Maya feels that race relations in the U.S. is poor because the white ruling class has created laws and rules to keep other groups from achieving equality. From a sociological perspective, Maya's views align with which theory?

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The question asks which sociological theory best matches Maya’s view that the white ruling class has constructed laws to impede equality for other groups. 
Option 1: Feminism. While feminism examines gender inequality and power relations, Maya’s focus here is on racial class power and legislative control rather than gender alone, so this does not capture the central dynamic she describes. 
Option 2: Conflict theory. This perspective emphasizes how groups compete for scarce resources and how the dominant group enacts laws and structures to maintain its power and privilege, creating and preserving inequality for others. Maya’s description fits this framework well, highlighting systemic oppression and the role of rule-making in sustaining advantage for the ruling class. 
Option 3: Functionalism. Functionalism views society as a system of interdependent parts that contribute to social stability and functioning. It tends to explain social arrangement in terms of necessary roles and equilibrium, not deliberate domination by a ruling class to oppress others, making this a poorer fit for Maya’s claim. 
Option 4: Symbolic interactionism. This approach focuses on micro-level interactions, meanings, and interpretations in daily life rather than macro-level structures of power and law. While it can illuminate how groups perceive inequality, it does not directly address the institutional enforcement of inequality by a ruling class. 
In summary, the reasoning that best aligns with Maya’s description of law and rulemaking by a dominant group to restrain equality corresponds to Conflict theory, while the other options miss or downplay the structural power dynamics involved.

SMC 2025 Smr - SOCIOL 1 (1561,1562) - Introduction to Sociology (O) Chapter 11 Quiz: Race and Ethnicity

Maya feels that race relations in the U.S. is poor because the white ruling class has created laws and rules to keep other groups from achieving equality. From a sociological perspective, Maya's views align with which theory?

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