rxsocialchange

Societal

Some people think police states are problems of distant countries or are a long way off from coming to the U.S., the land of the free. Perhaps it hasn’t reached the point where a dictator has ordered their arrests without trial or jury, but for some it is becoming a reality. Ahead of the NATO summit this weekend, police preemptively raided an apartment and arrested the activists [1], and the police are now accused of planting evidence on them [2]. On the bright side, a judge recently ruled the NDAA – National Defense Authorization Act – unconstitutional, though the ruling is not final [3]. The legislation would allow the indefinite detention of anyone deemed a terrorist without trial or jury. The language is so vague that it could be used against anyone, terrorist or not.

This is even while the U.S. government is helping to arm Bahrain despite the violent crackdowns on protesters [7] and killing civilians in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia via illegal drone strikes [8]. There are blatant double standards – one set for the powerful and another set for the powerless, notwithstanding claims of liberty, equality, and justice. Similar events have happened too often in the past while the U.S. maintains a child-like look of righteous innocence and bewilderment. Meanwhile, some people are choosing to look the other way, even as the House voted to keep the part regarding indefinite detention [4]. It’s obvious, the vast majority of our “leaders” do not care about us and do not represent us [save for people like Russ Feingold (D) and Bernie Sanders (i)], yet perhaps with some politicking they can pull the wool over people’s eyes. Such tactics were demonstrated when House Republicans voted on a fake Violence against Women Act which would strip many protections for women [5] and when Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage, albeit clarifying that it should be up to the states to decide, normally a talking point of the right. The U.S. is one of only a few nations in the industrialized world with a zero-sum political system, and that may be why progress is so often elusive. Perhaps its time to think outside the all-or-nothing box, that is, if fundamental, and not merely temporal, change is desired.

This is not to say that switching to the Green party or Peace and Freedom Party or engaging in more party politics will solve all the ills of our society; only that there is a democratic deficit which is leading to a dysfunctional police state. Thus, a more expansive concept of democracy is needed. Or at least dump the ultra-conservative Republicans that are stopping at nothing to restrict democracy such as by cutting education funds and pushing dogmatic school agendas, at least for disadvantaged groups [6]. I’m not one of those atheists ramming my anti-religious views down people’s throats and throwing cheap punches, e.g. “religion is about two people arguing about who has the better imaginary friend,” all the while assuming that all religious adherents are literalists. No, this is not simply about evolution, sex education, or school prayer, it’s about promoting the critical thinking skills of students which is woefully lacking even among graduates, and many politicians would like to keep it that way.

1. http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/05/17/police-preemptively-raid-apartment-arrest-activists-ahead-of-nato-summit/

2. http://www.alternet.org/story/155501/chicago_police_accused_of_planting_evidence_on_%22nato_3%22_protesters_?page=entire

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ27tWwqZEA

4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/indefinite-detention-bill-fails_n_1525659.html

5. http://now.org/press/05-12/05-16.html

6. http://www.alternet.org/education/155469/how_the_conservative_worldview_quashes_critical_thinking_–_and_what_that_means_for_our_kids%27_future?page=entire

7. http://inthesetimes.com/ittlist/entry/13211/u.s._priorities_clear_arms_shipments_to_bahrain_resume_despite_continued_re

8. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/15-1

Economic

As further testament to the fact that our corporate and government leaders do not give one iota of thought to the future, the too-big-to-fail JP Morgan just lost $2 billion in another risky bet, and regulations were nowhere to be seen [1]. It’s deja vu. But as Reagan worshipers argue, all regulations are bad, even if a hundred plus children die working on farms [2]. And at the G8 summit, a meeting of eight of the most economically powerful nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – Obama announced a $3 billion private investment in Africa, which many say is a win for corporate agribusiness and a loss for small-scale farmers as it will do nothing to relieve poverty and as history has shown, will likely increase it [3]. If I may say so, the interests of BigAg should not be priority when the world is facing so many problems, many of which are a direct result of such economic exploits. Speaking of exploits, Facebook’s co-founder Eduardo Severin just ditched the U.S. after making billions from us [4]. So much for job-creating patriots.

1. http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/15/crony_capitalism_after_lobbying_against_new

2. http://www.alternet.org/story/155410/over_100_children_a_year_die_working_on_farms%3A_why_do_prominent_right-wingers_fight_safety_regulations_?page=entire

3. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/18-3

4. http://www.alternet.org/story/155417/1er_facebook_co-founder_runs_away_to_evade_taxes_here%27s_what_eduardo_saverin_owes_america?akid=8788.320027.QnS5tS&rd=1&t=18

Environmental

Back to regulations, U.S. agencies are reducing nuclear plant drills and test evacuations, despite growing populations around the nuclear sites, despite leaks, and despite aging reactors of the same model as those involved in the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima [1]. The agenda is the same, cut government so the private sector can take over, and taking over they are while having no obligation to us. The invisible hand is just that – invisible. If public interests were measured by consumption habits, that would mean wind-mills, solar energy, and vegetables are bad and nuclear radiation, fossil fuels, and hormone-injected chickens are good.

A UK aid group is also funding the forced sterilization of India’s poor to control their population [2]. We’ve all heard the argument that overpopulation is the biggest problem the world faces as it will lead to a depletion of resources. Indeed, a recent report has indicated that over-consumption is threatening Earth [3]. However, the report points to five countries that are consuming the most resources: Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, and the United States. Thus, larger population does not necessarily equate to higher use of resources. Regardless of the human rights abuse aspect, power and wealth factors, that India’s population growth rate is 1.312%, and growing use of resources in general, the disturbing inference is that people are not aware of the deep inequalities in the world system. Either that or they want all the resources for themselves, feeding seafood to livestock [4] and driving gas-guzzling Hummers on city streets to indicate what manly outdoorsmen they are, even while climate change and a warming planet may spread a disease called Chikungunya (“that which bends”) to New York [5].

People ask how I know anthropogenic climate change is real. I ask how they know atoms are real. Though the answer is inductive and deductive reasoning, the real question is what are people thinking. I don’t have children but I sympathize for future generations with poor education, poor jobs, poor environments, and poor health. Sometimes I want to give up – seeing men who don’t care about women, women who don’t care about minorities, minorities don’t care about the poor, children who don’t care about the elderly, elderly who don’t care about the environment – but the costs are too high. I’ve oft been tempted to respond, “You’re on your own now” but the truth is that we are all interconnected, and what disenfranchises one of us can affect all of us. Thus, I will continue to do the only thing I know how to do: reach out and hope that horizontal movements can translate vertically.

1. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/16-7

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egy4drxs8l8

3. https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/15

4. http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/05/seafood-guides-callum-roberts

5. http://news.yahoo.com/warming-planet-may-help-exotic-disease-invade-york-141124653.html

In 2010, the senior population, those 65 and over, reached 40.4 million and is projected at 55 million in 2020, a 36% increase, which is an increase of 14.3 percent, or 5.4 million, compared to a decade ago (Administration on Aging 2012). By contrast, the under-65 population grew by 8.7 percent. The fasting growing demographic, however, are those 90 and over (U.S. Census Bureau 2011), whose numbers almost tripled to 1.9 million in 2010 compared to three decades ago and is projected to quadruple in the next four decades. Over one-in-eight people in the U.S., or 13.1 percent, are seniors (Administration on Aging 2012). Their average life expectancy once they reach 65 is 18.8 years. There were 23 million senior women and 17.5 million senior men. Of those living alone, 8.1 million were women and 3.2 million were men. The median income for senior men was $25,704 and for females it was $15,072. Main sources of income for seniors in 2009 include Social Security (for 87% of seniors), assets (for 53% of seniors), private pensions (for 28% of seniors), government employee pensions (for 14% of seniors), and earnings (for 26% of seniors). In 2010, nearly 3.5 million seniors lived below the poverty line (Administration on Aging 2012). Considering these figures, it must be asked how the fast-growing and struggling aging population can be supported. First, Social Security and Medicare will be discussed, then social care, and finally the future direction of an aging society.

According to Moody (2010), Social Security has enough funds to distribute full benefits until 2037, at which point it can still return three-quarters of benefits, even if solvency problems are not addressed. On the other hand, with minor changes, as demonstrated in 1983, it can pay full benefits until 2067. The only thing needed is political will and to implement the changes sooner rather than later. This contradicts the popular notion that Social Security is “bankrupt” (Moody 2010:25).

Medicare, according to Moody, has been helped by the Health Care Reform Law passed in 2010, so it will have enough money until 2029 instead of 2017. However, a remaining issue is the rising healthcare costs which can have serious implications for future of Medicare (Moody 2010:25-26).

Furthermore, according to Longino (2005), there has been increasing but unwarranted and exaggerated concern about the implosion of Social Security and Medicare when the Baby Boomers retire. This narrative states that because mortality rates have declined and life expectancy has increased, coupled with the aging Baby Boomers, the population as a whole is aging. What then follows is a “dependency ratio” where there will be 30 seniors for every 100 workers who have the burden of supporting them. However, Longino argues this narrative is ageist as it neglects the agency of the elderly and is merely advanced to garner support for senior health programs and, when promoted by the media, for profit. Still, no one would argue for reducing life expectancy, which would be a genocidal proposition (Longino 2005:80-81).

A more positive view, according to Longino (2005), looks at the increasing education and income levels of the Baby Boomers which would partly lift the “burden” off the shoulders of society, as supported by the increase in dual-career couples. Longino also suggests allowing seniors the option to retire later and still collect Social Security. Furthermore, an increasing number seniors prefer to live in their own homes without children or relatives, and this independence is associated with increased income levels for women. In addition, businesses can provide more products that aid independent living. Chronic diseases may also decrease as per capita consumption of tobacco, whole milk, butter, and ice cream has decreased since 1953. Nonetheless, Longino echoes Moody’s concern regarding increasing health care costs but clarifies that costs are not increasing due to the growing older population. The increasing costs of the medical system and the threat of its bankruptcy can be addressed, however, through cost controls (Longino 2005:81-82).

This view is supported by Quadagno (2011) who states that population projections are merely estimates and that the healthier, wealthier, and better educated Baby Boomers will be more prepared to care for themselves. Despite this, this does not mean they are set nor does it mean immensely helpful social programs should be dismantled. According to Quadagno, careful changes to Social Security and Medicare can be made which would ensure adequate living standards for retirees and improve security for the most vulnerable (Quadagno 2011:80).

From another perspective, Herd (2009) argues that the content of retirement income has shifted from individual and collective risk to individual risk. Therefore, rather than a three-legged stool providing the support of Social Security, employer-pensions, and personal savings, with the risks of Social Security and employer pensions collectively pooled across all beneficiaries, now employer-pensions, instead of providing fixed benefits irrespective of economic conditions, is dependent upon individual contributions. Ergo, similar to personal savings, it is subject to the whims of the stock market and the ability of the individual to manage them wisely. Additionally, employment rates have increased for the 55 and older population and they are increasingly relying on earnings as a major part of their income. Thus, the stool has become two-legged, with one leg representing collective risk, i.e. Social Security, and the other leg representing individual risk, i.e. employer-pensions and personal savings (Herd 2009:12-13). Moreover, as the economy is in a recession and the foreclosure crisis casts its shadow, pensions, savings, earnings, and assets may also shrink, which has greatest implications for the economically disadvantaged such as women and minorities. For them, it may mean having to collect Social Security benefits earlier which also means less benefits over the long term. However, according to Herd, the success of Social Security during the economic recession demonstrates the significance of collectivizing risk (Herd 2009:13).

