Power In Society Essays (2264 words) - Marxism, Marxian Economics

Power In Society power in society A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of power over: political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are based on property (class), domination whites over others (race) and men over women (gender). Property owners as a dominant group have power over a subordinate group who do not own property. Karl Marx, one of the greatest economists of the XIX century, defines domin ation from the purely economic point of view. To Marx, a class is defined according to the ownership and control of the means of production; and therefore two major classes present in capitalism are bourgeoisie and proletariat. Bourgeoisie owns and controls the means of production. Proletariat, on the other hand, owns nothing and it sells its labour as a commodity in return for money. The power presented here is this constant antagonism between those who own and control and those who do not possess the means of production. By possessing control over these means of production, they ultimately control labour force itself. Bourgeoisie makes proletariat to work long hours with less pay, makes workers comparative with jobs, and alienated workers just make enough for living. For if you are forced to sell your labour force as a commodity in order to survive, you are treated by those who buy this same commodity not differently that any other commodity available on the market that is necessa ry for the multiplication of capital. In Marx's time, workers lacked bargaining power through unions, legal strikes or sabotage (Grabb, 1997: 17). As a result, they could not form a united front against employers, and give themselves a power of collective resistance. In our society, we still can recognize basic elements of Marx's theory. Today, at the end of twentieth century, capitalism is still a strong and developed system that will most likely remain to be so for some time. One thing that has changed is that through the establishment of workers unions, the gap between bourgeoisie and workers has narrowed. The 8-hour work - 8-hour rest - 8-hour sleep system that Marx proposed seems to be in place in many of the countries around the world. Despite these accomplishments, the power over subordinate group still exist. Grabb argues that oppression on the class basis may seem absent in capitalist societies today, because workers are legally free to choose whether or not to accept to wo rk for a capitalist (Grabb, 1997: 16). But, are workers really free to decide? In other terms, what are their options? For a worker who, by definition, does not own means of production, there is no other choice to earn a living than to sell his/her labour to the capitalist. Contrary to Marx's theory that bases class inequality only on the economic ground, Webber adds two more components, prestige, and political power. He argues that those who are members of dominant classes, status groups, and party associations are able on the whole to exact compliance to their wills, on a regular basis, from the remaining population (Grabb, 1997: 54). In the previous centuries, this compliance was accomplished by physical force when violent social action was absolutely primordial(Grabb, 1997: 54). However, in the late twentieth century, different forms of domination emerge, i.e. control over communication and media, control of innovation and developments etc. Therefore, we can conclude that class antagonism is present, only it is changing in form. Today, the capitalist class owns and controls the media, and therefore controls what information is disseminated to the rest of the population through TV, newspapers, Internet, etc. According to Anne Bishop, ordinary people are constantly exposed to the version of

SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Information

SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Information The SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test challenges you in the same areas as the Math Level 1 Subject Test with the addition of more difficult trigonometry and precalculus. If youre a rock star when it comes to all things math, then this is the test for you. Its designed to put you in your best light for those admissions counselors to see. The SAT Math Level 2 Test is one of many SAT Subject Tests offered by the College Board. These puppies are not the same thing as the good old   SAT. SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Basics After you register for this bad boy, youre going to need to know what youre up against. Here are the basics: 60 minutes50 multiple-choice questions200-800 points possibleYou may use a graphing or scientific calculator on the exam, and just like with the Mathematics Level 1 Subject test, youre not required to clear the memory before it begins in case you want to add formulas. Cell phone, tablet, or computer calculators are not allowed. SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test Content Numbers and Operations Operations, ratio and proportion, complex numbers, counting, elementary number theory, matrices, sequences, series, vectors: Approximately 5-7 questions Algebra and Functions Expressions, equations, inequalities, representation and modeling, properties of functions (linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, periodic, piecewise, recursive, parametric): Approximately 19 – 21 questions Geometry and Measurement Coordinate (lines, parabolas, circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, symmetry, transformations, polar coordinates): Approximately 5 – 7 questionsThree-dimensional (solids, surface area and volume of cylinders, cones, pyramids, spheres, and prisms along with coordinates in three dimensions): Approximately 2 – 3 questionsTrigonometry: (right triangles, identities, radian measure, the law of cosines, law of sines, equations, double angle formulas): Approximately 6 – 8 questions Data Analysis, Stats, and Probability Mean, median, mode, range, interquartile range, standard deviation, graphs and plots, least squares regression (linear, quadratic, exponential), probability: Approximately 4 – 6 questions Why Take the SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test? Because you can. This test is for those of you shining stars out there who find math pretty easy. Its also for those of you headed into math-related fields like economics, finance, business, engineering, computer science, etc. and typically those two types of people are one and the same. If your future career relies on mathematics and numbers, then youre going to want to showcase your talents, especially if youre trying to get into a competitive school. In some cases, youll be required to take this test if youre headed into a mathematics field, so be prepared! How to Prepare for the SAT Mathematics Level 2 Subject Test The College Board recommends more than three years of college-preparatory mathematics, including two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and elementary functions (precalculus) or trigonometry or both. In other words, they recommend that you major in math in high school. The test is definitely difficult but is really the tip of the iceberg if youre headed into one of those fields. To get yourself prepared, make sure youve taken and scored at the top of your class in the courses above. Sample SAT Mathematics Level 2 Question Speaking of the College Board, this question, and others like it, are available for free. They also provide a detailed explanation of each answer. By the way, the questions are ranked in order of difficulty in their question pamphlet from 1 to 5, where 1 is the least difficult and 5 is the most. The question below is marked as a difficulty level of 4. For some real number t, the first three terms of an arithmetic sequence are 2t, 5t - 1, and 6t 2. What is the numerical value of the fourth term? (A) 4(B) 8(C) 10(D) 16(E) 19 Answer: Choice (E) is correct. To determine the numerical value of the fourth term, first determine the value of t and then apply the common difference. Since 2t, 5t − 1, and 6t 2 are the first three terms of an arithmetic sequence, it must be true that (6t 2) − (5t − 1) (5t − 1) − 2t, that is, t 3 3t − 1. Solving t 3 3t − 1 for t gives t 2. Substituting 2 for t in the expressions of the three first terms of the sequence, one sees that they are 4, 9 and 14, respectively. The common difference between consecutive terms for this arithmetic sequence is 5 14 − 9 9 − 4, and therefore, the fourth term is 14 5 19. Good luck!