincere look in their eyes, made me proud that I could help them. I felt like I was giving back because I have much more than they have and it feels great to help my community even if its just for a couple of hours. It was nice just looking at them talking to each other and making jokes. They were so nice and I am happy that I could give back to those nice people. Some of you might not see the homeless like how I see them. Some of you might say that they can do better. Yes, they can do better but it is still not a bad thing to help them. They have feelings just like everyone else. Showing that there are people who care about them might help them to try to do better for themselves. By giving back, you can change your community AND make other people in your community aware of the things that are happening so that they can step up and make a change.