Assignment Question
Imagine you’re in a café with Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Mary Wollstonecraft, Alexis de Tocqueville and Frederick Douglass. They’re having a lively conversation about power and inequality. Shouting over the chatter, Mary Wollstonecraft suddenly declares: “Dependency is the most destructive force in society! Whenever someone has power over another, it morally degrades both the powerful and the powerless!” The other sociologists pause for a deep breath. Then they respond to Wollstonecraft. What would they say? What would Wollstonecraft say back to them? Write a persuasive essay articulating how two theorists we have read in this class (Smith, Marx, Douglass or Tocqueville) would each respond to Wollstonecraft’s challenge, and how she would answer them. In your essay, be sure to explain: why Wollstonecraft believes dependency and inequality are the root of all social problems; how the two authors you chose (Smith, Wollstonecraft, Douglass or Tocqueville) would respond to her argument; and how Wollstonecraft would reply to the other authors’ critical points. In your introduction, you should make a claim (an argument) which briefly summarizes the debate between Wollstonecraft and the other two. What key assumptions lead these three to agree / disagree with each other? The body of your essay should give evidence, from lectures and relevant texts exploring each perspective. To do this, you should draw on Wollstonecraft’s and other’s arguments on the nature of power and inequality. You should then conclude the essay by briefly explaining why the evidence you presented supports your argument. Ideally, you should finish with a sentence or two explaining the significance of your argument to understanding debates over inequality in social theory: how does answering this question help us understanding their different “big picture” perspectives? Length and format Your essay should be between 5 and 7 pages. Write your essay in 12 point font, with 1” margins, double-spaced.Do not provide a title page. There is no required style for citations or your bibliography page, but please keep the format consistent.
