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To understand the history of the development of inequality, we must understand the different Types of Strat Systems | ||||
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The Chart on the Socio-Historical Analysis spans all of human existence & goes through many stages, delineating the development of stratification & ineqality | ||||
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3. During the Era of H-G Society, which is for 99 % of human existence, there was nearly total equality | ||||
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Marx's Tribal Society | ||||
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4. During the Pre Empire Era ( 10 K BC to 3 K BC ) inequality/stratification begins as humanity develops the capacity to produce a surplus | ||||
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Inequality is based on race: Race Relations in the Pre Empire Era | ||||
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Inequality is based on gender: Morgan: The Development of the Patriarchal Family | ||||
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5. During the Early Empires Era ( 3 K BC to 200 BC ) the caste system developed | ||||
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6. During the Era of the Roman Empire ( 200 BC to 500 AD ) the stratification system changed little | ||||
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7. During the Middle Ages ( 500 to 1300 ) industrialism & the modern class system arose | ||||
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During the Middle Ages ( 500 to 1300 ) the modern system of Racism & Slavery arose | ||||
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8. The Early Industrial Age (1300 - 1700 ) saw the beginning of the rise of the Middle Class | ||||
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9. During the Industrial Age ( 1700 to the present ), in the Core Countries the economic base became totally industrialized, while agriculture & other economic systems waned | ||||
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10. During the Age of Global Capitalism the class based stratification system became global | ||||
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11. During the Post Industrial Age, the economy shifted from basic industry to services & high tech jobs |
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For Marx, the tribal period is known as primitive communalism | |||
The tribal period is the only period characterized by equality, according to Marx | |||
Marx, following Morgan, realized that hunter gatherer society was egalitarian because they had no surplus, but did have "status wealth" | |||
- Modern Anthropologists believe that hunter gatherer society was relatively egalitarian | |||
- Because there was no surplus, there was no inequality except based on status which was related to achievement in recognized roles | |||
- In general, "status wealth" could not be accumulated beyond 1 lifetime | |||
The first form of ownership was tribal ownership | |||
- Marx believed that in tribal society, men owned the family as he would own a slave | |||
- Marx believed that in tribal society, most things, social & physical, were owned in common | |||
- Marx believed that in tribal society, there was little surplus | |||
In Tribal Society, there was a high level of social cooperation among producers | |||
Forces of production were cooperatively oriented & not competitively oriented as they are today | |||
The cooperation of the producers was necessary, not voluntary, just as competition today is voluntary & not necessary | |||
Technical knowledge was generally shared w/in a tribe, but not btwn tribes | |||
While we often think of hunter - gatherer society as living in harmony w/ nature, as technology developed, humankind fomented many ecological disasters | |||
Inequality appeared at the end of the tribal society era as it crosses into what we call "civilization" | |||
Thus, high levels of inequality, injustice, enslavement, etc. did not exist until until later in history | |||
The middle class did not appear until there was the rise of the modern democracies | |||
Tribal Society transformed into agricultural & conquest economies ruled by city states | |||
Marx's next era is the Asiatic Period aka the Early Empire Era 3K BC - 200 BC |
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The pre empire era runs from approximately 10 K BC to 3 K BC | |||||
During the pre empire era FOUR milestones were crossed for humanity
which included
a. the 1st development of agriculture b. agriculture becomes widespread c. the beginning of "civilization" d. the 1st permanent villages |
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The pre empire era includes what is commonly known as the New or Early Stone Age c. 9 K - 7 K BC aka the Proto Neolithic Era | |||||
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The Chart on the Characteristics of the Pre Empire Stratification System shows that the pre empire era had a high level of inequality | ||||
During the pre empire era, inequality/stratification begins as humanity develops the capacity to produce a surplus | |||||
The transition from H-G society to pre empire "civilization" is characterized by the scattered development of agriculture of the late hunter gatherer era to where pre empire society had widespread agriculture | |||||
Pre empire society was based on agriculture | |||||
With the transition to agriculture, we see "mini systems" develop in the hearth areas | |||||
Mini systems develop w/ FIVE common traits
a. a single cultural base b. a single social economy c. are essentially self sufficient d. much trade w/in their system e. even some trade outside their system, i.e. w/ neighboring mini systems |
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Hearth areas are settings where new practices develop, & then spread to other areas | |||||
( Hearth areas may be thought of as "proto cores" visa vie World Systems Theory ) | |||||
