CH. 11  POLITICS AND THE ECONOMY

 

 

POLITICS: ESTABLISHING LEADERSHIP.                

I.  Power, Authority, and Violence                                     

A.    Max Weber noted that power-the ability to get your way, even over the resistance of others-can be either legitimate or illegitimate. Authority is legitimate power that people accept as right, while coercion is power that people do not accept as just.

2. The state is the source of legitimate force or violence in society; violence is the ultimate foundation of political order. The ultimate proof of the state's authority is that the state may kill someone because he or she has done something that is considered absolutely horrible; an individual may or may not do the same without facing consequences.    ­
3. The first source of authority Weber identified is traditional authority. On the basis of custom, this type of authority is prevalent in preliterate groups, in which custom sets relationships. When society changes, traditional authority is undermined but does not die, even in post-industrial societies. For example, parental authority is a traditional authority.)
4. Rational-legal authority, based on written rules (also called bureaucratic authority), is the second source of authority Weber identified. It derives from the position an individual holds, not from the person. Everyone (no matter how high the office) is subject to the rules.
5. Charismatic authority is the third source of authority Weber identified. It is based on an individual's personal following and may pose a threat. Because charismatic leaders work outside the established political system and may threaten it, the authorities are often quick to oppose this type of leader.
6. Orderly transfer of authority upon the death, resignation, or incapacity of a leader is critical for stability. Succession is more of a problem with charismatic authority than with traditional or rational-legal authority. Routinization of charisma refers to the transfer of authority from a charismatic leader to either traditional or rational-legal authority.

 

II. Types of Government                   .

1. As cities developed, each city-state (an independent city whose power radiated outward, bringing adjacent areas under its rule) had its own monarchy, a type of government headed by a king or queen.

1. As city-states warred with one another, the victors would extend their rule, eventually over an entire region. 

2. As the size of these regions grew, people developed an identification with the region; over time, this gave rise to the state.

2. A democracy is a government whose authority derives from the people.

1.    Direct democracy (voters meet together to discuss issues and make decisions) existed 2,000 years ago in Athens. This type of democracy was appropriate in small communities.

2. Representative democracy (voters elect representatives to govern and make decisions on their behalf) emerged as the United State became more populous, making direct democracy impossible. .This concept was revolutionary; its implementation meant the reversal of traditional ideas, for the government was to be responsive to the people's wishes, not the people to the wishes of the government.
3. Today, citizenship (citizens have basic rights) is taken for granted in the United States. Universal citizenship (everyone having the same basic rights) came into practice very slowly and only through fierce struggle.
2. Dictatorship is government in which power is seized and held by an individual; oligarchy results when a small group of individuals seizes power. Dictators and oligarchies can be totalitarian, exercising almost total control of a people.

 

III.  The U.S. Political System                                ..­

1. The Democratic and Republican parties emerged by the time of the Civil War.

1.    The Democrats are often associated with the poor and the working class, and the Republicans with people who are financially better off.

2.    Because each party appeals to a broad membership, it is difficult to distinguish conservative Democrats from liberal Republicans; however, it is easy to discern the extremes. Those who are elected to Congress may cross party lines because, although office-holders support their party's philosophy, they do not necessarily support all of its specific proposals.

3.    Despite their differences, both parties support fundamentals of U.S. society such as freedom of religion, free public education, and capitalism. .

4. Third parties do playa role in U.S. politics, although generally they receive little public support. In 1992, Ross Perot's "United We Stand" (Reform) party was one exception.
1. Year after year, Americans show consistent voting patterns.

1.    U.S. voting patterns are consistent: The percentage of people who vote increases with age; whites are more likely to vote than are African Americans or Asian Americans, while Latinos are considerably less likely to vote than either; those with higher levels of education, are more likely to vote, as are people with, higher levels of income; females are slightly more likely to vote in presidential elections than are males.

2. The more that people feel they have a stake in the system, the more likely they are     to vote. Those who have been rewarded by the system feel more socially integrated and perceive that elections directly affect their lives and the society in which they live.
3. People who gain less from the system in terms of education, income, and jobs are more likely to be alienated.
4. Voter apathy is indifference toward and inaction in regard to the political process. As a result of apathy, half of all eligible American voters do not vote for president; two-thirds do not vote for members of Congress.

