ANTH 201 Test 3

An Introduction to Health and Illness . Life in the Texas Colonias

A series of communities in southern Texas were established in the 1950s as temporary housing for Mexican migrant workers invited to work on local farms. These temporary residences have become permanent homes now populated by American citizens. Colonias lack running water and sewage services. Here we find high rates of disease and illness: dysentery, cholera, hepatitis A, asthma, bronchitis, and even Hansen's disease (Leprosy). ... limited access to any form of health care. Is poor health in the Colonias a biological or a cultural problem? Why?

Critical Medical Anthropology:

An approach that analyses the impact of inequality and stratification within systems of power on individual and group health outcomes. Ethnographic fieldwork at a women's health clinic in N.Y. indicated that Medicaid patients were treated differently than non-Medicaid patients. Staff attitudes and clinic policies affect health care delivery.

Biomedicine

Applying principles of biology and the natural sciences to the practice of diagnosing diseases and promoting health. Biomedicine is the ethnomedicine of most Western cultures. Based on philosophies originating in the Enlightenment, biomedicine focuses on empirical research to treat disease and illness. Western biomedicine is still a cultural system.

The anthropology of childbirth

Childbirth is biologically universal. The experience of childbirth is culturally relative. A Comparative View of Four Cultures In the U.S. childbirth is viewed as an emergency medical procedure. Rate of C-sections highest in the world. Doctors & nurses prep for surgery in sterile clinical setting - family excluded. Women act out, "perform," their pain - begging doctor for pain medication. In Yucatan, Mexico, women give birth at home. Experienced female relatives, husband, and close friends assists with the birth. Family and friends remain throughout birthing process providing encouragement and message. No drugs are available for the women to use for pain. Pain is expected and tolerated with minimal anxiety. In Sweden, maternity wards are considered a place of quiet and intense concentration. No harried state of emergency here. Women are not performing their pain - women decide, not the doctor, whether or not to take pain meds. In Holland, Dutch women view birth as a natural process. Women try to avoid taking any drugs during labor. Birth often takes place at home with the entire family in attendance.

Bridging Cultural Divides via Illness Narratives

Colliding Cultures Young Lia Lee, who was born to Hmong refugees living in California, began to have seizures at 3 mo. of age. Doctors diagnosed epilepsy. Hmong, view such a condition with great esteem - sign of spiritual power. Cross-cultural issues involving health and illness can be solved though the sensitive collection of illness narratives - anthropology has a role in medicine!

Purpose of States

Define citizenship, rights, and responsibilities Maintain law and order Maintain standing armies Keep track of their citizens Have the power to tax Power to manipulate information Hierarchical and usually patriarchal

Ethnomedicine

Ethnomedicine: The culture-specific ways in which disease and illness are treated. The American biomedical system is merely one of many culture-specific ethnomedical systems. Ethnopharmacology, is the specific study of cultural uses of natural substances such as minerals, plants, and animal products as remedies.

An Introduction to Health and Illness

Health is not strictly a biological topic -- it is a cultural topic as well. The World Health Organization [WHO] identifies health as the attainment of physical, mental, and social well-being. Social well-being is a cultural topic.

Disease

a discrete natural entity that can be clinically identified and treated. Can be caused be bacteria, viruses, parasites, genetic abnormalities, etc.

What Are the Effects of Global Inequality?

Uneven development is a central characteristic of the global capitalist system. Forty percent of the world's population lives in poverty (on an income of less than $2 per day), and one-sixth of the world's population lives in extreme poverty. And yet, 2 percent of the world's population owns more than half of all wealth on the planet. The gap between rich and poor countries continues to widen, and even the poorest countries have an elite organized around political, economic, or military power. Global inequality affects the life chances of the world's population in areas like hunger, health, education, vulnerability to climate change, and access to technology.

Habitus

a system of dispositions made up of lasting, acquired schemes of perception, thought and action. coined by Bordieu.

Culture specific syndrome

A health problem associated with a particular culture- can present a varied set of symptoms. might have biological, social, or psychosomatic causes

The problem with class mindset in america

American cultural ideology places such great importance on class being irrelevant that Americans often become blind to the class differences all around them.

Other Global Health Systems

Globalization has forcefully spread Western perspective of biomedicine, but other successful systems thrive. Chinese ethnomedicine is a widely practiced medical system. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on restoring balance to a body's qi, ("vital energy"), and harmony to yin and yang (opposite but complementary forces). Acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and consumption of healing herbs and teas are common practices.

Healing Practices of Tibetan Buddhism Applied in Northern India

In the Ladakh region of Northern India, the only health care available is provided by traditional healers known as Amchis. The Amchi are threatened by modern globalization. However, traditional ethnomedicine of the Amchi is in high demand among some Westerners.

Health

Includes physical, mental, and social well being. Health is at least in part a cultural concept

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Karl Marx

Karl Marx: Religion as "The Opiate of the Masses" Economy determines the "infrastructure" of society. Religion dulls the pain of the proletariat's hard life. Promises of heavenly afterlife convinces the poor to accept their unjust conditions.

example of balanced reciprocity?

Kula Ring, malinowski observed equal exchange of ritual items

Health Transition and Critical Medical Anthropology

Life expectancy rose, infectious disease declined, overall global health statistics improved over the course of the 20th century. Significant improvements in human health were not distributed evenly worldwide. Chronic diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc.) are on the rise. Extreme inequalities of health and unequal access to health care persist between and within local populations.

Multiple Systems of Healing

Medical pluralism: The intersection of multiple cultural approaches to healing. Visit Drug Emporium - which cultural systems are in practice in various sections of the pharmacy? Multiple systems of healing are in place in most non-Western countries. Multiple systems of healing are in place in Louisiana!

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Max Weber

Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic Protestant Revolution Capitalism Evolution of Rationalism (3 phases) Traditional religion based on magic Charismatic religion of the prophets (Jesus, Mohammad, Calvin, etc.) Rational religion based of codes of conduct, beauraucratic structures, etc. ... rationalism (science) decline of religion ....

How do anthropologists analyze class and inequality? Theories of Class: Karl Marx

Marx and his writings on class were deeply influenced by the unusual period of time during which he lived. Marx was born in 1801 and began his observations on class and inequality in the early 1800s. During this period, the Industrial Revolution was coming to its height. All across Europe, factories were beginning to provide the majority of jobs. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, a majority of jobs were found in agriculture. This transition had never before occurred in human history. As factories grew in size, conditions for the workers often became more and more miserable. Work shifts could be as long as twelve to sixteen hours, and little in the way of breaks was provided. Child labor was rampant, and safety standards in factories were extremely low. These working conditions inspired not only Marx's scholarship, but his subsequent political activism. He authored The Communist Manifesto. Marx's analysis of class and inequality in nineteenth-century Europe identified two principle classes in European culture: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat The bourgeoisie can be glossed as the upper class But more importantly, Marx identified the bourgeoisie as the owners of "The Means of Production." For Marx, the means of production referred to everything from land to factories, machines to raw materials. It included all of the materials and machines needed to produce goods for sale. The proletariat can, in contrast, be glossed as the working class. The members of the proletariat did not own any of the means of production. They only thing they could offer to the economy was their own labor. In short, these were the factory workers that Marx saw living under horrendous working conditions for minimal pay. The existence of these two extremes (the bourgeoisie and the proletariat) in any capitalist economy is a well-accepted fact. However, there can be an enormous gray area between these extremes. Particularly in modern capitalism, which is considerably more complicated than early nineteenth-century capitalism. Today there exists a broad realm of middle management: people who have considerably more power than the proletariat, but still do not officially own the means of production. Marx's analysis, however, finds its strength in simplicity rather than in precise detail. By examining the larger picture, he was able to inspire generations of scholars. Marx's scholarship, however, became more controversial when he began to suggest what should be done about the inequality he observed. Together with Friedrich Engels, Marx authored The Communist Manifesto, which advocated for the organization of workers to resist the demands of the bourgeoisie and called for an enforced form of economic egalitarianism. This doctrine was hugely influential around the world and inspired many revolutions. Today, however, most of these revolutions have failed. This failure is at least in part the result of some oversimplification of economies made by Marx.