Indeed, according to Altman (2009), Social Security has proved its value during the recession. When trillions of dollars in private pensions and home equity was lost, Social Security was sound because its benefits are guaranteed. Furthermore, private pensions and savings were not adequate for most seniors even before the recession and two-thirds received at least half of their income from Social Security. Without Social Security, almost half of all seniors would live below the poverty line. Despite these accomplishments, benefits are low and not uniform across demographics, where elders who are unmarried, African American, Hispanic, 80 or older, and female face disproportionately high levels of poverty, and the poverty line for seniors is $1,000 lower than for the rest of the population because of the assumption that older people eat less (Altman 2009:63-64).

In contrast to Moody (2010), Altman indicates that the Social Security changes in 1983 which increased the age of eligibility for full benefits actually reduced benefits for people born after 1960 by 14 percent. Moreover, a retiree in 2030 will receive, on average, Social Security benefits that replace merely 29% of his/her previous income and 65 percent of households currently face insufficient income at retirement (Altman 2009:65-66). Thus, Altman argues for the need to expand Social Security and Medicare though she warns not to lump the two together as one homogenous crisis. As mentioned before, Social Security does not suffer from a lack of funds and, with a modest tax increase on the top 6 percent, can be expanded to cover the deficits. Altman explicates that Medicare is also crucial as it is prevents illness from throwing the elderly into bankruptcy. However, it is unsustainable as it is due to rapidly rising healthcare costs. As a solution, Altman proposes cost-containment, providing services earlier so as to prevent more serious illness and thus expensive treatment, and repealing the two-year waiting period required for disabled people to be qualified for Medicare (Altman 2009:67-68).

Notwithstanding, Palmer (2006) argues the contrary, i.e., that Social Security and Medicare (and Medicaid) are fiscally unsustainable, that the programs, especially Medicare, will place a huge burden on the federal budget as Baby Boomers retire, that neither economic growth nor other sources of revenue or reductions in other federal programs can easily offset the increasing costs, and that policies must restrain, not expand, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid expenditures (Palmer 2006:289-290). The basic reasoning is that the growth rate of the costs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid exceed the growth rate of the national GDP. Palmer, however, does not mention the effect of cost-containment policies.

Regardless of the problems vis-à-vis Social Security and Medicare, it is generally agreed upon that Social Security and Medicare are invaluable. Feder and Friedland (2005) explain that life expectancy was at 61.7 years in 1935 but by 1965, when Medicare was enacted, it had reached 70.2 years and by 2002 it had reached 77.3 years (Feder and Friedland 2005:80). They also reiterate that most seniors would not have healthcare coverage without Medicare and that a private health insurance taking the place of Medicare would be improbable. Furthermore, in 1970, 25 percent of the senior population had incomes below the poverty line but by 1980 the number had declined to 16 percent, by 1999 it had plummeted to 10 percent, where it has remained until 2003 (Feder and Friedland 2005:81). The combination of Social Security and Medicare is important, the authors maintain, as Social Security allows seniors to live more independently while Medicare largely safeguards the benefits from the otherwise crushing burden of healthcare costs in cases where healthcare is needed (Feder and Friedland 2005:81).

Aside from Social Security and Medicare, there exists a broader form of social support, that is, social care. Even though most seniors suffer from one or more chronic illness, the majority are able to carry out activities of daily living and live independently for the most part and only need common reciprocal services which all family members need. However, for the very old, women, and those of low socioeconomic status, the likelihood of needing social care rises. In such a scenario when social care is needed, elders first have to reconcile the want of independence with the need for dependency, where assistance may be viewed as increasing independence (Cantor 1989:102). Accordingly, research has indicated that elders view family and other informal networks such as friends and neighbors as the most appropriate form of support in practically every situation of need, and relationships are reciprocal. Thus, most elderly caregiving in the United States are provided by informal caregivers and only when family and/or friends are unavailable or cannot provide care any longer that elders utilize formal organizations. Cantor outlines a hierarchical social support system in which kin, especially spouse and children, are primarily preferred source for support, followed by friends, neighbors, and lastly, formal organizations such as community organizations and the government (Cantor 1989:102).

Even in light of this, Cantor stresses that it is important not to neglect formal services since many elders are in situations where they do not have family, their families live too far away, or their families have conflicting obligations, in which case they would rely on the community. Formal community services further relieve the stress on informal caregivers by acting as backup, thus allowing informal caregivers to provide long-term care (Cantor 1989:102-103). Cantor describes a pattern of concentric circles where the elderly person is in the center and each circle is a form of support, from informal towards the center and formal towards the periphery. The elderly person utilizes the different forms of support at different times for different reasons or at the same time. In the furthest circle are political entities making the laws, then closer within are government and voluntary agencies that implement the policies and services, closer still are “mediating structures” and individuals (serving to bridge the gap between formal and informal support) such as religious organizations, neighborhood block groups, mail carriers, and bartenders, and finally in the center are family, friends, and neighbors (Cantor 1989:103). Cantor also notes that with the growing aging population, more women working, and changing family structures, formal and informal support systems, family and community, must increasingly work together to care for the elderly (Cantor 1989:111-112).

Browdie (2010) echoes Cantor’s point that for long-term care elders prefer autonomy when it comes to decision-making and setting that are non-institutional. Moving forward, in regards to how services are delivered, technological advances will affect how service delivery information is collected and communicated which has implications for long-term care (Browdie 2010:58). This is illustrated by how advanced medical needs can now be addressed in a home setting. According to Browdie, community-based agencies will also expand due to these changes and as more elders are cared for in a home setting, and combined with clinical advances, “aging in place” will depend on preference rather than practicality. One area of debate about the future of aging services, however, is the impact of senior centers where services are delivered and people are directed to services in the community. Those in the aging network contend that role of senior centers will decline as a result of the stigmatized and unattractive image of senior centers being publicly funded, providing group meals at noon, and organizing group field trips, although this projection may be an overgeneralization (Browdie 2010:59).

All in all, it is difficult to predict the future of aging and its implications due to the fact that it is a broad, intricate, and long-term phenomenon with personal, social, and historical factors (Adler 2010:6). For example, it is predicted that females born in the year 2000 would have a 50-50 chance of living to age 100 while males would have a 50-50 chance of living to age 95. However, medical advances are pending as are the effects of the other proposals such as increasing the efficiency of the healthcare system and making cities more senior-friendly (Adler 2010:7-8). According to Adler, the future cannot be predicted accurately although extreme predictions, such as the dystopian and utopian scenarios laid out by Moody (2010), are rarely actualized. However, it is in imagining and analyzing different scenarios that the future can be anticipated and effective action can be taken (Adler 2010:5-6). In sum, considering all that has been mentioned, perhaps society will be prepared for the future of aging.

References

Adler, Richard. 2010. “Welcome to the Future of Aging.” Generations 34(3):5-11.

Administration on Aging. 2012. “A Profile of Older Americans: 2011.” (http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Aging_Statistics/Profile/2011/2.aspx)

Altman, Nancy. 2009. “A Silver Lining to the Economic Crisis: The Case for Improving Social Security and Medicare.” Generations 33(3):63-68.

Browdie, Richard. 2010. “The Future of Aging Services in America.” Generations 34(3):56-60.

Cantor, Marjorie H. 1989. “Social Care: Family and Community Support Systems.” Annals Of The American Academy Of Political & Social Science 503:99-112.

Feder, Judith, and Robert B. Friedland. 2005. “The Value of Social Security and Medicare to Families.” Generations 29(1):78-85.

Herd, Pamela. 2009. “The Two-Legged Stool: The Reconfiguration of Risk in Retirement Income Security.” Generations 33(3):12-18.

Longino, Charles F. 2005. “The Future of Ageism: Baby Boomers at the Doorstep.” Generations 29(3):79-83.

Moody, H. R. 2010. “Reflecting on the 21st Century.” Generations 34(3):23-27.

Palmer, John L. 2006. “Entitlement Programs for the Aged.” Research On Aging 28(3):289-302.

Quadagno, Jill. 2011. Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

United States Census Bureau. 2011. “Census Bureau Releases Comprehensive Analysis of Fast-Growing 90-and-Older Population.” (http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/aging_population/cb11-194.html)

Almost one billion people worldwide suffer from malnutrition – or one out of six – and increasing rapidly. This is occurring even while food production is stable and economies grow. In fact, the most severe crop failures occur within free markets and where increasing food prices often lead to hoarding, profiteering, and speculation (Kagarlitsky 2011). One may wonder where, when, why, and how this economic model – capitalism and its neoliberal offshoot – came into being in the first place. It is said that history is prologue; ergo, to more fully understand the world as it is today and know how to respond to it, it is essential to understand the varying history and nature of capitalism, starting with the World-System Theory and the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the concept of primitive accumulation, colonialism, and finally neoliberalism.

World-system theory, as posited by Immanuel Wallerstein, asserts that all societies at one point used to be minisystems – complete with their own division of labor and culture (Chirot and Hall 1982:84). Such minisystems are embodied in simple hunting and gathering societies. Furthermore, any minisystem subjected to an empire no longer existed as a “system.”

World-systems then developed – systems with an overarching division of labor and multiple cultures. In addition, these world-systems may have a common political system – known as world-empires, or not – known as world-economies. Before the emergence of capitalism, world-economies were volatile and were predisposed to being absorbed into world-empires (Chirot and Hall 1982:84). However, world-empires would destroy the dynamics of the regional economy due to excessive use of their surplus in upholding the bureaucracies. In circa 1500, capitalism emerged. As a new world-economy, capitalism shifts the role of the state from a centralized economic institution to a facilitator responsible for securing monopolies (or a close form) and terms of economic transactions (Chirot and Hall 1982:84). Moreover, two notable reasons why this model has prevailed is the development of transportation technology – allowing capitalists to venture across the world – and advanced military technology allowing its wielders to dictate terms of trade (Chirot and Hall 1982:85).

Within this system is a core, which has developed cities, manufacturing jobs, advanced agriculture, high-skilled labor, relatively high wages, and high investment. However, this core requires the extraction of surplus from peripheries in order to expand and maintain itself. As the periphery provides the core with its goods, it suffers from declining economies, coerced labor, old technology, the deskilling of labor, and a transfer of capital. The gap between the core and periphery was narrower at first but widened as Northwestern Europe continued to exploit the uneven developments. Accordingly, inequality is not an anomaly but the basis and central feature of the world-system (Chirot and Hall 1982:85).

