State Organized Societies Flashcards
(23 cards)
Agency Theories
- theories that emphasize the role of individuals or groups exercising power in state-level societies
- economic, social, ideological power all require organization and management
Bureaucracy
- government characterized by:
- specialization of functions
- adherence to fixed rules
- hierarchy of authority
- needs centralized political authority which organzies internal/external relations
Capital (in States)
forms of power and resources that elites use to govern and maintain control
- political, economic, social, and idealogical
Economic Power/Capital
- resourced and the right to draft workers to create/accumulate more wealth
Political Power/Capital
the power to make and enforce laws through the governmental structure
Social Power/Capital
the creation of rules of relationship that give some people greater access to the powerful
Ideological Power/Capital
the power to shape religion and belief in a culture, usually through a state religion
Centralization
the process of consolidating decision making and power under a single governing authority
- enables large scale organization (bureaucracy, taxation, military)
City-States
urban centers with central political control over surrounding rural areas
- early form of state organization w/ monumental architecture and planning
Civilization
shorthand for urbanized, state-level societes
- features include cities, wiritng, bureaucracy, specialized economy, and architecture
Coersive State Control
enforcement of authority through taxation, conscription, forced labor
Dynasty
- succession of rules from the same family
- economic capital becomes intergenerational wealth
- social and political capital becomes ability to influence
- ideological capital becomes a divine right
Sander’s Environmental Model
- theory of origins of states
- more marginal (areas where farming/long-term settlement is difficult) require greater risk management, which favor centralized leadership
Horizontal Integration
multiple chiefdoms align idealogically (shared religion) but dont fall under a single political authority
Ideology Theories
- theory of the origin of the states
- complex ideologies legitimized and supported social inequality and the power of the elite
- self reinforcing systems
Intergenerational Wealth/Power
- passing down of capital (economic, political,ideological) from parents to children
- reinforces dynasties and long term social inequality
Renfrew’s Redistribution Model
- the need to control trade led to the concentration of wealth and wealth concentration
The Hydraulic Hypothesis (Wittfogel)
- theories of origin of the states
- development of irrigation systems needed mobilization of labor to build them
- management to maintain them and to control access to the water supply
The Urban Revolution
- V. Gordon Childe
- states arose from the interdependence of full-time craftspeople and farmers
- all of the other elements of civilization evolved to support craft production
Warfare Model (Carneiro)
- states emerged from conflict and conquest
- as populations grew, farming communities with limited land were attacked by stronger neighbors
- aggressive groups took land, power, and resources
- leading to the rise of larger, more powerful societies - early states
Wealth Accumulation
the gathering of resources and capital (through tribute, taxation, or trade) in the hands of a ruling elite
- central to state formation and social inequality
State
centralized political organization the governs a population under the authority of a single powerful government
