Violence & Social Control

Question 1

what did Norbert Elias demonstrate?

Answer 1

four enablers cumulatively generated the social norms of European society: state formation, manners, money, and division of labour

Question 2

how did state formation initially generate social norms?

Answer 2

warlords fought for power and resources which eventually turned thousands of small territories into large nation states; more common people were marshalled into armies to tighten control, so knights became redundant; violent nature of the warrior class was no longer useful for warlords, so new norms (peaceful, gentle, reflective, etc.) spread throughout society

Question 3

how did state formation further generate social norms?

Answer 3

nation states were under two main threats: internal (revolt, assassination, treason) and external (war); warlords established rules on legitimate force and gradually outlawed all other violence; led to a division between legal forms of homicide and murder; capital punishment acted as a policy of terror while simultaneously pacifying society

Question 4

how did the development of manners generate social norms?

Answer 4

old warrior class was preoccupied with the feelings of higher social classes (mutual identification); less violence within states allowed businesses to thrive and allowed for the reintroduction of a money-based economy; elites sought ways of distinguishing themselves from the new middle class; adoption of mannerisms filtered through society and compliance relieved individuals of censure; some animalistic behaviours were still deemed necessary (war, capital punishment, etc.) so they evolved to be hidden as much as possible