There are SIX major hearth areas
a. Africa: Nile River & south, & along Mediterranean on the African north coast b. Middle East: Fertile Crescent: Iran & Iraq, Jordan & Israel, Turkey c. Indian Subcontinent: Indus & Ganges Rivers d. South Asia: Assam, Bangladesh, Burma, India e. China: along the coast & major rivers: Huang & Yangtze Rivers River f. Americas: Central & So America (Andes Mtns) These areas developed relatively simultaneously |
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Agriculture in the pre empire era was based on widespread domestication of plants & animals | |||||
Agriculture has gone through FOUR "revolutions" or major stages | |||||
The first agricultural revolution occurs as societies domesticated plants & animals | |||||
Marx holds that during the pre empire era, the "exploitation of man by man" first developed | |||||
During the pre empire era, the "exploitation of the Earth by man" first developed | |||||
While environmental degradation & species extinctions at the hands of hunters had begun in H-G Era, the hearth areas sometimes experienced environmental collapse as a result of ag practices | |||||
The replacement of a hunting & gathering form of economy w/ an agricultural economy resulted in people being able to produce surpluses | |||||
In H-G society, no surplus was produced, therefore no one could exploit another by taking their surplus | |||||
The fact that a person could produce more than they could consume allowed others to "exploit" them, i.e. take their surplus or "enslave" them, i.e. make them create a surplus for another | |||||
During the pre empire era, people gain wealth by creating it themselves or taking it from others | |||||
Thus as humanities' ability to create a surplus appeared, so too did the ability to exploit, enslave, etc. another, heralding the end of relative equality in human relations | |||||
But the social relationships surrounding any form of exploitation are different in each era |
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During the pre empire era, patriarchal gender relations first developed | |||||
See also: Morgan: The Origin of Patriarchy | |||||
See also: Marx & Engels: Origin of the Family, Private Property & the State, "The Historic Defeat of Women" | |||||
During the pre empire era, slavery first developed but was not based on race as it is in the modern era | |||||
The next era is the early empire era which runs 3 K BC to 200 BC |
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- Project: The Difference in Race Relations Today & in the Pre Empire Era |
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Slavery begins along w/ "history" or "civilization" & agriculture | |||
History, civilization, slavery, etc. begins w/ early, barely known civilizations that preceded the Egyptians, Sumerians & other early civilizations | |||
In the pre empire era, tribal societies are just forming into sedentary societies & it takes another 6 K yrs before Egyptians, etc. buy into it all | |||
Advances in human society & technology allowed "surpluses" to be created | |||
One person could produce more than they needed to consume | |||
Therefore, one person could hire or enslave another to work for them & profit from it | |||
Thus slavery is an economic relationship | |||
But, like in the hunter gatherer era, slavery was not based on race | |||
In the pre empire era, slavery was based on conquest | |||
The outcomes of conquest might include anything such as ...
- mass murder - genocide - partial to full enslavement - paying tribute - enslaving low as well as high level workers - pillaging - simply conquering & moving on |
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In any system of exploitation, there is always an ideology ( world view or set of ideas ) that supports it | |||
It is through the ideological system that the economic exploitation or relationship is disguised, often as one of race, religion or nationalism | |||
It is the ideology of conquest that supports slavery in the pre empire era, not racism per se ( i.e. genetic or developmental inferiority ) that is the justification of slavery | |||
An ideology of modern, genetic based racism does not occur until the middle ages | |||
The ideology of the pre empire era was that the victors have the right to rule the vanquished, but there are still strong individuals w/in a defeated society | |||
The ideology of the pre empire era was, "I conquered, I may exploit you." accompanied w/ a respect for the enemy | |||
The next period, the early empire era, witnesses the continuation of slavery based on conquest, not race |
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- Video: The Greeks: The Crucible of Civilization | ||||||||||
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The Early Empire Era economies were based the FIVE factors of:
- agriculture - conquest - minimal, hand manufacturing sector - some trade - some service sector activities such as banking, law, education, etc. |
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The Early Empire Era's economic systems were a mixture of state capitalism & command economies which was called the Asiatic system by Marx & Weber |
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During the Early Empire Era, there was in increased division of labor | |||||||||
By 3000 BC, agriculture, irrigation & villages were well established | ||||||||||
During the Early Empire Era, non production workers emerged:
- artisans - religious leaders - crafts workers - political leaders - traders - bureaucrats - warriors |
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- See Marx's analysis of the Asiatic System | |||||||||
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- See Weber's analysis of the Asiatic System | |||||||||
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Demonstrations of power & inequality emerged during the Early Empire Era in the form of burial practices, elaborate housing structures, the construction of significant religious monuments, etc., e.g., Stonehenge (estimated 30 mm hours to build) |