Creating a Public Health System in Haiti

Paul Farmer visited the rural village of Cange, in Haiti, in 1983. Farmer observed high levels of infant mortality, malnutrition, typhoid, dysentery, HIV, and tuberculosis. He returned to enroll in Harvard's medical school and doctoral program in Anthropology. Farmer helped launch the largest nongovernmental health care provider in Haiti -- Partners in Health.

Religion and Magic Paul Stoller: In Sorcery's Shadow

Paul Stoller, In Sorcery's Shadow (1997) He became fully initiated sorcerer. Lived as a traditional practitioner of magic - incantation, magical powders, etc. He used divination in everyday life Participated in and experienced attacks of sorcery ... For Stoller, most important magical ingredient: "a deep respect for 'other' knowledge ...."

Why Does the Distribution of Health and Illness Mirror That of Wealth and Power?

Poverty is a proximal cause of poor health. Poor health is strongly correlated with low economic, social, and political status. The powerless are far more likely to be unhealthy. This tragedy is evident in comparing average life expectancies among different countries. Wealthy core nations are at the top and poor peripheral nations are at the bottom of the list. Declining health in the United States? U. S. was ranked 36th, with a life expectancy of 78.3 years.

illness

Refers to the individual patient's experience of sickness, in other words their enculturated view of disease.

Biomedical Conceptions of the Body

Regarding causation of illness, biomedicine is biased toward neurochemical and physiological processes of the body. Biomedicine embraces the Cartesian (or Mind/Body) Dualism model, which regards the human body as a machine that can be analyzed in terms of its parts. 20th-century biomedical healing practices often favored "rituals of surgery" - C-sections, hysterectomies, tonsillectomies, appendectomies ... lobotomies .... Culturally-based stress factors often disregarded; environmental conditions; psychological, psychic and behavioral factors tend to be overlooked.

How is globalization affecting the state?

The increasing trends of globalization have had a significant effect on states around the world. At a bare minimum, globalization has brought states into increased contact with one another.

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Marvin Harris and Cultural Materialism

Why is the cow sacred in India? Etic view is most valuable. Emic view -- Hindu ahimsa is principle of non-violence Harris says: material conditions determine culture, and religion. Cows are too useful to kill -- They produce oxen ... dung for fuel hide for leather milk, cheese, butter, etc.

How Is Globalization Changing the Experience of Health and Illness and the Practice of Medicine?

With the growing effects of globalization, our conceptions of health and illness are being affected in two primary ways: By so-called medical migrations By interactions between multiple systems of health and healing

An Introduction to Politics and Power: The Arab Spring

A series of protests and revolutions occurred throughout the Arab world beginning in 2011. Protests began first in Tunisia after a man named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on the steps of a government building in protest. Bouazizi's act of defiance set off a wave of protests ....

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Types of Immigrants: Professional Immigrants

A significant number of immigrants fall into the category of professional immigrants. These people are qualified professionals with established careers in fields like medicine, law, education, etc. Often these people have degrees from colleges or universities, and they may be financially affluent. For professional immigrants, the desire to migrate to a new host country often involves a desire to advance their careers. If their home country is a peripheral country in the world system, there may be considerably more opportunity available to them if they migrate to a core country. The loss of professional immigrants is often considered a problem by home countries. This problem is sometimes nicknamed "brain drain" as some of the smartest people in a nation are looking to migrate to a new nation.

F I S H T I M E

Anthropologist Theodore Bestor has been conducting fieldwork on fishing boats in the North Atlantic. These boats take to the waters of the North Atlantic to meet the demand for bluefin tuna. However, the majority of that demand is coming from the opposite side of the globe. When the fishing boats dock they are met by Japanese buyers. The best-quality fish are put on ice, driven to the airport, and flown all the way to Japan. In less than 24 hours, fish make it from the deck of a boat in the North Atlantic to the Tsukiji fish market in Japan. The Tsukiji fish market imports fish daily from all across the globe (not just the North Atlantic). The existence of a global fish market is an excellent example of modern globalization. Fresh fish are delicate and demand special treatment. The fact that a fish market can provide Japanese consumers with fresh fish from across the planet is a testament to the developed nature of our transportation and communication industries. The existence of such a market is also a testament to uneven development (another characteristic of globalization). As we discussed in the previous chapter, there are many nations around the world that struggle to feed their populations. Yet Japan can afford to import fish from across the globe to satisfy the diversity of consumer demands.

What is social class and how does it affect our lives?

Anthropologists define class as a system of power based on wealth, income, and social status that creates an unequal distribution of resources. Differential access to wealth, income, and social status ultimately results in some people having more power. We make assumptions about people based on their perceived class.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose?

Anthropologists see economies as cultural systems of adaptation to particular environments. Food production is key to economy. Economies are Cultural systems of adaption to the environment.

How Does Today's Global Economy Link Workers with Consumers Worldwide?

Central to Immanuel Wallerstein's world systems theory was the idea of interconnectivity. Regardless of whether you live in a core zone or a peripheral zone, economic interactions connect us all. As the forces of globalization continue, this concept is becoming more visceral on a daily basis. Anthropologists have studied several examples of these phenomena.

How do anthropologists analyze class and inequality? Theories of Class: Pierre Bordieu

Bordieu was a French philosopher working in the last half of the nineteenth century. Thus, he lived in a world that had worked past the rough early days of industrialization that had defined Marx's and Weber's viewpoints. Early in his career, Bourdieu was particularly interested in studying education and social mobility. In many Western cultures education has long been seen as the gateway to social mobility. If you study hard and succeed at school, it can open the gates to a good job with more money. Thus, you will have an ability to move up to a higher, more influential class. While there are individual examples of just such a phenomenon, Bourdieu found that it was the exception rather than the rule. That is, very few people actually changed their class via educational success. Instead, Bourdieu observed more social reproduction than social mobility. By social reproduction we mean that children became a part of the same class as their parents. Thus, the class was simply being reproduced. Bourdieu proposed two key factors as the causes of social reproduction: Habitus Cultural Capital Habitus can be a tad confusing at times, but it doesn't have to be. Habitus refers to both a person's and a group's self-perception or identity that develops as a part of enculturation. As you learn about the world and your own culture, you develop ideas about how you fit into that world. Are you proud to come from a hardworking blue-collar family? Do you think your hometown was a run-down backwater that you were happy to escape? These experiences affect how you view yourself and your class status. While self-perception and identity are inherently individual, they can also form shared norms. Certain cities and towns are known for their "personality." New Yorkers are often called rude and abrasive, for example. These stereotypes are formed, in part, based on shared self-perceptions, or shared habitus. Habitus is Latin for habit. Bourdieu coined the term to suggest that self-perceptions become habits that are difficult to break. If we perceive ourselves as belonging to a certain class, it is unlikely that we will ever break away from that class. Thus, social reproduction becomes the norm. Bourdieu also saw cultural capital as reinforcing social reproduction. Cultural capital refers to what resources you and your family have to draw upon. By being born into a family, you are born into a base of cultural capital. If your family has access to wealth, they can send you to better schools or provide more enrichment activities for you. Or if your family has high social standing within a community, some part of that social standing will be transferred to you. Thus, if you are the child of a local politician, more people will know who you are and be willing to assist you in a time of need. Our inheritance of cultural capital affects our abilities to change our class standing. Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital is very similar to Weber's notion of life chances. Social reproduction becomes a norm, simply because the cultural capital we have access to does not elevate our situation.

