Elvin Hatch
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520074729
- eISBN:
- 9780520911437
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520074729.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Global
Where do we get our notions of social hierarchy and personal worth? What underlies our beliefs about the goals worth aiming for, the persons we hope to become? This book addresses these questions in ...
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Where do we get our notions of social hierarchy and personal worth? What underlies our beliefs about the goals worth aiming for, the persons we hope to become? This book addresses these questions in this ethnography of a small New Zealand farming community, articulating the cultural system beneath the social hierarchy. It describes a cultural theory of social hierarchy that defines not only the local system of social rank, but personhood as well. Because people define respectability differently, a crucial part of the book's approach is to examine how these differences are worked out over time. The concept of occupation is central to the book's analysis, since the work that people do provides the skeletal framework of the hierarchical order. The book focuses in particular on sheep farming and compares a New Zealand community with one in California. Wealth and respectability are defined differently in the two places, with the result that California landholders perceive a social hierarchy different from the New Zealanders'. Thus the distinctive “shape” that characterizes the hierarchy among these New Zealand landholders and their conceptions of self reflect the distinctive cultural theory by which they live.Less
Where do we get our notions of social hierarchy and personal worth? What underlies our beliefs about the goals worth aiming for, the persons we hope to become? This book addresses these questions in this ethnography of a small New Zealand farming community, articulating the cultural system beneath the social hierarchy. It describes a cultural theory of social hierarchy that defines not only the local system of social rank, but personhood as well. Because people define respectability differently, a crucial part of the book's approach is to examine how these differences are worked out over time. The concept of occupation is central to the book's analysis, since the work that people do provides the skeletal framework of the hierarchical order. The book focuses in particular on sheep farming and compares a New Zealand community with one in California. Wealth and respectability are defined differently in the two places, with the result that California landholders perceive a social hierarchy different from the New Zealanders'. Thus the distinctive “shape” that characterizes the hierarchy among these New Zealand landholders and their conceptions of self reflect the distinctive cultural theory by which they live.
Hugh B. Urban
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195139020
- eISBN:
- 9780199834778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019513902X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The role of secrecy is looked at as a practical and ritual strategy. It is argued that the esoteric practices and ecstatic techniques of the Kartābhajās involve a key strategy of deconstructing and ...
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The role of secrecy is looked at as a practical and ritual strategy. It is argued that the esoteric practices and ecstatic techniques of the Kartābhajās involve a key strategy of deconstructing and reconstructing the human body; their aim is to dismantle or dissolve the ordinary socialized body of the initiate, along with the conventional social hierarchy itself, and to create in its place a new, divinized (spiritualized) body, which is in turn reinscribed into an alternative social hierarchy, with its own relations of authority and power. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the relationship between the body and the social body in mainstream Bengali culture, as well as the ritual sacraments used to inscribe the physical body into the greater Bengali social hierarchy. Next, the role of initiation and bodily practice within the Kartābhajā tradition is discussed as it serves to deconstruct the conventional socialized body, and to create in its place an alternative, liberated body. Finally, an examination is made of the attempt of the Kartābhajās to construct not simply an alternative body, but an entire alternative identity or secret self – the “supreme” or ultimate identity, which is at once freed from the bonds of labor and servitude in the exoteric social hierarchy, while at the same time it is inscribed into a new hierarchy of power within the Kartābhajā sect itself.Less
The role of secrecy is looked at as a practical and ritual strategy. It is argued that the esoteric practices and ecstatic techniques of the Kartābhajās involve a key strategy of deconstructing and reconstructing the human body; their aim is to dismantle or dissolve the ordinary socialized body of the initiate, along with the conventional social hierarchy itself, and to create in its place a new, divinized (spiritualized) body, which is in turn reinscribed into an alternative social hierarchy, with its own relations of authority and power. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the relationship between the body and the social body in mainstream Bengali culture, as well as the ritual sacraments used to inscribe the physical body into the greater Bengali social hierarchy. Next, the role of initiation and bodily practice within the Kartābhajā tradition is discussed as it serves to deconstruct the conventional socialized body, and to create in its place an alternative, liberated body. Finally, an examination is made of the attempt of the Kartābhajās to construct not simply an alternative body, but an entire alternative identity or secret self – the “supreme” or ultimate identity, which is at once freed from the bonds of labor and servitude in the exoteric social hierarchy, while at the same time it is inscribed into a new hierarchy of power within the Kartābhajā sect itself.
