The economy is the social institution that organizes a society’s production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. As an institution, the economy operates, for better or worse, in a generally predictable manner. Goods are commodities ranging from necessities (food, clothing, shelter) to luxury items (cars, swimming pools, yaсhts).
Services are activities that benefit others (for example, the work of teachers, physicians, computer software specialists). We value goods and services because they ensure survival or because they make life easier or more interesting. Also, what people produce as workers and what they buy as consumers are important parts of social identity, as when we say, “He’s a steel worker”, or “She drives a Mercedes”. How goods and services are distributed, too, shapes the lives of everyone by giving more resources to some and fewer to others. The economies of modern high-income nations are the result of centuries of social change.
Since World War II the economy has shifted from producing goods to producing services - from farming and manufacturing, in other words, to such fields as data processing, teaching, and health care. The service revolution has brought an increase in white-collar jobs for the educated and technically skilled, but it has caused a rising rate of unemployment among relatively unskilled workers.
Markets of the Economy
Job inequalities also arise from what economists call the "dual labor market." The primary market is dominated by large corporations, which employ workers with specialized skills and offer them good wages and working conditions, job security, and a fair chance of promotion. The primary market also includes jobs for blue-collar workers, independent craftsmen, technical workers and specialists, government bureaucrats, and professionals.
In contrast, the secondary market is dominated by small manufacturing companies and service establishments (restaurants, stores), which employ unskilled or semiskilled workers in low-paying, temporary, or dead-end jobs. The secondary labour market also provides jobs for non-union manual workers, women in "pink collar" occupations (clerical work, sales jobs), and migrant farm laborers. A number of institutional barriers prevent these workers from entering the primary market. Some lack specialized education or a professional degree; others cannot meet the requirements for union membership; still others are considered too old or too young to work. As a result, many of the working poor are trapped in badly paid, dead-end jobs.
Theories of stratification explain inequality by showing that structural and cultural forces put certain people in certain social positions. The next section discusses theories of social mobility, which explain how certain people are able to change from one position to another.
Social Mobility
Social mobility is the movement of individuals and groups from one social position to another. Because there are several dimensions to social rank, or status, people are able to change position by gaining or losing wealth, prestige, and power. Upward mobility refers to movement up the social ladder, or a gain in status; downward mobility refers to a movement down the social ladder, or a loss of status. Individuals can also have a higher or lower status than their parents, or experience intergenerational mobility.
In an open stratification system, there are supposed to be few obstacles to social mobility: status ideally depends on individual merit and achievement. Because there are many different ways of evaluating a person's social position, class lines tend to be blurred and overlapping. (Indeed, some sociologists reject the term "class" as too restrictive, preferring the term "socioeconomic status" instead).
Structural Factors in Social Mobility
Occupational mobility does not depend only on having the talent and social background to get ahead. It also depends on the social structure being climbed and how much room there is at the top. For a society to have a high rate of upward mobility, the opportunity to move up the ladder must be open to a large number of people.
For this reason industrial societies allow more upward mobility than pre-industrial, agrarian societies. Industrial technology causes a shift from a manual to a white-collar labor force and a corresponding rise in status. The industrialization of any country drastically changes the occupational hierarchy, creating many more prestigious, well-paid positions and eliminating low-paying manual jobs. In such a situation the opportunity to get ahead is greatly enhanced, and upward mobility is just about guaranteed for a large proportion of the labor force.
V VOCABULARY
Task 5. Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:
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| Task 6. Match column A with column B. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Task 7. Fill in the correct words from the previous exercise into the gaps below (not all words are needed).
1. How very _______________ you are sometimes!
2. Universities now ________ as many as 15,000 students per year.
3. The move was designed to enhance his personal _______________ .
4. This report was never intended for public_______________.
5. Unemployed people stand to _______________ most from these policies.
Task 8. Fill in the correct word from the box into the gaps below.
| сommodity luxury high-income nation rate unemployment dead-end jobs stratification |
1. The worker becomes an ever cheaper__________the more good he creates.
2. I believe that style is the only real _________ item that is really desirable.
3. The World Bank classifies nations on whether they are low, middle or ____ _____ , based on gross ___________ per capita.