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City states grew & groups of mini systems absorbed into a common political system while retaining fundamental cultural differences through a process now known as salad bowel integration |
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- The first independent political systems were city states (though tribes also had a political function) | ||||||||||
- City states would conquer neighboring city states & build empires | ||||||||||
- City states were predominant in Egypt, Greece, China, Byzantium, Rome, Ottoman, India, Aztec, Inca | ||||||||||
- City states developed the practice of colonization | ||||||||||
- Colonization is the domination of another group by political & military power | ||||||||||
- During the Early Empire Era, & later, many empires ruled by conquest | ||||||||||
The Early Empires
- usually conducted minimal soci cultural political domination - usually accepted the cultures of their conquests - usually let conquered societies exist & pay tribute - sometimes totally decimated the conquered societies: Rome burned Carthage to the ground & killed ALL the citizens; men, women, & children, 100% genocide, & then salted the earth, resulting in it not being rebuilt for centuries |
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Political systems in this era were mostly authoritarian or totalitarian | |||||||||
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Hydraulic societies developed irrigation & drainage systems, w/ notable examples in Egypt & China |
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Religion was transitioning from animism to polytheism & had minimal monotheism |
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In the ancient world, |
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- many people existed only at the subsistence level, & many hunter gatherers still exist | ||||||||||
- the steppes, plains, etc. were the climates best suited for pastoral societies | ||||||||||
- the hearths of sedentary agricultural societies continued to expand | ||||||||||
- the trade routes on sea & land were rugged | ||||||||||
- agriculture provided an existence only barely above the subsistence level, w/ diminishing returns if people stayed in one area to long | ||||||||||
- agricultural over-use of an area was an impetus to explore & trade | ||||||||||
- imperialism was another reason to explore & trade | ||||||||||
- political fragmentation & competition were common | ||||||||||
- many religions were violently evangelical | ||||||||||
- inheritance became a widespread social practice | ||||||||||
- there were innovations in shipping, navigation, & warfare | ||||||||||
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Leadership cycles: The cycle of leadership first developed during Early Empire Era & to a great extent still exists today |
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Empires rose & fell in rapid succession |
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At times in history, one nation may dominate by economic, political, or military power |
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There are also periods which are in flux where no nation dominates | ||||||||||
The leadership cycle generally goes through SEVEN stages of
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A particular leadership cycle could often be eliminated by the attack, out of the blue, by a more powerful country | ||||||||||
A particular leadership cycle first developed during Early Empire Era & to a great extent still exists today, meaning that some historians try to trace the development of civilization based on the conquest of empires or civilizations | ||||||||||
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The Table on Urbanization in the Early Empire Era indicates that the trend toward urbanization existed since the dawn of civilization and was part of empire building |
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Uruk was the first known city w/ approximately 50,000 people in 3500 BC in Mesopotamia, which is modern day Iraq |
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Slavery, armies, & administration developed during the Early Empire Era | ||||||||||
Wealthy cities were prized by nomads & other city states | ||||||||||
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The concept & practice of an organized military developed &
war was made profitable by
- the development of wealth based on agriculture - the development of weapons & tactics |
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Ruling a nation & the practice of slavery was based on conquest, i.e. whoever a city state could conquer, and race was not a consideration in that city states would conquer neighboring city states of the same race, & ally w/ another race |
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The development of an organized military, the rule of a nation by conquest, & the practice of slavery created the first & greatest jump in inequality | ||||||||||
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Egypt developed a hydraulic society where the central control of irrigation allowed a small elite lived above subsistence |
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The Egyptian hydraulic society dominated all of civilization from about 4,000 BC to 600 BC | ||||||||||
Some the the social characteristics of early Egyptian society included
- chronic warfare - slavery based on conquest - most pyramids built w/ free labor - centralized govt - military - metal plows - property now belonging to the ruler instead of the tribe |
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The caste system developed in Indian religions & later in Japan about 1500 BC |
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Caste refers to groups people according to specific social rank | ||||||||||
Variations of caste are found in all Indian religious communities, not only Hindu but also Jain, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian communities | ||||||||||