What tools do anthropologists use to understand how religion works? Emile Durkheim: The Sacred and the Profane

Focus on the Sacred and the Profane Sacred - selected practices, people, objects that are considered holy. Profane -- unholy practices, people, or objects. Communal definition - society defines the sacred and the profane. Ritual (religious practice) creates the social structure of a religion. Rituals are powerful social tools that bind a society together.

Generalized Reciprocity

Generalized reciprocity reflects exchanges where value is not closely monitored, and the timing and value of a reciprocal exchange (i.e., repayment) is left open. Generalized reciprocity is widely used to build and reinforce social networks. If you are generous and offer your friend a ride today, you hope that someday in the future your friend may be able to help you study for an exam.

Religion and Magic: Baseball Magic

George Gmelch - "Baseball Magic" Baseball players use magic -- repetitive ritual acts, pulling at cap, avoid foul line, good luck charms, etc. Batters more than fielders need magic ... "uncertainty theory" Malinowski found this true among Trobriand Islanders -- magic is required when greater risk is involved.

What Are the Roots of Today's Global Economy? From Fordism to Flexible Accumulation

In many ways, the crowning achievement of the Industrial Revolution was the factory assembly line. Machines and other products were assembled, one step at a time, as they moved down the line. At each step a different person would be responsible for a specific task. For example, attaching a wheel, adding a coat of paint, etc. While these jobs could become highly repetitive for the workers, they allowed goods to be produced at a higher rate for less money. The factory assembly line was eventually perfected by Henry Ford (1863-1947). Ford's factory was the very model of efficiency and allowed automobiles to be mass-produced at prices many people could actually afford. Ford's success helped his motor company grow to be one of the most influential corporations in the world. Ford also instituted employment policies in his factories that were nothing short of revolutionary. Ford paid his workers a healthy living wage and capped the work day at eight hours. He thought that well-paid workers would be more loyal to the company, more dependable at their jobs, and easier to work with overall. He also argued that a factory-line worker should be able to afford the product that he was helping to make. Ford's policies were a remarkable success, and the company prospered, perhaps in part because by paying his workers enough to buy the cars they were making, Ford was also creating consumers. Fordism (i.e., Ford's model of efficient factories with well-paid workers) spread throughout U.S. corporations after World War II. Wages, benefits, and corporate profits all rose steadily for the next several decades. This prolonged economic boom period helped to create the modern American middle class, which we now presume to be the norm. However, by the 1970s American corporations were beginning to experience increasing competition. Both the European and Japanese economies had finally recovered from the devastation of World War II. A variety of other Asian nations, such as South Korea and Taiwan, were growing in economic strength. This growing competition, along with an unexpected oil shortage in 1973, convinced American corporations that they needed to cut costs to become more competitive on the global market. This was the beginning of the end for Fordism. The flexible accumulation model began to gradually replace the holistic notion of Fordism. With flexible accumulation, corporations sought to maximize profit by any means necessary. Two common strategies were offshoring and outsourcing. Offshoring refers to the deliberate moving of factories to foreign countries where labor costs, taxes, and raw materials are cheaper. Outsourcing is a similar concept, but refers specifically to hiring low-wage laborers in peripheral countries to perform jobs that had originally been done in the corporation's home country. Flexible accumulation has been in most respects a highly successful strategy from the perspective of corporations. The cost of labor and raw materials have gone down, and corporate profits have gone up. Also, corporate influence has spread throughout a variety of nations. From the perspective of nations, however, the picture is not always so rosy. The core nations where most of the corporations originated lost large numbers of jobs. These jobs had both created and supported a middle class. Peripheral nations were the recipients of these manufacturing jobs, but at lower pay and with harsher working conditions. In recent news the FoxConn corporation which uses Chinese factories to manufacture Apple's iPhones had to install suicide prevention nets around its buildings. Too many workers had tried to jump.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Market Exchange

Markets intrinsically refer to a concept of bringing goods together for the sake of exchange. The earliest markets found among human cultures operated on a barter system. Those individuals involved in the exchange would have to come to an agreement as to the value of a variety of goods. Then a mutually beneficial exchange could be agreed upon. As markets developed, the mediums of exchange for transactions have gradually become more standardized. In many cases certain universally desirable goods, such as salt, metals, or precious stones began to be used as common mediums of exchange. The end result of this process is the monetary exchange system used today. It's important to remember, though, that money only has value because we choose to agree that it does. Ultimately if you are hungry, food is far more valuable than a piece of paper.

Why Are Class and Inequality Largely Invisible in U.S. Culture? The Role of the Media

Media has a powerful ability to influence our cultural perceptions. On average U.S. residents watch 28 hours of television each week. And that's just television. Americans also come into contact with newspapers, printed ad campaigns, the Internet, and many other media outlets on a regular basis. The media has an extremely powerful influence on how we view poverty, as well as class and inequality.

What Are the Dominant Organizing Principles of the Modern World Economic System? Neo-Liberalism

Modern philosophies of economic liberalism, built on Adam Smith's initial concepts, are referred to as Neoliberalism. Neoliberal economic philosophies favor small governments with minimal government regulation of the economy. Neoliberalism also favors the privatization of public property. In many countries utility companies or transportation companies (i.e., train systems) are owned by governments. Neoliberalism advocates that these assets should be sold to private investors. Overall, this philosophy holds that the free market and competition are the best police force for capitalism. If a company is making shoddy products, then consumers will not buy them. If a company is charging exorbitant prices, their competitors will be able to undersell them. If a business is being run by corrupt leadership, consumers may choose not to support them. (Not to be confusing, but economic neoliberalism is generally supported by socially and politically conservative parties in the Western world, as opposed to liberal political parties which tend to support Keynesian economics.)

What are the roots of today's global economy? Anticolonial Struggles

Naturally many people resisted colonial rule. European nations had an overwhelming economic advantage, but this did not erase resistance. Many colonies fought back, and eventually many won their freedom.

Negative Reciprocity

Negative reciprocity involves the idea of attempting to get more than you give in an exchange. In short, you are out for economic benefit and not social benefit. Think of this as that moocher that lives in your dorm who gets rides, and free drinks, but never gives anything back. Negative reciprocity becomes more common in cultures when economic benefits can be separated from social benefits.

