Page 426 - Introduction To Sociology

418 Chapter 18 | Work and the Economy
15. Which is evidence that the United States workforce is largely a meritocracy?
a. Job opportunities are increasing for highly skilled jobs.
b. Job opportunities are decreasing for midlevel jobs.
c. Highly skilled jobs pay better than low-skill jobs.
d. Women tend to make less than men do for the same job.
16. If someone does not earn enough money to pay for the essentials of life he or she is said to be _____ poor. a. absolutely
b. essentially c. really
d. working
17. About what percentage of the workforce in the United States are legal immigrants?
a. Less than 1%
b. 1%
c. 16%
d. 66%
Short Answer
18.1 Economic Systems
1. Explain the difference between state socialism with central planning and market socialism.
2. In what ways can capitalistic and socialistic economies converge?
3. Describe the impact a rapidly growing economy can have on families.
4. How do you think the United States economy will change as we move closer to a technology-driven service economy?
18.2 Globalization and the Economy
5. What impact has globalization had on the music you listen to, the books you read, or the movies or television you watch?
6. What effect can immigration have on the economy of a developing country? 7. Is globalization a danger to local cultures? Why, or why not?
18.3 Work in the United States
8. As polarization occurs in the U.S. job market, this will affect other social institutions. For example, if midlevel education won’t lead to employment, we could see polarization in educational levels as well. Use the sociological imagination to consider what social institutions may be impacted, and how.
9. Do you believe we have a true meritocracy in the United States? Why, or why not?
Further Research
18.1 Economic Systems
Green jobs have the potential to improve not only your prospects of getting a good job, but the environment as well. To learn more about the green revolution in jobs go to http://openstaxcollege.org/l/greenjobs (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/ greenjobs)
One alternative to traditional capitalism is to have the workers own the company for which they work. To learn more about company-owned businesses check out: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/company-owned (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/ company-owned)
18.2 Globalization and the Economy
The World Social Forum (WSF) was created in response to the creation of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WSF is a coalition of organizations dedicated to the idea of a worldwide civil society and presents itself as an alternative to WEF, which it says is too focused on capitalism. To learn more about the WSF, check out http://openstaxcollege.org/l/ WSF (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/WSF)
18.3 Work in the United States
This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11762/1.6