Ch.3 Democracy And Diversity Questions and Answers
Q. What are social divisions of USA?
A. The social divisions in the USA are the differences between the Blacks and Whites. In USA, the Blacks tend to be poor, homeless and discriminated against.
Q. Define the term homogenous society?
A. A homogenous society is a society that has similar kinds of people, especially where there are no ethnic differences.
Q. Does every social difference lead to social division? Explain.
A. ・No, social divisions are created when some social difference overlaps with other differences e.g. Dalits in our country tend t be poor and landless, and often face discrimination and injustice.
・A social division is created in a situation when one kind of social difference becomes more important than the other, and the people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
・Every social difference does not lead to social division. Social differences divide people from one another but they also unite very different people. People belonging to different social groups share differences and similarities cutting across the boundaries of their groups.
Q. Which type of social difference is more dangerous and why?
A. ・Overlapping social differences are more dangerous because they create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions. Cross-cutting social differences, on the other hand, are less dangerous as they are easier to accommodate.
Q. How do social divisions affect politics? Give 2 examples.
A. ・Democracy involves competition among various political parties. Their competition tends to divide any society.
・If they start competing in terms of some existing social divisions, it can make these divisions into political divisions leading to conflicts, violence and even the disintegration of a country.
e.g. Case study of Northern Ireland
・Northern Ireland, a region of the UK, has been for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict.
・Its population is divided into 2 major sects of Christianity- Protestants (53%) and Roman Catholics (44%).
・In Northern Ireland, class and religion overlap each other. Catholics are most likely to be poor and have suffered a history of discrimination.
・The Catholics were represented by Nationalist parties who wanted to unify the country with Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country.
・The Protestants were represented by Unionists who wanted to remain with the UK, which is predominantly Protestant.
・Hundreds of civilians, militants and security forces died in the fight between the Nationalists, and Unionists and UK.
・In 1998, the UK government and the Nationalists reached a peace treaty after which the latter suspended their armed struggle.
e.g. Case Study of Yugoslavia
・In Yugoslavia, political competition along religious and ethnic lines led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia into 6 independent countries.
Q. Discuss the 3 factors that determine the outcome of the politics of social divisions.
A. ・First of all the outcome depends on how people perceive their identities. If they perceive their identities in singular and exclusive terms, then it becomes very difficult to accommodate e.g. As long as people in Northern Ireland saw themselves as only Catholic or Protestant, their differences were difficult to reconcile. It is much easier if people see that their identities are multiple and are complimentary with their national identity.
・Second, it depends on how political leaders raise the demands of any community. It is easier to accommodate demands that are within the constitutional framework and are not at the cost of another community. e.g. The demand for 'only Sinhala' was at the cost of the interest and identity of the Tamil community of Sri Lanka.
・Third, it depends on how the government reacts to the demands of different groups. If the rulers are willing to share power and accommodate the reasonable demands of the minority community, social divisions become less threatening for the country. But if they try to suppress such a demand in the name of national unity, the end result is often quite the opposite. e.g. in Belgium, the government took appropriate steps to accommodate and reconcile the differences between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities. While in Sri Lanka, the Sinhala government tried to suppress the Tamil community and this led to a civil war.
Q. What are the origins of social differences?
A. Mostly social differences originate by the accident of birth, or they originate by the choices of people.
i) Social differences based on the accident of birth: Normally we don't choose to belong to our community. We belong to it simply because we were born into it. People are male or female, tall or short etc. because of the accident of birth.
ii) Social differences based on choices: Some of the social differences arise by the choices we make e.g. some people are atheists, they don't believe in God or any religion. Some people choose to follow a religion other than the one in which they were born in.
Q. How are the political expressions of social divisions in democracy beneficial? Explain.
A. ・In a democracy, political expressions of social divisions is very normal and can be healthy.
・This allows various disadvantaged and marginal social groups to express their grievances and get the government to attend to these.
・Expression of various kinds of social divisions in politics often results in their cancelling each other out and thus reducing their intensity. This leads to the strengthening of a democracy.
Q. What is an overlapping difference?
A. An overlapping difference is a difference which arises when social differences overlap i.e. when one social difference becomes more important than the other and people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
Q. What are cross-cutting differences?
A. Cross-cutting differences are the ones in which social differences don't overlap with each other and it is difficult to pit one group of people against the other.
Q. How is overlapping difference different from cross-cutting difference?
A. ・An overlapping difference is a difference which arises when social differences overlap i.e. when one social difference becomes more important than the other and people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
e.g. The differences between the Blacks and the Whites in the USA is an example of overlapping differences because the Blacks tend to be poor, homeless and discriminated against. In our country, the Dalits tend to be poor and landless. They often face discrimination and injustice. In Northern Ireland class and religion overlap with each other, Catholics are more likely to be poor and have faced a history of discrimination, unlike the Protestants.
A. The social divisions in the USA are the differences between the Blacks and Whites. In USA, the Blacks tend to be poor, homeless and discriminated against.