All stem from the tripartite social division of the Aryans, who invaded northern India c. 1500 BC | ||||||||||
However, only Hindus developed theological and legal rationales for caste | ||||||||||
The caste system began w/ 3 divisions, Hindus have over 2300 today |
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The three divisions or varnas consisted of Brahmins (priests and professionals), Kshatriyas (rulers, warriors, and administrators), and Vaishyas (farmers and merchants). | ||||||||||
The caste system began w/ 3 divisions, Hindus have over 2300 today | ||||||||||
Later a fourth varnas developed, the Shudras (artisans and laborers). | ||||||||||
Each varnas classifies many jatis or castes, traditionally determined by occupation, but often linked through geographical locality, marriage, or dietary customs. | ||||||||||
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Despite the attempts of Gandhi and subsequent leaders to abolish the caste system, ( 1947 ) discrimination on the basis of caste persists. |
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The caste system generally has normative closure & its legitimation is based on both law & religion: Hinduism & reincarnation |
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The nature of race & slavery did not change its nature in the Early Empire Era, but it use of it did grow dramatically as did war, empire building, the conquest of other peoples |
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Like the previous stages of hunter gatherer society & the pre empire era, the Early Empire Era viewed race as just another human quality | ||||||||||
Slavery was established based on the opportunity of a defeated opponent & religion, nationality, & race were just one more factor | ||||||||||
Slaves were white/black/yellow.... rich/poor...... any nationality | ||||||||||
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Patriarchy began in the pre empire era but developed fully into a social system in this era |
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Discriminatory gender relations did not exist until the time of the Early Empire Era | ||||||||||
Thus 99% + of human history has been egalitarian | ||||||||||
Morgan: The Origin of Sexism & Patriarchy |
Urbanization was part of empire building & during the Early Empire Era, less than 10% people lived in urban areas |
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3500 BC | Uruk | Iraq | 20,000 | est 85 mm | ||||
2100 BC | Ur | Iraq | 200,000 | 108 mm | ||||
1600 BC | Thebes | Egypt | 200,000 | 114 mm | ||||
200 AD | Rome | Italy | 1,000,000 | 165 mm |
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- Video: Julius Caesar's Rome | |||
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During the previous early of the Era of the Early Empires ( 3 K BC to 200 BC ) many mini systems developed | ||
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During the Era of the Roman Empire ( 200 BC to 500 AD ), the stratification system changed little from the previous, Early Empire Era |
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The Roman Empire dominated only the Mediterranean mini systems but did not affect five other mini systems in development in different regions | |||
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Mini systems that were outside of the influence of the Roman Empire
include:
a. the mid east Fertile Crescent (except for Mediterranean states) b. most of Africa c. south Asia d. China e. America |
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During the Roman Era, many regions developed dominate mini systems of their own | |||
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The Chart on the Characteristics of the Stratification System of the Roman Empire shows that Roman society was a two level system of Classes (Upper, Middle, Lower) and Slaves which exhibited high & medium inequality, respectively | ||
There were FIVE major classes in the Roman Empire Core:
a. the ruling elite b. the common people c. the military d. merchants & intellectuals e. slaves |
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a. The ruling elite of the Roman Empire made up less than 5 % of the population | |||
The Roman Empire began w/ a limited democratic system similar to that of the Greeks | |||
Upper Class males became Senators & had a voice in the govt | |||
Circa 59 BC, Julius Caesar was voted dictator for life | |||
Because the Roman economy was dependent on environmentally degrading methods of agriculture, the Roman Empire had a continual need for new soil & therefore pursued & was dependent on the conquest for land & slaves | |||
The stratification of the Roman system had a low level of openness | |||
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A person could advance their class & status position: |
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- through a career in the military, as was seen in some men advancing from soldier to Emperor | |||
- in business, though this was very difficult since most wealth was passed down along patriarchal lines of inheritance | |||
- as a slave, who worked hard for a generous & justice loving person who sets you free | |||
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b. The common people made up over 65 % of the population |
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W/in the Roman Empire, the common people were exploited and forced into a subsistence living | |||
Each Roman male was forced to spend 10 yrs. in the military | |||
If men in the Roman Army survived & as was often the case, the conquest was successful, they would receive land | |||
One reason for the Fall of Roman Empire was that the exploitation of the common people was so great that they would not defend the Empire | |||
In Rome, the people were pacified w/ "The Games," free food & drink... see any similarities to today? | |||
c. The Military | |||
Though they were drawn from all classes, the military was such a large % of the population, that they should be viewed as a separate class | |||
