Social inequality and economic inequality
go hand-in-hand with the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small percentage of the population (an elite)
relatively recent
centralized government or authority and marked social and economic inequality are developments in human society
4 categories of social orgnization
- Egalitarian (the only differences in status are based on skill, age, and gender
- Ranked (there is a hierarchy of prestige not linked to age, gender, or ability and few positions of prestige exist
- Stratified (access to key resources is linked to prestige (chief or “big men” have more access to resources))
- States (power is organized on supra-kin basis or by bureaucracy that uses force (complex governments))
Emergence of increasing inequality
the transitions between these categories did not follow a single trajectory in all societies
Empires
a political entity that brings together a diverse and heterogeneous group of societies under a single ruler
Irrigation systems
archaeologists argue that early states formation was related to the development
Hierarchical from of government
theory states that the need to organize large groups of workers to build and maintain irrigation canals
Roots of power
early state society formation is essentially a search which is the glue that held large-scale, highly differentiated societies together
Resides in institutions
critical characteristic of power in state societies, as well as with some charismatic individuals
3 possible major elements in formation of state societies
- Control of Information (ability to gather, control, and record information)
- Development of Specialized Craft Production (transmission of elaborate technical skill and knowledge among a small group of people)
- Development of Writing System and Mathematical Knowledge (gave centralized government the ability to control resources and people)
Western economics
origin of the state tends to focus on factors as access to resources, control of labor, population size, competition, access to information and bureaucracy
4 Pre-State Complex Societies
- Stonehenge
- Chaco Canyon
- Cahokia
- Great Zimbabwe
