Part 1 (500)
Which of the theories of social stratification in chapters 4 and 5 do you consider the most illuminating for understanding the current social stratification system? Explain your answer, and support this theory by describing its strong points compared to the deficiencies of the other theories.
Part 2 (600)
Read the transcript of Alan Krueger’s speech “The Rise and Consequences of Inequality in the United States” and answer the questions that follow in a detailed and well-thought out response.
The transcript can be found here:
- Explain the Great Gatsby Curve in your own words.
- Based on Krueger’s speech and any relevant outside sources, describe some of the possible consequences of inequality.
- Using outside sources, find information about policy solutions that have been suggested for reducing inequality. Your source could be an academic journal, a newspaper or news magazine article (online or print), or a think tank website or publication. Describe at least one such policy, and give your own assessment of how effective this policy or set of policies would be.