Profit as Social Rent: Embeddedness and Stratification in Markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Muennich

This article shows how research on the social structure of markets may contribute to the analysis the growing income inequality in contemporary capitalist economies. The author proposes a theoretical link between embeddedness and social stratification by discussing the role of institutions and networks in markets for the distribution of economic profits between firms. The author claims that we must understand profit and free competition as opposites, as economic theory does. In the main part of the article the author illustrates six typical mechanisms of rent extraction from networks or formal and symbolic rules that embed markets. They emerge from material as well as symbolical access to and influence on the orientation of other market actors. Social structures in markets lead to unequal chances for rent extraction, even if actors produce them for coordination rather than for accumulation purposes. This is how market sociology and theory of capitalism can be linked more closely.

Author(s):  
Ирина Подойницына ◽  
Irina Podoynicyna

The study of social structure, social stratification of society is the main topic of sociology. Knowledge of the social structure helps sociologists to perform a creative function to transform society. In the textbook I. I. Podoinitsyna examines the evolution of the views of foreign and domestic scientists on the processes of class formation and stratogenesis, comprehensively discusses the theoretical and methodological approaches to differentiation and analysis of class groups and factors of class formation. The textbook analyzes in detail the post-perestroika socio-structural processes in the Russian Federation, new approaches to the study of social differentiation of society, which began to develop in Russia due to transparency, restructuring, openness to ideological teachings penetrating from Abroad. The profile of social stratification of modern Russia appears to us in a new perspective, as if "bifurcated": we see Russia marginalized and Russia entrepreneurs, Russia, immersed in even greater poverty than we have seen in Soviet times, and Russia new managers, rich people, entrepreneurs and innovators. Exclusive are the chapters of the textbook devoted to the analysis of the regional social structure — in this case, the Yakut society, or the society of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The transformation of the social structure of Yakutia is considered in retrospect, since the XVIII century. The author analyzes the socio-professional, socio-cultural "lattice" of the social structure of the Republic, the ways and lifestyles of the population, the "breakthrough" of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the information society. The author of the textbook focuses on the methods by which you can study the social structure of society, including the technology of mathematical and statistical analysis. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) acts in this textbook as a kind of model of local, regional society, which should be studied by special methods. The tutorial has tests, control questions for each Chapter. Each Chapter is also provided with a detailed summary of the findings of the material presented. The scientific book discusses the prospects for the development of sociology of social structures in postmodern conditions, the emergence of a new approach to scientific truth. A large number of empirical, factual material — the results of studies in Russia and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - is not just illustrative material that enriches the text of the textbook, but also helps to establish a bridge between theoretical and applied methods of analysis, on the example of these studies, the author demonstrates how to interpret the primary sociological data.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 788-832
Author(s):  
Lukas M. Muntingh

Egyptian domination under the 18th and 19th Dynasties deeply influenced political and social life in Syria and Palestine. The correspondence between Egypt and her vassals in Syria and Palestine in the Amarna age, first half of the fourteenth century B.C., preserved for us in the Amarna letters, written in cuneiform on clay tablets discovered in 1887, offer several terms that can shed light on the social structure during the Late Bronze Age. In the social stratification of Syria and Palestine under Egyptian rule according to the Amarna letters, three classes are discernible:1) government officials and military personnel, 2) free people, and 3) half-free people and slaves. In this study, I shall limit myself to the first, the upper class. This article deals with terminology for government officials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Namita Poudel

One of the profound questions that troubled many philosophers is– “Who am I?” where do I come from? ‘Why am I, where I am? Or “How I see myself?” and maybe more technically -What is my subjectivity? How my subjectivity is formed and transformed? My attempt, in this paper, is to look at “I”, and see how it got shaped. To understand self, this paper tries to show, how subjectivity got transformed or persisted over five generations with changing social structure and institutions. In other words, I am trying to explore self-identity. I have analyzed changing subjectivity patterns of family, and its connection with globalization. Moreover, the research tries to show the role of the Meta field in search of subjectivity based on the following research questions; how my ancestor’s subjectivity changed with social fields? Which power forced them to change their citizenship? And how my identity is shaped within the metafield? The methodology of my study is qualitative. Faced to face interview is taken with the oldest member of family and relatives. The finding of my research is the subjectivity of Namita Poudel (Me) is shaped by the meta field, my position, and practices in the social field.


1991 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lakshmi Subramanian

The Banias of eighteenth-century Surat, whom Michelguglielmo Torri earlier treated with indifference if not innocence, have invited his wrath since they were brought into focus by the publication of my essay on the Banias and the Surat riot of 1795. In his ‘rejoinder’ to my article, he seeks to wish away their existence altogether (to him there was no specific Bania community, the term merely signifying traders of all communities engaged in the profession of brokerage), and seeks to provide what he regards as an ‘alternative’ explanation of the Muslim–Bania riot of 1795. the Muslim-Bania riot of 1795. It shall be my purpose in this reply to show that his alternative explanation is neither an alternative nor even an explanation, and is based on a basic confusion in his mind about the Banias as well as the principal sources of tension in the social structure of Surat. I shall treat two main subjects in this reply to his misdirected criticisms. First, I shall present some original indigenous material as well as European documentation to further clarify the identity, position and role of the Banias, whom Irfan Habib in a recent article has identified as the most important trading group in the trading world of seventeenth and eighteenth-century India. It is also my purpose to show how the social order of Surat operated under stress by presenting some archival material, the existence of which Torri seems to be completely unaware of, on the Parsi-Muslim riot of 1788.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliia Nikolaevna Soloveva

The study of the social structure of society involves the selection of features that determine social stratification. The variety of these features contributes to the emergence of a large number of theoretical and methodological approaches. The article examines the most significant approaches for studying the social structure of Russian society based on the ideas of representatives of Western sociology: from class theories to theories of social stratification. In the process of transformation of society, not only the structure changes, but also the factors influencing it, which leads to the emergence of new approaches for the most complete and accurate analysis.