3.  Special-interest groups are groups of people who think alike on a particular issue and can be mobilized for political action

1.    Lobbyists who try to influence legislation on behalf of their clients; they have become a major force in politics. In an effort to curb the influence of lobbyists, Congress passed legislation that set limits on the amount of money that special-interest groups can donate to political candidates. 2.  Political action committees (PACs) solicit and spend funds to influence legislation and bypass laws intended to limit the amount any individual, corporation, or group can give a candidate. PACs have become a powerful influence, bankrolling lobbyists and legislators, and PACs with the most clout gain the ear of Congress. ­

2.      The major criticism against lobbyists and PACs is that their money buys votes. Rather than representing the people who elected them, legislators support the special interests of groups that are able to help them stay in power.

 

 

IV.  Who Rules the United States?

A.     The functionalists say that pluralism-the diffusion of power among interest groups-prevents anyone group from gaining control of the government. Functionalists believe that it helps to keep the government from turning against its citizens.

1.    To balance the interests of competing groups, the founders of the U.S. system of government created a system of checks and balances in which separation of powers among the three branches of government ensures that each is able to nullify the actions of the other two, thus preventing the domination of any single branch.

2.      According to this perspective, each group within society pursues its own interests and is balanced by other groups pursuing theirs. As groups negotiate with one another and reach compromises, conflict is  minimized.

B.     According to the conflict perspective, lobbyists and even Congress itself are not at the center of decision making. Rather, members of the power elite make the decisions that direct the country and shake the world.

1.    As stated by C. Wright Mills, the power elite (heads of leading corporations, powerful generals and admirals in the armed forces, and certain elite politicians) rules the United States. The power elite views capitalism as essential to the welfare of the country; therefore, business interests come first.

2.      According to William Domhoff, the ruling class (the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in the country) runs the United States. Its members control the' top U.S. corporations and foundations; presidential cabinet members and top ambassadors to the most powerful countries are chosen from this group, which promotes the view that positions come through merit and that everyone has a chance of becoming rich.

3.      The ruling class does not act in complete unity; the interests of one segment may conflict with those of another. At the same time, the members generally see eye to eye; they have a mutual interest in solving the problems of business.

C.     While the functionalist and conflict views of power in U.S. society cannot be reconciled, it is possible to employ both. The middle level of C. Wright Mills' model best reflects the functionalist view of competing interests holding each other at bay. At the top is an elite that' follows its special interests, as conflict theorists suggest.

V.  War and Terrorism: A Means to Implement Political Objectives

1. A. The state uses violence to protect citizens from individuals and groups, occasionally turning to violence against other nations. War (armed conflict between nations or politically distinct groups) often is part of national policy.
2. Nicholas Timasheff identified three essential conditions of war.

1.      1. There is a cultural tradition of war; because they have fought wars in the past,        leaders see war as an option.     .

2.      An antagonistic situation exists, with two or more states conditioning incompatible objectives.

3.      A "fuel" heats the antagonistic situation to the boiling point, so people move from thinking about war to engaging in it; Timasheff identified seven fuels, including revenge, power, prestige, unity, position, ethnicity, and beliefs.

     C. War has an effect on morality.

1.      Exposure to brutality and killing often causes dehumanization (reducing people to objects that do not deserve to be treated as humans).   .

2.      Characteristics of dehumanization include (1) increased emotional distance from others, (2) an emphasis on following procedures, (3) inability to resist pressures, and (4) a diminished sense of personal responsibility.

3.      Tamotsu Shibutani stressed that dehumanization is helped along by the tendency for a prolonged conflict to be transformed into a struggle between good and evil.

4.      Dehumanization does not always insulate the self from guilt;' after the war ends, returning soldiers often find themselves disturbed by what they did during the war. Although most eventually adjust, some live with the guilt forever.

     D. Today, terrorism directed against civilian populations is a danger.

1. Suicide terrorism is one of the few options available to a weaker group that wants to retaliate against a powerful country.
2. The real danger is from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that could be unleashed against civilian populations.