Miguel Angel Centeno and Katherine S. Newman (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199732166
- eISBN:
- 9780199866144
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732166.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Is globalization making our world more equal, or less? Proponents of globalization argue that it is helping and that in a competitive world, no one can afford to discriminate except on the basis of ...
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Is globalization making our world more equal, or less? Proponents of globalization argue that it is helping and that in a competitive world, no one can afford to discriminate except on the basis of skills. Opponents counter that globalization does nothing but provide a meritocratic patina on a consistently unequal distribution of opportunity. Yet, despite the often deafening volume of the debate, there is surprisingly little empirical work available on the extent to which the process of globalization over the past quarter century has had any effect on discrimination. This book explores the relationship between discrimination and unequal outcomes in the appropriate geographical and historical context. Noting how each society tends to see its particular version of discrimination as universal and obvious, the book expands a set of cases to include a broad variety of social relations and practices. However, since methods differ and are often designed for particular national circumstances, the book sets the much more ambitious and practical goal of establishing a base with which different forms of discrimination across the world can be compared. Deriving from an array of methods, including statistical analyses, role-playing games, and audit studies, the book draws many important lessons on the new means by which the world creates social hierarchies, the democratization of inequality, and the disappearance of traditional categories.Less
Is globalization making our world more equal, or less? Proponents of globalization argue that it is helping and that in a competitive world, no one can afford to discriminate except on the basis of skills. Opponents counter that globalization does nothing but provide a meritocratic patina on a consistently unequal distribution of opportunity. Yet, despite the often deafening volume of the debate, there is surprisingly little empirical work available on the extent to which the process of globalization over the past quarter century has had any effect on discrimination. This book explores the relationship between discrimination and unequal outcomes in the appropriate geographical and historical context. Noting how each society tends to see its particular version of discrimination as universal and obvious, the book expands a set of cases to include a broad variety of social relations and practices. However, since methods differ and are often designed for particular national circumstances, the book sets the much more ambitious and practical goal of establishing a base with which different forms of discrimination across the world can be compared. Deriving from an array of methods, including statistical analyses, role-playing games, and audit studies, the book draws many important lessons on the new means by which the world creates social hierarchies, the democratization of inequality, and the disappearance of traditional categories.
Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230204
- eISBN:
- 9780191710681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230204.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter explores Ambrosiaster's attitudes toward natural social hierarchies in creation. These attitudes provide the necessary starting point for any investigation of his ideas about political, ...
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This chapter explores Ambrosiaster's attitudes toward natural social hierarchies in creation. These attitudes provide the necessary starting point for any investigation of his ideas about political, institutionalized forms of domination (such as that of the emperor over his subjects) because he used the same language for both sorts of hierarchy, which allowed him to narrow the gap between social and political forms of domination. Ambrosiaster presented man and woman's domination over the animals and man's domination over woman as inherently natural, ordained at the very moment of creation by God. Slavery, however — considered both metaphysically as slavery to sin and literally as institutional slavery — was identified as a postlapsarian system of subjection and therefore unnatural.Less
This chapter explores Ambrosiaster's attitudes toward natural social hierarchies in creation. These attitudes provide the necessary starting point for any investigation of his ideas about political, institutionalized forms of domination (such as that of the emperor over his subjects) because he used the same language for both sorts of hierarchy, which allowed him to narrow the gap between social and political forms of domination. Ambrosiaster presented man and woman's domination over the animals and man's domination over woman as inherently natural, ordained at the very moment of creation by God. Slavery, however — considered both metaphysically as slavery to sin and literally as institutional slavery — was identified as a postlapsarian system of subjection and therefore unnatural.
Elvin Hatch
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520074729
- eISBN:
- 9780520911437
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520074729.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Global
This chapter turns to one that refers to life-style, or to the element of refinement in life-style. Social hierarchy was greater before World War II than it is today in South Downs, for the postwar ...
