Showing papers in "Society in 1985"

Why is there no socialism in the united states

Abstract: Many theories have been offered to explain the absence of socialism as a significant political force in the United States. Although no theory will satisfactorily explain a "non-happening," this article offers an unusual theory: that federalism is more powerful than any other factor. The influence of the federal structure is expressed in at least two ways. The first follows Madison's original design, that the states will be numerous and so different from one another that a strong movement in one will be difficult to spread to others. The second follows from the design of the national government whose policies for the first one hundred fifty years were few in number and limited mainly to patronage of individuals and husbandry of commerce. Since the national government was small and not directly involved in coercive policies (which were reserved to the state), there was little to validate the socialist critique.

Impact of Ethnicity.

Abstract: Research on adolescent pregnancy and family planning practices has tended to neglect cultural determinants of sexual activity or cultural barriers to contraceptive use. The relevance of ethnic background was explored in this study of 172 female adolescents (59% Hispanic 41% black) under 15 years of age who registered for prenatal care through the New York City Maternity Infant Care-Family Planning Projects. Only 14 (8%) of the 172 adolescents in the study had ever used birth control prior to their pregnancy. The group was followed after delivery and information was collected on living arrangements educational status family planning patterns and the interrelationships among these factors. Important differences were noted in the behavior of black and Hispanic adolescents. For example whereas the young black mother is likely to return to school after delivery the young Hispanic mother tends to leave school permanently as soon as pregnancy is confirmed. The rate of return for family planning appointments was twice as high for black teenagers. Young black teenagers were not only more likely than their Hispanic counterparts to use some sort of contraception after delivery but also to select a reliable method of birth control. 56% of black teenagers compared with only 48% of Hispanics selected oral contraceptives; in contrast 31% of Hispanic teens chose foam and condoms compared with 23% of blacks. Hispanic families appear more likely than black families to accept a pregnancy on the part of a young adolescent. In addition Hispanic teens were judged to be more likely to have an external locus of control than blacks. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy must be sensitive to cultural considerations if they are to be effective. In particular further study is needed to identify the specific cultural barriers to contraceptives use by Hispanics and other ethnic groups.

Federalism means inequality

Abstract: circlement of the United States by Russia. Once the Soviet model was rejected by most socialists in the Western world, socialism became a kind of romantic movement in that it embraced a dream of an egalitarian society without any model on earth to guide it. To that extent, socialism could become an inspiration without being a threat, but this was no cure for the American disease. Despite a clear demonstration in American history that the environment was not hospitable to socialism, and despite an equally clear demonstration based upon the experience of the Western social democracies that socialism is not even a threat to capitalism, the American anxiety continues unabated. Whether it will abate as conditions actually become more favorable toward the emergence of socialism is a question that can hardly be answered at this point but nonetheless deserves serious speculation. [] READINGS SUGGESTED BY THE AUTHOR: Bums, James MacGregor. The Vineyard of Liberty. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1982. Huntington, Samuel P. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968. Kammen, Michael. People of Paradox. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Sombart, Werner. "Study of the Historical Development and Evolution of the American Proletariat." International Socialist Review 6 (1905-06). Sombart, Werner. "American Capitalism's Economic Rewards." In John Laslett and S.M. Lipset, eds. Failure of a Dream? Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday-Anchor, 1974.

Elections as ritual drama

Abstract: given voter. Fewer and fewer people today vote Democratic because they have always voted Democratic. Fewer and fewer people today vote Republican because they were born Republicans, their fathers were Republicans, and their grandfathers were Republicans. "This part of me argues for this candidate, that part of me argues for his opponent. I am no longer bound by tradition or orthodoxy and so I 'm not really sure what I 'm gonna do next Tuesday." As I look back on our data for the 1980 election, I still see what I saw then. But I now realize, how much more power it had then than I thought at the time. Our data clearly showed the public disaffection with Jimmy Carter, largely because he was seen as being ineffectual, indecisive, lacking in leadership ability, and not forceful. At the time, I thought his clear wins over Reagan on being compassionate, for the working people, and for the little guy, would at least offset the negative appraisals concerning leadership. In retrospect, it is now clear that leadership overshadowed compassion. I cannot say why the polls are missing the mark, but I would say to my colleagues: do not assume that merely polling forty-eight hours later will solve all of the problems. []

Asking the wrong questions

Abstract: conference in St. louis, Missouri. Interpretation is a complex adventure. The reader compounds this complexity, in part by asking (and not asking) certain questions. Such questions guide and sometimes limit or even obstruct the interpretive process. Interpreters have tended to ask certain specific questions concerning Paul’s words about women. This article examines two such questions and finds them wanting.