How Is Globalization Affecting the State? Civil Society Organizations

Nonstate actors, however, are not exclusively looking for profit or to carry out acts of violence. In recent decades civil society organizations, also known as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly common and influential. Civil society organizations are typically activist organizations seeking to raise awareness about issues such as indigenous rights, the plight of the hungry, or the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS. Taking advantage of the resources made available by globalization (specifically easy travel and communication), these groups work on an international stage. Particularly prominent organizations include Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Human Rights Watch. Together these organizations have become powerful forces of advocacy around the globe.

What Are the Roots of Poverty in the United States? Poverty as a Structural Economic Problem

Partially in response to Moynihan's report, many scholars and public policy makers began to look at poverty as a problem of structural inequality. For example, let's look at infrastructure: If poor communities have inadequate education systems, i.e., not enough schools and poor quality teachers Or if they have inadequate access to health care, i.e., doctors and hospitals Or, if the jobs that are available in poor neighborhoods do not pay a living wage Or, if police protection is minimally applied We may ask, how much does a person's attitude toward hard work matter? That is, even if you work hard and try to lift yourself out of poverty, can you do it if there are no steps to climb? Poor neighborhoods in the United States have also been disproportionately affected by the forces of globalization. Many factory jobs that provided thousands of Americans with a living wage no longer exist. With the growing forces of globalization, many of these factories have moved overseas where they can pay workers less, or avoid higher tax rates, and thus achieve a higher profit margin on their goods. With these jobs leaving the United States an important sector of the manufacturing economy has been decimated. If we compare this to the culture of poverty concept, who is more to blame for the state of poverty, the person who is now unemployed, or the company that sent the job overseas? But, it is important to note that structural inequalities alone cannot fully explain poverty. We have all met people who work hard, and we have met people who are a bit more on the lazy side.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Pastorialism

Pastoralism involves raising domesticated animals as a primary food resource. Many different animals have been domesticated by humans, including sheep, goats, cattle, llamas, turkeys, chickens, pigs, and so on. Raising these animals can easily become a full-time occupation, and each animal represents a considerable investment by the community. This is where foragers have some advantage. If you have an unsuccessful hunt, you can go out the next day and try again. But if your pig dies from an illness or is stolen by a neighbor, you have lost everything that you put into that pig, and now your food source is gone.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Redistribution

Redistribution involves the collection of goods by a central authority (usually a chief or other kind of ruler). Once collected these goods are later redistributed back to the people. In modern American politics the concept of redistribution is linked with an idea of enforced equality, meaning that everyone receives an identical redistribution of goods from the government. This is not the case with the anthropological concept of redistribution. While many central governments have involved themselves in redistribution systems, typically that redistribution does not result in an enforced equality. Rather, friends of the government typically get more while others are left to scrape by. Anthropologists have found that most complex cultures make use of some form of redistribution. Frequently we find that powerful political or social institutions maintain support through forms of redistribution. Governments offer protection from outsiders for the price of taxes. Religions offer rewards in the next life for tithes in this life.

An introduction to religion

Religion is an extremely powerful influence on people and their daily lives. Systems of power are pervasive throughout human cultures. Systems of power often intersect with religion.

Roosevelt's Bill of Economic Rights

Roosevelt's eight specific rights: Employment (right to work) Food, clothing, and leisure provided by enough income to support them Farmers' rights to a fair income Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies Housing Medical care Social security Education

How Do People Mobilize Power Outside the State's Control?

So far we have been focusing on how states control power. If you recall, we opened this chapter talking about the revolutions against state powers that have become known as the Arab Spring. States are not all-powerful and they can fall due to the actions of another state. For example, Nazi Germany successfully absorbed several neighboring states before it was eventually overthrown itself by other states. Or states may be overthrown by the people who live in them. The Arab Spring caused the governments of four states to be overthrown. In this last section of Chapter 12, we are going to look at some of the ways in which people can access power outside of the state's control, or how individual people can influence the state. The potential power of individuals and groups to contest the established power relationships and structures is called agency.

What is the state? Modern Wester-style state

The Modern Western-Style State Concept of the territoriality is critical. Territory of the state often becomes synonymous with the state. Concepts of state and nation are constantly in the act of being created and reified. Borders, walls, signs, monuments are used to define sense of territory Origin myths, National holidays, foreign relations, etc. - are mutable

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Types of Immigrants: Entrepreneurial Immigrants

These immigrants fall in a class between labor immigrants and professional immigrants. While they are not professionally trained, they do have skill sets and some economic backing. Entrepreneurial immigrants are primarily defined by their actions of opening or creating a business upon entry into a new country. Many immigrants to the United States have successfully opened businesses, including everything from grocery stores to dry cleaners. Entrepreneurial immigrants typically make savvy use of their ethnic connections. They are able to raise capital among other immigrants from their home country to start their businesses. They often employ people from their home country once the business is operating. When they have an established business, entrepreneurial immigrants often become a central hub for new immigrants looking for work. In some cases, entrepreneurial immigrants have found particular success by importing goods from their home country for sale.

What Is the Relationship among Politics, the State, Violence, and War? The State and War

Warfare is an intrinsically different act from interpersonal violence. We can imagine genetic origins for violence in terms of a personal conflict over immediate resources, that is, the heat of the moment. If someone steals your food, you might need to become violent so that you can retrieve that food and survive to the next day. But warfare is a planned act, something that involves the calculated action of thousands of people. It thus does not remotely compare to a spur of the moment unplanned action of anger. The maintenance of a state of war requires specific planning both logistically and culturally. A population has to be willing to maintain a war.

What Is the Relationship among Politics, the State, Violence, and War? Anthropology on the Front Lines of War and Globalization: Construction Soldiers

With globalization, an extensive network of individuals and industries circles the globe from one war to the next. Warfare is an extremely difficult topic to understand without having seen it yourself. Some of you may have served in the military, or your family members may have served. That act gives one a very different perspective on these issues. Anthropologist Carolyn Nordstrom has not served as a member of the military but instead has witnessed warfare up close as an anthropologist. Through the most difficult forms of participant observation and ethnography she has lived through the events of warfare.

What Are the Roots of Today's Global Economy? The Modern World Economic system

With the end of the colonial period in the mid-twentieth century, we enter the modern world economic system. After the colonies emerged as new independent nations, many observers presumed these new nations would see great economic growth. After all, these former colonies were often rich in economic resources and raw materials. That was why Europe was interested in them in the first place. However, as the world emerged from colonialism, most of the new nations did not rebound as expected.

How Is Globalization Changing Religion?

Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) ideology: EZLN is a revolutionary leftist political and militant group EXLN supports libertarian socialism that incorporates Catholic and indigenous Mayan beliefs. Anti-globalization, anti-neoliberal social movement. Oppose NAFTA; supports participatory democracy, mutual aid and horizontal autonomy (not vertical stratification) Supports Women's Revolutionary Law Some call EZLN the beginning of the 4th World War

Rites of Passage (Turner)

separation, liminality/communitas, reintegration

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Shamanism

(Max Weber) No hierarchical structure - found in simpler, small-scale societies Focused around individualistic practitioners - not dogmatic text Shamans are part-time practitioners Trance activates shamanic ability Meditation, fasting, hallucinatory substances, drumming, etc. Direct contact with supernatural Status is achieved, not ascribed

In What Ways Is Religion Both a System of Meaning and a System of Power? Blurring the Boundaries between meaning and power

1959 Vatican II policies embraced local poor congregations. Indigenous poor were encouraged in their struggle against poverty. "Liberation Theology" fortified the Zapatista Movement of 1994. Bishop Ruiz was accused of inciting rebellion by Mex. government. The Zapatista Uprising sparked violent guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency.