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This chapter turns to one that refers to life-style, or to the element of refinement in life-style. Social hierarchy was greater before World War II than it is today in South Downs, for the postwar period saw a growing emphasis on egalitarianism. It explores the hierarchy of wealth in South Downs in the 1920s. It also covers the network of families at the upper end of the social spectrum, in order to reveal how social distance or hierarchy was expressed symbolically. It then addresses the people who were considered middling farmers and who did eat with their workers in the 1920s—that is, the middling, one-table households. The two-table theory included a crucial set of ideas about work itself. The one- and two-table theories of social hierarchy produced very different hierarchies of standing. On the one hand, the two-table theory served to distance the landholding elite from working people.Less
This chapter turns to one that refers to life-style, or to the element of refinement in life-style. Social hierarchy was greater before World War II than it is today in South Downs, for the postwar period saw a growing emphasis on egalitarianism. It explores the hierarchy of wealth in South Downs in the 1920s. It also covers the network of families at the upper end of the social spectrum, in order to reveal how social distance or hierarchy was expressed symbolically. It then addresses the people who were considered middling farmers and who did eat with their workers in the 1920s—that is, the middling, one-table households. The two-table theory included a crucial set of ideas about work itself. The one- and two-table theories of social hierarchy produced very different hierarchies of standing. On the one hand, the two-table theory served to distance the landholding elite from working people.
Steven Talmy
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195327359
- eISBN:
- 9780199870639
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327359.003.0021
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Employing a conceptual framework informed by theories of cultural production, identity markedness, and linguistic discrimination, this chapter examines how an ESL subject position is locally produced ...
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Employing a conceptual framework informed by theories of cultural production, identity markedness, and linguistic discrimination, this chapter examines how an ESL subject position is locally produced by adolescents of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in a high school classroom in Hawai'i. Arguing that “ESL” in this context signifies an exoticized cultural and linguistic Other—what students referred to as “FOB” (“fresh off the boat”)—several classroom interactions are analyzed in which oldtimer “Local ESL” students resist being positioned as FOB, first by challenging their teacher's positioning, and second, by positioning a newcomer classmate as FOB, instead. Through these actions, these students produce identities of “distinction” as “non‐FOBs”; at the same time, however, they reinscribe the same linguicism they had ostensibly been resisting. The chapter concludes by considering ways that the reproduction of linguicism might be interrupted.Less
Employing a conceptual framework informed by theories of cultural production, identity markedness, and linguistic discrimination, this chapter examines how an ESL subject position is locally produced by adolescents of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in a high school classroom in Hawai'i. Arguing that “ESL” in this context signifies an exoticized cultural and linguistic Other—what students referred to as “FOB” (“fresh off the boat”)—several classroom interactions are analyzed in which oldtimer “Local ESL” students resist being positioned as FOB, first by challenging their teacher's positioning, and second, by positioning a newcomer classmate as FOB, instead. Through these actions, these students produce identities of “distinction” as “non‐FOBs”; at the same time, however, they reinscribe the same linguicism they had ostensibly been resisting. The chapter concludes by considering ways that the reproduction of linguicism might be interrupted.
Mina Cikara, Tiane L. Lee, Susan T. Fiske, and Peter Glick
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195320916
- eISBN:
- 9780199869541
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.018
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
According to ambivalent sexism theory, sexism combines complementary gender ideologies, held by both men and women worldwide, which serve to justify social hierarchy. This chapter reviews how ...
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According to ambivalent sexism theory, sexism combines complementary gender ideologies, held by both men and women worldwide, which serve to justify social hierarchy. This chapter reviews how benevolent and hostile attitudes toward women operate in concert to ultimately maintain gender inequity. Research specifically targets the relationship between sexism and system justification as endorsed and enacted by men and women. Hostile and benevolent beliefs map onto widely held prescriptions and proscriptions for men and women; these beliefs shape men’s and women’s interactions in the private sphere (i.e., the home, close relationships). Finally, these system justifying beliefs extend to the workplace and impede women from progressing in the public sphere.Less
According to ambivalent sexism theory, sexism combines complementary gender ideologies, held by both men and women worldwide, which serve to justify social hierarchy. This chapter reviews how benevolent and hostile attitudes toward women operate in concert to ultimately maintain gender inequity. Research specifically targets the relationship between sexism and system justification as endorsed and enacted by men and women. Hostile and benevolent beliefs map onto widely held prescriptions and proscriptions for men and women; these beliefs shape men’s and women’s interactions in the private sphere (i.e., the home, close relationships). Finally, these system justifying beliefs extend to the workplace and impede women from progressing in the public sphere.
Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691200897
- eISBN:
- 9780691200880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691200897.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This introductory chapter argues for the need for hierarchy. It is also important to think about which forms of hierarchy are justified and how they can be made compatible with egalitarian goals. The ...
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This introductory chapter argues for the need for hierarchy. It is also important to think about which forms of hierarchy are justified and how they can be made compatible with egalitarian goals. The chapter first defines what is meant by hierarchy and traces the history of social hierarchies, considering in particular the forms of “traditional” hierarchy often deemed unjust and how they can be improved upon or otherwise made to serve egalitarian goals. Next, the chapter argues that combating all forms of hierarchy is neither possible nor desirable. Complex organizations and societies need some form of hierarchy and will outcompete and outlast those that seek to abolish all forms of hierarchy. As such, the chapter makes a brief defense of hierarchy through five different contexts. Lastly, it situates this volume's study within a Chinese political context, but with aspirations for universal application.Less
This introductory chapter argues for the need for hierarchy. It is also important to think about which forms of hierarchy are justified and how they can be made compatible with egalitarian goals. The chapter first defines what is meant by hierarchy and traces the history of social hierarchies, considering in particular the forms of “traditional” hierarchy often deemed unjust and how they can be improved upon or otherwise made to serve egalitarian goals. Next, the chapter argues that combating all forms of hierarchy is neither possible nor desirable. Complex organizations and societies need some form of hierarchy and will outcompete and outlast those that seek to abolish all forms of hierarchy. As such, the chapter makes a brief defense of hierarchy through five different contexts. Lastly, it situates this volume's study within a Chinese political context, but with aspirations for universal application.
Roger B. Manning
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199261499
- eISBN:
- 9780191718625
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261499.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Because of lingering prejudices against soldiers of fortune at the beginning of the British and Irish civil wars, Scottish and English aristocrats believed that they possessed the best claim to ...
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Because of lingering prejudices against soldiers of fortune at the beginning of the British and Irish civil wars, Scottish and English aristocrats believed that they possessed the best claim to military command because of their superior social rank and the military exploits of their ancestors, despite evidence of the military experience and competence of the British and Irish veterans of the mainland European wars. The concept that military hierarchies were necessary for order and discipline still had not etched itself upon the English military mentality at home. It was thought that the king’s honour required that armies be commanded by men of noble birth, and this emphasis upon social hierarchy made some sense as long as noblemen could recruit their tenants or kinsmen to fill their regiments; the actual command of such units in the field could be entrusted to experienced professionals. This arrangement worked well in Scotland, parts of Ireland, and in Wales and northern England, but was a notable failure throughout the remainder of England where rents rather than loyalty had become the nexus between lord and smallholder. The Parliamentary New Model Army gained an advantage when the grandees, such as the third earl of Essex and the earl of Manchester, who belonged to the peace party which advocated limited war aims, were purged in favour of generals and officers who gained promotion by merit and seniority, and aimed at total victory.Less
Because of lingering prejudices against soldiers of fortune at the beginning of the British and Irish civil wars, Scottish and English aristocrats believed that they possessed the best claim to military command because of their superior social rank and the military exploits of their ancestors, despite evidence of the military experience and competence of the British and Irish veterans of the mainland European wars. The concept that military hierarchies were necessary for order and discipline still had not etched itself upon the English military mentality at home. It was thought that the king’s honour required that armies be commanded by men of noble birth, and this emphasis upon social hierarchy made some sense as long as noblemen could recruit their tenants or kinsmen to fill their regiments; the actual command of such units in the field could be entrusted to experienced professionals. This arrangement worked well in Scotland, parts of Ireland, and in Wales and northern England, but was a notable failure throughout the remainder of England where rents rather than loyalty had become the nexus between lord and smallholder. The Parliamentary New Model Army gained an advantage when the grandees, such as the third earl of Essex and the earl of Manchester, who belonged to the peace party which advocated limited war aims, were purged in favour of generals and officers who gained promotion by merit and seniority, and aimed at total victory.
Elliot Turiel
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195178425
- eISBN:
- 9780199958528
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195178425.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Child Psychology / School Psychology
This chapter offers a theoretical perspective on social and moral development, relevant to discussions of youth conflict and violence. Rejecting the idea that cultures have singular integrated ...
