Chapter 2

Universal Systems

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Universal Systems

• Economic Systems

• Political Systems

• Educational Systems

• Marriage and Family Systems

• Social Hierarchies and Social

Interaction

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Economic ISMs• Socialism - You have two cows. Give one cow

to your neighbor.• Communism - You have two cows. Give both

cows to the government, and they may give you some of the milk.

• Nazism - You have two cows. The government shoots you and takes both of the cows.

• Anarchism - You have two cows. Keep both of the cows and shoot the government agent and steal another cow.

• Capitalism - You have two cows. Sell one cow and buy a bull.

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HDI

• U.S. 4• Australia 2• Brazil 84• Canada 6• China 101• France 20• Germany 9• India 134• Japan 12• Mexico 57• Netherlands 3• New Zealand 5• Singapore 26• South Korea 15• United Arab Emirates 30• United Kingdom 28

Country Rank

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Economic Systems

• U.S. - capitalistic with socialistic overtones; free market with government regulations

• United Kingdom - based on capitalism; since the 1980s some sectors have been privatized; less regulation of industry has been encouraged

• Mexico – capitalistic with social controls• Japan - capitalistic/free market• Canada - capitalistic with social controls in

health care and retirement

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Political Systems

• U.S. - president elected by electoral college; states have numerous rights.

• Canada – confederation with parliamentary system; prime minister and members of the House of Commons elected; country divided into provinces; each province controls its region.

• China - China’s policies are determined by a 20-member Politboro and a 7-member standing committee. The Chinese Communist Party is the only legal political party.

• United Kingdom - ruled by a constitutional monarchy with a parliament. The monarch is head of state, but elected officials govern through Parliament.

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• France - The French Republic has 22 regions, divided into 96 departments. President is the head of state and serves a 7-year term. Prime minister is appointed by the President from the majority party in the National Assembly.

• Germany – president is elected by members of the federal and state legislatures for a maximum of two 5-year terms. Chancellor is head of government, elected by the lower house of Parliament, the Federal Assembly.

• Japan - constitutional monarchy but emperor has no power. Prime minister, lower house, and upper house elected by the people. Prefectures (states) have governors elected by people.

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• Iran - Six religious leaders and six lay leaders make up Council of Guardians; council approves presidential candidates.

• Mexico - federal government with president elected by those over 18; voting is obligatory. President may serve only one term, but senators and deputies may serve more than one term (terms cannot be consecutive). Federal government controls some industries and education.

• United Arab Emirates – federation of seven emirates• South Korea – most members of government are elected. State

council includes the president, prime minister, and 15-30 ministry heads.

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World Economics

• Foreign competition

• Increased productivity

• World competition for positions

• Quality versus price

• Supernationalism

• Subnationalism

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Formal andInformal Education

• Formal education - a formalized

educational structure; education

acquired in school

• Informal education - no formal

educational infrastructure

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Education in the U.S.

• Learning concepts emphasized

• Students taught to think for themselves • Emphasis on reasoning and developing intellectual abilities

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Education in the U.S.

Anybody can get into college in the United States. Malaysians, remarking on the easy accessibility of American colleges and universities, compared U.S. schools unfavorably to that of the British who once ruled Malaysia and provided the model for their educational system. However, the Malaysians observed, “You Americans put men on the moon, so there must be something right about your system.”(Althen, 2003, p. 102)

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Education in Japan

• National curriculum is set up by the Ministry of Education.

• Lessons are compulsory; core subjects are Japanese, Math, and English.

• Teaching is considered a high status profession. Teachers must continue their professional involvement, be moral citizens, and be role models to students.

• Schools differentiate by ability. Schools have high expectations for students.

• Parental involvement is very strong.

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Social Stratification

• authority• power• property ownership• income• lifestyle• occupation

• educational background

• altruistic activity• kinship connections• ties with volunteer

associations

Ranking of people in a society into higher and lower positions by other members of society, resulting in a hierarchy of respect and prestige.

On what basis do we rank people?

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Occupational RankingsU.S. Japan________________Supreme Court justices Prefectural governorsPhysicians University professorsState governors Local judgesPresident’s cabinet Officers in large firmsDiplomats Government section headsMayors of large cities DoctorsUniversity professors ArchitectsScientists Owners of businessesCongressional leaders Labor union leadersBankers Newspaper reporters

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Family Systems

• Nuclear family (father, mother, children)

• Extended family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins)

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Common Family Systems

• Polygyny (1 man, many wives) Arab countries/Islamic believers

• Polyandry (1 woman, many husbands) Polynesian nations

• Monogamy (1 husband and wife) North and South America, Europe

• Serial Monogamy (people remarry after divorce or death of spouse) U.S.

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Social Hierarchies/ Interaction• Social reciprocity - the way formal and

informal communications are handled. – Involves

• independent social reciprocity (avoids commitment)

• symmetrical-obligatory social reciprocity (people have an equal obligation)

• complementary-obligatory social reciprocity (people are forever indebted to others)

• Group membership has two extremes– people can belong to many groups or very few

groups – people in the middle try to balance group

affiliation and personal freedom

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• Intermediaries - people who act as go-betweens with other people

• Formality - the degree of preciseness, regularity, or conformity expected within the society

• Property – private (U.S.) – utilitarian (Mexico) – community (Native American)

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Hierarchical Divisions

• Ethnic groups

• Social classes

• Castes

• Tribes

• Gender

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HDI and Inequality-adjusted HDI

• Human Development Index (HDI) measures purchasing power, health, and education for the whole population and for women.

• Inequality-adjusted HDI measures the inequalities between individuals within the country.

• Norway, Australia, and the Netherlands are 1, 2, and 3 respectively on overall HDI; Norway is 1 and the Netherlands is 4 on Inequality HDI. (Australia was not reported.)

• U.S. is ranked 4 overall and 22 on Inequality HDI.

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