What Are the Dominant Organizing Principles of the Modern World Economic System? Adam Smith

Adam Smith was the author of The Wealth of Nations published in 1776. Smith promoted an idea he termed economic liberalism. By this concept he argued that governments should not interfere with the economy. This idea has become known today as free market capitalism. Supporters of Smith argue that competition within the free market is the best method for economic growth, and that government regulations only interfere and impair the economy. As a product of the eighteenth century, Smith had certainly seen many corrupt and inefficient monarchies, and other governments, that had twisted national economies to their own ends.

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Global Migration Patterns

After international migration, internal migration is the most prominent type of migration. Internal migration by definition requires that the migrant stay within their own country. Internal migration also tends to involve larger numbers of people being influenced by the same push and pull factors, rather than small numbers of individuals traveling around their home country. The most common form of internal migration in the modern era has been rural-to-urban migrations. Rural environments all around the world are gradually becoming abandoned as people move to cities in search of jobs. Barriers for internal migrations tend to be significantly less, but that does not mean the process is easy. Finding work in cities is not always as easy as expected. The rural-to-urban divide can create its own form of culture shock.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Agriculture

Agriculture, however, has the ability to support much larger populations. Agriculture is technically defined as the intensive production of domesticated plants. Agricultural intensification can be achieved through many means, including: The construction of irrigation systems Building raised fields in swampy territory Building terraces in hilly areas The use of intensive fertilization (usually from animal feces) Through these means of intensification much larger amounts of food can be produced. This is notable for anthropology, because typically when we see the origins of agriculture among human cultures, we also see the origins of ranked societies. Quite simply, the invention of agriculture frees many people from the daily labor of food production. With more free time on some people's hands we tend to see the diversification and stratification of a culture.

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Rites of Passage

Arnold van Gennep first theorized "rites of passage" Victor Turner described the three stages of all rites of passage ... communitas Separation Transition (liminality) Re-aggregation or reincorporation Aubrey Richards documented the coming-of-age ceremony following first menstruation of Bemba teenagers.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Food Foraging

As we saw in the last chapter, the majority of human beings who have ever lived on this planet lived as hunter-gatherers. They hunted for their meat and gathered the plants that they needed. Foraging and hunting and gathering are synonymous terms in anthropology. Food foragers hunt, fish, and gather nuts, fruits, root crops, etc. Today, very few people still employ food foraging as their primary subsistence system. Estimates suggest fewer than 250,000 still live such a lifestyle. Anthropologists who have studied foraging cultures, however, have disproved two long-standing myths about such a lifestyle. It was long held that hunters and gatherers lived rough and difficult lifestyles. The idea was that they were constantly on the verge of starvation, and that they spent all of their time in a desperate search for food. Anthropologists have found, instead, that fewer than 250,000 still live such a lifestyle. , even more than some horticulturalists. While foragers certainly can experience food shortages, overall, the diversity of their diet and the flexibility to move between different food sources often leads to foragers being healthier than many horticulturalists or even agriculturalists. Another long-standing myth was that all hunting was done by men, while all gathering was done by women. Again, anthropologists have found this simply to not be true. Humans have again and again shown a remarkable amount of flexibility when it comes to survival.

Balanced Reciprocity

Balanced reciprocity represents a more formalized and regularized form of reciprocity. The value of the items exchanged is more carefully scrutinized and reciprocal exchanges are expected in short order. For example, if you buy your friend a drink, you expect that they will buy you a drink later in the evening. Balanced reciprocity involves higher levels of expected return than generalized reciprocity. Reciprocal exchanges are expected, and considerable social penalties can occur if they are not received.

What is religion? definition

Belief in supernatural power Myths and stories about human origins Ritual activities that reinforce collective beliefs A symbol system used in religious practice Religious specialists: priests, rabbis, shamans, etc. Institutions that preserve, teach, implement belief. A community of believers ....

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Bridges and Barriers

Beyond push and pull factors, there are many bridges and barriers that immigrants face on their journey. Bridge factors are those that make certain types of immigration easier. Barriers are those that make immigration more difficult. Traditionally the largest barriers come in the form of government-constructed barriers. Legal international travel requires passports and visas. Passports are government-issued forms of identification. Most countries require passports to be displayed upon entry so they can track who enters their country and where they are coming from. Depending on your passport and the country you are trying to enter, you may or may not be admitted. For example, if you have a passport from an Arab country, you are likely to face difficulties if you try to enter Israel. Unofficial barriers come in a variety of forms: Perhaps the trip itself is difficult or expensive. You may not speak the language of the country you wish to migrate to. Even if you do speak the language, immersing yourself in a new culture is always challenging! Bridges, on the other hand, go a long way to shaping migration patterns, even more than barriers. All migrations are difficult, and so anything that makes the experience easier will likely become a major factor. A common bridging factor in the modern migration landscape is the previous actions of a relative. If your brother migrated from home to a new country, you have likely already heard stories about what that country is like. You may have seen money that your brother sent home, or you may know how your bother was able to make the difficult journey. Also, there is the undeniable advantage of having someone you know when you arrive at the end of your journey. Family connections have frequently created migration chains, where one person after another leaves the same hometown to migrate to the same new location. Ken Guest describes just such a pattern in your textbook with Chinese immigrants leaving Fuzhou and traveling to New York City. Bridging factors can also be less personal: People are often attracted to migrate to countries that speak the same language, or to countries that have similar cultural or religious beliefs. The less culture shock an individual has to go through the easier the process can be.

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Push and Pull Theory

Broadly speaking, the decision to migrate, and where to migrate to, is shaped by a variety of push and pull factors. Simply put, push factors are those that push you to leave your homeland. Pull factors are those that pull you toward your destination. Push factors come in many forms. We have seen how a lack of available jobs can push someone to look abroad for work. Other common push factors include famine, natural disasters, war, ethnic conflict, or even political or religious oppression. The pilgrims aboard the Mayflower is a famous American example of British Puritans leaving England in an attempt to escape religious persecution. A prominent push factor in the modern global economy is the desire to find a job that can support one's family. Today, many migrant workers send substantial sums of the money they earn back to the home country and their families. Pull factors likewise come in many forms. The availability of jobs is often a primary pull factor, as can be the opportunity for a better standard of living. People are also drawn to migrate to countries with greater political stability, particularly if they are escaping from unrest or violence. Perhaps they view the new country as providing better opportunities for themselves or their children. Together push and pull factors cause people to leave their home countries and seek out a more desirable future.

What Are the Roots of Today's Global Economy? Colonialism

Europe's successful conquest of the Americas marked the beginning of the Colonial era. From 1500 to 1800 various European nations planted colonies in all corners of the globe. During this period, the colonial powers redrew the world in their own favor. They also reorganized the political and economic balance of power on a global scale. You could say they used the power they had to stack the deck even further in their favor. The world continues to reel from the effects of the colonial era, and there is no stronger influence on today's global economy.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Horticulture

Horticulture involves raising domesticated plants through nonintensive means as a primary food source. When we adopt intensive means for raising domesticated plants, it becomes agriculture. Horticulture is simpler, and generally produces less food. Common examples of Horticulture include swidden (or slash and burn) farming. This style of agriculture typically involves clearing a field of vegetation. Allowing that vegetation to dry out, and then burning it before you start planting. The ash provides an effective fertilizer for the field. Another common form of horticulture is household garden plots. Garden plots are typically fertilized by family waste products. Horticulture methods can typically produce enough food for a family, but cannot support a larger population.