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This chapter offers a theoretical perspective on social and moral development, relevant to discussions of youth conflict and violence. Rejecting the idea that cultures have singular integrated patterns of moral functioning, it explains that a major source of conflict is social hierarchy characterized by dominant and subordinate positions, such as the positions of women and ethnic minority groups across many societies. The chapter reviews research examining conflicts across social developmental domains, in terms of the development of understandings of morality (harm, justice, and rights), social conventions, and personal prerogatives or entitlements. These categories of moral judgment are psycho-social practices that occur across cultures as sources of conflict, disagreement, and struggle. An example of the utility of this theory is its explanation, for example, of why children who are identified as aggressive make moral judgments similar to those of other children but differ in their justifications about retaliation. Examples of group conflicts are also considered, including acts of violence stemming from social hierarchies and cultural practices, such as acts of conflict and resistance by women in contexts in India and Iran where women's freedom of movement and self-determination are much more restricted than men's.Less
This chapter offers a theoretical perspective on social and moral development, relevant to discussions of youth conflict and violence. Rejecting the idea that cultures have singular integrated patterns of moral functioning, it explains that a major source of conflict is social hierarchy characterized by dominant and subordinate positions, such as the positions of women and ethnic minority groups across many societies. The chapter reviews research examining conflicts across social developmental domains, in terms of the development of understandings of morality (harm, justice, and rights), social conventions, and personal prerogatives or entitlements. These categories of moral judgment are psycho-social practices that occur across cultures as sources of conflict, disagreement, and struggle. An example of the utility of this theory is its explanation, for example, of why children who are identified as aggressive make moral judgments similar to those of other children but differ in their justifications about retaliation. Examples of group conflicts are also considered, including acts of violence stemming from social hierarchies and cultural practices, such as acts of conflict and resistance by women in contexts in India and Iran where women's freedom of movement and self-determination are much more restricted than men's.
Curtis D. Hardin, Rick M. Cheung, Michael W. Magee, Steven Noel, and Kasumi Yoshimura
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199737512
- eISBN:
- 9780199918638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737512.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Building upon research on the social-cognitive foundations of ideological thinking, we argue that allegiance to attitudes that explain and justify the status quo is motivated in part by the human ...
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Building upon research on the social-cognitive foundations of ideological thinking, we argue that allegiance to attitudes that explain and justify the status quo is motivated in part by the human need to connect with others through feelings of mutual understanding. We review evidence that endorsing attitudes that justify the status quo not only preserves and regulates existing interpersonal relationships but also facilitates the establishment and regulation of new relationships, focusing in particular on ideologies involving religion and intergroup prejudice. In this light, ideologies function as prepackaged units of interpretation that help regulate social and political life.Less
Building upon research on the social-cognitive foundations of ideological thinking, we argue that allegiance to attitudes that explain and justify the status quo is motivated in part by the human need to connect with others through feelings of mutual understanding. We review evidence that endorsing attitudes that justify the status quo not only preserves and regulates existing interpersonal relationships but also facilitates the establishment and regulation of new relationships, focusing in particular on ideologies involving religion and intergroup prejudice. In this light, ideologies function as prepackaged units of interpretation that help regulate social and political life.
Daniel Bell and Wang Pei
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691200897
- eISBN:
- 9780691200880
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691200897.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
All complex and large-scale societies are organized along certain hierarchies, but the concept of hierarchy has become almost taboo in the modern world. This book contends that this stigma is a ...