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d. Merchants, intellectuals, etc. made us a small % ( circa 5 % ) of the population | ||
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e. Slaves made up 25 % of population | ||
Slaves could gain freedom, because slavery in the Roman Era was not a racist system | |||
Slaves were now “profitable” because one person could produce more than they consumed | |||
Rebellions happened, & some forced reforms (Sparticus) | |||
Strong state bureaucracies increased repression against the slaves as well as the free people | |||
Guilds (early unions) protected markets and trade secrets | |||
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Agriculture in the "core" Roman Empire was based on slavery, but much work was done by free laborer in the rest of society | ||
Roman agriculture had the characteristics of: | |||
a. inefficiency | |||
b. commodity production of olive oil, cotton, etc. | |||
c. large Roman estates | |||
d. significant trade w/ other regions | |||
e. self sufficiency, which increased as the Empire declined | |||
Trade was important mostly at the peak of empire, & declined as the Empire declined at which time the large Roman Estates became self sufficient, transforming into orgs more similar to feudal manors | |||
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Agriculture on the Roman Empire frontiers was based on the Estate ( feudal ) system | ||
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Agriculture in the Roman Empire consisted of estates w/ serfs & paid labor, & small farms | ||
The Roman Empire depended on cereals from frontier to pacify people | |||
The Roman Empire was based on militarism & conquest, more than on agriculture | |||
Major employment for a Roman citizen was 10 yrs of military service | |||
The fall of Roman Empire was due to many factors | |||
The fall of the Roman Empire occurred because: | |||
1. conquest reached a limit & so could not bring spoils to core empire | |||
2. exploitation: people did not defend the empire because they never had defended the empire | |||
3. w/ the limitations on conquest, Rome could not continue to rule the frontier | |||
4. w/o spoils from frontier, no support of people | |||
5. agriculture also depleted the environment | |||
6. slave based agriculture was inefficient | |||
7. not enough new slaves from conquests | |||
8. army was no longer staffed by citizens, but by frontiers' men | |||
Frontiers' men in the army were less loyal & less skilled than the citizens soldiers | |||
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See Also: Montesquieu on the Fall of the Roman Empire | ||
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Patriarchy & gender relations were similar to that of the earlier eras, except w/in the Roman Empire there was limited openness, & thus some women ( Cleopatra, et al ) achieved success | ||
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Slavery followed the system developed in the earlier eras in that it was based on conquest & not race; in fact, the Roman Empire is historically noted for its racial/ ethnic/ religious openness/ inclusiveness | ||
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The era that followed the Era of the Roman Empire was the Middle Ages ( 500 to 1300) |
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- Video: The Dark Ages |
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- Video: The True Robin Hood |
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- Project: Video: The True Robin Hood |
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In the previous era, the Fall of the Roman Empire, ( 200 BC to 500 AD ) gave way to the Middle Ages | |||
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The Middle Ages are also known as feudal society, late agricultural society, the Dark Ages, etc. | ||
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After the Fall of the Roman Empire, a power vacuum developed in Europe accompanied by a decline in art, literature, science, technology, etc. | ||
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Civilization continued its rapid advance in the middle eastern countries of what is now Turkey, Iran & Iraq | ||
Feudalism was based on military power & economic dominance | |||
The feudalistic form of society arose, over centuries, out of the fall of Roman Empire | |||
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Feudalism was at its height by the 1100s, declined in 1600s, & was mostly gone by 1800s as early capitalism made it obsolete & ineffective | ||
Pockets of feudalism continued to exist, notably in Russia & China, into the 1900s | |||
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Toward the middle & end of the Middle Ages, industrialism & the modern class system arose |
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The Chart on the Characteristics of the Stratification System of the Middle Ages indicates that this era had the highest level of inequality and had very little social mobility | ||
There was extreme
inequality among the 3 major classes of
the middle ages
1. Nobility 2. Church Leaders 3. Serfs |
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During early feudalism, stratification was less institutionalized, then it became more fixed, & toward the end of the feudal era, it became less institutionalized again |
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Feudal production displaced the pastoral/kinship & manor systems of the Roman system |
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As feudal production developed & displaced the Roman Manor System, Serfs replaced slaves on the manors & freemen on small private farms | |||
Serfs' existence was little better than subsistence |
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Serfs had more rights & power than slaves but less than the freemen of the Roman Era | |||
Serfs were “slaves” w/ traditional rights who were tied to land | |||
