Question

From the perspective of a sociologist, choose one of the theoretical perspectives (interactionism, functionalism, or conflict theory) to examine the film, "Inequality for All". Provide examples of how the film presented the economic inequality from your chosen theoretical perspective.

Answer 1

Inequality for All" boils down our current economic problems to the key point that America is a consumer-driven economy. In fact, 70 percent of the U.S. economy is dependent on consumer spending. What makes the American economy tick is the purchasing power of middle class households. Notice how the Wall Street Journal so carefully tracks consumer spending, because it is so central to our economy.

The problem today is that the vast middle class doesn't have the purchasing power to keep the economy going strong. Middle-class incomes have stayed the same or even dropped since the 1970s (following the heydey of the American Dream, the post-World War II expansion of the middle class). The movie shows that many jobs, adjusted for inflation, now pay less than they did 30 years ago, but those workers face housing, child care and education costs that are only going up. As multi-millionaire Nick Hanauer says in the film, even with all his money he can't spend enough to make up for the middle-class households who aren't buying much these days: "Even a person like me who earns a thousand times as much as the typical American family doesn't buy a thousand pillows a year."