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All complex and large-scale societies are organized along certain hierarchies, but the concept of hierarchy has become almost taboo in the modern world. This book contends that this stigma is a mistake. In fact, as the book shows, it is neither possible nor advisable to do away with social hierarchies. The book ask which forms of hierarchy are justified and how these can serve morally desirable goals. It looks at ways of promoting just forms of hierarchy while minimizing the influence of unjust ones, such as those based on race, sex, or caste. Which hierarchical relations are morally justified and why? The book argues that it depends on the nature of the social relation and context. Different hierarchical principles ought to govern different kinds of social relations: what justifies hierarchy among intimates is different from what justifies hierarchy among citizens, countries, humans and animals, and humans and intelligent machines. Morally justified hierarchies can and should govern different spheres of our social lives, though these will be very different from the unjust hierarchies that have governed us in the past. The book examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.Less
All complex and large-scale societies are organized along certain hierarchies, but the concept of hierarchy has become almost taboo in the modern world. This book contends that this stigma is a mistake. In fact, as the book shows, it is neither possible nor advisable to do away with social hierarchies. The book ask which forms of hierarchy are justified and how these can serve morally desirable goals. It looks at ways of promoting just forms of hierarchy while minimizing the influence of unjust ones, such as those based on race, sex, or caste. Which hierarchical relations are morally justified and why? The book argues that it depends on the nature of the social relation and context. Different hierarchical principles ought to govern different kinds of social relations: what justifies hierarchy among intimates is different from what justifies hierarchy among citizens, countries, humans and animals, and humans and intelligent machines. Morally justified hierarchies can and should govern different spheres of our social lives, though these will be very different from the unjust hierarchies that have governed us in the past. The book examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.
DAVID MILLER
- Published in print:
- 1984
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198246589
- eISBN:
- 9780191681028
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198246589.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter suggests that Hume's social attitudes ought to be understood in relation to the outlook of the 18th-century aristocracy. Hume's ideology was the ideology of an open and progressive ...
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This chapter suggests that Hume's social attitudes ought to be understood in relation to the outlook of the 18th-century aristocracy. Hume's ideology was the ideology of an open and progressive aristocracy, which was willing to accept newcomers in its midst, and which was generally well-disposed towards improvement in agriculture and industry. It was neither an exclusive estate, nor a rising class trying to displace an established one, but a group whose privileged position lacked any formal legal basis. It was simultaneously liberal and conservative: receptive to intellectual and practical innovations, committed to personal freedom and the impartial rule of law, yet at the same time firmly attached to a ranked social order and to a political constitution that reflected and upheld that order. In this light we can understand, for example, how Hume could be committed both to the preservation of a social hierarchy and to an economic order that was largely free of political controls.Less
This chapter suggests that Hume's social attitudes ought to be understood in relation to the outlook of the 18th-century aristocracy. Hume's ideology was the ideology of an open and progressive aristocracy, which was willing to accept newcomers in its midst, and which was generally well-disposed towards improvement in agriculture and industry. It was neither an exclusive estate, nor a rising class trying to displace an established one, but a group whose privileged position lacked any formal legal basis. It was simultaneously liberal and conservative: receptive to intellectual and practical innovations, committed to personal freedom and the impartial rule of law, yet at the same time firmly attached to a ranked social order and to a political constitution that reflected and upheld that order. In this light we can understand, for example, how Hume could be committed both to the preservation of a social hierarchy and to an economic order that was largely free of political controls.
Julia M. H. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780192892638
- eISBN:
- 9780191670626
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192892638.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter argues that regional diversity and change over time were the hallmarks of all early medieval social hierarchies. It begins by exploring slavery and serfdom and the implications of ...
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This chapter argues that regional diversity and change over time were the hallmarks of all early medieval social hierarchies. It begins by exploring slavery and serfdom and the implications of freedom. The first section argues that, although the distinction between free and unfree was of fundamental legal importance, social realities were far more complex. The central section of this chapter focuses on social inequalities organized around the control of land. In looking at the many different forms of lordship that touched peasants' lives it looks at the changing local situation and the political context. The final section moves to the upper social echelons, to ask how high status was perceived, maintained, or contested, and how lordship also expressed political relationships.Less
This chapter argues that regional diversity and change over time were the hallmarks of all early medieval social hierarchies. It begins by exploring slavery and serfdom and the implications of freedom. The first section argues that, although the distinction between free and unfree was of fundamental legal importance, social realities were far more complex. The central section of this chapter focuses on social inequalities organized around the control of land. In looking at the many different forms of lordship that touched peasants' lives it looks at the changing local situation and the political context. The final section moves to the upper social echelons, to ask how high status was perceived, maintained, or contested, and how lordship also expressed political relationships.
Rebecca Flemming
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265314
- eISBN:
- 9780191760402
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265314.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter provides an analytical survey of identity registration practices (and their absence) across the ancient Mediterranean. The discussion focuses on the citizen census in Republican Rome, ...
