week 3
According to Karl Marx, social power is acquired by your value in the market. Whether you have lots of money or you are able to produce products of high demand, power is associated with wealth and your socioeconomic standing. He also notes that social power is not always earned nor fair, yet it dictates and defines who we are.
Achieving a state of wealth is not necessarily fair for all people. To achieve a state of power it is expected that you get a good education and hold a top position in a major corporation such as a CEO. However, people start at different positions and with different opportunities. For example, a son of a rich man probably goes to a big fancy school and has special tutoring whereas a person living in the Bronx goes to a school where maybe the teachers do not care whether or not the student succeeds. Also, women start out at lower points not because of theyre schooling or the opportunities but because of their gender. Statistics show that there are many fewer women in higher positions in the economy than men. Women are forced to choose between family and their careers. If they choose family, they become housewives. If they choose to follow a career path they are hit with what some may call a “glass ceiling.� The glass ceiling represents women seeing the dream but never attaining it.
As a gendered person, we are expected to act certain ways and perform to societies standards. Going with the example of women in the workforce, women are expected to put their work ahead of their families. One of the most famous examples in recent news is Sarah Palin. Many are wondering whether or not she can balance her five children and hold a place in office. These limits set by gender and material wealth in society are used to classify people into groups of the superior and the inferior.