At the beginning of feudalism, serfs worked & gave up their produce for protection | |||
Over time, the serfs' trading of work & produce for protection became institutionalized in the form of tradition that could not be manipulated even by the king | |||
However, extraordinary conditions can break even centuries old traditions, & so, as seen below, by the end of the Feudal Era, kings were exiling serfs from their homes of generations in order to privatize, control, & in some cases sell the land in what was called the Enclosure Movement | |||
Serfs technically were real property, like land & so belonged to the Lord or King over them | |||
Usually aristocrats did not give up or sell land, except by war | |||
There were a few Slaves who were considered to be personal property, chattel, which belonged to the Lord or King over them & could be sold | |||
Feudal era labor consisted of corvee labor where, for example, serfs might work for the Lord for 3 days a week & give up crops and produce | |||
The Lord also had the power to take women, even married women, daughters, sons, etc. to servitude, the military, etc. | |||
The Aristocratic class ruled based on ideology & military power | |||
The Nobility & Church were very wealthy | |||
The Church "Class" controlled access to the Bible & made power alliances w/ the Aristocrats | |||
The Church was Catholic until it broke up into the Protestant religions | |||
During the Feudal Era, there was a constant struggle between the Church & the State for power, & the serfs & few free people were pawns | |||
Islam emerged in the Middle East & spread through North Africa to Spain & into southern Europe |
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Circa 1000 - 1200, Islam's advance began again in Europe | |||
The decline of feudalism & the transition to capitalism
was due to
- the emergence of the modern form of the nation state in the 1300s - the advance of science & technology - the rise of merchants - the rise of free labor - urbanization - Protestantism |
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Merchants began to rise to power as they became wealthier than the aristocratic class | |||
The merchants loaned huge amounts of money to struggling aristocrats & thus exerted considerable influence | |||
Merchant capitalism developed w/in feudalism | |||
Merchants eventually became the bourgeoisie class of the Early Industrial Age ( 1300 - 1700 ) |
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The word "bourg" meant town, & thus the merchants who were unique because they lived in the towns came to be called "bourgeoisie" or 'those who live in towns' | |||
See Also: The Bourgeoisie | |||
The merchant class gained strength & size toward the end of the Middle Ages as commerce increased |
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At the beginning of feudalism, merchants were very small in number, but by the end of feudalism, they were widespread & powerful | |||
The guild system developed to a higher degree & thus the artisans escaped serfdom & became craftspeople who specialized in a trade, & eventually merchants | |||
Common craftsmen were masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, plumbers, glaziers, shoemakers, etc. | |||
Training new artisans through the stages of apprentice, journeyman, master was strictly controlled by the guild | |||
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Gender felations in the Middle Ages develops into chivalry & romance | ||
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Race relations in the Middle Ages transformed from the relatively "tolerant" ideology & relations prevalent since the H-G Era into modern forms of racist ideology & global slave trade | ||
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The next era is the Early Industrial Age ( circa 1300 - 1700 ) |
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Introduction: Race relations in the middle ages transformed from the relatively "tolerant" ideology & relations prevalent since the HG Era into modern forms of racist ideology & global slave trade | |||
The previous era, the era of the Roman Empire ( 200 BC to 500 AD ) was characterized by relatively tolerant race relations | |||
As the Age of Exploration begins & thus global capitalism begins, international trade begins, the modern form of slave trade begins | |||
The origins of modern versions of racism & global slave trade begin w/ Age of Exploration in the Middle Ages | |||
During the Middle Ages, people / slaves become a commodity | |||
The emerging European Powers utilized an ideological justification of slavery/discrimination, especially religious, racist, & conquest / imperialist ideologies | |||
The ideological justification of racism/slavery begins circa 1000 AD | |||
Circa 1000 AD ideological racism emerges along w/ slave trade using both Biblical & imperialistic justification of colonization & the slave trade begins as a global social institution | |||
Thus, modern relations of tension / conflict among the races has existed for less than 1000 years | |||
Religion & racism interact w/ the result being the ideology that "primitives" may be converted & have their souls saved | |||
There is little mention of race in the Bible, yet religions' interaction w/ other social structures has often resulted in the call to evangelize/convert a particular group of people | |||
Papal determinations were made & if a people were found to have a soul, the Church would sanction conversion | |||
During the middle ages, if a people were found not have a soul, the Church would sanction enslavement or genocide | |||
The next era, the early industrial age ( 500 to 1300 ), has little change in the nature of race relations, but there is huge & tragic growth in the global slave trade |
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- Video: A Hole in the Sky |
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- Project: The Early Industrial Working Class & a Hole in the Sky |
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- Project: The Rise of the Middle Class in the Early Industrial Era |