In regards to the semiperiphery, it lies between the core and periphery economically, and some can rise to the core (e.g. Japan) while others fall into the periphery (e.g. Spain in the 1600s and 1700s). Semiperipheries are also places of investment when neither the core nor periphery is compliant.

These divisions do not simply occur along national boundaries, that is, with the core nations being the upper class, the semiperiphery nations the middle class, and the periphery nations being the working class; rather the division between bourgeoisie and proletariat are global.

In regards to the transition from feudalism to capitalism specifically, from 1660-1815, developments in Europe occurred in what is referred to as the age of absolutism (Morton 2005:498). Feudalism is characterized by feudal lords owning the land and having judicial monopoly, peasants working the land and paying rent, and the lords reaping the surplus. In return the lords would offer military protection. Morton (2005) echoes Wallerstein’s point that as feudalism transitioned into capitalism, surplus extraction is redirected from political actors to economic actors.

In light of the conflict between the feudal lords and serfs, serfdom declined in Western Europe whilst it strengthened in Eastern Europe. In England, for example, the combination of small peasant property and expanding landlord-large-scale farmer relations led to the formation of agrarian capitalism and increased agricultural productivity (Morton 2005:499).

The “crisis” itself was characterized by a disorganized peasantry in Eastern and Central Europe and an increased concentration of power and growing estates held by the lords. A region to the east of Elbe, for example, was part of the servile agricultural estates and exported food and raw materials to Western Europe, thus becoming a dependent economy (Morton 2005:500).

Expanding on the topic of the transfer of capital, David Harvey, as cited by Bonefeld (2011), argues that all capitalist accumulation is based upon primitive accumulation and in order to sustain accumulation, especially during a crisis, “accumulation by dispossession” is necessary, especially within the neoliberal context. Primitive accumulation is a concept developed by Karl Marx which refers to the forced separation of producers from the means of production, who are then coaxed into selling their labor for wages. This, accordingly, is a main part of the pre-history of capital and precursor to the modern capitalist model of production. Accumulation by dispossession, by comparison, entails both primitive accumulation – the separation, or expropriation, of producers and their means of production/subsistence – and the privatization of state industries (Bonefeld 2011:379-380), as seen in colonization.

The legacy and effects of colonialism is an extension of capitalist model. According to Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson, as cited by Fails and Krieckhaus (2010), this entails a “reversal of fortune.” In their study, they assessed colonies’ potential for settlement via evaluating the pre-colonial population and disease climates. If conditions were favorable, Europeans would settle in large numbers and enforce property rights. If they weren’t, they would set up weak institutions with the purpose of maximizing extraction. They found that regions that were poor centuries ago are now prosperous and the prosperous regions are now poor (Fails and Krieckhaus 2010:489). The reasoning behind this is that the poor regions were sparsely populated, thus having high settlement potential, so they were developed while the prosperous regions which were densely populated were primed for extraction and labor (Fails and Krieckhaus 2010:489).

Finally, regarding neoliberalism, it was largely developed after World War II by Friedrich A. Hayek who argued that socialism had driven out classical liberalism and was leading the world toward totalitarianism. In his effort to revive liberalism, he maintained that history was dictated by the “life and death of ideas” and that collectivism must be discredited (Turner 2007:69-70).

In reaction to the decline of laissez-faire liberalism and economic philosophers such as Karl Polyani and John Maynard Keynes claiming the end of laissez-faire liberalism and the rise of collectivism, Western liberal philosophers were adamant about fighting it and reviving liberalism (liberalism being defined as the classical liberalism of Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant’s German liberalism). In a sense, neoliberalism was a backlash to the collectivist trends in the 1930’s exemplified by the British Keynesian state, New Deal in the United States, and Nazism in Germany (Turner 2007:70).

Thus the Mont Pelerin Society was founded in 1947 which was an international organization for anti-collectivists and economic liberals to promote laissez-faire liberalism. Although the Mont Pelerin Society relegated itself to the sphere of ideas, it has generated significant political influence considering that some of its members became politicians in the 1960s-1970s; its ideas influenced the British Conservative Party, Institute of Economic Affairs, and Centre for Policy Studies; and its neoliberal ideology became a central element of the New Right (Turner 2007:78-79).

In conclusion, although people may differ in opinion regarding the causes of poverty and hunger as well as the history, nature, and future of capitalism, the literature explored above may serve as a starting point for understanding the complex issues the increasingly global world faces in the 21^st century and thus allow appropriate responses – whether it is to reform capitalism, expand it, or eliminate it. If it is true that the path of history is dictated by “the life and death of ideas,” as Hayek believed, and if one wishes to change the course of history, then ideas may be an important place to start.

Bibliography

Bonefeld, Werner. 2011. “Primitive Accumulation and Capitalist Accumulation: Notes on Social Constitution and Expropriation.” Science & Society 75(3): 379-399.

The author, from the Department of Politics at the University of York in the United Kingdom, discusses primitive accumulation in terms of separation, proletarianization, and its teleology. In doing so, he reveals partiality to Marxism. I mainly used the introduction and Part I of the research paper. Although enlightening, the author relies too heavily on theory and Karl Marx’s writings.

Chirot, Daniel and Thomas D. Hall. 1982. “World-System Theory.” Annual Review of Sociology 8:81-106.

The authors, from the School of International Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle and Department of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, analyze World-System Theory and argue that it is mainly a leftist, intellectual enterprise, albeit with valuable insights. I used the section on Wallerstein’s macro-theory of economic change. The tone of the article sometimes verges on pejorative but it is informative nonetheless.

Fails, Matthew D., and Jonathan Krieckhaus. 2010. “Colonialism, Property Rights and the Modern World Income Distribution.” British Journal Of Political Science 40(3): 487-508.

There is no mention of the authors’ affiliation but the article itself is published by Cambridge University Press. The authors give of overview of the studies by Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson about the “reversal of fortune” but argue that it is not representative of the world and that colonialism, for the most part, did not affect property rights. I referred to the section describing the findings by Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson. The authors gave a more or less balanced view of the matter but their agenda was to argue against part of the findings.

Kagarlitsky, Boris. 2011. “Link between capitalism and hunger.” Transnational Institute (http://www.tni.org/article/link-between-capitalism-and-hunger).

The author, who is Director of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements (in Moscow) and was once imprisoned for “anti-Soviet” activities, wrote for The Moscow Times and the article was posted on the website of the Transnational Institute, which leans towards progressivism. The article discusses how poverty persists despite market liberalization and mentions situations in Russia and the Middle East specifically. The paragraphs detailing statistics and profiteering were used. The article is succinct but could be more detailed.

Morton, Adam D. 2005. “The Age of Absolutism: capitalism, the modern states-system and international relations.” Review Of International Studies 31(3): 495-517.

There is no mention of the author’s background but the article was published by the British International Studies Association. The author in the article examines the origins of capitalism and the feudal crisis in terms of social property relations, hinting at world-systems theory. I used the section about the absolutism and social property relations. The article contains important, concrete information but skips around, perhaps owing to the complex and often convoluted subject matter.

Turner, Rachel S. 2007. “The ‘rebirth of liberalism’: The origins of neo-liberal ideology.” Journal Of Political Ideologies 12(1): 67-83.

The author is from the Political Economy Research Centre at the University of Sheffield in the UK, and in her article, she analyzes the origins of neoliberal ideology and concludes that it is a remaking of liberalism in response to collectivism. I mainly used the sections on the history revisions from the 1930s-1970s and Mont Pelerin Society. The article is focused and very readable but at the cost of a wider scope.

Abstract

The mere-exposure effect and exchange theory was tested in relation to openness to and approval of romantic interracial relationships. Levels of exposure were measured via self-reported proportions of acquaintances of particular races, television viewing, and family and friends having been in interracial relationships. Willingness to exchange attributes was measured by how strongly respondents agreed or disagreed with certain statements. Political orientation was also measured by asking how liberal or conservative respondents were. Results from tests revealed that the mere-exposure effect as it relates to openness to interracial relationships and influenced by the proportion of acquaintances of corresponding races was confirmed for Non-Asians (when broken down by race) and Latinos (when not broken down by race) but not for Whites. Furthermore, having family and friends in interracial relationships increased the incidence of respondents having been in interracial relationships but TV viewing had no significant effect nor did willingness to exchange attributes or political orientation.

Introduction

In light of new data indicating that interracial marriages are on the rise and that one-in-seven newly married couple is interracial (Passel, Wang and Taylor 2010), this study intends to explore the forces which would influence a population’s openness or lack of openness to engaging in romantic relationships with a partner of a different race or ethnicity. What are the factors that determine a population’s openness to intimate interracial relationships and another population’s lack of openness to intimate interracial relationships? Do the levels and types of exposure to certain races/ethnicities, preference for similarity in physical attractiveness per cost-benefit analyses, and political orientation associated with a population’s openness or lack of openness to engaging in romantic interracial relationships?

In testing these questions, the independent variables are the frequency of seeing certain races/ethnicities and interracial couples on television and daily life, the importance placed upon similarity in physical attractiveness and willingness to exchange desired attributes, and where participants place themselves on the political spectrum. The dependent variables are the personal openness to engaging in a romantic interracial relationship and approval of interracial relationships.

Literature Review

Zebrowitz, White and Weineke (2008) hypothesized that “either supraliminal or subliminal exposure to other-race faces would increase the likeability of a different set of other-race faces as compared with either exposure to own-race faces or no exposure to faces of either race (p. 262). The hypothesis was confirmed and is consistent with theories of the mere exposure effect: “Increasing White participants’ familiarity with an other-race facial prototype through exposure to Korean or Black faces increased the likeability of a different set of Korean or Black faces” (p. 271-272).

By extension, Bissell and Hays (2010) asked “how is television exposure and exposure to thin-ideal media related to appearance evaluations?” (p. 391). They explore cultivation theory which posits that “the exposure to and frequency of, messages disseminated through a medium influence an individual’s perceptions of the non-media world” (p. 390); sociocultural theory, which posits that “all activities of the mind are socially contextualized, and that learning is essentially a process of acquiring culture through social interaction” (p. 390); and social cognitive theory, which posits that “cognitive, affective, and biological events, behavioral patterns and environmental events all operate as interacting determinants that influence each other” (p. 391). In other words, increased exposure to television and the ideal of thinness in the media would correlate with an increased likeliness to evaluate others based on the same ideals (p. 397-398). Their hypothesis was confirmed: “…when the thin-ideal viewing index was considered with the appearance evaluations of celebrity models such as Ashley Tisdale, participants who spent the least amount of time viewing thin-ideal content had the least favorable appearance assessments. However, when the athletic models were considered, those viewing the most thin-ideal content had the least favorable assessments of the models” (p. 398).

Furthermore, Murstein, Merighi and Malloy (2001) hypothesized that in a hierarchical society blacks would have to be more attractive than whites in interracial relationships in order to offset the hierarchy: “…in interracial courting couples, the Black member would be more physically attractive than the White member” (p. 326). The hypothesis was partially confirmed in that third-party judges rated the black partners to be more attractive than their white counterparts and the “data partially support an exchange interpretation in that the objective disinterested measure of attractiveness was significant” (p. 330).