Author(s):  
Алена Владимировна Искрина

В статье рассматриваются особенности формирования социальной стратификации Древней Руси на раннем этапе развития, этапы появления различных страт в зависимости от социально-политических событий с X по XII вв. Предметом исследования является процесс образования социальных страт в древнерусском государстве. Цель статьи - рассмотреть социальное устройство Древней Руси, определить и описать стратификацию и взаимодействие страт между собой, историю изучения данного вопроса, политические события, влияющие на данные процессы. Основным вопросом исследования явились исторические события, оказавшие влияние на формирование социальных страт с X по XII вв., появление социальных страт в данный исторический период и формы их взаимодействия. Отвечая на данный вопрос, автор приходит к выводу, что разложение патриархально-общинного строя, формирование феодального вассалитета, принципа майората, княжеской дружины и другие внутриполитические события повлияли на формирование социальных страт государства. В связи с данными историческими событиями удается проследить этапы происхождения социальных слоев населения, их состав, социальные функции в обществе и государстве. The paper examines the features of the social stratification of the Ancient system at an early stage of development, the stages of the emergence of various strata depending on political events from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The subject of this research is the process of the formation of social strata in the ancient European state. The purpose of the publication is to consider the social structure of Ancient Rus, to determine and describe the stratification and interaction of strata with each other, to study this issue, political events that affect these processes. The main research issue was the historical events that influenced the formation of social strata from the 10th to the 12th centuries, the emergence of social strata in a given historical period and the forms of their interaction. Answering this question, the author arrives at the conclusion that the disintegration of the patriarchal-communal system, the formation of a feudal vassalage, the principle of primacy, the princely squad and other internal political events influenced the formation of social strata of the state. In connection with these historical events, it is possible to trace the stages of the origin of social strata of the population, their composition, social functions in society and the state.


Author(s):  
Arif Widodo

Recent years saw the heated debates among prominent economists on the growinginequality in advanced economies, and accordingly, many solutions to this seriousproblem have been put forward. Among the practical-cum-workable solution isprogressive taxation for wealth and income, especially the top one percent. Such asolution, however, has been implemented in Islamic perspective what so-called, zakahwhich is now referred to as social finance. In this paper, using the Gini coefficient datacovering 34 provinces in Indonesia over a decade, we examine whether the role ofsocial finance in tandem with commercial finance can adequately solve the problemof wealth distribution in Indonesia, one of the largest Democratic-Muslim countriesin the world. Using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model, the resultsdemonstrated that Islamic commercial finance solely is proven statistically incapable oftackling inequality while the social finance (zakah) is performing very well in this matterover all specifications. Most importantly, when both are incorporated in a model, theresult showed a significant reduction in income inequality implying that the integratedIslamic finance which can be implemented in both Islamic microfinance institution andIslamic banking is more capable, as opposed to when both are separated, of helpingaddress the income inequality problem in Indonesia.


Author(s):  
Alan Ryan

This chapter describes a “dramatistic,” “dramatic,” or “dramaturgical” approach to the study of social interaction. It asks whether the dramaturgical model insists on the theatricality of social life merely in the sense of insisting that people fill roles just as persons act parts in a play. This is the question of whether the crucial element in the dramaturgical picture is that cluster of insights that goes under the general heading of “role distance.” The chapter considers the peculiarities of rational explanation and about the role of reconstructions of “the thing to do” other than the role of explaining an action or series of actions by focusing on voting behavior in the terms proposed by Anthony Downs's An Economic Theory of Democracy. It also examines some recent accounts of the phenomenon of suicide, along with the rationality principle, which Karl Popper calls “false but indispensable” to the social sciences.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110557
Author(s):  
Changhui Song ◽  
Joyee Shairee Chatterjee ◽  
Donna L. Doane ◽  
Philippe Doneys

This qualitative study based on 34 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with cis-gendered tongzhi (men who are attracted to men) critically explores the factors influencing their decisions to enter mixed-orientation marriages (MOMs) in China. Theoretically, the study weaves together insights from queer and feminist theorizing and analyzes the role of heteronormativity and patriarchy, especially in relation to hegemonic masculine ideals, in the context of marriage norms in contemporary China. Our examination showcases the contradictory role heteronormativity and patriarchy play in simultaneously marginalizing and privileging these groups of men along the axes of sexual, gender, and lineage (inter-generational) hierarchies. It also underscores the continued role of filial piety norms. Overall, the study contributes to deepening our understanding of the complex nature of MOMs and discussions of MOMs as marriage fraud. We argue that examining these non-normative marriages furthers explication of the social structures underpinning gender and sexuality in a context of patriarchal marriage-normative societies.


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