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- Introduction: The Early Industrial Age (1300 - 1700 ) saw the beginning of the rise of the middle class | |||
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The Chart on the Characteristics of the Stratification System of the Early Industrial Age shows that equality increases dramatically w/ the creation of the middle class | ||
During the previous era, the middle ages ( 500 to 1300 ), the fall of feudalism saw the rise of merchant capitalism & the birth of modernism | |||
As feudalism went through the transition to capitalism of the early industrial age, | |||
a. the nobility still depended on the ag/feudal mode of production which was very inefficient | |||
b. nobles became indebted to merchants | |||
c. the political elite defended status quo, which created many wars & power struggles | |||
d. states & city states arose challenging kingdoms | |||
e. there was a large expansion of population, trade & markets | |||
A new stratification system rapidly emerged as the serfs underwent the Enclosure which created a class of freemen who eventually became workers | |||
The Enclosure Movement was a long, bloody historical transition fraught w/ revolution, war, & social dislocation in which one class became obsolete & another was born | |||
The relationship of serfs to the manor was such that they traded work & produce for protection, a home, & some minor rights | |||
Serfs had the right to a home, which in many cases they had lived on for generations over the centuries of feudalism | |||
As population grew, & the aristocrats experienced competitive pressure from early capitalism, they sought to exile serfs, i.e. kick them off their ancestral homes, from the manor | |||
The Enclosure Movement, the exiling of serfs, created a new class of free people, called "freemen," & the singular in "freeman" is a common surname, & even a common name of towns | |||
Freemen became merchants, craftsmen, & "the rabble," the masses, the mob etc. | |||
W/ the rise of merchant capitalism, the merchant class was added to the elites & the serfs | |||
By the 1500s, the world economic system was developing | |||
Some craftsmen began to trade, & then became merchants who focused totally on trade | |||
Then some merchants began to contract out labor, supplies & jobs | |||
Artisans & “freemen” became subcontractors to merchants | |||
The first sweatshops emerged | |||
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The development of the putting out system was the earliest form of wage labor & was the proto factory system | ||
In the putting out system, workers get paid on how many items they put out on their stoop to be picked up & carried to the next stage in the production process | |||
The competition of the putting out system, i.e. the early factory system, was very hard on artisans | |||
Guilds resisted the putting out system & the destruction of the craft system |
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Patenting developed which allowed individuals & groups an increased control of knowledge | |||
Legislative interference in the labor system became more common in an attempt to control labor | |||
Violence ensued as guilds, workers, et al struggled to control their workplace knowledge & labor | |||
The middle class was decimated as workers became known as "wage slaves" | |||
From 1600 to 1750 ( the end of early industrial age ) we see the development of the core states of the modern world system |
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Politicians began to protect the new status quo of merchant capitalism | |||
Different events/ paths of development occur in the core & the periphery: | |||
In the core, Europe, power shifted from the Netherlands to France & England | |||
In the periphery, there was the rise & fall of Hispanic America | |||
The economies of developing core regions experienced a rapid building of the industrial sector |
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The early industrial age saw the construction of canal systems & the growth of industrial regions | |||
Canal transportation dominated until the development of railroads starting in early the 1800s | |||
Railroads allowed vast regions to be developed | |||
The economies of developing core regions experienced a rapid building of the industrial sector | |||
The major factor influencing the development of the periphery was the core's need for labor & resources |
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Colonies specialized when | |||
- there was demand in core | |||
- colony had a comparative advantage | |||
- colony did not compete w/ core | |||
Colonies did not develop | |||
They primarily served to provide raw mat, labor for core, as they do in the industrial age & global age | |||
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The changes in the early industrial age created a class society that we would recognize today |
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During the early industrial era, there was a shift from an agriculturally based economy to an industrially based economy | |||
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Mobility was based, more than before, on merit/ achievement, but ascriptive stratification was still present |
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There was a normative stress on equality; though the amount of equality varied widely from region to region or decade to decade |
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The legitimation system for the justification of the rise of capitalism eventually developed into an Christian work ethic that held that belief that equal opportunity exists/ merit system works |
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Marx believed that capitalism inevitably arose out of the ashes of feudalism through the dialectical development of historical materialism, i.e. the interaction of historic events & class struggle | |||
