13 Politics and the Economy in Global Perspective

Politics,Power,and Authority

Power andAuthorityIdeal Types of Authority

PoliticalSystems in Global Perspective

MonarchyAuthoritarianism TotalitarianismDemocracy

Perspectives on Powerand Political Systems

FunctionalistPerspectives: ThePluralist Model ConflictPerspectives:Elite Models

The U.S.Political System

Political Parties andElectionsPolitical ParticipationandVoter Apathy GovernmentalBureaucracy

Economic Systems in Global Perspective

Preindustrial, Industrial, andPostindustrial EconomiesCapitalismSocialismMixedEconomies

Work in the Contemporary United States

ProfessionsOther Occupations Contingent WorkUnemploymentLabor Unions andWorker Activism EmploymentOpportunitiesf orPersons with a Disability

Politics and the Economy inthe Future

U

nit ed St ates of America , A pril

9,

2006:

We

cannot begin to properly thank all ofthe individuals and organizationswho made significantefforts to freeJill. Wemay never be certain which steps actually led to her release [,but] wek now that theyshared in our joy. Wecan onlyhopethat the families ofthe other hostages in Iraq willsoon feel the same joy. We also deeply mourn theloss ofJill's friend and interpreter, Allan Enwiya.

-The family of Jill Carroll, a freelancejournalist on assignment in Iraq for the

ChristianScienceM onitor,

expressing their gratitude when Carrollwas released by her kidnappers after shewas held captive f or twelve weeks (qtd.in

Christian Science Monitor ,2006)

As one of manyjournalists who daily risk life and limb to bring the latest information about war and political unrest to peoplearound the world, JillCarroll provided her readers with many insights on the issues facingallgroups in Iraq,including vivid descriptionsof the "human side"of war for the U.S. military (Peterson and Ford, 2006). Consider thef ollowing excerpt from her Thanksgiving articleabout the war zone:

ThomsonNOWJustwhat you needto know NOW!

This logo signalswhen ThomsonNOWhas online resources available tohelp you study and improve your grade.See thefoldout at the front of this text for inf ormation onhow to accessThomsonNOW.

K

ar abilah, Iraq , N ovember 2005:

There'sarumor circulating among themarines inthe2/6 that "hot chow"iscoming. The fervorwith which marines here talk ofthe

•What is reLigion?

Religion is a system of belief s, symbols, and rituals, based on some sacredor supernaturalrealm,that guides human behavior, gives meaningtolife,and unites believers into a community.

•What is the functionalist perspectiveon reLigion?

According to functionalists, religionhasthree impor- tant functionsin any society: (l) providing meaning and purposetolife, (2)promoting socialcohesion and a sense of belonging, and (3)providing social control and supportforthe government.

•What is the conflict perspective on reLigion?

From a conflict perspective, religion can have negative consequences inthatthe capitalist classuses religion as a tool of dominationto misleadworkers about

I

Key Terms

their true interests.However, Max Weber believed that religion couldbe a catalystfor social change.

•What is the symboLic interactionist perspectiveon religion?

Symbolic interactionists examinethe meanings that people give to religion and the meanings that they at- tachtoreligious symbols intheir everyday life.

•What are the different types of religiousorganizations?

Religious organizations can be categorized as ecclesia, churches, denominations, sects, and cults. Some of the world's major religions startedoff as cults built around a charismaticleader and developed into sects, denominations, andchurches.Notrue ecclesia, or government-sponsoredreligion, exists in the contem- poraryworld. alllmism366church 372civil religion 369credentialism 357cult 373cultural capital354denomination372 ecclesia 371 education348 hidden curriculum 356 profane365 religion365

Questions for Critical Thinking

1.Why does so much controversy exist overwhat shouldbetaught in U.S. public schools? 2. How arethe valuesand attitudes youlearnedf rom your family reflected in your beliefs about education and religion?3. How would youdesign a researchprojectto study the effects of civilreligion on everyday

The Kendall Companion Website

http://thomsonedu.com/socioLogy/kendaLl

Supplement your review of this chapter by goingto the companion websiteto tak e one of the tutorial quizzes, use the f lash cards tomasterkey terms,and check out the many other study aids you'll find sacred365sect 372secularization367 track ing 354 lif e? Whatk indof data wouldbe most acces- sible? 4.If Durk heim, Marx, and Weber were engaged in a discussion about education andreligion,on what topics mightthey agree? On what topics would theydisagree? there. You'll also find special features suchas GSS Data and Census2000inf ormation that will put data andresources at yourfingertips to help you with thatspecialpro jectOt help youdo some research on your own.

possibility of a hot meal-roasted turkey,steaming stuffing, and tart cranberry sauce-beingdeliveredto their sandy, remote outpost in Iraq's Anbar Province from the nearest base for Thank sgiving is understandable, especially when you tastewhat they've been eating.Thereare stacks ofMeals Ready-to-Eat(MREs)around but mostmarines can't bear to even look atthem.They've already spent monthseatingCountry Captain Chickenand Vegetable Manicotti from hermetically sealed brown plasticbags.... But few ofthe marineshere ofthe 3rd Battalion, 6th MarineRegiment were even aware thatThanksgiving was approaching until

f

asked by this reporter. Captain

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Brendan Heatherman had just} finished a long morning ofraids,~

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jumping rock walls, and racing

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Issues of poLitics and the economy are tightly intertwined

t roug ouses

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lng lOr

withmedia decisions to send journaLists, such as Jill CarroLL

insurgents. "It's in two days? Man,

andthe two others shown here on giant portraits, into war zones and other situations that put them in harm's way.

snuck up on me," he said,

Members of Reporters Without Borders have joined together toask for the safe reLease of such journaLists who are being

incredulous .... It's easy to lose

heLdcaptive. Not aLLare as fortunate as JiLLCarroLL,whowas

track oftime here.

reLeased unharmed.

They fought their way west to east through three towns along the Euphrates Rivernear the Syrian border early this month. Now,themarinesare responsible for security detail in thetowns, some ofwhich haven't had a military presence in a year. They run patrols on foot and sitin