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Cultural Anthropology Chapter 10: Class

Terms in this set (21)

Class
A system of power based on wealth, income, and status that create an unequal distribution of societies resources
Egalitarian Society
A group based on the sharing of resources, goods, and services among people of relatively equal status meant to create and reinforce social ties
Reciprocity
The exchange of resources, goods, and services among people of relatively equal status meant to create and reinforce social ties
Ranked Society
A group in which wealth is not stratified but prestige and status are
Redistribution
A form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group and reallocated in a different pattern
Potlatch
Elaborate redistribution ceremony practiced among the Kwakitul of the Pacific Northwest
Bourgeoisie
Marxist term for the capitalist class that owns the means of production
Means of Production
The factories, machines, tools, and raw materials, land, and financial capital needed to make things
Proietariat
Marxist term for the class of laborers who own only their labor
Prestige
The reputation, influence, and deference bestowed on certain people because of their membership in certain groups
Life Chances
An individual's opportunities to improve quality of life and achieve life goals
Social Mobility
The movement of one's class position upward or downward in stratified societies
Social Reproduction
The phenomenon whereby social and class relations of prestige or lack of prestige are passed from one generation to the next
Habitus
Bourdieu's term to describe the self perceptions and beliefs that develop as part of ones social identity and shape ones conceptions of the world and where one fits into it
Cultural Capital
The knowledge, habits, and tastes learned from parents and family that individuals can use to gain access to scarce and valuable resources in society
Intersectionality
An analytic framework for assessing how factors such as race, gender, and class interact to shape individual life chances and social patterns of stratification
Income
What people earn from work, plus dividens and interest on investments along with rents and royalties
Wealth
The total value of what someone owns, minus any debt
What are some of the structural factors that contribute to poverty in the United States?
Inadequate education and health care, systematic failure to invest in the infrastructure of impoverished neighborhoods and communities, and no jobs available contribute to poverty in the U.S. Furthermore, the U.S. workforce has become more polarized between highly educated, well-paid professionals and managers and undereducated workers who struggle with low pay, no benefits, and little job security.
What does anthropology contribute to the study of economic systems?
Anthropology studies of economic systems help understand all forms of production, circulation and consumption in social settings. Furthmore, the concern of describing and understanding economic actions in their social and cultural context help contribute to the study of economic systems.
How have changes in agriculture and food production led to a general shift from egalitarian to class stratified societies?
Egalitarian societies were based on the economic and social structure of hunting and gathering. As time went on and changes in agriculture and food production began to develop, populous market towns of relatively small groups of elite merchants and landholders were able to accumulate wealth. This caused stratification and inequality to become more pronounced in industrialized capitalist economies over recent years.
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