In addition, researchers Wilkins, Chan and Kaiser (2011) explored the effects of stereotypes on attractiveness, specifically the stereotype that Asians are feminine which is assumed to be desirable for Asian women but not Asian men. They hypothesized that “Whites will perceive women who look more Asian as being more desirable than those who have less prototypical appearances, and Whites will see prototypically Asian men as less attractive than their less racially prototypical counterparts” (p. 427). The hypothesis held true for Asian men: “…higher PP [Phenotypic Prototypicality] Asian men are perceived as possessing less masculine appearances than their lower PP counterparts. Furthermore, higher PP Asian men are perceived as being less attractive than lower PP Asian men” (p. 430).

Lastly, Yancy (2007), in Homogamy Over the Net: Using Internet Advertisements to Discover Who Interracially Dates, hypothesized that conservatives and the highly religious have a lower propensity to engage in interracial dating: ”To the degree there are important political and religious factors influencing individual racism, it can be expected that certain political and religious groups may have an overall lower propensity to interracially date” (p. 918). His hypothesis was confirmed: ”Conservative political ideology is inversely related to a willingness to date Blacks or to date regardless of race while religiosity is positively related to being only willing to date one’s own race” (p. 925).

In accordance with previous research, it is predicted that 1a) increased exposure to a certain race will increase liking of that race and willingness to engage in an intimate relationship with someone from that race, 1b) increased exposure to interracial relationships will have a positive association with approval of interracial relationships and increase the probability of engaging in interracial relationships, 2) increased exposure to media portrayals of racial beauty will be positively associated with increased influence by the portrayals with regards to openness to engaging in romantic relationships with certain races, 3) people seeking romantic relationships will tend to choose partners who at least match in physical attractiveness, 4) those who feel intelligence, personality, and/or success can compensate for it (or vice versa) will be more open to engaging in romantic interracial relationships, and 5) increased conservatism will negatively associate with openness to intimate interracial relationships. Although it may seem that there are five separate hypotheses, the first two are generally related to environmental influences, the remaining have more to do with individual preferences, and all tie into the theory that people make decisions based on cost-benefit analyses.

Methods

In testing the mere-exposure hypothesis and its relation to intimate interracial relationships, participants are to indicate what proportion of their acquaintances is of a particular race, what proportion of their friends has been in interracial relationships, and whether anyone in their families has ever been in an interracial relationship.

In order to measure the concept of media influence, and its effect on the judging of interracial relationships, participants are asked how many hours of television is watched, how often they see interracial couples on television, and whether the content is perceived to be favorably or unfavorable in regards to a certain race.

To test the exchange theory and matching hypothesis in regards to openness to intimate interracial relationships, respondents are asked how important they feel it is to find a good physical match and whether they would trade off looks for intelligence/personality/success.

For the concept of political orientation and extremism, respondents are to rate on a scale of one to seven how liberal or conservative they consider themselves to be with one being extremely liberal and seven being extremely conservative.

To test the dependent variables, i.e. the degree of openness to intimate interracial relationships, participants would answer whether they have ever been in an interracial relationship, and then to rate on a scale of one to seven how open they are to relationships with various races. They would also be asked how strongly they agree or disagree with the notions that 1) relationships between couples of the same race work better and 2) that couples of different races have the right to marry.

In order to account for variations among demographics, information regarding age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, and income will be asked.

The target population that this study intends to research is college students. The reason for this is that college students tend to be young and are at the stage where they begin to enter serious relationships or consider doing so. Thus, this population is ideal for this particular study which examines various preferences for intimate relationships. A group survey will be conducted along with individual surveys, where participants are to fill out the survey independently without having the questions read to them.

Surveys were administered to groups and individuals (Chambliss and Schutt 2010:174-176) and availability sampling was used (Chambliss and Schutt 2010:121-122). Permission to survey the class SOC 346: Race, Class, and Gender at California State University, Long Beach on Monday, April 2, 2012 was requested and granted by the professor on Wednesday, March 28, 2012. On April 2, at 3:20 PM in the LA5 building – Room 267, ten minutes before class would start, I introduced myself to the students that were present, informed them about my enrollment in SOC 355, debriefed about the general purpose of the survey, assured that anonymity would be provided, that they could skip any items, and requested their participation. As more students arrived, they were similarly debriefed individually. Students that arrived after 3:30 PM were not asked to participate since class had officially started. In total, 28 surveys were filled out and collected.

At around 1:00 PM on Wednesday, April 4^th,2012, five students in the basement of the library at California State University, Long Beach were approached via convenience sampling and asked to participate in the survey research and debriefed in the same manner as mentioned above. Four agreed to participate and one declined. Four surveys were collected there.

On Thursday, April 5, 2012, permission to survey the class SOC 318: Case Studies in International Social Conflict was requested but denied.

On Monday, April 9, 2012, permission to survey the class SOC 464: Aging and Society on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 was requested and granted by the professor. On April 11, at 10:50 AM, ten minutes before class started and when at least half the students arrived, I introduced myself, debriefed those in attendance on the general purpose of the survey, assured them that confidentiality would be strictly respected, that they could skip any items, and requested their voluntary participation. As more students arrived, they were asked to participate and debriefed individually in the same manner as above. Students that came in after the professor began the class were not asked to participate. In total, 26 surveys were filled out and collected.

On the same day, at around 1:00 PM, thirteen students in the basement of the library at California State University, Long Beach were approached per convenience sampling and asked to participate in the survey research and debriefed accordingly. Ten agreed to participate and three declined. Nine surveys were collected there.

Overall, 68 surveys were filled out and collected. As mentioned, availability sampling was used, that is, classes and students are asked on a basis of convenience (Chambliss and Schutt 2010:122). The advantage of this sampling technique is its convenience but the disadvantage is its bias, that is, it may provide an over-representation or under-representation of certain population characteristics (Chambliss and Schutt 2010:114) and therefore limit generalizability. For example, the population characteristics of students in sociology classes may be unrepresentative of the population characteristics of students in engineering classes, and the population characteristics of students in the basement of the library may differ from that of students on the fourth floor.

Also, group sampling was the dominant method used for administering surveys with individual surveying complementing it. The advantage of the group method of surveying is the high response rate and cost-effectiveness. However, the disadvantages are that participants may feel coerced to respond to the survey – thus affecting honesty – and that comments by of the survey administrator may influence the responses (Chambliss and Schutt 2010:174-176). Considering these issues, efforts were made to indicate that participation is voluntary while maintaining neutrality and consistency.

Results

In the sample population, 74.2% were female (N=49), 25.8% were male (N=17); 41.2% were Latino/Hispanic (N=28), 25% were Asian/Pacific Islander (N=17), 16.2% were White/Caucasian (N=11), 7.4% were mixed (N=5), 5.9% were Black/African American (N=4), 2.9% were Other races (N=2), and 1.5% were Native American (N=1); 30.8% had household income levels at less than $20,000, 18.5% had household income levels at $20,000 to $40,000, 16.9% had household income levels at $40,000 to $60,000, 13.8% had household income levels at $80,000 to $100,000, 10.8% had household income levels at over $100,000, and 9.2% had household income levels at $60,000 to $80,000; 41.2% were seniors, 36.8% were juniors, 10.3% were sophomores, 7.4% were beyond senior level, and 4.4% were freshman; the mean age is 22.6119 years ranging from 18 to 53 with a standard deviation of 4.63503.

Univariate analyses revealed that, when respondents were asked what proportion of their acquaintances were White, 54.4% of respondents answered “Small proportion” (N=37), 20.6% answered “About half” (N=14), 13.2% answered “None” (N=9), and 11.8% answered “Most” (N=8); when respondents were asked what proportion of their acquaintances were Black, 67.6% answered “Small proportion” (N=46), 23.5% answered “None” (N=16), 5.9% answered “About half” (N=4), 1.5% answered “Most” (N=1), and 1.5% answered “All” (N=1); when asked what proportion of their acquaintances were Latino, 35.3% answered “Small proportion” (N=24), 22.1% answered “Most” (N=15), 20.6% answered “About half” (N=14), 13.2% answered “All” (N=9), and 8.8% answered “None” (N=6); when asked what proportion of their acquaintances were Asian, 51.5% answered “Small proportion” (N=35), 16.2% answered “About half” (N=11), 16.2% answered “Most” (N=11), 14.7% answered “None” (N=10), and 1.5% answered “All” (N=1); when asked what proportion of their acquaintances were Native American, 73.5% answered “None” (N=50) and 26.5% answered “Small proportion” (N=18); when respondents were asked what proportion of their friends have been in interracial relationships, 64.7% answered “Small proportion” (N=44), 16.2% answered “About half” (N=11), 16.2% answered “Most” (N=11), 1.5% answered “None” (N=1), and 1.5% answered “All” (N=1); and when asked if anyone in their families has ever been in an interracial relationship, 75% answered “Yes” (N=51), 22.1% answered “No” (N=15), and 2.9% answered “Don’t know” (N=2).

Furthermore, in regards to television viewing, 48.5 percent of respondents watch 1 to 3 hours of television daily (N=33); 38.2 percent watch less than an hour of television daily (N=26); 11.8% watch 4 to 6 hours daily (N=8), and 1.5% watch 7 or more hours daily (N=1.5%). Respondents were asked how often they see interracial couples on television on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 meaning “Extremely seldom” and 7 meaning “Extremely frequently.” The mean is 2.9706 with a standard deviation of 1.51579. Respondents were then asked how they think interracial couples are portrayed on television. The mean is 3.9853 with a standard deviation of 1.45061. An index for the latter two variables was created which produced a mean of 3.4779 and a standard deviation of 1.31986.

To test the exchange theory, respondents were asked how strongly they agree or disagree with the following statements on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 meaning “Strongly disagree” and 7 meaning “Strongly agree”: 1) “I prefer a romantic partner who is on my level in terms of physical attractiveness,” 2) “In choosing a romantic partner, I would overlook appearance if the person is intelligent,” 3) “In choosing a romantic partner, I would overlook appearance if the person is financially successful,” 4) “In choosing a romantic partner, I would overlook appearance if the person has an agreeable personality.” The means (and standard deviation) were 4.5294 (St. Dev. = 1.57850), 4.8382 (St. Dev. = 1.61717), 4.0588 (St. Dev. = 1.70935), and 5.7059 (St. Dev. = 1.49685), respectively. An index was created with the values for preference for same-level physical attractiveness reversed to reflect the direction of the other variables. The mean of the index was 4.5184 and the standard deviation was 1.12744.

For political views, respondents were asked how liberal or conservative they consider themselves to be on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 meaning “Extremely liberal” and 7 meaning “Extremely conservative.” The mean was 3.1029 and the standard deviation was 1.33986.

In terms of the dependent variables, when respondents were asked if they have ever been in a romantic interracial relationship, 59.7% answered “Yes” (N=40) and 40.3% answered “No” (N=27).