How are Class and Inequality Constructed in the United States? Wealth, Inequality, and Wall Street

Finally, we look at an example not of lower classes but of the upper classes. Most anthropologists have studied marginal cultures. Either people who are living in remote and isolated communities or people who are isolated from a culture's most powerful institutions. Recently, however, more and more anthropologists have begun to also study the powerful members of a culture. In her 2008 ethnography of Wall Street, Karen Ho examined the cultural life of Wall Street's most powerful. Ho spent several years in the 1990s working with a large Wall Street investment bank. She found a culture that favored money at all costs. Most notably, Ho examined the prevalence of layoffs and firings in large companies that were experiencing record profits. If a company was making record profits, she asked why they would be firing employees. She found that the practice was largely influenced by stock values. When companies laid off workers, they were perceived as streamlining. As a result, their stock value would go up, and investment banks made more money. These positive reinforcements only encouraged companies to let go even more employees. Ho argues that this culture of profit ultimately led to the 2008 financial collapse. Many banks began engaging in risky trades and mortgages. These investments offered the possibility of high short-term financial returns, thus they were favored by the culture of profit. But these investments were unstable in the long run, eventually leading to a financial collapse. A culture of financial profit can be as unshakable as a culture of hard work. While the working poor in Kentucky or in urban environments value work, they are isolated from economic opportunities that would allow them to profit from that work. Investment bankers on Wall Street, however, were surrounded by that very power, and instead of making decisions based on long-term stability, they emphasized a culture of profit that made them very rich in the short term but did tremendous damage in the long run.

How do anthropologists analyze class and inequality? Theories of Class: Leith Mullings

For our final theorist, we want to look at the work of anthropologist Leith Mullings. Following the holistic traditions of Anthropology, Mullings argues that in order to understand class and inequality we must use what she terms an "intersectional approach." That is, she argues that to understand class and inequality we must look at how class intersects with race and gender. As we have seen in Chapters 5 and 7, both race and gender are significant factors in the attainment of cultural power. They both logically intersect with class status. Mullings's interest in these topics arose out of her work with the Harlem Birth Right Project. At the time of her study, Harlem was an economically vibrant African American community in New York. Despite being a prosperous community, infant mortality rates were twice as high as those in the rest of New York City. Thus, while families were financially prosperous, babies were still dying at twice the rate of other families in the area. Mullings and her team conducted extensive interviews and studies of local living conditions. In the end, their conclusions suggested that the institutional and personal prejudices faced by African American women took an undue toll on the health of infants. Thus, class, as a concept of social standing, cannot be solely examined from an economic perspective. Race and gender were inextricable factors in the larger pictures of the lives of Harlem residents.

What is the state? Aspects of State power

States always attempt to establish a monopoly on power and force. Nongovernmental bodies are typically restricted from making their own rules and regulations. Hegemony is used by the state to establish what should be normal behavior. States are controlling entities ... but they are cultural constructions

Is inequality a natural part of human culture? Egalitarian societies

Human beings, as a species, have existed for approximately 150,000 years. Until quite recently, all human cultures were restricted to hunting and gathering as a means of a subsistence. Due to the transient nature of hunters and gatherers, it is very hard to accumulate any form of wealth. If you are regularly moving, it is very difficult to build up a surplus of any economic good. Even extra income (i.e., food) does you relatively little good. Anthropologists have found that most hunter-gatherer cultures operate as egalitarian societies. Egalitarian societies share economic resources to ensure group success. Meat captured during the hunt or plants that are gathered are shared throughout the group. Access to raw materials such as stone for stone tools, etc., are likewise shared. In this way, if a hunt fails, or if the a group of gatherers find the local crop has been picked over by birds or other animals, group members can share their resources, ensuring everyone's survival. This kind of sharing is what anthropologists term "reciprocity." Group members will share with those in need, anticipating that in the future someone will help them out, too. To a certain degree, we can find reciprocity throughout human societies. For example, if a friend buys you a birthday present, you may find that you feel obliged to buy a present for your friend when their birthday comes around. Or, if a friend gives you a ride one day, you may want to later buy them a drink as a sign of thanks. Reciprocity has the benefit of creating relationships. Once someone does something for you, you are indebted to do something for them. These simple relationships go a long way toward building an egalitarian economic structure. Over the history of our entire species (i.e., from 150,000 y.a. to the present), most humans have lived in egalitarian societies. Thus, the forms of class and inequality that we see today are not the historical norm.

What Are the Roots of Today's Global Economy? Core and Periphery

In 1974 Immanuel Wallerstein published a new analysis of the modern world economic system. Instead of viewing the world in terms of colonizers and colonies, Wallerstein advocated examining economies from a perspective of core and periphery. Core countries (or regions) represented the economic powerhouses. They were the countries or regions that controlled or heavily influenced markets. Peripheral countries (or regions) in contrast represented the source of labor and raw materials used by the core countries. In reality, the majority of Wallerstein's core countries were former colonial powers. The majority of his peripheral countries were former colonies. The strength of his argument largely came from embracing the idea that the world economic system is integrated. We cannot think of countries as isolated economies any longer. Instead we have to think globally about economic issues. The economy is irrevocably tied to international issues, thus if we want to understand or improve any one economy we have to consider the global economy.

An introduction to religion: buddhist monks rise in protest

In 2007, Myanmar government raised fuel prices by 500 percent. Most citizens live in poverty - many protested. Government military crack down ensued - monks were beaten. The monks joined the protest. By 2011 - military junta was completely dissolved.

How are Class and Inequality Constructed in the United States? Poor Whites in Rural Kentucky

In her ethnography Worked to the Bone: Race, Class, Power, and Privilege in Kentucky, anthropologist Pem Davidson Buck shared her experiences living and working among poor whites in rural Kentucky Buck lived with her husband for twelve years in Kentucky. When moving to the area they were able to buy a piece of land, and then they tried to live off that land. They found, however, that living off subsistence agriculture was not possible, and they both had to have jobs on the side. Throughout this experience they interacted with class, race, and power. Many of the region's inhabitants were poor whites. These people and their ancestors had been beguiled into the region with the promise of good jobs in tobacco cultivation, coal mining, and manufacturing. But in reality, most of the profits went to business owners. Buck found that many of the poor whites of Kentucky experienced not only class discrimination but also racial discrimination. "Red Neck" or "White Trash" status became a form of racial classification, a classification which carried many prejudices. Buck's research is a good reminder that while white privilege and institutional racism is a powerful force in modern America, not all whites receive positive benefits from their racial status.

