social problems
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Assignment #1
Most people think a social problem is anything that is harmful to society, but there are only two common definitions of a social problem. The first definition holds that a social problem exists when there is a sizable difference between the ideals of a society and its actual achievements. From this perspective, social problems are created by the failure to close the gap between the way people want things to be and the way things really are. Sociologists and other experts decide what is or is not a problem because they are the ones with the skills necessary for measuring the desires and achievements of society. A disadvantage of this definition is that no society has a single, unified set of values and ideals. Another disadvantage is that the ideals and values used as standards are selected on the basis of the researcher's personal opinions and prejudices, not objective analysis (Kerbo 4).
Another accepted definition of a social problem holds that a social problem exists when a significant number of people believe that a certain condition is in fact a problem. In this definition the public decides what is or is not a social problem. The advantage of this definition is that it does not require a value judgment by sociologists who try to decide what is and is not a social problem, but the disadvantage is that the public is often uninformed or misguided and does not clearly understand its problems. Another disadvantage of this definition is that powerless groups won't be able to get their problems recognized as social problems (Kerbo 4)...