Chapter 16 Assignment
I think that economic factors play more of a role in
resistance to social change. Cultural
factors do play a big role in resistance to social change but I think the economic
factors are more complex and will be the hardest to overcome. For example, it can be expensive for
manufacturers to meet high standards for the safety of products and workers,
and for the protection of the environment (Richard T. Schaefer, Pg.424). Conflict theorists argue that in a capitalist
economic system, many firms are not willing to put out the money needed to meet
strict safety and environmental standards.
These firms are more likely to resist social change by cutting corners
or by pressuring the government to relieve regulations.
For example, on
09/11/2001 the government just asked and told many people to go and help clean
up the debris as soon as possible. They
did not take the time or use the money that should have been put into first
testing the safety of the area. They
merely sent people out to clean up all of the debris without regard for their
safety. Now, ten years later many
firemen and first responders are very sick and many have already died from
breathing in the harmful debris from the terrorist attacks on 09/11/01. If the government would have taken a little
time out to investigate the safety and then stated which precautions that
people should have been using we probably could have avoided the fact that so
many people are sick today. Social
economist Thorstein Veblen coined the term “vested interests” to refer to those
people who will suffer in the event of social change. President Obama has stopped NASA’s
constellation project and the people who worked for NASA are an example of
“vested interests”. The reason why
social factors are so hard to overcome is because the problems are quite
complex. Both sides of the story need to
be heard from policymakers and protesters.
“NIMBY” stands for not
in my backyard; these people protest landfills, prisons, nuclear power
facilities, and even bike trails and group homes. These people largely contribute to resistance
of social change. I think that they have
good reason to protest some of these things because they are trying to protect
their community and the environment from incinerators, landfills and hazardous
waste dumps. At the same time,
policymakers do need to do their job because we need landfills and other
locations to dispose of hazardous materials.
If we could brainstorm and come to a mutual agreement that will somewhat
satisfy the needs and concerns of both policy makers and NIMBY protestors we
could prosper and succeed in overcoming the major obstacles involved in resistance
to social change. I will play my part to
the future generations by staying involved in the current events. If I am given the chance to become fully
informed on current issues that we are facing then I can play my part by
helping and brainstorming to come up with the best possible solutions to the
problems. I will try my hardest to
consider the factors and concerns of both sides and then I will help to make
the best decision that will benefit our planet and the economy best.