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This chapter provides an analytical survey of identity registration practices (and their absence) across the ancient Mediterranean. The discussion focuses on the citizen census in Republican Rome, but also covers registration activities in democratic Athens, with further reference to a wider background including Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman Empire. The analysis emphasizes that civil registration in ancient states is more a matter of record and ritual than actual legal definition, and that its systems are as much about membership and privilege, as about subordination and exploitation.Less
This chapter provides an analytical survey of identity registration practices (and their absence) across the ancient Mediterranean. The discussion focuses on the citizen census in Republican Rome, but also covers registration activities in democratic Athens, with further reference to a wider background including Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman Empire. The analysis emphasizes that civil registration in ancient states is more a matter of record and ritual than actual legal definition, and that its systems are as much about membership and privilege, as about subordination and exploitation.
Ann Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199251926
- eISBN:
- 9780191719042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199251926.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter analyses the structure and methods of Gangraena in relation to the models of anti-heretical writing in the early church and during the Reformation. It compares Edwards’s book to other ...
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This chapter analyses the structure and methods of Gangraena in relation to the models of anti-heretical writing in the early church and during the Reformation. It compares Edwards’s book to other 1640s works against heresy, blasphemy, and sectarianism. Edwards’s treatment of the Independents, his discussion of social hierarchy and of gender relations, his narrative techniques, and truth-telling startegies complete the chapter.Less
This chapter analyses the structure and methods of Gangraena in relation to the models of anti-heretical writing in the early church and during the Reformation. It compares Edwards’s book to other 1640s works against heresy, blasphemy, and sectarianism. Edwards’s treatment of the Independents, his discussion of social hierarchy and of gender relations, his narrative techniques, and truth-telling startegies complete the chapter.
Robin Bergh, Gregory K. Davis, Sa-kiera T. J. Hudson, and Jim Sidanius
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190629113
- eISBN:
- 9780190629137
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190629113.003.0020
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter extends classic social comparison research to explain how people think about group-based hierarchies and how they act within them. People spontaneously compare themselves to others in ...
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This chapter extends classic social comparison research to explain how people think about group-based hierarchies and how they act within them. People spontaneously compare themselves to others in terms of relative status and power, not only as individuals but also as members of groups relative to other groups. Using a social dominance framework, the authors discuss the impact of such comparisons on socio-political attitudes and behavior. Social dominance theory describes how certain attitudes, values, and social practices enhance group hierarchies, whereas other attitudes, values, and social practices are hierarchy-attenuating. Power differentials within any type of group hierarchy are given by the balance between these forces that play out at three levels of analysis: in societal institutions (macro level), in intergroup relations (meso level), and among different individuals (micro level). The authors discuss not only how social comparisons shape hierarchy-enhancing and hierarchy-attenuating outcomes at each level but also how these outcomes, in turn, can mute the natural consequences of group-based power comparisons.Less
This chapter extends classic social comparison research to explain how people think about group-based hierarchies and how they act within them. People spontaneously compare themselves to others in terms of relative status and power, not only as individuals but also as members of groups relative to other groups. Using a social dominance framework, the authors discuss the impact of such comparisons on socio-political attitudes and behavior. Social dominance theory describes how certain attitudes, values, and social practices enhance group hierarchies, whereas other attitudes, values, and social practices are hierarchy-attenuating. Power differentials within any type of group hierarchy are given by the balance between these forces that play out at three levels of analysis: in societal institutions (macro level), in intergroup relations (meso level), and among different individuals (micro level). The authors discuss not only how social comparisons shape hierarchy-enhancing and hierarchy-attenuating outcomes at each level but also how these outcomes, in turn, can mute the natural consequences of group-based power comparisons.
Loriliai Biernacki
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195145380
- eISBN:
- 9780199849963
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195145380.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The chapter addresses a particular feature in Shree Maa's life and actions, and analyzes her style of organization, that moves to destabilize the world of social hierarchies that our naming of others ...
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The chapter addresses a particular feature in Shree Maa's life and actions, and analyzes her style of organization, that moves to destabilize the world of social hierarchies that our naming of others entails, a feature that this chapter designates as an impulse toward “decentering.” Even though explicitly self-identified as tantric, the tantrism she subscribes to follows the generally right-handed model of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century mystic whom she sees as her guru.Less
The chapter addresses a particular feature in Shree Maa's life and actions, and analyzes her style of organization, that moves to destabilize the world of social hierarchies that our naming of others entails, a feature that this chapter designates as an impulse toward “decentering.” Even though explicitly self-identified as tantric, the tantrism she subscribes to follows the generally right-handed model of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century mystic whom she sees as her guru.
