Political Systems

Question 1

Bands/Clans

Answer 1

• Informal power, non-coercive
• Often small & mobile groups
• Richard Lee: !Kung use gossip and consensus to remain equal (egalitalitarianism)

Question 2

Tribes

Answer 2

• Leadership is kinship based
• Larger, settled societies
• Sahlins: Big-men gain power through giving, not hoarding wealth/power

Question 3

Chiefdoms

Answer 3

• Gained a bad reputation through colonialism, which imposed rigid hierarchies on a flexible system.
• Sacred authoroty

Question 4

The State

Answer 4

• Centralized, coercive, bureaucratic power
• “The state is an imposition, often a violent one.”