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WORK, ANOMIE AND ALIENTATION IN THE USA.
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Discusses causes of urban poverty and an economic underclass.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses causes of urban poverty and an economic underclass. Cites work of several social theorists on the topic, mainly Willian Julius Wilson who analyzed the problems associated with the disappearance of work and intergenerational poverty in inner cities in his book WHEN WORK DISAPPEARS. Wilson's arguments compared to other interpretations of social structure.

Paper Introduction:
Work, Anomie, and Alienation in America William Julius Wilson (1996), in When Work Disappears, argues that in order to fully understand many of the problems associated with seemingly intergenerational poverty in inner city American enclaves or ghettos, it is important to understand that many of these problems (e.g., crime, family dissolution, welfare, low levels of social organization, and so on) are fundamentally a consequence of the disappearance of work. Further, says Wilson (1996), the debate over the causes of the disappearance of work are ideologically driven in many instances. Ideology is seen as pitting liberal versus conservative perspectives against one another. Such a focus also results in giving insufficient attention to the interaction between such variables as social structural factors, race itself, and s

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It demonstrates that the country facesenormous challenges in creating work opportunities for well-prepared andtrained workers. The Division of Labor in Society. Just as Marx (1954, 1967) argued that an individual's class positionin the modern era is largely determined by his positioning the system ofproduction, Wilson (1996) makes the point that individuals who have noposition in the system of production are ultimately marginalized. For the poor ghetto dweller, Wilson (1996) contends that adaptationand therefore economic progress may well be all but impossible. Ideology is seen as pittingliberal versus conservative perspectives against one another. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Wilson's (1996) text enhances an understanding of how work is and isnot experienced in modern America. At issue in the world of the new urban poor in the postmodern era area myriad assortment of problems and their emotional, psychological,attitudinal, and behavioral consequences. Communist Manifesto. Contemporary Critique of HistoricalMaterialism. Homewood, IL: TheDorsey Press. Wilson (1996)believes that while the extent of racial divisions in the country shouldnot be minimized in the postmodern era, it is ultimately ghetto joblessnessand the exodus of work into suburbs, collar counties, and overseas that hascreated a seemingly permanent racial and economic underclass. Wheneducational systems simultaneously fail to prepare students for the newjobs that are locally available, the most disadvantaged members of anysociety become more disadvantaged (Wilson, 1996). (1985). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. The most critical element in Wilson's (1996) assessment of why aneconomic underclass exists in the United States is work. It can be argued, as doesDurkheim (1984), that anomy is one of the possibly inescapable consequencesof modernity. It is in this context that Wilson (1996)appears to be in agreement with Ritzer (1996). Certainly, Wilson (1996) agrees that the experience ofmarginalization often leads to anomy and, in other cases, violence directedagainst the putative other. Wilson, W. Marx, K. While Wilson (1996) recognizes that the demand in the labor markethas shifted toward higher educated workers in various industries andoccupations, he also sees this shift as fostering greater divisions betweeneconomic classes than existed in the past. The absenceof work opportunities, taken in conjunction with the already omnipresentmarginalization of selected economic and racial groups has created whatappears to be a growing underclass of American citizens for whom the modernera is a source of trauma. The societal processes that have resulted from the rise of modernityhave, in Wilson's (1996) view, resulted in the polarization of differentgroups. (1996). Thousand Oaks,CA: Pine Forge Press. Included in such programs would be flexible criteria ofevaluation in college admission, hiring, job promotion, and so forth.National health care, school reform, job reform, and incentives to bringwork back to impoverished areas where work has disappeared are integral toWilson's (1996) comprehensive vision. (1996). (1971). The McDonaldization of Society. Durkheim, E. However irrationalMcDonaldization might be, one of its central effects is to force the workerto learn new technologies and to adapt to constantly changing conditionsand workplace demands (Ritzer, 1996). (1954). H. Wilson (1996) claims that to understand thenew urban poverty, it is necessary to account for the ways that segregationinteracts with other changes in society. J. Under such conditions, laborinvariably becomes alienated from the means of production as Marx (1954)theorized. Aninadequate and crumbling educational system is seen by Wilson (1996) asfailing to prepare the very poor inner city African-American for any typeof meaningful participation in work. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company. More significantly, Wilson (1996) cuts through the debateenjoined by liberals and conservatives and goes to the heart of the matter- with that heart defined as the lack of opportunity to participate fullyin all aspects of modern American society. Giddens, A. This brief essay will consider Wilson's (1996)arguments and then connects these arguments to other interpretations ofsocial structure and its consequences. One might argue that Wilson (1996) is applying the Marxistframework of classes as incipient, emerging phenomena directly implicatedin the dynamics of historical change (Anderson, 1973). Work, Anomie, and Alienation in America William Julius Wilson (1996), in When Work Disappears, argues that inorder to fully understand many of the problems associated with seeminglyintergenerational poverty in inner city American enclaves or ghettos, it isimportant to understand that many of these problems (e.g., crime, familydissolution, welfare, low levels of social organization, and so on) arefundamentally a consequence of the disappearance of work. At the same time,Wilson (1996) is also fully aware of the ideas advanced by Weber (1958),particularly with respect to the rationalization of conduct within theworld. New York: Alfred A.Knopf. Ritzer, G. (1967). Weber, M. The values that underpin the culture of theurban underclass share a great deal with those of mainstream Americansociety, but Wilson (1996) maintains that cultural values among suchcommunities are also unique to those communities. (1984). Such a focusalso results in giving insufficient attention to the interaction betweensuch variables as social structural factors, race itself, and socialpsychological factors. Equally significant in this process is what Giddens (1985) hascharacterized as the establishment of facilitating conditions thatpredispose individuals and groups to behave in certain ways. To a degree, Wilson (1996)proposes that until a nationwide effort is undertaken to improveeducational systems, physical infrastructure, and return work sites to thecities, poverty will continue to be endemic and racial divisions willcontinue to be sharp. Das Kapital. The new urban poverty as characterized by Wilson (1996) is centeredin inner city racially segregated and ultimately isolated ghetto areas.The concentration of poverty has increased rather than decreased, despitethe vast sums that have been spent on ameliorating the causes of povertyover the past 5 or so years. (1958). References Anderson, C. Theworkers that Wilson identifies are alienated from mainstream capitalisticsociety, but are nevertheless fully participative in that society at leastin terms of their aspirations. When Work Disappears. Wilson (1996) has made a substantial contribution to social theory,the debate over the causes of poverty, and the emerging controversyregarding the role of work in American life. Toward a New Sociology. Ritzer (1996) suggested that the McDonaldization of society hasresulted in the establishment of a set of values, norms, mores, and statussymbols that have appeal for many different groups. Marx, K. New York:The Free Press. Chicago: Henry RegneryCompany. When work disappears, oneinevitable consequence is increasing joblessness and declining earningsalong those individuals who no longer have employment opportunities. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit ofCapitalism. Further, saysWilson (1996), the debate over the causes of the disappearance of work areideologically driven in many instances. Wilson (1996) proposes acomprehensive race-neutral initiative to address economic and socialequality.

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