What Is Religion? A muslim saint shrine

In northern India there is a shrine to the Muslim saint Hussain Tekri. Hussain Tekri was a grandson of the holy prophet Muhammad. He died a martyr's death (that is, he died in the name of Islam). Shrines to holy people are not uncommon in many religions. But this shrine is said to be possessed of healing powers. Pilgrims come to the shrine from all over India to seek its powers. Those suffering from illness as well as financial ruin come to the shrine seeking to be cleansed or cured by the shrine's power. Such healing shrines are not widely accepted as real by many followers of Islam, and some suggest they are sacrilegious, that is, contrary to Islamic doctrine. Nevertheless, the practice not only survives but thrives at the local level. Another interesting factor about the shrine of Hussain Tekri is that it draws many non-Muslims, despite the fact that the shrine is specifically dedicated to the Islamic religion. Many people who self-identify as Hindu, Sikh, or Jain also come to the shrine seeking its powers. This kind of blending of different religious faiths is actually quite common, but it does not fit those overarching definitions of what it means to be Muslim or Hindu.

How Have Anthropologists Viewed the Origins of Human Political History?

In particular, beginning in the 1960s anthropologists began to be increasingly interested in political structures. This interest was due in part to the political complexities involved in the end of the colonial era that followed the end of World War II. As old nation-states gave up their colonies and new nation-states emerged, the political process was more important than ever. It was also in the hands of many people who had never before been allowed to control their political organization.

What Are the Dominant Organizing Principles of the Modern World Economic System? John Maynard Keynes

Keynes argued that capitalism was innately prone to excess and corruption. Keynes published his central treatise in 1936, by which time there were plenty of examples of tycoons and industry barons who could serve as examples of such corruption, as well as plenty of underpaid workers suffering at their hands. Keynes argued that in order to promote just economic growth, capitalism had to be controlled by government oversight. He also argued strongly for the existence of government funding for subjects such as education and health care. Arguing that a well-educated and healthy population was a more prosperous population, Keynesian economics were widely employed in the 1930s and '40s. American president Franklin Roosevelt relied on Keynes's ideas when crafting his "New Deal," which built government support systems with the goal of lifting the country out of the Depression. Likewise, European nations widely adopted Keynesian philosophies to rebuild their nations after World War II. Keynesian philosophies retained their popularity until the 1970s when a global recession occurred. At that time supporters of Adam Smith's economic liberalism were able to forward their ideas.

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Types of Immigrants: Labor Immigrants

Labor immigrants make up the majority of modern immigrants. These immigrants represent a largely unskilled population of laborers looking for basic jobs. They include Latin Americans who come to the United States to pick crops, or work in hotels or other service industries. Likewise, many Chinese immigrants come to the United States to work in restaurants.

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Food Production

Let's look at production, specifically food production, in more detail. Anthropologist Yehudi Cohen has proposed five primary strategies that humans have employed to produce food to eat. They include: Food foraging Pastoralism (i.e., raising animals) Horticulture (i.e., raising plants) Agriculture (i.e., an intensified version of horticulture) Industrialized agriculture (i.e., the mass production of food stuffs)

How Have Anthropologists Viewed the Origins of Human Political History? Bands

Let's look more closely at services types. Bands make up Service's smallest and simplest form of political organization. These groups are principally defined by several features. Small population size, ranging from ca. twenty people to several hundred, but no larger They make use of foraging as a subsistence method. Social organization is primarily based on kinship ties. Social power structures are flexible and based on consensus. These structures are highly egalitarian and are typically not dominated by any one person or group. Overall, the political structure of a band is primarily defined by its small size. As there are so few people in a band, there is no need for more intensive subsistence methods. Kinship by default has to be a primary organizer of people as almost everyone in the band is going to be related to one another. (Think back to your kinship chart. How many people were on it? 20? 30?) And the population base is simply too small to support an entrenched political power structure, i.e., full-time rulers. The flexible power structure of bands has been of great interest to anthropologists. It gives us the chance to ask if humans are egalitarian or hierarchical by nature. As we've seen, the majority of human beings have lived as foragers. This means a majority of human beings have lived in egalitarian social structures. But in today's world, with very few exceptions, virtually all humans live in cultures that include notable political hierarchies. In any political hierarchy, there are more people on the lower tiers than there are on the upper tiers. Take your typically monarchy: one king or queen oversees tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of subjects. There are always more people who could rise up and physically overthrow a power structure than there are people controlling that power structure. While occasional revolutions are not uncommon, a majority of the world continues to live with hierarchical political structures. Even the modern United States, which prides itself on being an open democracy, has a notable political hierarchy. If you doubt this, ask yourself if you could make an appointment to meet with the president of the nation. Then ask if the CEO of General Electric or the Bank of America could make an appointment to meet with the president. While a majority of human beings have lived in egalitarian societies, a majority of humans today are willing to live in hierarchical societies. We may never have an answer as to what is natural for human beings, but it seems as if we are quite willing to accept both types of structures.

What Are the Roots of Today's Global Economy? Early Long-distance trade routes

Long-distance trade routes have connected Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa for more than 2,000 years. But during the last 1,000 years, this pattern has grown in intensity. Many Westerners look upon the voyages of Christopher Columbus and the "discovery" of the American continents as the opening of the global economy. But in reality, extensive exchange networks had already been established in the Old World. It was a desire to keep up with these exchange networks that spurred Europeans to look for new trade routes. For many centuries prior to the voyages of Columbus, China and other Asian countries had dominated a widespread trade network. The famous Silk Road connected Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe into one enormous trade network. Luxury goods flowed from China to the rest of the then-known world. Goods included not only silks, but spices, tea, gunpowder, and more. The existence of these networks are well-chronicled in surviving descriptions by people like Marco Polo, who traveled from Italy to China and back over the course of a mere twenty-four years. Chinese and Asian luxuries were in great demand in Europe. China demanded that all goods be paid for in gold and silver. This led to great prosperity in China and a perpetual search by Europeans for more gold and silver.

How Do People Mobilize Power Outside the State's Control? Social Movements

Social movements form a way in which people may gain influence against the power of the state. Generally, most social movements do not seek to overthrow a state, but instead they seek to influence its behavior. These movements typically form around subjects of intense interest to the citizens of a state. These subjects are considered so important that people feel they simply cannot remain silent. There are numerous examples of successful social movements from around the world, but for now we will look at just two such examples.

How are Class and Inequality Constructed in the United States?

Many Americans have a variety of misperceptions about income and wealth distribution within the country, particularly when it comes to how equally income and wealth are distributed. Income Let's look first at Income. Income is defined as money earned from salaries as well as investments (such as interest, dividends, etc.). In 2010, median (i.e., average) household income in the United States was approximately $50,000 a year. Of all income earned in 2010, 21.3 percent went to 5 percent of the U.S. population (i.e., the highest-earning 5 percent). In contrast, 3.3 percent of all income earned in 2010 went to the lowest-earning 20 percent of the population. In all, more than 50 percent of income earned in 2010 went to just 20 percent of the population. Half of all the income earned went to just 20 percent of the people. Income disparity between the upper class and the lower class has also been growing (Table 11.2). If we compare the income distribution of 2010 with the income distribution of 1967, the top earners are making more money while all other groups are making comparatively less money. This trajectory of income disparity has been increasing for many decades now. Wealth Now let's look at wealth. Wealth is defined not by money brought in each year (i.e., income), but instead on goods owned, such as real estate, stocks, bonds, etc.—anything you own that is worth significant money. The distribution of wealth in the United States is even more heavily skewed than income. From a 2009 survey, 35.6 percent of the nation's wealth is controlled by just 1 percent of the population. In contrast, 80 percent of the population controlled just 12.8 percent of the nation's wealth. The remaining 19 percent controlled 51.6 percent of the nation's wealth. Thus, while just over 50 percent of all income in 2010 went to 20 percent of the population, 87.2 percent of the nation's wealth is controlled by 20 percent of the population. Therefore, wealth is more disproportionately controlled by the upper class than income. Access to wealth, even more than income, has a greater effect on issues of prestige, habitus, and life chances. In short, wealth creates opportunity. The disproportionate access to wealth creates disproportionate access to cultural power and influence. While the United States perhaps offers greater opportunities for equality than other countries have in the past, it is still far from a classless society.