 

 

THE ECONOMY: WORK IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

VI. The Transformation of Economic Systems

A.    The economy is a system of producing and distributing goods and services. It has evolved over time from preindustrial to industrial to postindustrial.

2. The transformation of preindustrial societies from hunting-and-gathering to agricultural was accompanied by growing inequality.

1.    The earliest groups, hunting and gathering societies, had subsistence economies, characterized by little trade with other groups and a high degree of social equality.

2. In pastoral and horticultural economies, people created more dependable food supplies. The creation of a surplus allowed groups to grow in size, to settle in a single place, to develop a specialized division of labor, and to trade with other groups, all of which fostered social inequality.
3. Agricultural economies brought even greater surpluses, magnifying prior trends in social, political, and economic inequality. More people were freed from food production, a more specialized division of labor developed, and trade expanded..
2. The surplus (and greater inequality) grew in industrial societies. As the surplus increased, emphasis changed from production of goods to consumption. (Thorstein Veblen coined the term conspicuous consumption.)
3. The emergence of a new type of society was noted by Daniel Bell in 1973. This new type of society was called the postindustrial society.

1.    According to Bell; postindustrial economies have six traits: (1) a service sector so large that it employs the majority of workers, (2) a large surplus of goods, (3) even more extensive trade among nations, (4) a wide variety and amount of goods available to the average person, (5) an information explosion, and (6) a «global village" with instantaneous, worldwide communications.

2. The key to the postindustrial society is the information explosion," with  large numbers of people managing information and designing and servicing products.
3. The consequence of this explosion is that the transformation of the world is uneven; some people will live comfortably, while others will continue the struggle just to survive.
4. In recent years, some ominous economic trends have emerged in the United States. .' .

1.    To reduce costs, U.S. firms are downsizing. "Expensive" fulI-time workers are fired, and temporary workers are hired in their place. In this way, firms do not have to spend money on expensive frills such as vacation pay and retirement benefits.

2. Many Americans find their standard of living stagnating or even declining. There has been a net decline in wages and the standard of living since the early 1970s.
3. Income inequalities continue to plague our society. The distribution of income reassembles an inverted pyramid.

 

VII. World Economic Systems                            .

A. Capitalism has three essential features: (1) the private ownership of the means of production, (2) the pursuit of profit, and (3) market competition.

1.      Pure (laissez-faire) capitalism exists only when market forces are able to

2.      operate without interference from the government.

3.      The United States today has welfare (or state) capitalism. Private citizens own the means of production and pursue profits but do so within a vast system of laws designed to protect the public welfare (market restraints).

B.  Socialism also has three essential features: (1) the public ownership of the means of production, (2) central planning, and (3) the distribution of goods without a profit motive.          .

1.    Under socialism, the government owns the means of production, and a central committee determines what the country needs instead of allowing supply and demand to control production and prices.

2. Socialism is designed to eliminate competition, to produce goods for the general welfare, and to distribute them according to people's needs, not their ability to pay.
3. Socialism does not exist in pure form Although the ideology of socialism calls for resources to be distributed according to need rather than position, socialist nations found it necessary to offer higher salaries for some jobs to entice people to take greater responsibilities.
4. Some nations (e.g., Sweden and Denmark) have adopted democratic or welfare socialism: Both the state and individuals engage in production and distribution, although the state owns certain industries (steel, mining, forestry, telephones, television stations, and airlines), while retail stores, farms, and most service industries remain in private hands.

C.  Capitalism and socialism represent distinct ideologies.

1.      Capitalists believe that market forces should determine both products and prices and that it is good for people to strive for profits.

2.      Socialists believe that profit is immoral and represents excess value extracted from workers.

3.      Each ideology sees the other as a system of exploitation. Capitalists see that socialists violate basic human rights of freedom of decision and opportunity; socialists see that capitalists violate basic human rights of freedom from poverty.

D.     The primary criticism of capitalism is that it leads to social inequality (a top layer of wealthy, powerful people and a bottom layer of people who are unemployed or underemployed). Socialism has been criticized for not respecting individual rights and for not being capable of producing much wealth (thus, the greater equality of socialism actually amounts to almost everyone having an equal chance of being poor).

