CHAPTER 2 Flashcards
(36 cards)
what was the mode of production for most of human history?
Hunting and Gathering
Within small-scale society, what was the essential means for preserving harm and restoring order?
Many had no centralized structure for decision marking so they had to rely on Cooperation and kinship ties
Describe collective solidarity in small-scale society (+ what kind of economy did they have)?
Collective solidarity –> meant that life was an exercise in mutual survival
They had a subsistence economy - everyone had roughly the same amount of belongings - there was no surplus - this made it necessary to share the fruits of the days hunting or foraging (being nomadic also made the accumulation of goods difficult)
- meant that group members were reluctant to harm or wrong one another because they relied on each other for subsistence
- members had to control their hostility, greed, and envy in order to survive
Without surplus, everyone was of roughly equal status
How was power determined in small-scale society?
Power came from influence which was determined by personal attributes - not by the accumulation of goods
They also kept power spread out which helped to avoid outbreaks of discord - each community member had some control over others, so power remained diffuse
What kind of disputes did occur in small-scale society?
Many disputes in hunger/gatherer societies concerned women, who were considered valuable resources
Other common causes included improper food distribution, asymmetrical gift exchange, laziness, stinginess, theft, and murder
How were most disputes settled in small-scale societies (in the absence of surplus and resource inequality)
and what was the goal of the settlements
Goal was to restore harmonious relationships between the parties in conflict in mutually agreeable ways
Disputants had to resolve conflict themselves because of the absence of political institutions
Community pressure was placed on parties in a dispute to meet and end the discord
The approach was to undertake a general airing of all issues that created friction to learn the other party’s needs and expectations
–> this helped keep conflict from escalating
–> brought the dispute to a mutually satisfying conclusion
Define self-based and kin-based redress
self:
- the harmed party took matters into their own hands in order to seek a settlement (revenge successful negotiation, some kind of compensation)
- this is what most hunting and gathering societies relied on
kin:
- member of family sought a settlement on behalf of a harmed family member
Describe the range and some examples of self- and kin-based redress in small-scale socieites
- punishment could range from public criticism, shaming rituals, and temporary or permanent ostracism, to expulsion from the group, blood feuds, and reprisal killings
- the injured party had to initiate the dispute resolution process
- there were customary expectations of appropriate ways to redress conflict - if it was too harsh, it could lead to group disapproval and sanctions
- disputes did escalate into blood feuds but pre-modern societies were not necessarily violent
Why did small-scale societies not need civil or criminal law to restore order?
Each small-scale society had a body of custom (as well as a fear of retaliation) : this acted as a brake on escalation by defining the appropriate level of redress for various offences
- there were clearly defined notions of right and wrong behaviour
- a person who violated a custom would suffer the consequences - law wasn’t necessary
Explain the Advisor system for settling disputes in small-scale societies
- this was a less common method of dispute resolution
- disputants sought the counsel of an advisor
–> advisors tended to be high-status men who were typically recognized hunters, speakers, or warriors and were thought to have wisdom about customs and rituals
–> advisors acted as a moral authority; they…
- interpreted dispute based on facts each side presented
- made recommendations based on custom
- could not enforce compliance
–> settling disputes harmoniously increased their status as advisors
Describe the beginnings of social power and inequality in societies
- new forms of power led to important changes
- economic surpluses led to “pyramidal” power - a small elite class controlled decision making
- here we have the ‘state’ in its most rudimentary form
- private property increasingly concentrated power in the hands of a few families
- members who privately owned land and livestock were able to generate a surplus
- women began to be defined as property - this was for both their labour and reproductive capacity (to produce future heirs of individually held property)
- goods became distributed in patterns that reflected the stratified nature of agriculture and industry
How did inequality of power and wealth grow more intense in societies?
- new modes of production allowed those more powerful to take surplus value from those less powerful
- the ability to have other people generate personal wealthy greatly accelerated patterns of concentrated wealth, resources, and power
- less powerful segments of society found it hard to defend their interests and resist those social forces that were compromising their interests
- the state emerged in agricultural society to represent the interests of the powerful
How did disputes change as social power and inequality increased?
- surplus goods and private property allowed for theft, as well as payment as compensation for offences
- increased social inequality made theft attractive to the “have-nots”
- contracts, rents, and wills emerged, requiring an increasingly complex body of civil laws
- the creation of chiefdoms, and later, states, paved the way for offences such as treason, libel, and slander
–> evolved into criminal law (offences against the state)
England transformed from land-based _____ to the modern capitalist industrial society
feudalism
Describe the basics of feudalism
A social system based on the tenure of land, which was the dominant form of capital in an agrarian mode of production
- basic model of feudalism was a central farm owned by a landlord, and small land holdings for a class of farm labourers
- as feudalism developed, the notion of collective responsibility was replaced by individual responsibility
–> money settlements and fines were being used to settle serious disputes
How were disputes settled in feudalism?
Feudal lords developed laws to address disputes
Under this system, trial by ordeal was used to establish guilt or innocence for those who could not find another way to settle a dispute (ex. walk on hot coals) (basically used torture tactics)
Informal dispute settlement practices used in small-scale societies were undermined and replaced by feudal lords and their laws
How did the power switch from feudal lords to kings?
William the Conqueror declared himself “supreme landlord” of England - everyone who held land held his land
The kings started seeing themselves as the injured party when a crime was committed
- so compensation for offences was paid to the king
The king’s system of writs and courts created a ‘common law’ available to all who had the crown settle disputes, rather than their kin or lords
Explain the basics of the rise of the merchant class
Merchants provided money to the Crown in exchange for land as collateral and safe trading
Legal contacts and lawyers grew in importance as the volume of trade, longer distances, and joint ventures required a system of law and a court system to enforce it
The merchant class helped the Crown consolidate power, in exchange for legislation and enforcement favouring merchants
As the merchant class was rising, describe how theft was also on the rise and what was done about it
Commerce and money was increasing in importance
- growth of banking institutions, use of paper currency, and other instruments of credit created new occasions for theft
International trade, spurred by Britain’s colonial empire, also necessitated an expansion and refinement of the concept of theft
Therefore, new laws were enacted addressing theft –> embezzlement laws were enacted to make theft of paper money and commercial bonds a crime
How did capitalism become the mode of production?
The king wanted to consolidate power so he threw support behind the merchant class - created laws of commerce that benefited the merchants
–> this strengthened their class position and increased their fortunes
–> also paved the way for lawyers in the new legalistic, capitalist mode of production
The Industrial Revolution spurred the growth of commerce and trade which required complex trading arrangements - needed a system of laws and a court system to apply them
The power of the nation-state was solidified around the interests of commerce, further eroding the role of local customs and kinship
In the new social order, what became the dominant mechanism that tied social relationships together?
Legal contracts
What was the new social order based on?
Based on law, in both commercial and criminal realms
Under whose influence was the modern state and early Parliament developed?
The bourgeoisie class
(not peasants and workers)
What is the significance of transnational corporations?
sets up factories in developing countries as land and labor are cheaper there
They are some of the most powerful special interest groups
- they greatly influence state policies and laws
- they have amassed so much economic power that they are hard to regulate
- when a government is too restrictive in regulatory policies, these corporations can relocate to another country