4. Their success ___________ in recruiting new staff is very high.
5. The rate of youth __________is 35 % compared to national average of 15 %.
6. There are now six million people working in low paid and often ____ .
7. It's unfortunate that the whole of our education system is riddled with class __.
Task 9. Are the following statements about the text true (T) or false (F)?
1. Economy generally behaves in a way the scientists can expect. T /F
2. Luxury items (cars, swimming pools, yaсhts) stand apart and belong to neither goods nor services. T / F
3. It has taken hundreds of years for the economies of modern high-income nations to socially change. T / F
4. The service revolution has caused a rising rate of unemployment among white-collar workers. T / F
5. Blue-collar workers do work needing strength or physical skill rather than office work. T / F
6. Until recently secretarial work and nursing were very much pink-collar professions. T / F
7. Dead-end job is a job in which there is no chance of progressing to a better, more important job. T / F
8. Inter-generational mobility is a measure of the changes in social status which occurs from the parents' to the children's generation. T / F
9. Occupational mobility depends only on having the talent and social background to get ahead. T / F
10. Highly-developed countries change the occupational hierarchy, creating many more prestigious, well-paid positions. T / F
Task 10. Skim the article from this unit and find words that mean (almost) the same as:
1) a job –
2) unable to change a bad situation or way of thinking –
3) the division of a society into different groups –
4) the tendency to move between places, jobs, or social classes –
5) a system that has different levels through which you can progress –
6) an advantage or good quality that someone or something has –
7) it becomes difficult to see something clearly, often because its edges are not clear if a thing –
8) ideas, opinions or people are similar in some ways but not in every way if they –
9) the type of career, training, or education that someone has had –
10) to get rid of something that is not wanted or needed –
11) to improve something, or to make it more attractive or more valuable –
Task 11. Rearrange the letters to form a word used in the text, then match the word to its definition.
| omsdniesin | a the process of starting or creating something | ||
| anieultyiq | ba sudden or major change, especially in ideas or methods | ||
| iobmtlyi | c the high reputation and respect that someone or something has earned, based on their impressive achievements, quality, etc. | ||
| lhestaismbetn | d the size of something | ||
| nemvoetm | e the tendency to move between places, jobs, or social classes | ||
| levrutoino | f the type of career, training, or education that someone has had | ||
| oubckrndga | g a change in someone's attitude, opinion, or behaviour, especially over a period of time | ||
| epseirgt | hnorms that are enforced by the formal sanctions of the state |
Task 12. Choose the best option to complete the sentences.
1. According to the text, the economy operates, for better or worse, in a generally _______________ .
a) predictable manner
b) arrogant manner
c) casual manner
2. Since _______________ the economy has shifted from producing goods to producing services.
a) Afghan War
b) World War II
c) Cold War
3. According to the economists, job inequalities arise from what they call the
"___________labour market."
a) single
b) dual
c) triple
4. Social ______ is the movement of individuals and groups from one social position to another.
a) flexibility
b) chaos
c) mobility
5. _________ mobility depends on the social structure being climbed and how much room there is at the top.
a) Human powered
b) Occupational
c) Social
Task 13. Use the words from the right side to make the expressions with the words from the left side. Then translate them into Ukrainian.
| social | Items |
| luxury | Market |
| high-income | Nations |
| white-collar | Force |
| primary | institution |
| upward | Jobs |
| labour | Mobility |
v
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Task 14. Which article a or an can be put before the following words or phrases?
Write the words or phrases into the correct column.
idea, European, expensive project, thousand times, MP, economic crisis, ewe, honest decision, MBA, academic year, yearly chart, honourable person, university, euphemism.
| a | An |
Task 15. Which article the or 0 can be put before the following words or phrases? Write the words or phrases into the correct column.
