History and Social Science, Part 24
Question 1: Describe an oligopoly.
Answer 1: When an industry is controlled by a small number of very large businesses, it is said to be an oligopoly. In the United States, over half of the distinct industries are controlled by oligopolies. These groups are able to stifle competition by buying up resources or by temporarily cutting prices, strategies which are impossible for smaller companies. In this way, oligopolies tend to quash innovation and keep power in the hands of conservative corporations. The power accrued by the members of an oligopoly also gives them the license to make decisions which may be healthy for them but destructive to the society as a whole. The automotive industry’s reluctance to pursue economy cars cost millions of American their livelihoods when Japanese manufacturers dominated the 1970s and 80s.
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Question 2: Define socialism.
Answer 2: Socialism is a political system that attempts to eliminate the vicious competitiveness of capitalism, in favor of a social structure based on cooperation and equality. Socialists seek to establish an economy that works for the good of all members of the society, not just the members of a privileged class. Typically, is accomplished by taking the control over the means of production from the bourgeoisie and returning it to the workers (proletariat) themselves. Socialism in practice has had mixed results: although some of the socialist reforms in Western Europe, for instance the nationalization of some industries, have been successes, the full-scale implementation of socialism in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries never realized the visions of its architects.
Question 3: Describe unions.
Answer 3: Unions are occupational organizations that work to advance the interests of their members by raising wages, guaranteeing their members the exclusive right to perform certain tasks, and improving working conditions. The trade union is a good modern example of a coalition, a joining of weaker parties to oppose a strong power. Unions can be either horizontal or vertical: a horizontal union is comprised of individuals with a common trade (plumbers or electricians, for example); a vertical union is composed of all the employees of a certain organization (Wal-Mart or Delta Airlines, perhaps). Trade unions usually try to get their demands through the threat of a strike, or organized work stoppage. Some sociologists say that trade unions arose during the Industrial Revolution, while others claim that unions have existed all the way back to the medieval guild system.
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