Respondents were also asked, on a scale of 1 to 7, how open they were to dating or marrying someone who is White, Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American, respectively, with 1 meaning “Not open” and 7 meaning “Very open.” For whites, the mean was 6.2647 with a standard deviation of 1.39955. For Blacks, the mean was 4.9706 with a standard deviation of 1.97726. For Latinos, the mean was 5.6912 with a standard deviation of 1.83870. For Asians, the mean was 5.3284 with a standard deviation of 1.94148. For Native Americans, the mean was 5.0 with a standard deviation of 1.81742. An index was created to measure openness to interracial relationships in general on the same scale. The mean of the index is 6.2 and the standard deviation is .76942.

To measure the level of approval of interracial relationships, respondents were asked, on a scale of 1 to 7, how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the statements “Romantic relationships between couples of the same race tend to work better than romantic relationships between couples of different races” and “Two people that love each other should have the right to marry regardless of race,” with 1 meaning “Strongly disagree” and 7 meaning “Strongly agree.” The former statement was recoded to reflect the direction of the latter statement and the two were combined into an index. The mean for the former statement was 3.2273 (St. Dev. = 2.02139), the mean for the latter statement was 6.9118 (St. Dev. = .41377), and the mean for the index was 5.8409 (St. Dev = 1.07474).

When the 7-point scale for openness to a particular race was recoded with 1-2 meaning “Not open,” 3-5 meaning “Somewhat open,” and 6-7 meaning “Very open,” bivariate analyses reveal that for White males, 100% were “very open” to a relationship with someone who is White; for White females, 16.7% were “somewhat open” and 83.3% were “very open”. For Latino males, 100% were open to a relationship with someone who is White; for Latino females, 4.5% were “not open,” 18.2% were “somewhat open,” and 77.3% were “very open”. For Asian males, 25% were “not open” to a relationship with someone who is white, 25% were “somewhat open” and 50% were “very open.” The statistical significance is .645, i.e. not significant. Note that for this test and next tests, associations were run for White, Latino, and Asian since there is sufficient data for only these groups.

For Latino males, 100% were “very open” to a relationship with someone who is Latino; for females, 13.6% were “somewhat open” and 86.4% were “very open.” For White males, 40% were “somewhat open and 60% were “very open”; for White females, 33.3% were “not open” and 66.7% were “very open.” For Asian males, 25% were “not open” to a relationship with someone who is Latino and 75% were “very open”; for Asian females, 16.7% were “not open,” 66.7% were “somewhat open,” and 16.7% were “very open.” The statistical significance is .010 which is significant.

For Asian males, 25% were “somewhat open” to a relationship with someone who is Asian and 75% were “very open”; for Asian females, 33.3% were “somewhat open” to a relationship with someone who is Asian and 66.7% were “very open.” For White males, 20% were “not open” to a relationship with someone who is Asian, 20% were “somewhat open” and 60% were “very open”; for White females, 60% were “not open” to a relationship with someone who is Asian and 40% were “very open.” For Latino males, 40% were “not open” to a relationship with someone who is Asian, 20% were “somewhat open,” and 40% were “very open”; for Latino females 13.6% were “not open,” 31.8% were “somewhat open,” and 54.5% were “very open.” The statistical significance is .015, which is statistically significant.

To test for the relationship between openness to relationships with someone who is White and proportion of White acquaintances, crosstabs were run for Whites and Non-whites (see Table 7). The statistical significance for Whites is .065 and the significance for non-Whites is .828, both of which are not statistically significant.

In testing for an association between openness to relationships with someone who is Latino by proportion of Latino acquaintances, crosstabs were run for Latinos and Non-Latinos (see Table 8). The statistical significance for Latinos is .719 and the significance for non-Latinos is .346, both of which are not statistically significant.

Results from crosstabs also showed that the association between openness to relationships with someone who is Asian and the proportion of Asian acquaintances was not statistically significant for Asians (sig.=.725) but it is significant for non-Asians at .048 (see Table 9).

Additionally, ANOVAs were run to test the association between openness to relationships with a particular race and proportion of acquaintances of that particular race but without separating races (e.g. Latino and Non-Latino) and using the 7-point scale to measure openness. The significance of the association between openness to relationships with someone who is White and proportion of White acquaintances is .117, i.e. not statistically significant (see Table 10). The significance of the association between openness to relationships with someone who is Latino by the proportion of Latino acquaintances is .000, which is significant (see Table 11). And the significance of the association between openness to relationships with someone who is Asian and proportion of Asian acquaintances is .234, i.e. not significant (see Table 12).

Results from ANOVAs further showed that the association between approval of interracial relationships and family members having been in interracial relationships is significant (sig.=.017), that the relationship between respondents having been in interracial relationships and family members having been in interracial relationships is significant (sig.=.011), and the association between respondents having been in interracial relationships and the proportion of their friends having been in interracial relationships is statistically significant (sig.=.05). (see Tables 13-15)

However, crosstabs showed that the number of hours spent watching television did not significantly influence whether respondents have been in interracial relationships (sig.=.759). Furthermore, results from logistic regression indicated that there was no significant association between how often respondents saw interracial couples on television and how they were portrayed (as measured by the TV index) and the likelihood of having been in an interracial relationship. The regression coefficient was -.163 and the significance was .394. Even when controlling for race, sex, and household income, the coefficient produced was -.121 with a significance of .554 (see Table 16).

Linear regression was run for the exchange index and the index for openness to interracial relationships which revealed a regression coefficient of .031 and a significance of .954, i.e. not statistically significant. When controlling for race and sex, the coefficient was -.825 and the association was still not significant at .336.

Lastly, results from logistic regression showed that there was no significant association between how liberal or conservative respondents were and whether they have been in interracial relationships. The coefficient was -.160 without controls and -.028 with controls for race, sex, and household income. The significance without controls was .395 and .902 when controlling for race, sex, and household income, respectively.

Discussion

The mere-exposure effect as it relates to openness to a relationship with someone who is White and influenced by the proportion of acquaintances that are White – broken down by White and non-White – was not confirmed for Whites nor Non-Whites. The mere-exposure effect as it relates to openness to relationships with someone who is Latino as influenced by the proportion of Latino acquaintances – broken down by Latino and Non-Latino – was not confirmed for Latinos nor Non-Latinos. The mere-exposure effect as it relates to openness to relationships with someone who is Asian by the proportion of Asian acquaintances – broken down by Asian and Non-Asian – was not confirmed for Asians but it was confirmed for Non-Asians, i.e. as the proportion of Asian acquaintances of Non-Asians increased, openness to relationships with Asians increased.

When the association between openness to a relationship with a particular race and the proportion of acquaintances of that particular race was not broken down by race, i.e. exposure alone was tested, the hypothesis was confirmed in regards to openness to relationships with Latinos. In other words, as the proportion of Latino acquaintances of all races increased, openness to relationships with Latinos increased. However, such an association was not confirmed for Whites or Asians.

The mere-exposure effect as it relates to approval of interracial relationships and influenced by family members having been in interracial relationships was confirmed. Moreover, the mere-exposure effect as it relates to the likelihood of having been in an interracial relationship and influenced by family and friends having been in interracial relationships was also confirmed. That is, increased exposure to family and friends being in interracial relationships was positively associated with respondents’ approval of interracial relationships and themselves having been in interracial relationships.

Thus, even as the findings by Zebrowitz, White and Weineke (2008) show that the mere-exposure effect can be credited for reduced racial prejudice, here it is partially supported in terms of openness to interracial relationships as influenced by the proportion of acquaintances of particular races and fully supported in terms of having been in interracial relationships as influenced by family and friends in interracial relationships.

The study also found that the likelihood of having been in an interracial relationship was not influenced by the number of hours spent watching television, frequency of interracial couples on television as seen by respondents, nor how favorably or unfavorably respondents perceived the portrayal of interracial couples to be. Thus, in terms of the mere-exposure effect, the hypothesis is not confirmed. Ergo, although television viewing may influence how young girls perceive beauty as demonstrated by Bissell and Hays (2010), it appears to have had no significant influence on how respondents viewed interracial relationships or whether they have engaged in interracial relationships.

Exchange theory as it relates to openness to interracial relationships was not confirmed. That is, it was predicted that as respondents were more willing to trade off attributes, e.g. appearance for personality, they would be more open to interracial relationships. This refutes the research by Murstein, Merighi and Malloy (2001) which suggests that White partners exchange status for appearance while Black partners exchange appearance for status.

The present study also found that race and sex were strong predictors for openness to relationships with Latinos and Asians but not Whites. In other words, respondents tend to be open to relationships with White regardless of race and sex, e.g. with 100% of Latino males and 77.3% of Latino females being “very open” to relationships with Whites. On the other hand, for Latinos and Asians it was predicated by race and sex, e.g. with 60% of white females not being open to relationships with Asians whereas 60% of white males are “very open” to relationships with Asians. This reflects the observation by Wilkins, Chan and Kaiser (2011) that Asians are stereotyped as feminine which is desirable for females but not males.

Finally, it was expected that increased political liberalism and decreased political conservatism would be associated with higher likelihood of having been in an interracial relationship. In contrast to findings by Yancy (2007), this hypothesis was not confirmed.

In concluding, with 59.7% of respondents reporting that they have been in romantic interracial relationships, which complements the report by Pew Research (2010) that interracial marriages are on the rise, the influences found in the present study may contribute to understanding these trends. Given these results, it is also worth noting the limitations, that is, the sample was comparatively small and unrepresentative of the larger population, and there were a limited number of survey questions, specifically regarding media influence. Thus, more expansive research in the future would be required to more fully comprehend the dynamics of the relatively increasing openness to interracial relationships in the general populace.

References

Bissell, Kim, and Hal Hays. 2010. “Exploring the Influence of Mediated Beauty: Examining Individual and Social Factors in White and Black Adolescent Girls’ Appearance Evaluations.” Howard Journal Of Communications 21(4): 385-411.

Chambliss, Daniel F. and Russell K. Schutt.  2010.  Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Murstein, Bernard I., Joseph R. Merighi, and Thomas E. Malloy. 1989. “Physical Attractiveness and Exchange Theory in Interracial Dating.” Journal Of Social Psychology 129(3): 325-334.

Passel, Jeffrey S., Wendy Wang, and Paul Taylor. 2010. “Marrying Out.” Pew Research Center (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1616/american-marriage-interracial-interethnic).

Wilkins, Clara L., Joy F. Chan, and Cheryl R. Kaiser. 2011. “Racial Stereotypes and Interracial Attraction: Phenotypic Prototypicality and Perceived Attractiveness of Asians.” Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology 17(4): 427-431.

Yancey, George. 2007. “Homogamy over the net: Using Internet advertisements to discover who interracially dates.” Journal Of Social & Personal Relationships 24(6): 913-930.

Zebrowitz, Leslie A., Benjamin White, and Kristin Wieneke. 2008. “Mere

Exposure and Racial Prejudice: Exposure to Other-Race Faces Increases Liking for Strangers of That Race.” Social Cognition 26(3): 259-275.

