Answer to Question 1
Sociologist Erik Wright outlined four criteria for placement in the class structure: (1)
ownership of the means of production, (2) purchase of the labor of others (employing
others), (3) control of the labor of others (supervising others on the job), and (4) sale
of one's own labor (being employed by someone else). Wright assumes that these
criteria can be used to determine the class placement of all workers, regardless of
race/ethnicity in a capitalist society.
Wright identified four classes. The capitalist class holds most of the wealth and power
in society through ownership of capitalbanks, corporations, factories, etc. The
ruling elites, or ruling class, within this category hold political power and are often
elected or appointed to influential political positions. The capitalist class is composed
of individuals who have inherited fortunes, own major corporations, or are top
corporate executives with extensive stock holdings or control of company
investments. The major sources of income for the capitalist class are profits, interest,
and very high salaries. Members of this class make important decisions about the
workplace, including which products and services to make available to consumers and
how many workers to hire or fire.
The managerial class has substantial control over the means of production and over
workers. However, these upper-level managers, supervisors, and professionals
typically do not participate in key corporate decisions such as how to invest profits.
Top professionals such as physicians, attorneys, etc. may control the structure of
their own work; however, they typically do not own the means of production and may
not have supervisory authority over more than a few people. The small-business class
consists of small-business owners and crafts people that may hire a small number of
employees but largely do their own work. It is in the small-business class that we find
many people's hopes of achieving the American Dream. Recent economic trends,
including corporate downsizing, telecommuting, and the movement of jobs to other
countries, have encouraged more people to think about being self-employed. The
working class is made up of a number of subgroups, one of which is blue-collar
workers, some of whom are highly skilled and well paid, and others of whom are
unskilled and poorly paid. Skilled blue-collar workers include electricians, plumbers,
etc.; unskilled blue-collar workers include janitors and gardeners. White-collar
workers are another subgroup of the working class; they include secretaries, other
clerical workers, and sales workers. These workers are at the bottom of the class
structure in terms of domination and control in the workplace. The working class
contains about half of all employees in the United States.
Answer to Question 2
A drug is any substance other than food and water that, when taken into the body,
alters its functioning in some ways. Drugs are used for either therapeutic or
recreational purposes. Alcohol and tobacco are example of drugs that are primarily
used for recreational purposes. Alcoholthe use of alcohol is considered an accepted
part of the dominant culture in the United States. Chronic heavy drinking or alcoholism
can cause permanent damage to the brain or other parts of the body. For alcoholics, the
long-term negative health effects include nutritional deficiencies resulting from poor
eating habits cardiovascular problems such as inflammation and enlargement of the
heart muscle, high blood pressure, and stroke and eventually alcoholic cirrhosisa
progressive development of scar tissue that chokes off blood vessels in the liver and
destroys liver cells by interfering with their use of oxygen. Nicotine (tobacco)the
nicotine in tobacco is a toxic, dependency-producing psychoactive drug that is more
addictive than heroin. It is classified as a stimulant because it stimulates central
nervous system receptors and activates them to release adrenaline, which raises blood
pressure, speeds up the heartbeat, and gives the user a temporary sense of alertness.
Tobacco is still responsible for about one in every five deaths in the United States.
Even people who never light up a cigarette are harmed by environmental tobacco
smokethe smoke in the air inhaled by nonsmokers as a result of other people's
tobacco smoking. Illegal drugsmarijuana is the most extensively used illegal drug in
the United States. High doses of marijuana smoked during pregnancy can disrupt the
development of a fetus and result in congenital abnormalities and neurological
disturbances. Another widely used illegal drug is cocaine. People who use cocaine over
extended periods of time have higher rates of infection, heart problems, internal
bleeding, hypertension, stroke, and other neurological and cardiovascular disorders than
do nonusers. Intravenous cocaine users who share contaminated needles are also at
risk for contracting AIDS.
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