The Sociological Imagination
10 July 2009 at 1:33 pm Peter G. Klein 2 comments
| Peter Klein |
That’s the name of a new sociology blog started by grad students Josh McCabe, David Pontoppidan, and Brian Pitt. I’m already enjoying the first few posts. These guys are influenced by economics (in particular, Austrian economics), so watch out.
Entry filed under: - Klein -, Recommended Reading.
1.
Rafe Champion | 10 July 2009 at 5:51 pm
A critical but appreciative take on “The Sociological Imagination” by C Wright Mills
http://www.the-rathouse.com/shortreviews/TheSociologicalImagination.html
They are keen on Bill Hutt as well!
http://thesociologicalimagination.com/2009/07/06/the-comparative-politics-of-the-colour-bar/
2.
Rafe | 23 July 2009 at 7:05 pm
Incentives matter! Check the different performance of Somalis in Denmark and the US.
http://thesociologicalimagination.com/2009/07/22/the-minnesota-thesis/
But where Scandinavia is a sleeping pill to the Somalians, America is a six-pack of Red Bull!
There may be several reasons for this. America is a very diverse country and was founded by immigrants, which may make it more open to new cultures than the homogeneous states of Scandinavia. It is also likely that there is a larger network of old refugees and immigrants to take care of the newcomers in America than there is in Scandinavia, where they are isolated among strangers.
But according to Carlson there is another possibility too, one that a friend of mine at the Danish research institute and think tank CEPOS has coined The Minnesota Thesis. This is the idea that the risk in becoming dependent on welfare is smaller in America since the country has a unique combination of low welfare payments and a low minimum wage which allows for low-skilled labour, or workers with poor language skills, to make an initial entry into the work force, and then continue up the steps of social mobility.