Considering the proliferation of outright misogynistic slurs such as “bitch,” “slut,” “cunt,” “whore,” “feminazi,” and “MILF” (which is an acronym for “Mom/Mother I’d Like to Fuck”) (Bidisha 2010); the widespread use dehumanizing words to describe women including “catty, pussycats, pussies, pets, bunnies, dumb bunnies, cows, sows, foxes, chicks … old bats” – that they cackle and henpeck (Warren 2000:27); and the institutionalization of male-biased language, such as using “mankind” instead of “humankind” and the pronoun “he” as a generic term to encompass women (Kleinman 2007). In her article, Kleinman (2007) explicates that if gender-based terms and phrases such as “freshman,” “chairman,” and “you guys” were instead race-based – producing words like “freshwhite,” “chairwhite,” “you whiteys,” and “all whites are created equal” – they would be considered unacceptable, and calling any male a freshwoman or chairman would also not be tolerated.

In response to these sexist terms, there has been a push towards more gender-neutral or “politically correct” terms such as “humankind” (instead of “mankind”), “chairperson” (rather of “chairman”), “womyn” (instead of woman)”, and “he or she” as opposed to simply “he” (Kakutani 1993). The arguments being that sexist language relegates women as secondary, even invisible, and reinforces oppressive structures. Furthermore, according to ecofeminist philosopher Carol J. Adams, it is the “absent referent” via metaphor which facilitates the exploitation of women (and animals): “…a subject is first viewed, or objectified through metaphor. Through fragmentation the object is severed from its ontological meaning. Finally, consumed, it exists only through what it represents” (Adams 2002:58). These proposed changes, however, have caused a backlash with people deriding “political correctness” not as promoting justice and inclusiveness but as a form of excessive orthodoxy and much ado about nothing (Kakutani 1993). But what does research indicate?

Researchers Barongan and Nagayama Hall (1995) sought to determine whether listening to misogynist rap music increased the likelihood of sexual aggression. Here, the definition of sexual aggression ranges from sexually imposing acts such as telling sexually suggestive jokes that would be offensive to the listener to extreme acts such as rape. In their study, they randomly assigned 27 male participants to a group to be exposed to misogynist rap music and 27 males to a group to be exposed to neutral rap music. Participants in the neutral rap music groups listened to “Brothers Gonna Work it Out” and “Nighttrain” by Public Enemy, and “The Nation’s Anthem” and “Pure Poverty” by Poor Righteous Teachers, which did not refer to sex or violence. One of the lines, for example, states, “The knowledge is the foundation, the wisdom is the way.” In the misogynist rap music group, participants listened to “Mo’ Pussy” by DJ Quilk, “Just Ain’t Me” by 2^nd II None, and “One Less Bitch” and “She Swallowed It” by NWA, which frequently allude to sex and violence, use terms such as “hoes” and “bitches,” and indicate that women like coerced sex. One of the lines, for instance, states, “[T]he bitch tried to gank me so I had to kill her” (Barongan and Nagayama Hall 1995:199-200)

Participants were then shown a neutral scene from the film I Spit on Your Grave portraying a casual conversation, a sexually violent scene portraying gang rape, and an abusive scene with a man hitting and yelling at a woman. After the viewing, they were instructed to choose which scene they would like to show to one of the (confederate) female students. Previous research has shown that participants that chose to show the sexually violent or abusive scenes to the women perceived the women to be considerably upset by them (though the confederate women showed no reaction) – thus amounting to an aggressive act – and they were also more likely to admit sexually aggressive behavior outside the experiment setting (Barongan and Nagayama Hall 1995:200).

The researchers found that the group exposed to misogynist rap music had a larger proportion of men that chose to show a sexually aggressive scene to a woman than the group exposed to neutral rap music. This indicates that there is an association between misogynist music and sexual aggression, or more broadly, language, cognition, and behavior (Barongan and Nagayama Hall 1995:203).

By extension, researchers Poteat and DiGiovanni (2010) tested the relationship between biased language use, dominance behavior, and prejudice. In the study, the researchers surveyed high school students in regards to bullying, dominance behavior, biased language use, and sexual prejudice. Bullying was measured via self-reports (e.g., indicating if or how often a student teased other students); dominance behavior was indicated, for example, by how often the students told their friends what to do; biased language use was measured by how often a student used the words “homo,” “gay,” “lesbo,” “fag,” and “dyke”; and sexual prejudice was indicated by the degree of agreement with statements such as “I think male homosexuals are disgusting” (Poteat and DiGiovanni 2010:1126).

Results revealed a strong association between the use of biased language and bullying among boys regardless of prejudice – where increased use of biased language correlated with higher rates of bullying – while for girls the association is predicated by prejudice (Poteat and DiGiovanni 2010:1130). In addition, an association between biased language use and dominance behavior was found, where increased use of biased language correlated with increased dominance behavior. For boys, this association was influenced by prejudice whereas for girls it was not (Poteat and DiGiovanni 2010:1130-1131).

These findings lend support to the proposal that biased language may be used as a tool for dominating. In light of the above research, one may advocate for more benign language use. With the premise that changes in language would lead to changes in cognition and society, Leue (2000) examined the effects of the implementation of political guidelines for non-sexist language for the public in Germany, specifically the reactions of people and institutions, e.g., classifieds in the newspaper, legislation, etc. Leue cites Hellinger who explains how conservatives have depicted the non-sexist recommendations as “exaggerated, trivial, and pathetic” (Leue 2000:168). In 1983 70% of women and 60% of men favored public non-sexist language whereas in 1995 80% of females and males (but mostly females) viewed non-sexist language unfavorably. Furthermore, when showed three versions of a legal document – one in the original male-biased form and the other two in a non-sexist form – it was found that the younger participants preferred the original form. In addition, although advertisements for managerial positions in the 1990s used masculine titles nearly exclusively and neutral words only for “feminine professions” and ten years later non-sexist job advertisements rose to 44.8%, 55.2% are still not gender-neutral (Leue 2010:169-174). The author suggests that this may be due to a lack of understanding of non-sexist language, its non-standardization, and the complexity of the conversion of language itself. Despite these issues, she maintains that there is progress and that non-sexist language should be encouraged but perhaps as a fluid development and not one that is prescribed (Leue 2010:176).

Thus, the implications are that switching from sexist language to non-sexist, inclusive language, or “political correctness,” is not without resistance and difficulties, but it is doable and, judging from the effects of misogynist rap music and language usage in dominance behavior, also potentially beneficial.

References

Adams, Carol J. 2002. The Sexual Politics of Meat. New York, NY: Continuum Publishing Company

Barongan, Christy, and Gordon C. Nagayama Hall. 1995. “The influence of misogynous rap music on sexual aggression against women.” Psychology Of Women Quarterly 19(2): 195.

Bidisha. 2010. “Sluts and Sweethearts.” The Guardian, September 2. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/03/sexist-language-bidisha)

Kakutani, Michico. 1993. “The Word Police.” The New York Times, January 31. (http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/31/style/the-word-police.html).

Kleinman, Sherryl. 2007. “Why Sexist Language Matters.” AlterNet, March 12. (http://www.alternet.org/story/48856/).

Leue, Elisabeth. 2000. “Gender and Language in Germany.” Debatte: Review Of Contemporary German Affairs 8(2): 163.

Poteat, V. Paul, and Craig D. DiGiovanni. 2010. “When Biased Language Use is Associated With Bullying and Dominance Behavior: The Moderating Effect of Prejudice.” Journal Of Youth & Adolescence 39(10): 1123-1133.

Warren, Karen J. 2000. Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective onWhat it is and Why it Matters. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Microbial Communities and Experimental Ideas

Research in microbiology and genetics continues to show that the widely-held species concept does not fully explain the ubiquitous and diverse microbes that exist in nature. In fact, rather than creating a full explanation, our efforts to go beyond understanding microbes at the individual level and our concentration on the microbial world at the community level have yielded new research questions that form the forefront of what we now understand as metagenomics.

 Metagenomics, along with pangenomics, gives rise to the potential benefits of understanding microbial communities and their collective interactions by utilizing genomic insight. Whereas pangenomics, which is hypothetical in construct, generally describes the sequenced genes of all isolates within the same species, notably, the dispensable genes, metagenomics takes gene sequencing even further and exposes the genetic makeup of a sample of the microbes in a community  (Ussery, Wassenaar, & Borini, 2009). The overall aim of the studies of pangenomics and metagenomics, combined with biotechnological advances, is to enable researchers to understand, via gene sequencing, the many relationships and functions that occur between the many microbe species (National Academy of Sciences, 2007).

 The transparent species agnosticism of Day, Beck, and Foster (2011) rejects the species concept on a philosophical basis due to inadequate evidence. Historically, Koch’s postulates have been identified as key components for understanding microbe speciation, given that one requirement is that the pathogen must be isolated in order to be linked to the cause of a disease. This has proven somewhat difficult in diseases that are caused by many different species. In addition, the work performed by Swenson (2000), as well as the capabilities of applying metagenomic and pangenomic techniques that cite the argument of Doolittle and Zhaxybayeva (2010) (who proposed that microbial communities should be seen as a single unit rather than as sets of species), must be considered as key components for understanding microbe speciation.

 To enhance the plausibility of the theory that microbial communities are units of study, as advocated by Day, Beck, and Foster (2011), the first expectation should be that such communities should serve as units of selection. This concept is best illustrated with an experimental technique known as ‘artificial ecosystem selection.’ Selection, which is introduced by the researcher, will produce a phenotype of interest, via interactions between individual members of a species and their strains, which will become more common in the population.

 Using this technique, a researcher inoculates a microcosm with a microbial community that has a diverse species composition and that is capable of producing a measurable property at the community level. The issue with microbial communities in experiments related to artificial ecosystem selection is that the evidence that selection has occurred is discovered by comparing the first generation with the last generation, which should show that the desired phenotype has been reproduced in each generation (Penn, 2003). As in the case of Swenson’s (2007) experiments, the fact that there were many microcosms with identical conditions and the outcome was the same for each eliminates the idea that selection occurred randomly. However, experiments concerning artificial ecosystem selection run the risk of displaying the enrichment hypothesis at the individual level. More specifically, it is believed that an instance may occur in which selection works on a single species because experimenters have control of the design. Day, Beck, and Foster (2011) suggested that the type of medium used should be considered, namely something less restrictive, but this does not mean it cannot be complex. In addition, attention should be paid to the dilution rate, because it must remain low so that one species, due to the enrichment hypothesis, is not reproducing more rapidly than the others.