E.       As societies industrialize, they display comparable divisions of labor, a similar emphasis on higher education, and a trend toward extensive urbanization. According to convergence theory, as capitalist and socialist systems adopt features of each other, the result may be the emergence of a hybrid or mixed economy in the future.     .

 

VIII.  Capitalism in a global Economy

A.    The corporation (joint ownership of a business enterprise, whose liabilities are separate from those of its owners) has changed the face of capitalism.

1.    Corporate capitalism refers to the domination of the economic system by giant corporations. One of the most significant aspects of large corporations is the separation of ownership and management, producing ownership of wealth without appreciable control and control of wealth without appreciable ownership.

2. Because of the dispersion of ownership, a power vacuum is created. Often, stockholders simply rubber-stamp management's. recommendations at annual stockholders' meetings. However, a stockholders' revolt (in which stockholders of a corporation refuse to rubber-stamp decisions made by the management) is likely to occur if the profits do not meet expectations.
1. Interlocking directorates occur when individuals serve as directors of several companies, concentrating power and minimizing competition.
2. As corporations have outgrown national boundaries, the result has been the creation of multinational corporations.

1.    As multinationals move investments and production from one part of the globe to another in search of profits, the result has been a flood of low­ priced consumer goods.

2. This comes at a cost. Millions of U.S. jobs have been lost, while workers in the Least Industrialized Nations are exploited, and the environments in these nations are often polluted.

4. New technologies underlie the globalization of capitalism, allowing a worldwide flow of information, capital, and goods.  New alliances among nations have emerged, creating new possibilities for world peace.

1.      As the power of multinationals continues to grow, their elites are likely to become more interconnected, forging partnerships with national elites.

2.      The result may be that the multinationals and their new trade agreements will become a force for peace, but the price may be high if it means that the New World Order is dominated by a handful of the world’s top corporate leaders.

CH. 12  MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

 

 

I.  Marriage and Family in Global Perspective

A.     The term family is difficult to define, as there are many types of families.

1.    In some societies, men have more than one wife. (polygyny), or women have more than one husband (polyandry). .

2.      2. A broad definition of family is a group of two or more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption and live together (or have lived together). A household, in contrast to a family, consists of all people who occupy the same housing unit.            .           .

3.      A family is classified as a nuclear family (husband, wife, and children) or an extended 'family (ii nuclear family plus other .relatives who live together). .

4.      4.  The family of orientation is the. Family in which a person grows up; the family of procreation is the family" that is formed when a couple's first child is born.

5.      Marriage is a group's approved .mating arrangement, usually marked by a. ritual.          

B.     Despite diversity, several common themes run through marriage and family.

1.    Each group establishes norms to govern who may and may not marry. Endogamy is the practice of marrying within one's own group; exogamy is the practice of marrying outside of one's own group; the incest taboo is the best example of a norm of exogamy. Some norms of mate selection are written into law, others are informal.

2. Three major patterns of descent (tracing kinship over generations) are (a) bilateral (descent traced on both the mother's and the father's side), (b) patrilineal (descent traced only on the father's side), and (c) matrilineal (descent traced only on the mother's side).
3. Mate selection and descent are regulated in all societies to provide an orderly way of passing property, etc" to the next generation. In a bilateral system, property passes to males and females; in a patrilineal system, property passes only to males; in a JI1.atrilineal system, property passes only to females.
4. Patriarchy, found in all societies, is a social system in which men dominate women. No historical records exist of a true matriarchy (a system in which women as a group dominate men). In an egalitarian social system, authority is more or Jess equally divided between. men and  women. .

 

II. Marriage and Family in Theoretical Perspective

A. Functionalists stress that to survive, a: society must meet certain basic needs; they examine how the family contributes to the well-being of society.

1.     The family is universal because it serves functions that are essential to the well-being of society: economic production, socialization of children, care of the sick and aged, recreation, sexual control, and reproduction.

2.     The incest taboo (rules specifying which people are too closely related to have sex or many) helps the family to avoid role confusion and forces people to look outside the family for marriage partners, creating a network of support.      .

