Power and Class Relations

Question 1

caste system

Answer 1

symbolic system in India, associated with Hinduism, divides all Hindu society into endogamous groups with hereditary membership, ascribed status

Question 2

jati

Answer 2

a very small endogamous group practicing a traditional occupation

Question 3

complicating factors with caste and globalization

Answer 3

monetary economy, new professions not recognized in Jati system, incorporation of village into larger capitalist markets and state system weakened ties between Jatis

Question 4

3 ways to improve situation due to FG Bailey’s studies of caste climbing

Answer 4

change caste membership, improve their own caste’s relative rank, dismiss the entire caste system and build a career outside it

Question 5

Marx

Answer 5

classes defined in relation to poverty

Question 6

Max Weber and social stratification

Answer 6

not necessarily a link between property and class stratification, several partly independent criteria which, together, give a person rank: political power and intellectual prestige could be just as important as property in a given society

Question 7

class differences

Answer 7

reproduced over generations, even though there is a possibility for social mobility

Question 8

cultural classes

Answer 8

social rank based on much more than access to property or capital

Question 9

Bourdieu and cultural classes

Answer 9

power is connected with symbols, and the ruling class is the class which decides the ranking of symbols and the form of dominant discourse; can have symbolic capital and wield considerable power without owning means of production

Question 10

cross cultural classifications

Answer 10

societies are internally differentiated, not only in economic and political terms, but in cultural terms

Question 11

power

Answer 11

the ability of individuals or groups to impose their will upon others and make them do things even against their own wants or wishes

Question 12

political organization

Answer 12

the way power is distributed and embedded in a society, the means through which a society creates and maintains social order and reduces social disorder

Question 13

legitmacy

Answer 13

grants the right to hold, use, and allocate power

Question 14

ways to gain legitimacy

Answer 14

divinely sanctioned rulers, leaders chosen by the people, leader because of wealth/age bracket, follows expectations