Sociology, Global Edition by Macionis, John J

Our world challenges us like never before. Even as the economy climbs out of recession, unemployment remains high and the economic future is uncertain here in the United States and around the world. For decades, income inequality in our society has steadily increased, just as it is increasing for the world as a whole. There is a lot of anger about how our national leaders in Washington are doing—or not doing—their jobs. Technological disasters of our own making threaten the natural environment, and patterns of extreme weather only add to the mounting evidence of global warming. Perhaps no one should be surprised to read polls that tell us most people are anxious about their economic future, unhappy with our political system, and worried about the state of the planet. Many of us simply feel overwhelmed, as if we were up against forces we can barely understand— much less control.