Chapter 10 Flashcards
What are anthropologists studying inequality interested in?
How existing patterns of inequality are maintained and reproduced, and the experience of inequality and its impact on peoples lives.
What is social inequality?
The differential or unequal access to the culturally valued resources of wealth, power, and prestige.
What are the definitions of wealth, prestige, and power?
Wealth: The extent to which one has accumulated economic resources
Power: Ability to achieve one’s goals and objectives by controlling or influencing the behaviour of others
Prestige: The social esteem, respect, or admiration that a society confers on people.
What 4 factors separate occupations at the top from the bottom?
Higher salaries, require more education, offer greater autonomy, require more abstract thinking and less physical labour.
What are egalitarian societies?
Equal access to wealth, prestige and power. Usually food collectors, economics based on reciprocity, little or no political role specialization.
Why is equal access a thing in these societies?
Inhibition of accumulating large quantities of personal possessions, no claims to territory, food is shared.
What are rank societies?
People have unequal access to prestige and status, but not unequal access to wealth and power. Chiefdoms, economies based on redistribution, limited political role specialization. Kinship plays important role. Chief maintains his spot through generosity.
What are stratified societies?
Greatest degree of social inequality. Market economies, large populations, state systems of government. Consist of strata-relatively permanent horizontal layers separating people.
How does social mobility work in a class system?
A certain amount of upward and downward social mobility exists.
What are class systems?
Associated with achieved status-status one has obtained as a result of personal efforts. Everyone has equal opportunity to be successful (open society).
What is a caste system?
Little or no social mobility, relies on ascribed status (what you are born into). Ascribed status prevents one from advancing or acquiring more wealth, prestige, and power (closed societies).
What were Karl Marx’s beliefs on class societies?
Class- groups of people who share common economic interests and perform the same function in relation to the organization of production. History is a result of class confrontation and struggles.
What is the upper class in Canadian society?
3-5% of the population. Send children to private schools, shop at high end stores, more likely to vote conservative.
What is the middle class in Canadian society?
40-50% of Canadians, earn between 50-100000 dollars. Ethnically diverse, influences Canadian culture as a whole. Politicians try to appeal to this class.
What is the working class in Canadian society?
1/3 of the population, unskilled labourers, lower levels of education. Little social mobility, vulnerable to downturns in the economy.
What is the lower class in Canadian society?
20% of Canadian population, barely earn a living at unskilled, low paying, unpleasant, temporary jobs. More visible minorities and first nations.
What percentage of Canadians live with food insecurity?
13%.
What is the basic needs poverty line for a household of 4 in 2009?
Around 24 300$.
What is wrong with using relative poverty as a measurement?
Measures inequality rather than poverty. Doesn’t take into account that there may be little difference between the rich and the poor in other countries. If the goal is to eradicate poverty, we should use absolute measures.
What are status symbols?
Cultural items that convey a persons status.
What are some characteristics that caste societies have in common?
1) Caste membership is directly related to economic issues, higher castes get higher status occupations an control the allocation of resources to favour themselves. 2) Members of the same caste share the same social status, residential and social segregation, and uniformity of lifestyles
3) Each caste has its own set of rituals, which tend to intensify group awareness and identity
4) Higher castes are generally most interested in maintaining the caste system, they benefit the most from it.
What are the four hindu varnas (caste system)
4 major ones originated from the body of Purusha. Highest caste (Brahmins, priests and scholars, rewarded with honour)-from the mouth. 2nd (The Kshatriyas, warriors, kings, governers, rewarded with power)-from his arms. 3rd (The Vaishyas, tradesmen, farmers, artisans, rewarded with wealth)- from the thighs. 4th (The Shudras, labourers and servants, rewarded with freedom from responsibilities)-from his feet.
Who are the dalit?
Another category outside the hindu caste system-meaning crushed or oppressed people. 20% of India’s population. Considered impure, contact with them by members of the higher castes is polluting. Untouchability practices separate the dalit from the rest of society.
What are jati groups?
Local subgroups, family groups that are strictly endogamous. Peron’s jati commands his or her strongest loyalties, serves as a source of social support, and provides the primary basis for social support.
What is Sanskritization?
Taking values and behaviours associated with the Brahmin caste in order to move up the caste ladder.
What is hypergamy?
“Marrying up,” women marrying into a higher social status.
What is the “one drop rule?”
If you had one drop of black blood, you were considered black. At least 1/32 of negro blood made you black.
What is hypodescent?
Assignment of a mixed race, ethnic group, or other social group to the lower status group.
What is miscegenation?
Inter-racial marriage.
What are some of the ways people used to classify others?
Linneaus- Four subspecies of descending behaviours and abilities- Europeans, Asians, Indians, Africans.
Blumenbach- Five races using skull measurements- Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan, Ethiopian, and American.
What are polygenics and monogenics?
Polygenics-Races as immutable and unchanging, had separate origins.
Monogenics-Idea that there was a single origin, but that the races had degenerated into their current states.
What is ethnicity?
Cultural traits that are passed on from gen to gen. Based on religion, language, traditions, cultural heritage, and also self identification.
What is racialism?
The idea that race determines specific characteristics, and capacities. Idea that some races are superior to others. Leads to stereotypes.
What is ethnic cleansing?
The systemic and forced removal of an ethnic or religious group from a given geographic area, in order to make it more homogenous.
What do status, or registered Indians receive?
On-reserve housing, educational benefits, no federal or provincial taxes on personal property, all given by government.
What is enfranchisement?
When a status woman married a non-status man and by consequence lost her status. A status man loses his status possibly by entering a professional occupation.
What are some examples of egalitarian societies?
Hadza of Tanzania, Ju’hoansi of the Kalahari, Batek of Malaysia
What are strata?
Ranked divisions. Vary based on;
1) # of ranked groups
2) Degree of agreement regarding hierarchical placement
3) Size of strata
4) Ability to move within strata
5) supporting ideology
What are some classes in Canada?
Upper-upper-1%, old money
Lower-upper- 2-4%, nouveau riche
Middle- 40-50% (upper-upper middle: over 100K per year, middle-middle, 50-100k per year, lower middle; under 50k)
Working class-1/3 of pop, no accumulated wealth.
How do social classses manifest?
Through verbal evaluation, through patterns of association, through language, through symbolic indicators, wealth, dress, form of recreation, residential location, material possessions.
What are sumptuary laws?
Ways of dress to indicate a persons class, practiced in 16th century england, greek, rome, japan, private school.
What is the difference in life expectancy between classes in London?
9.5 years for men, 6.4 for women
How did the Caste system arise in India?
Comes from word castus-meaning pure. Original Sanskrit was Varna, which means colour. Some believe that the caste system was originally based upon colour lines between the conquering aryans and the darker, native Dravidians.
Who are the Brahmin?
Seen as mediators between human and divine worlds. Deserve respect from everyone else, considered so pue they never eat food unless it was prepped by other Brahmin.
Who are the Kshatriya?
Members of the warrior varna. Lifetime goal is to serve as protectors to their people. Historically, contained most of the political leaders and kings.
Who are the Vaishya?
Landless group of merchants, shopkeepers, and artisans. Resembles middle class.
Who are the Shudra?
Performs services-hard work and labour. Specific service is birthright. Resembles medieval european peasant class.
Who are the Dalit (untouchables)?
Lowest class. Play instruments considered “unclean” due to their saliva. Called untouchables because they were forbidden to touch anyone in the other varnas. Do all the most unpleasant work in South Asia. Even their shadows thought to be polluting. 22m from Brahmins.
