Foundations of Third World Poverty Reading Analysis Questions

Tyler Weed Section 13
Source:
Isbister, John (2006). The Foundations of Third World Poverty. In G. Massey (Ed.), in Readings
in Sociology. 5 th Ed., (pp. 339-344). New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Thesis:
The imperialist system has caused drastic and appalling changes to Third World countries as well
as ruining the lives of many of the inhabitants of these countries.
Questions:
1.
In the case of Third World countries, how has the division of labor affected social
inequality among the inhabitants?
The division of labor created a system where the lowest classes of people were
forced to work for the elite class of people in each country. The elites then confiscated
the land of the “peasants” in order to farm more products for export. This created social
inequality by having the lower classes work for the elites without receiving equal pay,
and in most case the pay which was received was barely adequate for the survival of the
workers.