Political Economy of Race, Class and Gender - Book Report/Review Example

Economics of Racism and Gender Racism against the blacks and other people of color is a dominant feature ofthe American society. Wage gaps between workers from different racial groups and between male and females remain existent in the job market. This paper discusses the political economy theories that explain the cause of wage gaps between racial groups and between genders.THE MARXIST THEORY In this theory, Karl Marx discusses capitalism economic system which has two main classes. These are the capitalists who own the means of production and the majority working class who offer their labor power in return for wages.

The capitalists maximize their profits by minimizing employee wages (Albelda et al. 140). Workers can advocate for better wages if they unite through unions. According to Marxism, racism divides the working class. Capitalist tend to divide black and white workers which makes it difficult for workers to challenge for better wages due to disunity between blacks and whites. This disunity is caused by the white workers classifying themselves as whites, rather than employees making it difficult for them to act in collective class welfares with blacks.

In this model, the wages depend on the worker’s bargaining power. The higher the bargaining powers the higher the wages which would result in lower profits. On the other hand, the lower the bargaining power the lower the wages and in turn higher profits. This scenario provides an economic foundation of disparate treatment of equally skilled white and black workers (Albelda et al. 144). It also explains why a white worker cannot be replaced by a black worker even if the latter is to be paid lower wages as discussed by Michael Reich’s Racial Inequality.

Labor markets segmentation theory. This theory clusters jobs into categories namely; secondary labor market, primary subordinate labor market and primary independent labor market. The secondary labor market is characterized with low wages and short job tenures. In primary subordinate labor market, most workers are union members and wages are considerably above minimum wage. Employees internalize work standards in the primary independent segment where credentials are a requirement for entry (Albelda et al. 147). The main foundation of this theory is the fact that workers cannot move from one market segment to another.

Race and gender play a role in determining the labor market segment of workers. Lower wages for blacks can be attributed to concentration in the secondary market where earnings are low and lower representation in the primary labor market where wages and benefits are high. This theory also explains the differences in wages between males and females. Most females are concentrated in the secondary labor market such as in fast foods hotels and garment factories with only a few of them taking up professional managerial roles which lie in the primary independent labor segment.

This explains the wage gaps between males and females with the former dominating higher paying labor market while the later dominate lower paying markets (Albelda et al. 148).In conclusion, the political economy models discussed provide insight into the inequality in wages between racial groups and on gender basis. The overall inequality explains the continued struggle between the working class and capitalist which is a central feature of today’s society.Notes1. Questions to ask the Professor would include; do racial based worker unions have a role in eradicating racism? 2. Is gender quota requirements imposed on employers a solution to bridging the gap between males and females?3. What are some of the remedies to employee exploitation?

Do workers have a role to play in eliminating labor exploitation? Work CitedAlbelda, Randy Pearl, Robert W. Drago, and Steven Shulman. Unlevel playing fields: understanding wage inequality and discrimination. Third Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009.Print.