Social Capital and Social Networks (not Facebook) are such interesting concepts in American society, especially when examining the way Americans acquire employment. Which ultimately brings me to the question that is burning in my mind, how does Social Capital, Social Networks maintain the hegemonic power structure in American Society.
Obviously when asking what effects how Americans obtain employment it must be understood in what ways employment can be gained. I would suppose that there are three general ways in which most Americans obtain employment: First and most readily available to everyone is when citizens apply for jobs via wanted ads found in media; second people attempt to make contacts through establishing social networks with the business community; finally though and most intriguing is when people obtain employment because they have a family or personal connection to the employer.
Investigating employment, then, must start at looking at interviews and surveys of data collected on employment in America. The approach must come at various levels, meaning that what are the connections available to people obtaining working class jobs at places such as restaurants and factories etc. Also mid-level professional labour must be examined and then management level employment should also be examined. It is important to understand not only who is getting jobs and how they are obtaining them, but also who is getting what jobs and what allows them to attain them.
Investigating employment, then, must start at looking at interviews and surveys of data collected on employment in America. The approach must come at various levels, meaning that what are the connections available to people obtaining working class jobs at places such as restaurants and factories etc. Also mid-level professional labour must be examined and then management level employment should also be examined. It is important to understand not only who is getting jobs and how they are obtaining them, but also who is getting what jobs and what allows them to attain them.
In America inheritance, the ability of one generation to hand down wealth to proceeding generations is a touchy topic when the society is supposed to be designed with the concept of meritocracy. How could one say that he starts equal with other men and his merits carry him to success when he has been born into privilege is a question that must be posed. Billionaire Bill Gates was born into a family of millionaires and because of this he was able to drop out of college and start Microsoft. Gates would likely not be able to have done this if he had come from a working class background.
I think it would be interesting to focus my work on local research, especially in the DC/Baltimore metropolitan area. This area has a long and rich history of diversity as well as an increasingly broad range of citizens from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. These circumstances make our area ideal for research and obviously since I will not be doing my own research, pulling on the research from the area should prove fruitful.
How can the disadvantaged get ahead in society when the rich allow themselves to get richer and create blockades that the disadvantaged can never breakthrough? That is why answering this research question is so important because Americans need to become aware of the problems with inheritance and discover a pathway for a more meritocratic society.
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