 The researchers also suggested that microbial communities should be able to demonstrate lineages that fill stable niches. During the technique, this particular characteristic is observed during the transfer of samples each time the next generation is developed (suggestive of ensuring variation); the experiment must include evidence that the communities have heritability. In other words, the generations that preceded the parental generation must show the initial community-level phenotype, and they must show that this phenotype changed in comparison to the random line, which is used in this technique. If this occurs, as it has been seen with the Swenson (2000) experiments, the researchers suggested that this lineage developed. The researchers also used evidence accrued from the observations of host-associated communities to support their argument, e.g., gut flora, which are obtainable only by a community of various species, help preserve the fitness of the host. Along the same lines and from an evolutionary perspective, microbial communities also should be able to migrate to a new environment and reestablish their same function. Researchers have found this to be true with gut transplants in mice, which also show evidence of establishing lineage as well. Day, Beck, and Foster (2011) cited the experiment of Vijay-Kumar et al. (2010) to explain this argument, because it proved that, when mutant mice receive this gut community of microbes of many species, they work together to produce the same result as they did in the wild-type organism (p. 402). Day, Beck, and Foster (2011) suggested that these expectations must be met in order for microbial communities to be valid units of study, which suggests that they are capable of evolution.

 In another research study, there was a considerable amount of evidence that paralleled the significance of Day, Beck, and Foster’s (2011) theory about bacterial evolution in natural communities, albeit without the artificial ecosystem selection technique as supporting evidence. D. W. Ussery et al. (2009) succinctly repeated the same expectation, i.e., that diversity must be exhibited in these communities of microorganisms. Clearly, as the researchers have suggested, the fields of metagenomics and pangenomics have shown this to be the case. In addition, this has been reaffirmed through studies of bacterial conjugation, transposons, and other mechanisms in general in which bacteria are capable of transferring their DNA and later being sequenced. Although the transfer among prokaryotes usually occurs faster than it does among eukaryotes, those who study evolution believe that time is the ultimate determinant in whether a trait is being selected. Nevertheless, the more we learn about bacteria at the genetic level, the more we see signs of bacterial evolution, which makes us aware of the need to develop hypotheses about the changing nature of the behavior of the microbial community.

 It is obvious that researchers have taken on the laborious task of deciphering microbial genetic material, as well as understanding its role in evolutionary theory. This has been a continuous trend since the inception of genomic studies; however, recently, attention also has been focused on microbes at the community level, regarding whether they are capable of being evolutionary systems that can be used as models for applications in synthetic biology. This potentially could generate new possibilities in the way we use and understand microorganisms at both the individual level and the community level.

Critique

Researchers Mitch D. Day, Daniel Beck, and James A. Foster offered their analysis of an experimental technique known as ‘artificial ecosystem selection.’ Their advocacy of this particular technique is concise and written for an audience that understands the fundamentals of evolution and microbiology. In addition, their discussion suggests that, while pure cultures (which isolate a singles species of microbes) have a respected place in microbiological studies, it is advantageous to study microbes within communities. Overall, their analysis on this matter appears to be logical and informative, and it epitomizes the very purpose of scientific research, which is to expand the ideas that are put forth by other researchers.

The emphasis of the argument elucidated by the researchers is that more attention should be directed to microbes as units of study. This is the motivation for using the artificial ecosystem selection experiment. Their reasoning for using this experimental technique also includes their mention of metagenomics, a newer field of study, which also communicates a similar finding. As with any scientific theory, however, the researchers also presented a few other alternative hypotheses that might have occurred due to the response of the artificial ecosystem selection experiment (based on the composition of species), such as the enrichment hypothesis, selective amplification, additive interactions, and non-additive interactions. Each hypothesis was considered, and the fact that they mentioned this emphasizes the accuracy of this research and the impact of researcher bias. It is worthwhile to mention that the researchers cited Williams and Lenton (2007), who tested these hypotheses in their work and managed to prove that, in two of the three experiments, community-level selection occurred. Thus, the idea that selection can occur at the community level generally is accepted.

In fields that rely heavily on computational biology, there are two issues that have caused significant criticism, i.e. 1) how data are measured and 2) the implications of not using a system that is universal. Although there is no direct reference to the data on gene sequencing, this can potentially represent what the scientific community refers to as ‘analytic bias.’

The credentials and qualifications of the researchers involved are impeccable. This is made abundantly evident by their explicit demonstrations of knowledge and expertise in the topic at hand, their advanced degrees, and their affiliations with organizations that work to advance evolution in biomedicine. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the information, data, and research results they have produced are valid, reliable, and worthy of review. Also they frequently reference research conducted by other qualified professionals who specialize in studies related to their interests, further emphasizing their own expertise in the field.  In addition to the overall appeal of the article’s credibility and relevance, the fact that it provides solutions to modern-day challenges makes this topic most interesting and important.

 Applications

Although more research is warranted regarding the mechanics of the selection technique, the theoretical implications of this research, i.e., that microbial communities under controlled conditions can evolve to produce a phenotype of interest (which can be amplified with artificial technique principles) have the potential to provide answers for some of the most pressing issues of our time. This suggestion has profound consequences for the contemporary world, and many initiatives have already been put forth.

In Day, Beck, and Foster’s (2011) initial discussion, most of the praise for artificial ecosystem selection techniques relied on the work of Swenson (2000) with soil communities and Arabidopsis Thaliana. Moreover, the Swenson experiments proved that adaptive ecosystems comprised of microbes can be used to degrade pollutants, alter pH levels, and modify plant growth (Swenson, Arendt, & Wilson, 2000). However, Swenson’s report also suggested that attention should be given to bioremediation purposes, for which he and his researchers have postulated a “top-down” approach that searches for genes and bacterial species; when coalesced, these elements can efficiently reduce the emissions of industrial pollutants  (Swenson, Arendt, & Wilson, 2000).

Some researchers have proposed the idea that human health may benefit from the ecosystem selection technique through the potential production of personalized probiotics (J. Foster, personal communication, April 16, 2012).  As it stands, challenges to producing what may be seen as a segment of personalized medicine require more long-term studies with broader focuses and ecological control (J. Foster, personal communication, April 16, 2012).

Overall, this review article provided by Day, Beck, and Foster (2011) seems to suggest that a movement is arising in the field of genomics and microbiology. Whereas a single species was the sole attention of researchers, it is becoming much more evident that there are still unanswered questions concerning microbial communities and their genetic repertoires. Providing answers for such questions could allow medical practitioners of the future to manipulate these communities for the greater common good.

References

Day, M. D., Beck, D., & Foster, J. A. (2011). Microbial Communities as Experimental Units. BioScience, 401-405.

National Academy of Sciences (2007). Why Metagenomics? In N. A. Sciences, The New Science of Metagenomics: Revealing the Secerts of Our Microbial Planet (pp. 21-27). Washington, D. C.: The National Academies Press.

Penn, A. (2003). Modeling Artificial Ecosystem Selection: A Preliminary Investigation. Advances in Artificial Life.

Swenson, W., Arendt, J., & Wilson, D. S. (2000). Artificial selection of microbial ecosystems for 3-chloroaniline biodegradation. Environmental Microbiology, 564-571.

Ussery, D. W., Wassenaar, T. M., & Borini, S. (2009). Evolution of Microbial Communities; or, On the Origins of Bacterial Species. Computing for Comparative Microbial Genomics, 243-256.

Ussery, D., Wassenaar, T. M., & Borini, S. (2009). Microbial Communites: Core and Pan-Genomics. Computing for Comparative Microbial Genomics, 213-216.

Feminine Psychology

Often termed as a neo-Freudian, Karen Horney is considered a pioneer in the field of psychology, in which at one point she was convinced that the field of psychology itself was predominately androcentric. With hopes of changing the face of psychology − to something that related more to the social and cultural attitudes of women − it wasn’t long before she took a position against classical theorist Sigmund Freud. In her work, she writes extensively about womb envy, the antithesis of the classical Freudian concept of penis envy. Although this is really only the tip of the iceberg of the great contributions Horney ensued in personality theory, her dedication to the subject earned her the distinction of creating a separate branch of psychology: feminine psychology.

From Horney’s point of view, psychology did not devote enough attention to womanhood. In fact, she often characterized women with feelings of inferiority due to the overt and long-held displays of patriarchy. Women are not born with this state of mind, but are rather socialized to feel inadequate to men. Thus, Horney asserted that the basis of personality and development is not biological, and that social and cultural factors are likely to result from inhibited impulses. These assumptions by Horney were verified through her own personal experiences not only as a mother, but also as a clinical researcher. In some cases, Horney concurred, women were very resistant to their sexuality. She claimed that this was, again, due to women’s desire to compete with men in positions of power and success in the workplace.

Perhaps what earned Horney the most fame was her continuous opposition to Freudian theory and its disregard to the life course. Even though her response heeded great criticism, her basis of interpretation on the present factors of the human condition − from birth until the present − compared to Freud and his often infant-based theories, Horney appeared to be more interested in the function and the complexity and diversity of development. During that time, both Freud and Horney were interested in understanding neurotic trends of their patients and were in constant conflict regarding their beliefs. Whether or not their hypotheses and scientific work were correct, there is no doubt that feminine psychology has made great strides in our current understanding of personality theory.

Inasmuch as both researchers, Freud and Horney, disagreed, it is true that feminine psychology still has relevance to the field of psychology today. Feminine psychology and its orientation are highly applicable to today’s movements that work to include women in biomedical research. Interestingly, women have been denied participation in biomedical research. This movement, which stressed the importance of women’s health as a separate entity sees, like Karen Horney did, that women have not only psychological experiences that differ, but also many social and cultural factors that contribute to their health disparities. Based on this, we can also assume that male bias has also dominated the field of medicine equivocally.

People often say that history repeats itself, but this implies that the destruction, tyranny, and ignorance that occurred in the past occurs today and will simply recur in the future – that it is inevitable so there’s no point in bothering. Some have just given up. Others may be so consumed with daily tasks as to not look any further. These reasons are understandable; however, it overlooks the fact that we live in unprecedented times, and that looking the other way may be too large a cost to afford. Never in the history of humankind have so much carbon been pumped into the atmosphere and so many natural disasters occurred in such a short period of time; never has the extent of capitalism and globalization been so great; never has humanity faced the dilemma of nuclear proliferation and drone wars; never have viral diseases had the potential to spread from one side of the globe to the other in mere hours; and never has humanity experienced the likes of the internet and its ability to raise protests all over the world.

A more accurate adage perhaps states that history doesn’t repeat – it rhymes. That is, although it is arguable that human traits such as greed, hatred, curiosity (or a lack thereof), and a desire for fairness may produce predictable results, as how one anticipates the next note of a song, it will be a more or less different result each time. Furthermore, the result may be for better or worse, and we have witnessed the fruits of each, from the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition to the marvels of the Renaissance, from ethnic cleansing to the Civil Rights Act.

The challenge of this century is to produce more of the latter and less of the former. Everyday I scan the news and see more of the same – incessant nonsense from the GOP debates and the uncritical puppet-like coverage by big media, attacks on civil rights in the form of unnecessary and discriminatory voter ID laws, legislation after legislation introduced that would restrict the right of women and girls to control their own bodies, legislation that would label whistleblowers as terrorists, cuts to vital social programs, lobbyists infiltrating the government and insisting on the wonders of a gigantic oil pipeline stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. military spending still growing despite the fact that it makes up over half the U.S. budget and is greater than that of all other nations combined, the Tucson school district will ban books reminding children of their ethnic heritage, exploding health care costs, skyrocketing tuition, and corporate executives’ income growing at an accelerated rate despite stagnating growth for the middle class and one out of four people falling into poverty.

