Suchergebnisse

The substantial contributions of Karl Marx to the study of contemporary society &, particularly, to the changing conditions of labor in the US, are critically analyzed. As Marx correctly foresaw, US labor has suffered a steady degradation & displacement; but, more than a century ago, Marx did not anticipate the process of disenfranchisement through which labor is being stripped of many of the rights it had formerly won. The argument suggests that a continuing critical emendation of the Marxist tradition would be beneficial. 71 References. Modified HA.

This article describes the origins of the Urban Jobs and Enterprise Zone Act, introduced in Congress in March 1982. Proponents of the legislation argue that it is a remedy for unemployment and urban stagnation. A more critical evaluation indicates that the legislation provides scant benefits for the inner-city poor, but windfall tax advantages for large firms. Jobs that might be provided are the most menial sort and subsidies are heavily weighted in favor of plant and equipment expansion. The proposal is best understood not as a solution to the urban problem but as part of a large redistribution of wealth and income. For the problems that purportedly inspire the legislation, better solutions are available.

Described is the paradigmatic shift in Ur sociology away from social organization toward a position that attempts to explain the symptoms of Ur crisis, eg: Ur riots, unemployment, fiscal crisis, a migratory labor market, etc. New Ur theory combines a holistic emphasis with a number of other characteristis, including: (1) the refusal to take Ur forms for granted; (2) an assessment of the interaction among power, consumptive, & productive structures, & of the structural basis of community activity; & (3) an awareness of social conflict as the basis of social change. Promising areas of research are designated, including the holistic integration of levels, alternative solutions to economic & political crises, social & political struggles, & analyses of the state & of public services. D. Dunseath.

This article considers two theoretical approaches to the question of effectual political participation in the urban policies of Third World societies; the radical and instrumental perspectives. It is suggested that this formulation improves on the vagaries of earlier evidence. It is generally concluded that important changes can stem from instrumental strategies, although fundamental attacks on urban problems require some form of revo lutionary reorganization in the larger society. While redressing many of the characteristic features of urban underdevelopment in the Third World, revolutionary regimes may introduce new forms of inequality suggesting that the achievement of some balance in productivity and egalitarianism presents equally complex problems for socialist and capitalist economies.

One of several articles (abstracted elsewhere in this section) in a symposium commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of T. Veblen's death. Described are some of the fundamental intellectual currents in Veblen's work. A tribute is made to his emminently sociological vision. It is suggested that there are a number of features of Veblen's work that are pertinent to contemporary problems in social science. AA.

The field of urban politics is vast and rapidly increasing. Students of a number of disciplines with a plethora of specific interests work within its hazy boundaries. The purpose of this essay is to attempt a contemporary synthesis of the field by linking a set of social structural changes to a variety of patterned political outcomes. Concretely a number of trends affecting urban social organization are summarized with three dimensions. Next the political consequences of change along each of these dimensions are discussed in some detail. Finally, the variable effects produced by the interplay among dimensions are dealt with in a way that gives rise to some data‐based speculation about the future of urban politics. In addition to advancing a number of researchable hypotheses, it is hoped that the essay will sensitize the reader to some of the more fundamental issues that loom ahead.