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| Contemporary social theory that derives its main elements from Karl Marx's ideas. Marxist theory strongly emphasizes class struggle and material causation. |
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| The philosophy of seeking happiness through the consumption of goods and services. |
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| The human use of natural resources beyond their sustainable limits. |
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| The contamination of soil, water, or air by noxious substances. |
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| The specialization of work tasks or occupations and their interrelationships. |
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| A class of individuals in mature industrial societies situated at the bottom of the class system who have been systematically excluded from participation in economic life. |
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| Immanuel Wallerstein's theoretical approach analyzes societies in terms of their position within global economic systems. |
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| The exchange of goods and services through the market economy. These good and services were previously exchanged through primary group ties. |
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| The idea that government should not interfere with commerce. |
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| A legally recognized organization set up for profit in which the powers and liabilities of the organization are legally separate from the owners or the employees. |
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| A situation in which a single producer dominates in a given industry or market. |
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| A situation in which a small number of firms dominate a given industry or market. |
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| A social system based on fealty between a lord and a vassal. |
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| A multi-dimensional phenomenon in which populations are ranked along various dimensions such as occupation, education, property, racial or ethnic status, age, and gender. |
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| The view that material conditions (usually economic and technological factors) play the central role in determining social stability and change. |
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| The introduction of a new technology, product, or technique into a sociocultural system. |
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| The informal dominance of some nations over others by means of unequal conditions of economic exchange (as between industrialized countries of the Global North and countries of the Global South). |
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| A form of government where power is held by a ruling class holding high rank and privilege; this class is often hereditary in character. |
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