3.      The nuclear family has few people it can depend on for material and emotional support; thus, the members of a nuclear family are vulnerable to "emotional overload." The relative isolation of the nuclear family makes it easier for the "dark side" of families (incest arid other types of abuse) to emerge.                        .

 

B. To conflict theorists, the issue is the struggle over scarce resources; they argue that within the family, the conflict over housework is really about control over scarce resources-time, energy, and the leisure to pursue interesting activities.

1.     Most men resist doing housework, and wives end up doing almost all of it, even though men think that they are splitting the work equally. Arlie Hochschild found that after an 8-hour day at work, women typically work a "second shift" at home; this means that wives work an extra month of 24-hour days each year. The result is that wives who work outside the home feel deep discontent.

C.  Symbolic interactionists look at the meanings that people give to their experiences; they are interested in how husbands view housework.

1. Research indicates that the less difference there is between a husband's earnings         and a wife's earnings, the more likely they are to share housework. When husbands are laid off from work, their contribution decreases. Husband who earn less than their wives do the least housework.

2.      The key to understanding this pattern is gender role. When a wife earns more than her husband, his masculinity is threatened; to do housework is even more threatening. By not doing it, he is able to "reclaim" his masculinity.

 

III.  The Family Life Cycle

1. Romantic love provides the ideological context in which people in the United States seek mates and form families. Romantic love has two components: (1) emotional-a feeling of sexual attraction-and (2) cognitive-the feeling we describe as being ‘in love'.
2. The social channels of love and marriage in the United States include age, education, social class, race, and religion.
   1. Homogamy is the tendency of people with similar characteristics to marry) one another, usually resulting from propinquity (spatial nearness).  People living near one another tend to marry.          .
   2. Interracial marriage is an exception to these social patterns. In the United States, about 6 percent of the population marries someone from a different race. At the same time, interracial marriages are becoming more acceptable.
3. Marital satisfaction usually decreases with the birth of a child, according to Martin Whyte.  Lillian Rubin found that social class influences how couples adjust to children. Working-class couples are more likely to have a baby nine months after marriage and have major interpersonal and financial problems; middle-class parents are more prepared because of more resources, postponement of the birth of the first child, and more time to adjust to one another.
4. Traditionally, child rearing automatically fell on the mother.  As more mothers become employed outside the home, this has changed.

1. The overall child care arrangements appear to be quite similar for married couples and single mothers. The main difference is the role played by the child's father while the mother is at work. For married couples, almost one in four children is cared for by the father, while for single mothers, this arrangement occurs for about only one of fourteen children. Grandparents often help to fill the child care gap left by absent fathers in single-mother homes.
2. One in six children is in day care. Given the abysmal salaries paid to day care workers, only a minority of U.S. day care centers offer high-quality care.

3. Social class is also important in child rearing. According to Melvin Kohn, parents       socialize children into the norms of their respective work worlds. Working-class parents want their children to behave in conformity with social expectations. Middle-class parents are more concerned that their children develop curiosity, self-expression, and self­ control.         .           .
4. Birth order is significant in child rearing. First-borns tend to be disciplined more than children who follow but also receive more attention; when the next child arrives, the firstborn competes to maintain attention.

5. Later stages of the family life cycle bring their own pleasures and problems.

1.      The empty nest is thought to signal a difficult adjustment for women; however, Lillian Rubin argues that this syndrome is largely a myth because women's satisfaction generally increases when the last child leaves home. Most women feel relieved at being able to spend more time on themselves. Many couples report a renewed sense of companionship at this time. This closeness is related to four factors: freedom from the responsibilities of child rearing, increased leisure, higher incomes, and fewer financial obligations.            .            ,

2.      With prolonged education and a growing cost of establishing households, U.S. children are leaving home later, or after initially leaving home, they are returning.

3.      Women are more likely than men to face the problem of adjusting to widowhood; not only does the average women live longer than a man, but she has also married a man who is older than herself.

