Costs of Social Change
With
increased standard living, increased education, increased health care
resources, improved nutrition, increased goods and services, increased leisure
time and activities, etc... come some problems:
Environmental
Problems
1. Solid waste increases
Waste
increases as a group’s wealth increases – able to buy more foods and goods
Across an
American’s lifetime, a person disposes of 540 tons of construction material, 23
tons of wood, 16 tons of metal, 32 tons of chemicals.
Americans
produce 1 ton of waste per year.
Packaging
of products accounts for 30% of the weight of all solid waste and 50% of the
volume (example: laundry detergent containers)
10% of what we spend on goods is for packaging
2. Toxic waste increases
Only 10% of
toxic waste is disposed of correctly. Much dumped into waters.
3. Air pollution increases
Many cities
across the world are banning or restricting cars
1.3 billion
people live in places with unsafe air
4 million
children in less developed countries die from respiratory disease per year
1/3 of
Americans live in places that don’t meet air health standards
Acid rain contaminates water and kills forests.
This is a global issue because polluting areas cause acid rain for other
areas (rain doesn’t fall necessarily where the pollution occurs)
4. Ozone depletion increases
Causes:
aerosols and coolants (from refrigerators and ACs)
Harmful rays enter our atmosphere.
Warms atmosphere
Increases
incidence of skin cancer
5. Water pollution increases
Causes:
thermal discharge from factories, oil spills
Only 1% of
all water in the world is available for consumption.
75% of the
world population is without a safe water supply.
20% of
Americans receive water from a facility violating safety standards.
Decreases
fisheries and fowl (this also due to over fishing, draining of wetlands,
reduction in rainforests)
6. Burning of fossil fuels increases
Increased
carbon dioxide in atmosphere
Increases
temperature, which causes shifts in agricultural patterns (affecting local
economies) and flooding
7. Soil erosion
Misuse of
land
Overgrowing
of certain crops
Deforestation
Causes
flooding
8. Pollution impacts human health
Contributes
to 50,000 premature deaths and
4 million 1-6 year olds in the U.S. have lead poisoning high enough to cause
brain damage (2/3s of these children are disadvantaged)
Social
Problems
1. increase in materialism
2. increase in individualism – destroys
social bonds and solidarity
3. cultures are abandoned – example
handicrafts
4. alienation and exploitation at work
– no longer in control of your labor
5. urban areas progress at expense of
rural areas
6. inequalities in income and wealth
7. Inability or refusal to delay gratification
– people want to consume now rather than later. Example: retirement savings.
8. During transition to modernization,
people work more and lose leisure time
9. During transition, quality of life
declines. Fewer Americans today report
being happy or very happy. 50% of Americans see a bleak future for their
children. Similar patterns in
10.
Fear
of crime and victimization increases.
70% of Americans fear being the victim of violent crime.
Health risks and injuries at work increase
1st cause of death at work is injury. 2nd
cause is homicide. Among women, 42% of
workplace deaths due to homicide. 11%
for men.
Stress-related disability claims have increased 50% since
1980.
People are working more hours (for various reasons including cost of living
increases, escape from domestic life, workplace expectations). Americans work an average of 42 hours per
week with 2 weeks vacation.
11. Overeducated
population
Leads to an underutilized workforce given our economic
structure (pyramid shape, so most jobs are at the bottom – less education
required for them)
Leads to dissatisfaction and alienation, apathy
Affects 25-50% of all college graduates
Psychological
Problems
1. People become like robots
Dehumanized
workforce – people just do their routine, day in and day out
Consequences:
drug and alcohol abuse, hostility and aggression, increase in fundamentalist
religions, increase in consumption (to help us feel alive and provide incentive
to keep “doing”)
1. Increased anxiety and insecurity
Due to
competition, focus on individual achievement, inability to understand world,
increased pressures for self-control and emotional constraint
At the state
level, this leads to nationalism and imperialism which leads to ethnic
cleansing and war
2. Increased mental illness
106 mental
disorders in 1980s, now over 300 (partly due to insurance reimbursement
policies)
Since
1980s, rates of depression are 10 times higher