Tower of London, Elle, Netherlands, People’s Republic of China, Thames, Carpathians, Financial Times, Everest, Germany.
| the | |
Task 16. Complete each sentence a) to e) with one of the endings 1) to 5).
| a) In most societies there is a … | 1) observed inequality just or fair? |
| b) Here is the … | 2) other. |
| c) One person might be better off and healthier than the … | 3) basic problem: we observe some empirical case of social inequality. |
| d) And we ask: is the… | 4) inequality violate some principle of justice? |
| e) Does the … | 5) certain broadly shared belief about what is socially fair and unfair. |
Task 17. Read the following information about economic inequality. Write nine more missing articles in the correct places.
VIEWS ON INEQUALITY
1 In most western democracies, desire to eliminate or reduce economic
2 inequality is generally associated with the political left. The main practical
3 argument in favour of reduction is idea that economic inequality reduces
4 social cohesion and increases social unrest, thereby weakening society.
5 There is clear evidence that this is true and it is intuitively true, at least for small
6face-to-face groups of people. Also, there is the argument that economic
7inequality translates to political inequality, which further aggravates problem.
8 acceptance of economic inequality is generally associated with the political
9right or at least that section of the right that is concerned with economics.
10 main practical argument in favour of the acceptance of economic inequality is 11 that, as long as the cause is mainly due to differences in behaviour, the inequality
12serves as economic engine to push society towards economically healthy and
13 efficient behaviour, and is therefore beneficial.
Task 18 Complete the asterisked gaps in the chart below with the appropriate words.
| NOUN | ADJECTIVE | VERB |
| predictable | * | |
| necessity | * | |
| * | value | |
| survival | * | |
| consumer | * | |
| unskilled | * | |
| * | dominate | |
| * | labour |
.
Task 19. Many uses of the articles are idiomatic, and should be learned as part of a phrase. Here are some of them:
1. against the grain – contrary to someone's feelings, principles.
His plan goes against the grain with her because she doesn't like cheating.
2. be behind the times – be old-fashioned, outdate.
Some of the managers here are behind the times; their methods are not modern.
3. be beside the point – be off the point.
What I said to him privately is beside the point.
4. beat around the bush; beat about the bush – avoid giving a clear or definite answer.
Stop beating around the bush! Get to the point!
5. break the ice – overcome shyness in making the first step.
The meeting was dull until someone broke the ice with a joke, and we all laughed.
6. get out of hand – get out of control, beyond control.
If he gets out of hand again, call me the right away. The situation is getting out of hand.
7. in plain English – in simple, frank terms.
I didn't really like the presentation. In plain English, it was terrible.
8. make a living – earn money to provide for life.
He works hard. His family is large, and he has to make a living somehow.
Paul won a prize in a chess tournament. Great! Like father, like son!
9. off the cuff – without preparation.
Off the cuff, I can give you only a rough estimate.
10. rock the boat – make the situation unstable.
Peter always rocks the boat when we discuss the company's spending policy.
Task 20. Think of your own sentences with the idioms mentioned above.
Task 21. Choose the most suitable phrase underlined.
1. A philosopher/Philosopher is someone who studies and tries to explain the meaning of things such as life, knowledge, or beliefs.
2.An individual/ Individual can also have a higher or lower status than his/her parents.
3. In open stratification system/ an open stratification system, there are supposed to be few obstacles to social mobility.
4. She has been trapped in job/a job.
v TRANSLATION
Task 22. Study the idioms from Task 18 and translate the sentences.
Task 23. Choose the best option to translate the sentences.
1. The research has shown a clear link between income inequality and social cohesion.
A. Це дослідження показало чіткий зв’язок між нерівністю прибутків та соціальною об’єднаністю.
B. Будь-яке дослідження показує чіткий зв’язок між нерівністю прибутків та соціальною об’єднаністю.
C. Це дослідження покаже чітку різницю між нерівністю прибутків та соціальною об’єднаністю.
2. There is a very strong correlation between socioeconomic status and health.
A. Колись був ідентифікований чіткий взаємозв’язок між соціоекономічним статусом та здоров’ям.
B. Існує досить чіткий взаємозв’язок між соціоекономічним статусом та здоров’ям.
C. Існує незначний взаємозв’язок між соціоекономічним статусом та здоров’ям.
Дата: 2016-10-02, просмотров: 269.
