James S. Coleman Summary

James S. Coleman’s concepts of norms and sanctions are prevalent to present day society, what I like about the chapter of exchange and rational choice theorist is how it enlightens how society is run. For example, Coleman introduces the reader to idea of norms which is defined as socially defined informal rights to control the actions of others. The premise of a norm is to guide individuals to conform to what is and is not socially acceptable behavior. Coleman states that in order for norms to exist, an individual has to give up their rights. People who create norms are defined as the beneficiaries, or people of power who controls society. Targets are the working class and the poor who have to give up their rights to control their actions. However, not every individual complies to the norms that are in place, and as a consequence, the individual will be sanctioned. Relating Coleman’s concepts to modern society, the people of power punishes or rewards the people of the middle and lower class sanctions if the norms are followed or not. In modern society, it is unusual for people who hold power to receive a negative sanction for not following the rules. For example, there have been several incidents where there was video evidence of police officers abusing their power against …show more content…
America is practicing the same methods Coleman wrote of during his time period. People of power create laws and norms and expect the working class to obey them, and if someone strays away from the laws a sanction will be enforced. In my opinion it is unfair for a person of the lower class to receive negative sanctions based on their income. In an ideal world each person should have to follow the laws and if the law is broken the individual should receive the same punishment, their income level and class status should not be a determining factor on the severity of the