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Wright Sociology 125--Exam 1
N/A
27
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
10/06/2010

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Cards

Term
Five core values
Definition
-Freedom
-Prosperity
-Efficiency
-Democracy
-Fairness
Term
Rules in Sociology
Definition
-Enforced
-Different Forms
-Not Natural
-Interact with Power
-Inconsistent
-They Change
Term
Basic Elements of Capitalism
Definition
-Market for Exchange
-Market for Labor
-Private ownership and control of investments
Term
Dimensions of Society
Definition
-Technology
-Economy
-Economic Inequality
-Political Institutions
-Role of Military
-Gender Relations
-Social Cleavages
-Immigration
-Culture
-Violence
Term
Arguments in Defense of Capitalism
Definition
-Pragmatic: Efficiency, Cooperation
-Moral: Freedom
-Risk Taking and Innovation
Term
Commodity
Definition
The things we exchange
Term
Pareto Optimality
Definition
A situation in which no one can be made better off without someone becoming worse off.
Term
Faulty Consumer Information
Definition
-Capitalist firms have incentive to distort information
-We have laws to counteract this
Term
Why markets are inefficient/reduce freedom
Definition
-Faulty Consumer Information
-Concentrated Economic Power
-Negative Externalities
-Short Time Horizons
-Under Provision of Public Goods
-Negative/Positive Freedom
-Public Good
-Free Rider Problem vs. Negative Externalities
-Prisoner's Dilemma
-Capitalism Erodes Community
-Capitalism Commercializes People's Lives
-Skills of "Exit" and "Voice"
Term
Concentrated Economic Power
Definition
-Power is the ability to impose your will on others
It is impossible to ban large corporations.
Term
Negative Externalities
Definition
-A negative side effect of an action
-Affects those not directly involved in the action
Term
Short Time Horizons
Definition
-Focusing on the short term benefits and not the long term effects
-Related to intergenerational negative externalities
Term
Under-provision of public goods
Definition
Public Good: A good that benefits even those who do not pay for it
Capitalist firms have incentives to only produce goods that benefit them
Term
Negative/Positive Freedom
Definition
-Positive: The freedom to do something
-Negative: The freedom from coercion
Term
Free Rider Problem vs. Negative Externalities
Definition
-Free Rider: Those who rely on everyone else's cooperation for their own benefit
-Problem: Everyone has incentive to be free riders
-The Problem produces many negative externalities, such as pollution by large companies
Term
Prisoner's Dilemma
Definition
Payoff matrices that come from this can be used in most free-riding examples
Term
Individual vs. Institutional Action on Environment
Definition
Institutions can cut their bottom line by displacing costs on others, by polluting. They make communities pay for the adverse effects. Individual actions: recycling example, NIMBY, Intergenerational negative externalities
Term
Positive externalities of public transportation
Definition
-Less congestion
-Fewer parking ramps, etc.
-Less pollution--better health
-Increased National security
-Less use of fossil fuels
-Creates jobs
Term
Solutions for improving public transportation
Definition
-Infrastructure (bike paths, rapid transit)
-Realistic gas prices
-No free parking
-Take cost benefits of positive externalities into consideration for price of public transit
-Increase residential density in cities
Term
Consumerism, Hyper-consumerism
Definition
-The belief that well-being is dependent on personal consumption
-Exaggerated gross consumerism (the US today)
Term
What's wrong with consumerism?
Definition
-People are essentially forced into it by systematic biases
-Negative externalities: goods using up non-renewable resources
-It does not make people happy: "Keeping up with the Jones"
-Earn and spend cycle
Term
Systematic biases
Definition
-Profit maximizing strategies
-Advertising and consumption biases
-Credit Cards
-Market failures in leisure (too much work, not enough play)
-Positional goods (depends on what others have)
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Term
Distinctive features of Health Care
Definition
-Value of good
-Ethics of distribution
-Information costs for customers
-Preventative medicine: Treatment vs. Prevention
-Competition leads to over-investment
-Supply Generates Demand
Term
Moral Hazard Problem
Definition
-People would overuse a universal system, because they are not paying for it directly
Term
VA Hospitals
Definition
-Size generates leverage for purchases
-Because people don't switch systems there is lower administrative costs
-Lifetime link creates incentive for preventative medicine
Term
Core Conditions of Canadian Health
Definition
-Universal
-Comprehensive, covers everything
-Accessible to all
-Doctors cannot get money from private insurance and the government
Term
Obstacles for alternatives in US
Definition
-Organized Doctors: AMA (don't want set prices)
-Big Insurance would be out of business
-Pharmaceutical companies couldn't charge high prices for patented drugs
-Individual ideology: to each his own
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