Q. Define the term homogenous society?
A. A homogenous society is a society that has similar kinds of people, especially where there are no ethnic differences.
Q. Does every social difference lead to social division? Explain.
A. ・No, social divisions are created when some social difference overlaps with other differences e.g. Dalits in our country tend t be poor and landless, and often face discrimination and injustice.
・A social division is created in a situation when one kind of social difference becomes more important than the other, and the people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
・Every social difference does not lead to social division. Social differences divide people from one another but they also unite very different people. People belonging to different social groups share differences and similarities cutting across the boundaries of their groups.
Q. Which type of social difference is more dangerous and why?
A. ・Overlapping social differences are more dangerous because they create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions. Cross-cutting social differences, on the other hand, are less dangerous as they are easier to accommodate.
Q. How do social divisions affect politics? Give 2 examples.
A. ・Democracy involves competition among various political parties. Their competition tends to divide any society.
・If they start competing in terms of some existing social divisions, it can make these divisions into political divisions leading to conflicts, violence and even the disintegration of a country.
e.g. Case study of Northern Ireland
・Northern Ireland, a region of the UK, has been for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict.
・Its population is divided into 2 major sects of Christianity- Protestants (53%) and Roman Catholics (44%).
・In Northern Ireland, class and religion overlap each other. Catholics are most likely to be poor and have suffered a history of discrimination.
・The Catholics were represented by Nationalist parties who wanted to unify the country with Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country.
・The Protestants were represented by Unionists who wanted to remain with the UK, which is predominantly Protestant.
・Hundreds of civilians, militants and security forces died in the fight between the Nationalists, and Unionists and UK.
・In 1998, the UK government and the Nationalists reached a peace treaty after which the latter suspended their armed struggle.
e.g. Case Study of Yugoslavia
・In Yugoslavia, political competition along religious and ethnic lines led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia into 6 independent countries.
Q. Discuss the 3 factors that determine the outcome of the politics of social divisions.
A. ・First of all the outcome depends on how people perceive their identities. If they perceive their identities in singular and exclusive terms, then it becomes very difficult to accommodate e.g. As long as people in Northern Ireland saw themselves as only Catholic or Protestant, their differences were difficult to reconcile. It is much easier if people see that their identities are multiple and are complimentary with their national identity.
・Second, it depends on how political leaders raise the demands of any community. It is easier to accommodate demands that are within the constitutional framework and are not at the cost of another community. e.g. The demand for 'only Sinhala' was at the cost of the interest and identity of the Tamil community of Sri Lanka.
・Third, it depends on how the government reacts to the demands of different groups. If the rulers are willing to share power and accommodate the reasonable demands of the minority community, social divisions become less threatening for the country. But if they try to suppress such a demand in the name of national unity, the end result is often quite the opposite. e.g. in Belgium, the government took appropriate steps to accommodate and reconcile the differences between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities. While in Sri Lanka, the Sinhala government tried to suppress the Tamil community and this led to a civil war.
Q. What are the origins of social differences?
A. Mostly social differences originate by the accident of birth, or they originate by the choices of people.
i) Social differences based on the accident of birth: Normally we don't choose to belong to our community. We belong to it simply because we were born into it. People are male or female, tall or short etc. because of the accident of birth.
ii) Social differences based on choices: Some of the social differences arise by the choices we make e.g. some people are atheists, they don't believe in God or any religion. Some people choose to follow a religion other than the one in which they were born in.
Q. How are the political expressions of social divisions in democracy beneficial? Explain.
A. ・In a democracy, political expressions of social divisions is very normal and can be healthy.
・This allows various disadvantaged and marginal social groups to express their grievances and get the government to attend to these.
・Expression of various kinds of social divisions in politics often results in their cancelling each other out and thus reducing their intensity. This leads to the strengthening of a democracy.
Q. What is an overlapping difference?
A. An overlapping difference is a difference which arises when social differences overlap i.e. when one social difference becomes more important than the other and people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
Q. What are cross-cutting differences?
A. Cross-cutting differences are the ones in which social differences don't overlap with each other and it is difficult to pit one group of people against the other.
Q. How is overlapping difference different from cross-cutting difference?
A. ・An overlapping difference is a difference which arises when social differences overlap i.e. when one social difference becomes more important than the other and people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
e.g. The differences between the Blacks and the Whites in the USA is an example of overlapping differences because the Blacks tend to be poor, homeless and discriminated against. In our country, the Dalits tend to be poor and landless. They often face discrimination and injustice. In Northern Ireland class and religion overlap with each other, Catholics are more likely to be poor and have faced a history of discrimination, unlike the Protestants.
・Cross-cutting differences are the ones in which social differences don't overlap with each other and it is difficult to pit one group of people against the other.
e.g. In the Netherlands class and religion tend to cut across each other. Catholics and Protestants are about equally likely to be poor or rich.
・Overlapping social differences create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions and are difficult to accommodate.
・Cross cutting differences are easier to accommodate and don't lead to social divisions.
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