Now you may be reading this and already feel resigned to surrender, but activism doesn’t always entail monumental acts of courage. Simply by staying educated, relaying what one has learned, and being civically engaged can one shift the cultural discourse and even change the course of history. The power of the citizenry has been observed in the past with Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s presenting the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls as well as today with citizen outcry and online protests stopping SOPA and PIPA in their tracks. Just by telling my little cousin that she can be an engineer or my nephew that sensitivity is present in both men and women, that may free them from their own prisons, if not the prisons of society (although they will be full-grown members of society one day, and I hope they will be more respectful of differences than previous generations). Speaking of full-grown members of society, I also feel the percentage of voters in this country is woefully low, and those that do too often know less than those that don’t. It is not my place to tell people who to vote for, but whether one is looking for fundamental and immediate change at the local level, steady change at the national level, or just continuation of the status quo, the important thing is to vote and vote wisely. (This may be a good place to start – http://votesmart.org/.) In any event, in the grand scheme of things none of this may matter, but in this life it does, as well as in the lifetimes of future generations, so here’s to freedom, justice, and prosperity.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. every two minutes, which adds up to about 213,000 victims every year. Although the numbers are slowly decreasing, it is arguable that progress would be swifter if not for a society that facilitates sexual abuse, that is, a rape culture. Part of rape culture is the tendency for society to blame rape victims instead of rapists and to offer “prevention strategies” for the victims, implying that it is their responsibility and rapists are some sort of inevitable constant akin to earthquakes. In response to ten sexual assault cases that have taken place at South Park Slope in Brooklyn since March of 2011, NYPD police officers have been telling women to not wear shorts or skirts, as though wearing long pants will magically fend off a rapist whose main motive is power. When Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused (and eventually acquitted) of raping a hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, many people dismissed the case as conspiracy and painted Diallo as a liar. In Texas, a cheerleader sued her school when she was kicked off the team for refusing to cheer for her alleged rapist and was forced to pay $35,000 in legal fees. So what does the law say about rape? The FBI’s definition of “rape” since 1927 (and only recently revised) is “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will”. Moreover, the average sentence for rape in the U.S. is 11.8 years (the average time served is 5.4 years and 2.9 years for sexual assault) whereas possession of marijuana can land a person a life sentence (average time served is 3.5 years). What are the reasons for these attitudes? There may be many, but perhaps a main one, besides insidious sexism, is the “just-world phenomenon”, i.e. the psychological tendency to believe that the world is just, that people deserve what they get and get what they deserve. Perhaps it is simply another form of denial. Therefore, one might say that the tendency is in our nature so we can’t change it. But as many psychologists know, mental states can be changed. In any event, if there is to be fundamental change in culture, there must be a fundamental change in attitudes and behaviors.

Is the United States an individualistic society, a community-oriented, collectivistic society, or both? There are many layers to this question so, in order to answer it accurately, it may be helpful to analyze it from both a positivist and anti-positivist perspective. The sociologist Auguste Comte developed the concept of positivism which is “a view of social science as empirical investigation aiming to establish general laws of society” (Craib, 1997, p. 281). Another sociologist by the name of Émile Durkheim expanded on this view with his concept of the “social fact”, which is held to “have an existence over and above individuals and force themselves upon people” (Craib, 1997, p. 281). In this analysis, social facts are the health care system and taxes in the United States and data is drawn upon public opinion surveys, especially in comparison to other societies. By contrast, anti-positivism is concerned with qualitative methods and the theories of Karen Sternheimer, Bernard McGrane, Fred Davis, and Robert Putnam are used in interpreting whether U.S. society is tends toward individualism or collectivism.

In regards to the health care system, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not offer universal health care, that is, health care coverage for all citizens (Harper, 2009). In addition, the United States ranks 21st in the OECD in individual income tax rates at 39.76%, in comparison to Denmark with a 59.74% tax rate and the Slovak Republic with a 19% tax rate (Atkins, 2007). To clarify, public health care and taxes (which fund many social programs such as education) are merely general indicators of the extent of collectivism and may not be accurate alone since low tax rates can be indicative of a poor economy rather than individualistic society. However, a Gallup poll in 2011, reveals that 47% of adults favor repealing the health care reform law passed in 2010 – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – whereas 42% favored keeping it in place. Furthermore, fifty-six percent of U.S. citizens say they prefer a system based on private insurance while 39% prefer a government-run system (Newport, 2011).

Notwithstanding, according to the Pew Research Center, when asked about the social safety net in 2007, 54% agreed that the government should help more needy people whereas 40% disagreed, 69% agreed that the government should guarantee food and shelter for all while 29% disagreed, and 69% agreed that the government should take care of people who cannot care for themselves whereas 28% disagreed (Morin & Neidorf). Thus, one might conclude that the United States is divided on issues of collectivistic social welfare and tends to be somewhat more individualistic when compared to other industrialized nations.

At a smaller scale – the family – one can also observe increasing individualization. In 1960, 72% of all adults were married. By comparison, 52% were married in 2008 (Pew Social Trends, 2010). Despite respondents also being more accepting of various living arrangements and placing high value on family life, the trend indicates nonconformity which is characteristic of individualism. In addition, from 1981 to 1997, household conversations dropped 100% (that is, the average family spent 0 hours per week primarily talking as a family in 1997) and children spent an average of 45 minutes per week talking with someone in the family. In 1995, daily family dinners occurred in one-third of families (Doherty).

Perhaps not coincidentally, in 2000, the average U.S. resident logged 1,978 work hours, longer than any other industrialized country including Japan, Germany, and Canada (Anderson, 2001). Moreover, perhaps as a result of spending less time with the family, 53% of young adults aged 18-29 and 58% of all adults go online for no specific reason other than simply for fun or to pass the time (Rainie, 2011).

For many, religious congregations represent community. Nonetheless, 39% of the U.S. population attended religious services weekly in 2007 (Pond, et al., 2010). In terms of philosophy, 58% of U.S. citizens believe that the freedom to pursue life’s goals is more important than the state guaranteeing that nobody is in need whereas 35% believe that the latter is more important. By comparison, 30% of Spaniards believe that the freedom to pursue life’s goals is more important and 67% believe it is more important that the state guarantee nobody is in need. Further illuminating attitudes about the power of the individual in the United States, 36% of respondents agree with the statement that “success in life is determined by forces outside our control” while 72% of Germans agreed with that statement (Pew Global, 2011). This can perhaps be credited to Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on the benefits of hard work and thrift espoused in his popular pamphlet Poor Richard’s Almanack (Davidson). Familiar aphorisms include “a penny saved is a penny earned” and “time is money”, indicating that anyone can “make it” if they work hard and are frugal.

People are also having less social capital. According to Robert Putnam (1995), labor union membership has been dropping for decades, participation in the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has fallen from 12 million in 1964 to 7 million in 1995, membership in civic organizations such as the League of Women Voters and Boy Scouts has decreased significantly, and a majority of bowlers are literally bowling alone rather than in leagues.

Additionally, it is important to consider attitudes toward the environment in determining to what extent a society is community-oriented or individualistic, as a community-oriented society may tend to view itself as interdependent and hence put the interests of the community (and by extension the preservation of nature) above the individual while members of an individualistic society may view themselves as independent and place self-interests above that of the community (Myers, 2009). In light of this, when gas prices reached record levels in 2008, 47% thought that it was more important to expand oil exploration, mining, and construction of power plants than to conserve and regulate energy whereas 45% thought the latter was more important (Pew Research, 2008).

As data can help generate an understanding of society objectively in general, examining people’s modes of thinking and behavior can help in understanding society on a more individual, interactionist level in terms of its individualism and/or collectivism. From the latter approach, Karen Sternheimer in her book Celebrity Culture and the American Dream (2011) makes the case that enamored with achieving “reality” television and stardom. Perhaps due to the wealth gap and lack of opportunities in the “real” world, people are looking to make it to the top by just being themselves (rather than working to close up the wealth gap for the benefit of all). The perceived social mobility is perhaps an illusion but is especially appealing considering the age of the internet which gives people a global forum with which to advertise themselves. In other words, it seems doable. Plus, celebrity life is extremely glamorized in U.S. society and ergo people want to be a part it. Whether intentional or accidental, individualism is by extension also glamorized as admirers want to be admired and stand out as the special individuals they are. Competition is thus fostered as well and people may go to extreme lengths to get what they believe they deserve. This is in contrast to collective societies where identities, esteem, and goals is bound with that of other members of the community (Myers, 2009, p. 24-27).

While positive self-regard tends to be less important to collective societies and members use the word “I” less frequently (Kashima & Kashima as cited by Myers), people in the U.S. are arguably obsessed about personal appearance. According to Bernard McGrane (1994), when people look in what he calls the “looking glass self”, how they see their reflections is different from what is actually there, that is, they are likely to be overly critical of their physical appearances (and it is perhaps no coincidence that businesses, itself based on a individualistic capitalist model, make huge profits from this type of self-critical individualism). Thus, when people see others without clothes, it is “nudity”, whereas when they themselves are without clothes, it is “nakedness”.

Lastly, the value placed upon individualism in U.S. inhabitants can further be observed in their choices of clothing. For many, clothing represents a special sense of identity and can reveal much about people and their culture and/or subculture. Fred Davis in his chapter “Of Maids’ Uniforms and Blue Jeans” discusses ways in which class, social status, ambiguity, and creativity. Considering the general lack of class consciousness in the U.S., clothing, particularly blue jeans, may instead take on the role of ambiguity as jeans are worn by both the wealthy and impoverished. Despite the tendency to underdress in the U.S., which one might interpret as uniformity, the similar style of dress across demographics may in fact symbolize a multitude of meanings including but not limited to leisure, democracy, independence, freedom, equality, fraternity, antiestablishmentarianism, conservativism, and anti-fashion. Thus, ironically, the “democratization” of blue jeans can itself a form of individualistic self-expression. Some might even take this creativity further by purchasing jeans that are faded, fringed, worn, or with brand name labels and ornamentation.

Considering all the aforementioned evidence of individualistic tendencies among the U.S. populace, one might be quick to conclude that the U.S. is indeed an individualistic society. However, one might also notice that society is split on many issues. According to David G. Myers (2009), labeling a society as purely individualist or collectivist oversimplifies the multidimensional nature of a society, since the tendencies can vary from one person to another and most people exhibit one or the other at different times and places. In addition, some regional cultures in the U.S. may be more collectivist as in Hawaii whereas others more individualist such as in Montana; and conservatives can be individualistic when it comes to regulation of business but collectivistic concerning abortion on the other hand while liberals conversely are broadly collectivists in terms of social welfare, for instance, but individualists regarding reproductive choice (Myers, 2009, p. 25). To sum up, society is neither black nor white but grey, and in the case of U.S. society, it is neither purely individualist nor collectivist but leans toward the former.

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