A Free Market with Opportunity Restrictions: Capitalism

The ideology of capitalism stems from the idea that society is organized in such a way that the wealth and means of production are privately owned by capitalist also known as business owners. It is believed that through this system all individuals have equal opportunity to succeed seeing that it was constructed with a free market economy; this means that there is little or no government intervention so business can transact freely.

Through capitalism, many people have been able to explore their own business aspirations; If you have the supply and there is a demand for the product, more then likely your business will be successful. As a result, capitalism has allowed the poorest individual to become a successful entrepreneur. However, it is also this idea of prevalence that needs leads to the negative aspect of capitalism.

Capital is based on the monetary value of your business. The value of this in capitalism is what leads to capital being the controlling force of all individuals. Because "capitalist" own the means of production, this forces those who interact in production to be subservient to all those who control it. This is where the Marxist view of capitalism comes in. As a result of not having control over the means of production all those who participate in it have to put with the terrible conditions. You may live in a country with equal opportunity yet your opportunity is restricted to the perimeters the elite set. Marxists belief that this sense of oppression will lead to class consciousness and cause the proletariat to overthrow the bourgeoisie, also known as the capitalists. Capitalism comes with the freedom to invest the market but not to help in its creation.

When Separate People Become One: Globalization

Globalization refers to the unification of of culture, people, and economic activity internationally. This has stemmed from the idea that a single world order has been created out of social and economic relationships. Globalization has allowed countries that are more developed to aid in the economic development of less and under developed countries. As a result business owners have been afforded greater investment opportunities. However this benefit only results if the economy permits. While globalization can provide a business owner with international success, it can also lead a company to an internal debacle. If the economy of a country, within a globalized unit experiences failure, the other countries within the unit may unwillingly be pulled down by the economic failure of that country. The country who collapsed may cause the other countries in the unit to collapse even further. The ongoing fiasco within the European Union is a clear example of how the mistakes of one country could lead others to plummet. A good lesson for one to keep to heart when thinking about globalizing: choose your friends wisely.

Interactionism: Interaction with Society

Hello fellow bloggers! I want to give a quick shout out to Ms. Stephanie Adams, if it wasn't for you I would not have remembered we had a blog, so thank you Steph, thank.....YOU. Anyways, this week's topic assesses which sociological approach--interactionism or positivism--can provide better insight into sociological issues. Well, when you think of sociological issues, what exactly is that referring to? Sociological issues could be anything such as crime rates, job opportunity, cultural divide (like hispanics and whites), or education. Positivism takes a more scientific approach towards sociological issues. If a positivist decided to investigate this problem, he/she would collect data quantitatively and probably use a method such as random sampling. Even though this method can give a general idea of the problems that occurring within the community (if questions are directed properly), the researcher is still missing out on vital information a direct confrontation with an individual in the community can provide. Interactionism calls for more interaction (hence the name) with the individuals in society. From that qualitative data can be derived. Qualitative data gives an in-depth of human behavior. So when it comes to sociological issues, a qualitative approach provides answers as to why these sociological issues have arises and the affect is has on the people so a solution may be found. For an issue to be solved, someone has to explain the problem. Interactionism seems to be the best choice towards this principle.