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SymbolicInteraction theory and Government
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I am to view government on a street level. ... a loose form of government, the eldest male or female dictated some things based ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation
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Title: SymbolicInteraction theory and Government
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Symbolic/Interaction theory and Government
- Jim Hensler
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How about this Ill buy you some beer, but only
if you write me a five page paper on the
infeasibility of Anarchy as a legitimate form of
government.
Something tells me this kid didnt get his beer.
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Symbolic/Interaction Theory
- Herein lies a sociological view of society, using
a paradigm that deals with the role, causes,
effects and concepts of government on a smaller,
more personal scale. I am to view government on a
street level. How government interacts with the
individual, how the individual interacts with
government, and how government can effect how
individuals interact with other individuals.
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Governments effect on daily life
- Regulations
- including but not limited to
- Food safety
- Drug/Rx requirements
- Job safety/laws/minimum wage
- Pollution/Emissions
- But how does this pertain to society?
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Laws and Taxes
- The interactions between people and police and
the far reaching effects of police upon how
people conduct their lives. - Traffic laws.
- Those dreaded Taxes and their effects on how we
choose jobs, housing, what we can afford to do
with our time and money. - Taxes pay for a wide range of social (and
possibly anti-social) services and programs.
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Side effects of Government
- Political Satire
- Political debate and analysis
- The media in general, and the topics that we are
exposed to through news media - The way our own and other countries governments
act can have a huge effect on how your daily
interactions with people are conducted (see war
zones, ethnic cleansings, fear of attack, memory
of attack etc.)
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So, This all has to do with sociology somehow?
- The government of ones country will have a
profound effect upon how one conducts ones life
and the environment one is raised and therefore
the sort of person one becomes. - If government effects how one acts, then it shall
effect how you act towards others and how others
act towards you. - Government will also affect the products you buy,
how you buy them, what you buy, the money you use
to buy it, and what you can do with those
products.
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Informal Example
- Im Joe Shmoe of Feudal Japan. Im hawking my
wares at a roadside market when Mr. Samurai rides
by on his fancy horse. Im sick of the haughty
way Samurais in general carry themselves, and
that sanctimonious air of entitlement they all
have, so in order to express my distaste, I give
him the 1100s Japanese version of the finger.
Mr. Samurai stops his ride to educate me on why
one doesnt do that sort of thing in the
political climate of the time, this education
comes in the form of me being decapitated in a
grand manner in front of my roadside kiosk of
commerce. The authorities learn of this
educational beheading. Said authorities applaud
Mr. Samurai for enforcing proper respect for
those that serve the Emperor.
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Example continued
- Many sociological effects can be seen in this
short example. - Joe Shmoe, feeling marginalized and resentful
of/by the mandatory, and in his mind undue,
respect and privilege given to Mr. Samurai,
decided to hold a one man political demonstration
of his feelings. - Mr. Samurai, empowered by the government, feared
no reprisals, social or legal, for killing the
offending Joe Shmoe and felt it was his duty to
uphold the ideals of the Emperor and the culture.
In Mr. Samurais mind, an insult to Mr. Samurai
is an insult to his position, a position given to
him by the Emperor and his government, so any
insult leveled against Mr. Samurai is an insult
to the Emperor, who the Samurai is sworn to serve.
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Symbolic/Interaction theory Where did government
come from?
- Imagine if there were no one to set or enforce
the rules. People did what they wanted, when they
wanted, how they wanted, limited only by their
natural ability to do so. This would be a world
without government, for government forms the laws
(one could argue that common sense and fear of
reprisal would dictate actions in this
anarchistic idea, but I figure that is all
covered under wanted but if you want to take up
the semantic debate over this, see me after class)
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Symbolic/Interaction the rise of government
through individual choices?
- Even the earliest human societies had a loose
form of government, the eldest male or female
dictated some things based upon their wisdom, or
the most skilled hunter would lay some ground
rules, seeing as he/she would know best about the
aforementioned hunt. This form of government was
aided in no small part by nature and it imposing
hardships and creating a common need among these
groups.
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Starting to sound a bit like functional theory,
but this is just my interpretation, I could be
way off.
- As civilization led into agriculture and the
specialization of work, there was less of a sense
of interdependence, which probably led to more
crime and disputes. There needed to be a way for
folks to have an impartial judge, or some
incentive not to steal each others wheat.
Perhaps this was what led to the rise of
government. People, once they were on the
receiving end of corruption/lawlessness/unfair
play, began to buy into the idea of having
someone to enforce the rules and decide what was
best for everyone.
Whether the method of choosing this decider was
by prophecy, gods will, money, heritage,
accomplishment, or a vote by the masses on who
would be best at it, is a matter for history to
untangle.
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Functional or Conflict
- It seems that Symbolic/Interaction Theory isnt
well suited for analyzing the rise of government.
For even though I just outlined one way in which
government may have arisen, it would be just as
easy to say that those who craved power began to
make this system of government in order to push
around all those below them, and so on.
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Effects upon Society
- The stresses of impending taxes, The call to the
police when you find a human body floating in
your pool, The headache you get when the FDA says
your product isnt fit for human consumption, The
political debate show that helps you formulate
your opinions, The subversive psuedo-socialist
literature littered about my room, The sinking
feeling in your stomach when you see those red
and blue lights in the rear-view mirror, Trying
to force your kid out of bed so he or she can get
to 8th grade on time because if he or she misses
any more class its your ass on the line, Pat
Bagely, Heated discussions at cheap diners or in
fine dining rooms, The US made collateral damage
that destroyed your business, Interest rates,
Homeless shelters, Rallies - et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseum, ad nausuem.
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- All of these things and so much more are not only
roles, functions, and products of a government
(and me being so ethnocentric, most of this is
obviously about western government, but it could
be said about any government, or most government,
if only I was more familiar with it) but are
things that effect our interactions with others
and our socialization from the youngest of ages,
which in turn effect almost every other aspect of
our life and society.
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