 

IV.  Diversity in U.S. Families                                     '

A.     As with other groups, the family life of African Americans differs with social class.

1.      The upper class is concerned with maintaining family lineage and preserving their privilege and wealth; the middle class focuses on achievement and respectability; poor African American families face the problems that poverty brings: sharing scarce resources and "stretching kinship" are primary survival mechanisms for poor families. Sociologists use the term fictive kin to refer to the nonrelated individuals who help the family out in hard times.'

2.      A marriage squeeze (fewer unmarried males than married females) exists among African Americans; women thus are more likely to marry men with less education or men who are unemployed or divorced or to remain single.

B.     The effects of social class on families also apply to Latinos. In addition, families differ by country of origin.   

1.      Latino families are distinguishable by the Spanish language, Roman Catholic religion, and strong family ties with a disapproval of divorce.

2.      Machismo, the emphasis on male strength and dominance, also seems to be a characteristic of Latino families. As a result, the husband-father plays a: stronger role than in white or African-American families, and the wife-mother deals with family and child-related decisions. Machismo decreases with each generation that lives in the United States.

C.     While the structure of Asian American families is almost identical to that of white families, there are still significant variations in family life because Asian Americans come from twenty countries.

1.      The family life of recent immigrants is closer to that of their country of origin.           

2.      Bob Suzuki points out that while Chinese American and Japanese, American families have adopted the nuclear family pattern of the United States, they have retained Confucian values that provide a distinct from work to family life: humanism, collectivity, self-discipline, hierarchy, respect for the elderly, moderation, and obligation.

D. Perhaps the most significant issue facing Native American families is whether to follow traditional values or to assimilate; traditionals speak native languages and emphasize distinctive values and beliefs, while those who have assimilated do not.

E. There has been an increase in one-parent families.

1.      This increase is due to the high divorce rate and the sharp increase in unwed motherhood.

2.      Most of these families are poor; the reason for the poverty is that most are headed by women who earn less than men.

3.      Children from one-parent families are more likely to drop out of school, become delinquent, be poor as adults, divorce, and have children outside of marriage.       

F.      There is a growing number of families who are voluntarily childless. The percentage varies with the education of the woman; the more education she has, the more likely she is to expect to bear no children. Latinos are much less likely to expect to remain childless than are whites and African Americans.

1.      1. There are different reasons why couples choose not to have children; a weak relationship, financial constraints, and a demanding career are among the reasons researchers have identified.        .

2.      More education, careers for women, effective contraception, abortion, the costs of rearing children, and changing attitudes toward children and goals in life all contribute to the _crease in childless and child-free marriages.

G.     A blended family is one whose members were once part of other families (i.e., two divorced people marry, bringing children into a new family unit). Blended families are -increasing in number and often experience complicated family relationships.

H.     Although marriage between homosexuals is illegal in the United States, many homosexual couples live in monogamous relationships that they refer to as marriage.

1.      In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriages.

2.      Gay families have the usual problems of heterosexual marriages: housework, money, careers, problems with relatives, and sexual adjustment.

 

V. Trends in U.S. Families

A. The average age of U.S. brides is the oldest it has been since records were kept.

            1. The percentage of unmarried women is now about double what it was in 1970.

2.  Many young people postpone marriage but not cohabitation; if cohabitation were counted as marriage, rates of family formation and age at first marriage would show little change.

B. Cohabitation (living together as an unmarried couple) is ten times more common today than it was 30 years ago. About 60 percent of the couples who many have cohabited; this rate is lower in the United States than in Canada and most European countries. Commitment is the essential difference between cohabitation and marriage; marriage assumes permanence, while cohabiting assumes remaining together "as long as it works out".

C.     As was previously discussed, there has been an increase in the number of births to unmarried mothers.

1.      In the ten industrialized nations for which data are available, all except Japan have experienced sharp increases in births to unmarried mothers; the U.S. rate falls in the middle third of these nations.

2.      Industrialization alone is too simple an explanation for this increase. To understand this trend more fully, future research must focus on customs and values embedded within particular cultures.

D.  The term sandwich generation refers to people who find themselves sandwiched between two generations, responsible for the care of their children and for their own aging parents.      ..