Marx held that political economic systems developed dialectically: through periods of crisis during which time social change occurs, resulting in periods of stability, during which time contradictions build leading to crisis... | |||
For Marx, capitalism developed inevitably from feudal era | |||
For Marx, capitalism would inevitably destroy itself, as it was doing to the working class, & then develop into socialism | |||
See Also: Marx's socio historical overview | |||
Weber believed that the emergence of capitalism was the result of factors such as those discussed by Marx, but also as a result of the emergence of the Protestant work ethic | |||
Weber agreed w/ Marx, but added cultural (religious) factors: | |||
a. Weber believed that the Protestant work ethic enhanced growth of capitalism | |||
b. Weber believed that other religions such as Catholicism, Confucianism, & others restricted the development of capitalism | |||
One of Weber's most important works is the Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism |
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GLOBAL CAPITALISM IS A ECON SYSTEM WHERE CORPS ARE TRULY TRANS NATIONAL, OPERATING ON A GLOBAL SCALE, & NOT SIGNIFICANTLY LINKED TO ANY NATION STATE OR MKT | |||
The previous era, the industrial age, ( circa 1700 - present) saw the development of modern capitalism | |||
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In the era of global capitalism, this economic system, accompanied w/ the development of technologies w/ a global reach, became truly global in scope reaching to the farthest corners of the planet |
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The Chart on the Characteristics of the Stratification System of Global Capitalism demonstrates that this system has a wide range of equality, w/ some regions w/ high equality & other regions w/ low equality |
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During the era of global capitalism, Pax American replaces Pax Britannia |
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After WW 2, the US emerged as the dominant state | |||
The seeds of the Cold War are planted during WW2, sprout in the 1940s and by the late 1950s, the Soviet Union was a superpower w/ equal status to the US | |||
Decolonization started in the 50s and smoothed out in 60s, but was complicated by the cold war | |||
The Cold War creates neo colonialism | |||
Neo colonialism is an economic & political strategy whereby the colonizers indirectly gain/maintain influence in the periphery via | |||
a. international financial regulations | |||
b. commercial relations | |||
c. intelligence operations | |||
d. international corporate imperialism via transnational corporations which established overseas subsidiaries | |||
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Corporate imperialism is the process whereby nations or regions are dominated & controlled economic rather than military force |
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THE MAJOR CORPS ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN 3 / 4s OF NATIONS | |||
By the mid 90s, 40,000 transnational corporations, of which 90% are headquartered in the US, had 180,000 subsidiaries w/ $6 trillion in sales, which is equal to the US's total output | |||
International corporate imperialism exercises considerable power, & frequently adversely affecting the periphery | |||
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- Supplement: The Fortune 500, 1998, 1 - 50 |
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- Supplement: The Fortune 500, 1998, 51 - 100 |
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- Supplement: The Fortune 500, 1998, Overview of GM |
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- Supplement: The Fortune 500, 2000, 1-50 |
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- Supplement: The Global 100, 1998, 1-51 |
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- Supplement: The Global 100, 1998, 51-100 |
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- Resource: The Table on a Comparison of Corporations' & Nations' Income, 2005 |
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The Table on a Comparison of Corporations' & Nations' Income, 2005,
demonstrates that of 500 corps & 181 nations:
- the top 10 corps are larger than 140 nations - the top 200 corps are larger than 100 nations - the top 500 corps are larger than 80 nations |
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FIRST WORLD NATIONS (US, EURO, JAP), & THEIR CORPS, ARE CONSTITUTED BY 1 / 3 OF WORLD POP, & THEIR ECONS ARE IMPACTING SECOND WORLD NATIONS; LEAVING ONLY SOME THIRD WORLD NATIONS OUTSIDE OF GLOBALIZATION | |||
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"The Gulf Widens btwn the Fast & Slow Worlds" |
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The catch phrase on the fast & slow worlds means that the gap in income & quality of life btwn the rich & the poor in the core & peripheral nations increased by three btwn the 1960s & 1990s |
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An example of "the gulf" is that 5% of world has 40% of telephones |
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An example of "the gulf" is that 10% of the world uses 90% of its resources | |||
Does the fast world, western culture, affect entire world? | |||
The fast world now encompasses everywhere, but not everybody... | |||
An example of the pervaisiveness of the fast world is that poor Mexicans are aware of details of international soccer, music, film, fashion, etc. | |||
An example of the pervaisiveness of the fast world is that poor Appalachians are aware of details of NASCAR racing, music.... | |||
Even in the fast world, the core, there are significant regions of the Slow World, i.e. regions that have peripheral economic development | |||
The next significant historical era is the post industrial age, circa 1970 - present | |||
See Also: Globalization | |||
See Also: International Division of Labor | |||
See Also: Gender & global capitalism |
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