Unlevel Playing Fields Chapter 6

Introduction to Political Economy

Political Economy - Power and the Economy

Role of Competition?

Four Concepts:

Context:
Social pressures, construction of wants
constraints

Collective behavior:
Individuals vs. groups?
Group actions
Unequal power

Conflicting interests:
Group conflicts -- real or perceived?
U.S. vs. Foreigners
Capitalist vs. workers
Finance vs. Industry
Blue collar vs. White collar workers
Religious differences
Gender differences

Change:
Context differs over time, history
Conflicting interests => change in context

Class, Race and Gender

Social categories

Social relations (counterpart groups)

Sites: locations where social relations played out

Forms of oppression (exploitation, exclusion, domination)

i) Class: control vs. production of surplus
inequality capitalists vs. workers
competition -- the few vs. the many
site -- firm
form of oppression -- exploitation
[control by one group of another's work for material gain]

ii) Race:
group identity => racial solidarity & racism
inequality whites vs. blacks
site -- community
form of oppression -- exclusion
[physical or social isoloation]

iii) Gender:
sexual division of labor
inequality men vs. women
site -- home
form of oppression -- domination
[one group submissive to another]

firm/exploitation, race/exclusion, and gender/domination are white, male views
So INTERCONNECT

ROLE OF COMPETITION:
dog-eat-dog
market vs. firm-generated

Challenging Oppression
conflicting interests
alienation
liberatory knowledge