The sex gap in work and wages

Abstract: B etween 1950 and 1980 the proportion of women in the paid labor force rose dramatically, from 28 percent to 51 percent. In the 1950s the increase came mostly from women over thirty-five returning to jobs when their children were older. The 1960s and 1970s brought unabated increases for women of all ages, but especially for married women with children. By 1980, 45 percent of married women with children under six and 41 percent of those with children under three were in the labor force. Yet most women still work in female-dominated jobs. Associated with this segregation has been a nearly constant sex gap in wages. Women who work full time all year earn about 60 percent of what is earned by men who work full time. I shall provide an overview of research from sociology, economics, and psychology that explains the persistence of job segregation and the sex gap in earnings.

Budget Cuts, Data, and Evaluation.

Abstract: c oncern about the Reagan administration's recent cuts in federal budgets for administrative and statistical data systems has focused almost entirely on one expected impact of those cuts: that is, a decrease in the amount of information directly available to the public. (The term administrative data as I use it refers to those data that are designed and collected by administrative agencies in the normal course of their work to facilitate the administration of a program---e.g., to guide agency operations and policy decisions. The term statistical data refers to those data that are designed and collected to improve scientific knowledge.) Researchers, businessmen, members of Congress, farmers, government planners at federal, state, or local levels, labor unions, and many other groups have expressed fears that they would not continue to find the data they need for performing their various functions. Given the large number of radical changes brought to government programs by the present administration, many data users have manifested surprise at these cutbacks in the quantitative tools that will eventually be needed by the administration both to describe its innovations and demonstrate their success. Administration spokesmen have responded that, as particular federal programs are reduced, eliminated, or transferred to the states under its New Federalism initiatives, the policy is to cut back or abolish federal data collection efforts in those program areas, as well as in any other areas in which the data are not collected specifically and directly for executive branch policy purposes. They have pointed out that, as programs get smaller or disappear from the federal locus of responsibility, the policymakers' need for data in those areas is also simultaneously reduced; that much of the federal government's current costly data collection effort is both unnecessary and burdensome: states, local governments, and business firms can easily fill the federal government's data collection role; that the appetites of data users arc insatiable; and that special evaluation studies can substitute for existing data systems by conducting original data collection and developing their own independent information. To the contrary, I argue that:

Setting realistic wages

Abstract: C omparable worth, as a means of equalizing the incomes of women and men, is a slogan that has captured, the imaginations of many people. In fact, comparable worth is an ill-defined concept that means many things to many people. To some, its assumptions are untenable. To others, its promises are unachievable. Above all, its implementa t ion would fundamenta l ly alter our e m p l o y e e re la t ions system by requi r ing a huge bureaucracy to administer it and by turning wage setting over to equal employment commiss ion adminis t ra tors and j udges~su re ly among the most unqualified t o handle such problems. In this article a definition of comparable worth is given (which could be unacceptable to others); the role of job evaluation or, in most cases, a wage-classification system in setting wages and salaries will be discussed: the question of whether job evaluation or a wage-classification system can prove discrimination will be examined; and the potential impact of a comparable worth doctrine both on the general wage and salary structure and current wage and salary administrat ion will be analyzed. Like all good politicians, comparable worth advocates are long on generalities and short on specifics. It is much simpler to believe that the adopt ion of a comparable worth scheme will end discrimination than to deal with the details and mechanisms of the system that have fostered and perpetuated discrimination. Particularly, definitions of comparable worth are often lacking or vague. In many instances, comparable worth is confused or used interchangeably with the well-accepted and legally mandated doctrine of equal pay for equal work. The equal pay doctrine pertains to equal pay for the same or closely related jobs. Comparable worth, as defined here, relates jobs that are dissimilar in their con ten t s fo r example, the office worker and c r a f t sman-and purports to demonstrate that if such jobs are of equal value to the employer or society, the persons employed in them should be equally compensated. This definition of comparable worth, which encompasses the term as used in the literature by both its proponents and opponents, immediately raises a number of very practical questions that must be answered before any legislature, court, or administrat ive agency pushes a sector of the economy into a comparable worth system. Some pract ical ques t ions relat ing to the comparab le worth issue are: