Archive
Volume 5, Issue 1 (2014)
SPECIAL ISSUE: Inequality Introduction:
Theoretical Approaches to Inequality in Economics and Sociology
Global
Inequality. A Research Agenda
Southeast
Asian Sociocultures
Dalits
in India
Global
and Transnational Elites
From
Intentional Injustice to Symbolic Violence
Fair
Competition Law
Knowledge-based
Competition
Interview
with Jessé Souza
Giovanni Guidetti, Boike Rehbein
The paper discusses approaches to
inequality in economics and sociology. It argues that a communication
between both disciplines is necessary to make sense of the drastic
increase in socio-economic inequality that we are observing at present.
It seeks to assess the most relevant contributions in view of a
research agenda that encompasses the virtues of existing approaches
while avoiding their shortcomings and pitfalls.
Boike Rehbein, Jessé Souza
The paper outlines a new approach to
the understanding of inequality based on empirical research on three
continents. This research found that in contrast to modernization
theory the mechanisms of the production and reproduction of inequality
are identical in all of these societies. The core of these mechanisms
is a symbolic domination that renders structures of inequality
invisible. At the same time, the actual structures, cultures and
histories of each society and even locality are different and have to
be studied empirically.
Vincent Houben
The contribution develops the
research agenda introduced by the previous paper by focusing on the
historical dimension. The guiding idea is to combine a bottom-up with
an inside-out perspective in order to bear out more clearly the
diachronic as well as the area-specific dimensions of social
inequality. The concept of sociocultures will be adopted to obtain a
deeper understanding of the particularities of social inequality in
Southeast Asia.
Vivek Kumar
The structure of caste is endowed
with an inbuilt mechanism of production of inequality. This system
places different groups and individuals in a hierarchy on the basis of
their birth. With reference to Dalits, the paper studies inequality in
India with the help of Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural
capital. The case of Dalits proves the point that how certain castes
enjoy these forms of capital because of their birth and certain other
castes, like Dalits, face stigma, condemnation and exclusion.
Alejandro Pelfini
This contribution studies elites in
an emerging society using Chile as an example. It looks at the
reactions of established elites to the emergence of new social forces
and movements. These elites are challenged by rising middle classes,
democratization and transnationalization at the same time. They have
four possibilities to cope with the challenges: adaptation, learning,
reconversion and isolation. The paper investigates the strategies
chosen by Chilean elites.
Kie Sanada
On the background of the debate on a
decolonization of social research in Latin America, this article
focuses on the epistemic and methodological implications of
decolonization research done together with, and not only about, social
actors. From the disciplinary perspective of social psychology, the
argument focuses on forms of relationships which are established
between researchers and the social actors who are involved in research
projects. While the decision for a decolonization of one's own research
practice is a personal decision, research has to be carried out within
a particular institutional framework, which frequently perpetuates the
power relationships that are questioned by the decolonial gaze. This
article presents a series of examples, mainly of feminist academic
activism in Mexico, where institutional spaces have been created in
order to facilitate a dialogue with representatives of social
movements. Regarding the lessons to be learned for German social
sciences, the argument again focuses on the institutional framework in
which a decolonial research practice would have to be carried out.
While the epistemological and methodological challenges of decolonizing
research practice are taken especially by younger researchers who are
close to social movements, the institutional conditions can present
serious obstacles to such options and are worth rethinking [on a
structural level].
Roger Greatrex
Establishing common rules of fair
competition and intellectual property is high on the agenda of the many
Western states. This endeavour seems to be only fair because it seeks
to establish a level ground for all agents. The paper studies if this
is actually the case. It argues that transnational corporations and
other strong forces gain the most from such rules to the detriment of
disadvantaged agents as they have privileged access to knowledge, the
judicial system and necessary resources, while the local population in
poor countries loses out.
Gilberto Antonelli
The paper aims at showing the
deficiencies of the debate on European labour markets and the relevance
of revising the analytical framework employed in designing the labour
markets' evolution as well as in governing their actual performance.
The guiding assumption is that a better interpretative framework can
help both in managing the micro- and the macro-economic imbalances at
four levels of global interaction: intra-European, Europe-Atlantic,
Europe-Mediterranean, and Europe-Global South.
Tamer Söyler