ANTH1008 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Social Inequality, Emic And Etic, Ethnocentrism
ANTH1008 Lecture Eleven: Politics & Economics
Politics
• Looking at politics separately from the rest of culture is in some ways ethnocentric. Not
all societies see politics as separate from the rest of their lives.
• Elman Service's (1962) typology defines the different generalised types of political
systems. They are organised in terms of complexity not in terms of superiority. The list
is a bit simplistic since many of the typologies overlap and merge. Archaeological
evidence is dominant in this aspect because anthropologists have never been able to
observe these systems outside the etic (outsider) state. The political systems include:
-Bands: are small, loosely organised groups of people held together by informal means
(Bonvillain 2010:303). A small group of related households occupying a particular
region that gather periodically on an ad hoc basis but that do not yield their sovereignty
to the larger collective (Haviland 2000:654). The characteristic form of social
organisation found among foragers. Bands are small, usually no more than 50 people,
and labour is divided on the basis of age and sex. All adults in band societies have
roughly equal access to whatever material or social valuables locally available (Lavenda
and Schultz 2015:174). Bands are the least complicated and oldest form of political
organisations. They range from about 25 to several hundred people (Bonvillain
2010:303), in seeing bands are usually so small there is no real need for formal,
centralised political systems. They tend to be kinship based, a significant amount of the
band is family, and families are linked by descent and marriage (Bonvillain 2000:655).
If conflict cannot be resolved disgruntled residence can just leave, there is nothing
opposing their ability to do so, and join another band where they have relatives. The
choice of band membership may be based on loyalty to and approval of the band's
leader. (Bonvillain 2010:304). Leaders are chosen based on personal qualities and skills
including intelligence, subsistent skills and personality. They are held in power as long
as they retain the community’s confidence. The leader contributes the same if not more
to the band's subsistence than anyone else, they typically don't live differently than the
other band members and receive no financial rewards, the only reward being prestige.
Leaders lead by example, not by rule, and only have influence, not power. That is they
can try to persuade their people but have no way of forcing their decisions. Decisions
affecting the band are made by all the adult members with the emphasis on achieving
consensus, not just a majority. Bands are found in foraging societies, and therefore
mobile, and are relatively egalitarian.
-Tribe is a word used in many ways, most of which are considered incorrect to
anthropologists. For example, the general public often use it to refer to any group that
doesn't have a state political system. Sometimes it is even used for non-Western people
who did have strong states, e.g., Aztecs. It has also been used in a derogatory fashion to
talk about 'inferior' or 'uncivilised' peoples. Tribes are a society that is generally larger
than a band, whose members usually farm or herd for a living. Social relations are still
relatively egalitarian, although there may be a chief who speaks for the group or
organises certain group activities (Lavenda and Schultz 2015:175). They are a group of
nominally independent communities occupying a specific region and sharing a common
language and culture integrated by some factor (Haviland 2000:656). They are societies
with some degree of formalisation of structure and leadership, including village and
inter-village councils whose members regularly meet to settle disputes and plant
community activities (Bonvillain 2010:306). Tribes have more formalised
organisational procedures than bands, e.g., highly structured councils with greater
authority (Bonvillain 2010:306). Tribes are made up of smaller autonomous groups
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(villages) that come together for the sake of greater security against attack ad starvation
(Haviland 2000:656-657). When the problem is satisfactorily solved, the tribe splits up
until the next problem arises. Tribal chiefs with enforcement powers may be selected in
more formal ways than the casual and informal recognition of bands leaders. However,
the power of tribal chief and councils are limited and are often there are ways to ignore
or depose leaders who try to exert too much authority. Leaders must be generous to
achieve widespread respect and support. For example, 'Big Men': in many areas of the
South Pacific, particular Melanesia and Papua New Guinea tribes gad political leaders
that anthropologists call 'big men'. A big man is not elected but gets his status by acting
in ways that raise him above others and attract their loyalty, e.g., through bravery,
eloquence, skill at dealing with the supernatural, and generosity. Big men display their
generosity by sponsoring events such as feasts. Big man status is achieved. Tribes are
usually found amongst horticulturalists and pastoralists, although sometimes among
foragers. Most have unilineage descent groups although some have bilateral. Generally,
quite egalitarian and lack socioeconomic stratification. Some are sedentary, while
others are not. Certain political systems correlate with certain forms of body decoration.
-Chiefdom is a form of social organisation in which the leader (a chief) and close
relatives are set apart from the rest of the society and allowed privileged access to
wealth, power, and prestige. They are stratified societies organised by kinship. A
regional polity in which two or more local groups are organised under a single chief,
who's at the head of a ranked hierarchy of people. Chiefdoms are typically a
redistributive system. Unlike tribe and bands, a chiefdom is a permanent political unit.
They are a set leader, not fluid and change. Usually hereditary, and permanent position,
you can't kick them out of power of they are unliked. Chiefs and their families have
higher status than other people. A chief has authority, e.g., they can distribute land and
recruit people into the military. They control the people to a much larger degree. They
control the people’s money and can amass a fair amount himself. This is where the
hoarding of goods comes into play, which is not present in bands or tribes. They are
typically found in horticulturalists, agriculturists, but sometimes pastoralists.
Differential access to resources (some people had more wealth, prestige and power than
others). Found in societies that produce a surplus that requires redistribution.
Chiefdoms have leadership that is hereditary and fixed and there is little social mobility
and greater stratification and specialisation, tattoos are also used to show status. Tattoos
are applied by experts (not like body paint which anyone can do) and therefore reflect
the stratification and specialisation that exists among chiefdoms. They are a permanent
way of decorating the body that matched the permanent position of chief and the lack of
social mobility in chiefdoms.
-State: the term is used differently by anthropologists than by the general public. It's a
centralised political system with the power to coerce (Haviland 2000:663). It's a
stratified society that possesses a territory that is defended from outside enemies with an
army and from internal disorder with police. A state, which has a separate set of
governmental institutions designed to enforce laws and collect taxed and tribute, is run
by an elite that possesses a monopoly on the use of force (Lavenda and Schultz
2015:175). It's an autonomous political unit encompassing many communities within its
territory, having centralised government with the power to collect taxes, draft en for
work or war, and decree and enforce laws (Caneiro in Kottak 2009:391). States are
much large, and they are the most complex of the political systems. They have formal
governments, made up by numerous officials and bureaucrats and organised into
hierarchal structure of authority. They intervene in family matters such as marriage and
parenting as well as production, distribution and consumption. They have laws that
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Document Summary
Politics: looking at politics separately from the rest of culture is in some ways ethnocentric. Not all societies see politics as separate from the rest of their lives: elman service"s (1962) typology defines the different generalised types of political systems. They are organised in terms of complexity not in terms of superiority. The list is a bit simplistic since many of the typologies overlap and merge. Archaeological evidence is dominant in this aspect because anthropologists have never been able to observe these systems outside the etic (outsider) state. Bands: are small, loosely organised groups of people held together by informal means (bonvillain 2010:303). A small group of related households occupying a particular region that gather periodically on an ad hoc basis but that do not yield their sovereignty to the larger collective (haviland 2000:654). The characteristic form of social organisation found among foragers.