Henry Phelps Brown
- Published in print:
- 1979
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198851202
- eISBN:
- 9780191596780
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198851200.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter surveys occupational pay structure in various types of economy, and together with the next chapter (which surveys the changes that have come about in pay structure in the course of ...
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This chapter surveys occupational pay structure in various types of economy, and together with the next chapter (which surveys the changes that have come about in pay structure in the course of time), brings out the interconnection between pay structure and social structure that is formed by status and class. The different sections of this chapter are: Grouping by occupation; The comparability of figures of pay by occupation; A conspectus of the pay structure by occupation in Western countries; The pay structure by occupation in the Soviet‐type economies; Material and moral incentives in China and Cuba; Egalitarianism in Israel; Yugoslavia: a special case; and The relative pay of particular occupations. The last section reviews and discusses the material presented, drawing out seven main points.Less
This chapter surveys occupational pay structure in various types of economy, and together with the next chapter (which surveys the changes that have come about in pay structure in the course of time), brings out the interconnection between pay structure and social structure that is formed by status and class. The different sections of this chapter are: Grouping by occupation; The comparability of figures of pay by occupation; A conspectus of the pay structure by occupation in Western countries; The pay structure by occupation in the Soviet‐type economies; Material and moral incentives in China and Cuba; Egalitarianism in Israel; Yugoslavia: a special case; and The relative pay of particular occupations. The last section reviews and discusses the material presented, drawing out seven main points.
Henry Phelps Brown
- Published in print:
- 1979
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198851202
- eISBN:
- 9780191596780
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198851200.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Why does or why should any one person earn eight times as much as another? The economist's answer relies mainly on supply and demand in the labour market, but the sociologist finds more significance ...
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Why does or why should any one person earn eight times as much as another? The economist's answer relies mainly on supply and demand in the labour market, but the sociologist finds more significance in the differentiation of the labour force by class, status, and power, and in his or her view, there is a much greater possibility of reducing inequality than in the view of the economist. The aim of this book is to examine both these ways of accounting for the inequality of pay, not at an abstract level but in the light of a wide and detailed study of the evidence. What can we learn, for instance, by comparing the pay structures of different countries, including those of the Soviet economies, China, and the West? How can we account for the general agreement between rank order in the pay structure and the social hierarchy? The study of such questions focuses attention on the factors that differentiate the individual's capacity to earn, and especially the way in which social and economic differentiation is transmitted through the family, both genetically and by early upbringing. The forces moulding personal development are built into a theory to account for the remarkable properties of the distribution of individual earnings. The insights gained into the sources of the inequality of pay in these ways are used finally to assess the possibilities of achieving a more equal society. In relating a mass of empirical evidence from a wide range of countries to economic, sociological, and psychological theory, the author has produced a comprehensive and thought‐provoking examination of the question of relativities in pay––a question that continues to present itself more and more acutely to governments, employers, and employees.Less
Why does or why should any one person earn eight times as much as another? The economist's answer relies mainly on supply and demand in the labour market, but the sociologist finds more significance in the differentiation of the labour force by class, status, and power, and in his or her view, there is a much greater possibility of reducing inequality than in the view of the economist. The aim of this book is to examine both these ways of accounting for the inequality of pay, not at an abstract level but in the light of a wide and detailed study of the evidence. What can we learn, for instance, by comparing the pay structures of different countries, including those of the Soviet economies, China, and the West? How can we account for the general agreement between rank order in the pay structure and the social hierarchy? The study of such questions focuses attention on the factors that differentiate the individual's capacity to earn, and especially the way in which social and economic differentiation is transmitted through the family, both genetically and by early upbringing. The forces moulding personal development are built into a theory to account for the remarkable properties of the distribution of individual earnings. The insights gained into the sources of the inequality of pay in these ways are used finally to assess the possibilities of achieving a more equal society. In relating a mass of empirical evidence from a wide range of countries to economic, sociological, and psychological theory, the author has produced a comprehensive and thought‐provoking examination of the question of relativities in pay––a question that continues to present itself more and more acutely to governments, employers, and employees.