1.      These people are typically between the ages of 40 and 55.

2.      More businesses are offering elder care assistance to their employees. With people living longer, this issue is likely to become even more urgent in the future.

 

VI.  Divorce and Remarriage.

A.     The United States has the highest divorce rate in the industrialized world; half or more of all couples getting married today may eventually divorce.

1.      Although the divorce rate is reported to be 50 percent, this statistic is misleading because with rare exceptions, those who divorce do not come from the group who married that year.

2.      An alternative is to compare the number of divorces in a given year to the entire group of married couples; this amounts to 2 percent of all married couples getting a divorce.

3.      A third way is to calculate the number of divorced people for every thousand married people.

B.     Each year, over one million children are in families that are affected by divorce. Divorce threatens a child's world.

1.     Research has found that the grown children of divorce feel more distant from parents than do children from intact families; they are less likely to marry and more likely to divorce.

2.      Research shows that children's adjustment was affected by the relationship(s) their mothers formed after divorce. Those whose mothers entered a single, stable relationship after divorce had the best adjustment.

3.      Several factors help children to adjust to divorce: Both parents show understanding and affection; the parent with whom the child lives is making a good adjustment; family routines are consistent; the family has adequate money for its needs; and, according to preliminary studies, the child lives with the parent of the same sex.

4.     Children adjust best when a second adult can be counted on for support.

C.     A new fathering pattern, known as serial fatherhood, is beginning to emerge.

1.     Divorced fathers tend to live with, support, and play an active fathering role with children of the woman to whom they are currently married or with whom they are currently living.

2.      Over time, contact with their children from a previous marriage or relationship diminishes; one study found that only about one-sixth of children who live apart from their fathers see them as often as every week. Research suggests that most divorced fathers stop seeing their children altogether.

D.     Women are more likely than men to feel that divorce gives them a new chance at life. Divorce likely spells economic hardship for women, especially mothers of small 'children; in the first postdivorce year, the standard of living for women with dependent children declines significantly. The ex-husband's standard of living is likely to improve.

E.      Most divorced people eventually remarry, with an average period between divorce and remarriage of about five years for women.

1.     Most divorced people remarry other divorced people.

 

2.     Women with small children and women with less than a high school education are most likely to remarry.

3.      Men are more likely than women to remarry, perhaps because they have a larger pool of potential mates from which to select.

4. The divorce rate for remarried people without children is the same as that of first   marriages. Those who bring children into their new marriage, however, are more likely to divorce again; this suggests that remarriages with children are more difficult because there are not yet norms governing these relationships.

 

VII. Two Sides of Family Life

A. The dark side of family life deals with events that people would rather keep in the dark, such as battering, child abuse, and incest.

1.    Although wives are about as likely to attack their husbands as husbands are to attack their wives, it is generally the husband who lands the last and most damaging blow. Living in a sexist society, men who batter think that they are superior and they have a right to force their will on their wives.

2. Child abuse is extensive. Each year, three million U.S. children are reported to the authorities as victims of abuse or neglect.
3. Incest is sexual relations between relatives, such as brothers and sisters or parents and children. It occurs most frequently in families that are socially isolated. The most common offenders are uncles, followed by first cousins, fathers/stepfathers, brothers, and finally other male relatives.

B.  There are a number of factors that make marriages work. Variables that produce happy marriages include spending time together, appreciating one another, having a commitment to the marriage, using good communications, confronting and working through problems together, and putting more into the marriage than you take out.

 

VIII.  The Future of Marriage and Family

A.     Despite its problems, marriage is not likely to disappear as a social institution because it is functional; we see it as vital to our welfare.

B.     Certain trends appear firmly in place.

1.      It is likely that cohabitation will increase, as will the age at first marriage and the number of women joining the work force, with a resulting shift in marital power toward a more egalitarian norm.

2.      The number of elderly people will continue to increase, with more and more middle-aged couples finding themselves part of the "sandwich generation.

C.  It is not clear what the long-term trend in divorce will be. The recent decline may be a prelude to a longer-term decline, or it could be a lull before the rate rises again.

D.  Sociology can playa role in correcting some of the distortions associated with marriage and family life as well as helping to formulate social policies that will enhance family life.