Ju Hoansi Social Inequality

The Trobriand society functions as a chiefdom, though unlike other chiefdoms, their chiefs only have absolute authority within their own hamlets. They are capable of spreading their power by marrying into a matrilineage of other villages or by showing that they are strong leaders but if this doesn’t happen then the majority of the power falls to hamlet leaders. Therefore, a chief has to earn the right to influence people outside of their own hamlet. One of the most important ways that chiefs, as well as, common people are able to influence others is with a display of wealth; mainly yams.

Page also describes the social stratification and the economic network in very vague terms. He makes the relationship based on the prestige-goods economy seem as though it was a very casual relationship. Pauketat's piece describes, in very particular detail, that the system that arose from the overlapping communities of the floodplain was highly organized on a social, economic, political, and religious level. While Page gives little attention to the importance of this type of economy, Pauketat shows that Cahokia was an incredibly interdependent society. If one of the sections of society abandoned their obligations within the system, the whole society would be a stake, because of the complexity and delicacy of the system. This, was indeed, what happened to the peoples of Cahokia and the American Bottom.

Clothing, property, polygamy, education, and religion are discussed; however the focus is aimed at the Cherokees’ progress of becoming like the ‘white brethren’ . They were ‘in a course of improvement… nearly on the same level’ as those who considered themselves to be the prime example of what a civilised society ought to be. Now, the topic of ‘race’ comes into question, thanks to Howard F. Taylors’ several definitions of the term . Now, all the categories listed seem to be match for this document. The biological

Attaching great importance to individuality is the third characteristic of market society. For people living in market society, economic advantages are superior to other advantages; the first thing to protect is their individual wealth. This ideological change results from the material condition in market society that people all become single individuals in the factories producing goods for making more money for themselves. In this case, the economic relations rule the social relations (Rinehart 71). Under the structure of the previous social organization, however, “man’s economy... is submerged in his social relationships” (Polanyi 46). People were always concerned about their social relations within their communities (Polanyi 46). They acted so as to maintain their social values (Polanyi 46). The reason for this when it comes to the case of tribal society is that there is no need for people to care much about “individual’s economic interest” because working for the communities enables

In the first of three oral stories, “How Men and Women Got Together”, we experience the unique perspective of the Blood-Piegan tribe. In this oral story, an “Old Man” created both men and women separately, each with their own differences. He then attempts to combine the groups together in order to provide benefits for each group. Material possessions were one of the major driving forces in this story. Early on in the story it is explained, “After a while the men learned how to make bows and arrows. The women learned how to tan buffalo hides and make tipis and beautiful robes decorated with porcupine quills,”. The women in the story desired food and weapons, things that the men already had. Meanwhile, the men desired clothing and shelter, things that the women already had. Apparently, these material goods are valued enough in the Blood-Piegan culture that they were worth both men and women putting their differences aside to obtain. It is also apparent that men and women value

Within this caste system is behavioral standards for individuals in their specific social caste. People like the Finches have a ?postion? to uphold, while a Cunningham may be poor, but refuses charity or pity. Lee notes that the every town has families like the Ewells, who are an eyesore to the community.

The chapter elaborates on many environmental factors that could have impacted the difference noted in the culture and way of living for these two groups of people. The chapter continues with various examples supporting this thesis.

The way human societies are structured changed overtime. Human create their own social classes and their lives are different from others depending on that. Nowaday, we have the upper class, the middle class and the lower class based on our income. However, this not what exist before. People in the old times have different social class and that changed overtime. In the era of Foragers, family bond and close relationships will be the main thing that decides their society. According to the book: “Studies of modern foraging societies suggest that notions of family and kinship provided the primary way of thinking about and organizing social relations.” (pg.10) The Foragers never had hierarchy, they are just all about relationships not about social

The article, Life without Chiefs by Marvin Harris, is an informative essay describing in great detail the history and evolution on human society and the class system that goes alone with it. In the beginning, all people lived in nomadic bands and worked together to survive. With a looming fear of starvation, these foragers would share everything they caught or found knowing that one day when they were less fortunate in their hunt someone will return the favor and share with them. Everyone was the chief when they could provide for the others. Eventually one hunter would gain the skill by working harder than all the others to be the best hunter and become the head of their society. Life for our ancestors became a competition for who could provide for as many people as possible; Whoever could supply the most food was the leader until someone took their place. Because of this the head had to have more food stored and with this surplus of food, came lots of power. This power lead to the heads becoming wicked since everyone was determined to take the place of said leader.

Family In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the main themes of the book is family and hereditary values. In the town of Maycomb, every family has a place within the society. Scout calls this a "caste system.” A caste system is a class structure determined by birth. “There was indeed a caste system in Maycomb, but to my mind it worked this way: the older citizens, the present generation of people who had lived side by side for years and years, were utterly predictable to one another: they took for granted attitudes, character shadings, even gestures, as having been repeated in each generation and refined by time.

Although the societies were traced matrilineal and women did have authority, it’s important to recognize that this was not absolute if the chief of the villages were

Hierarchical formation was the familiar pattern all over the world in this period, profoundly in America. The societies in the New World classified people based on ethnic gradations. There were about fifteen names recorded for the mixing races with the most elites were ones with connection to European ancestry. Yet, the legacy of multiethnic social ranking was the root for modern racism. In Russia, the yasak system has changed the fluid social relation into a rigid structure with tribal leaders. Inflexible social order between the king, officials, and peasants was a norm in

Inequality declined as humans evolved from primates into foraging bands. It then increased with the rise of the agrarian societies. Axial religions, on the other hand, “ introduced a number of cultural innovations that buttressed our capacity for cooperation in large groups.” In other words, it made a move back toward a more egalitarian society. Nowadays, Turchin sees similar developments of inequality in our society.

This dehumanization is readily reflected in judgments and practices that took place during this period. As a case in point, in a trial of a Ryoumin (law-abiding citizen) for the murder of an Eta person, the judge ruled that seven Eta lives were equal to one Ryoumin life; subsequently the perpetrator of the crime only received a small fine. In commercial exchanges the Burakumin were literally untouchable and transactions would take place with the use of baskets with long handles from which the money was taken and later washed to cleanse it from Burakumin contamination. Finally, Ryoumin were forbidden to marry with 'outcast' peoples as Eta and Hinin were thought of generally as dirty, vulgar, smelly, untrustworthy, dangerous, treacherous, subhuman creatures. The government, by having the power to raise and lower class and punish according to class transgressions, succeeded in reinforcing, by fear for one' s lineage, a strict hierarchal social order. The concept of the 'outcast' and its enforcement by law as a social group in society then, originated as a requirement to maintain labor segregation.

The novels The Dark Child by Camara Laye, Mission to Kala by Mongo Beti, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe show the effects of an egalitarian society within a small, homogenous community. In all three novels, the protagonists encounter such communities that operate under a seemingly egalitarian society. The degrees of equality vary between each village that is encountered. What begins to be emerge is that the more egalitarian a community seems, the more problematic it can be. It is also seen that the less egalitarian the community seems, the less problematic it is.