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Malian migrants

Many anthropologists have focused on studying migrants and the cultural issues that arise from the act of immigration. Bruce Whitehouse, for example, has been studying the migration patterns of people coming from the African nation of Mali. Malian migrants have spread throughout many other African nations, including Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Congo, and South Africa, as well as through many Western countries, such as France, Spain, and the United States. Due to its central position in the African continent, Mali has long been a crossroads for trade, and modern globalization has only enhanced this tradition. At home many Malians live on land that cannot produce enough food to support a family. As a result, there is a strong cultural push factor for people to become merchants. Successful merchants have been sending remittances back to their home families for decades, thus creating another strong push factor (i.e., a family's desire to receive remittances) as well as many bridges to other nations. Despite their long history of being involved in international commerce, many Malians maintain a strong connection with their home country, returning whenever they can. They sponsor the building of new schools and public works with their remittances. They make use of modern communication technology whenever possible. This dual tradition of migration and preserving a connection to Mali has proven to be a rich topic in Whitehouse's ethnography.

How do anthropologists analyze class and inequality? Theories of Class: Max Weber

Max Weber was an economist working in the second half of the nineteenth century. He dealt with a more firmly established industrialism than Marx had seen. Weber was particularly interested in the topics of prestige and life chances. Prestige was the simple notion that certain classes of people had greater prestige than others. That is, they were more highly regarded by their fellows. A classic example would be a doctor and a farmer. Doctors are typically regarded as more important in a culture, despite the fact that we would all starve without farmers. We see similar prestige distinctions between many career choices. Used car salesman versus a clothing retailer Or, a garbage truck driver versus a limo driver Weber argued that prestige had a major impact on a person's life. That is, even if a doctor and a farmer made the same amount of money, a doctor would still have more cultural influence. Weber was also concerned with how class and prestige affected life chances. Quite simply, your class and your relative prestige affects the opportunities you may have in life. The children of the working class, for example, have a very limited chance to enter a top-tier university, such as a modern Harvard or Yale. However, children of the bourgeoisie have a much easier time getting into these schools. They receive a different class of education and training from a young age that prepares them to pass the entrance exams. Thus, Weber noted that class and inequality were influenced by more than simple access to the means of production.

An Introduction to Health and Illness. Medical Anthropology

Medical Anthropology: the study of health and illness among human cultures. Medical anthropologists employ the anthropologist's toolkit: fieldwork and participant observation. Medical anthropologists often focus on medical ecology: the interaction of diseases with their natural environment and human culture. Also, they focus on how systems of health and illness interact with cultural sources of power.

How Is Globalization Affecting the State? International Nonstate Actors Challenge State Sovereingnty

Over the last century, and particularly in the last few decades, nonstate actors have been growing increasingly powerful and influential. Nonstate actors is a broad term, which generally encompasses any coherent group that is outside of state control and has amassed enough power to rival, or at least influence, state entities. In our chapter on class and inequality, we saw how corporations have begun to rival the power of states. This is a classic example of nonstate actors. By taking advantage of flexible accumulation practices, corporations are circumventing laws in different states to find the easiest ways to amass profits. In addition many corporations have amassed so much profit that they can use their wealth to influence political officials around the globe, all in an attempt to gain even better conditions for corporate profit. This is a clear example of a power that rivals the power of states. On September 11th, 2001, people around the world became even more aware of the potential power of nonstate actors. Members of the Al-Qaida terrorist organization successfully carried out a coordinated hijacking of planes and then crashed those planes, showing that military threats could come from nonstate actors. States around the world have had great difficulty in responding to terrorist organizations like Al-Qaida, specifically because they are not states. They are organized by separate principles and specifically avoid the territoriality of states. State military powers are intrinsically organized around the concept of protecting states from other states. Thus, the growth of militant nonstate actors has been a particularly difficult problem for states.

What Is the Relationship among Politics, the State, Violence, and War? Challenging the myth of killer apes

Primatologist Frans de Waal has sought to come to a better understanding of the issue of violence among humans by studying violence among our closest relatives. De Waal has worked with a variety of primates, including chimpanzees and bonobos, both of which are Great Apes, and thus closely related to humans. He has also worked with macaques, a species of Old World monkey. He has observed that primates are inherently social creatures. While conflicts do break out from time to time, they have more to lose than gain by maintaining a state of perpetual violence. They need the socialization that a group provides, thus they will work to maintain that group. Overall, de Waal witnessed numerous forms of reconciliation among primates. These were acts specifically meant to reassure group members after a conflict broke out. From de Waal's work we can summarize that conflict itself may be inevitable. When large groups of individuals live together there will necessarily be conflicts over different interests or limited resources. As primates we need social networks to be happy and healthy, thus, we will inevitably seek ways to end conflicts and re-establish social order.

Is Inequality a Natural Part of Human culture? Ranked Societies

Ranked societies have developed more recently. These are societies where some forms of prestige and status are stratified into set classes. Some people have greater access to prestige than others. Typically economic wealth still remains relatively egalitarian within these societies. Ranked societies usually include positions of leadership, often referred to as chiefs. Chiefs enjoy greater access to economic staples, such as good quality food and shelter. In complex chiefdoms they may enjoy access to luxury goods. In return, chiefs oversee social and political matters for the culture. Often they are also viewed as a religious figure with greater access to the divine. In order to maintain their position, chiefs typically make use of systems of redistribution. Redistribution involves the chief giving out gifts to the members of the chiefdom. These gifts may range from ritual or prestigious items to basic staples of life like food and shelter. The system is referred to as redistribution because these items often first came from the people when they gave them to the chief. Farmers may be required to give all of their produce to a chief, but then the chief will return some of that food to the farmers along with other goods the farmers did not produce, such as pottery or tools made by other specialists. Redistributive economies can be highly complex. Despite the modern connotation of the term, "redistribution" often did not involve everyone receiving an equal share. One of the most famous examples of redistribution in modern Anthropology is the potlatch ceremony observed by Franz Boas. While studying the Kwakiutl culture in the Pacific Northwest, Boas observed that chiefs threw enormous feasts known as potlatches where they brought large quantities of food. They also brought gifts of blankets and other goods for people in attendance, including gifts for neighboring chiefs. Boas noted that potlatches kept growing larger and larger, with chiefs bringing more and more to the party. Sometimes there were so many goods that a chief would have them destroyed instead of giving them away. You can think of this as a type of conspicuous consumption. For example, throwing a wine glass into a fire after finishing your drink—the glass is so cheap to you that you can afford to publicly destroy it rather than reuse it. Boas was able to demonstrate that chiefs earned their social standing through these potlatch feasts. The more goods a chief could bring to the party, the more highly he was regarded. As each chief gained prestige, their neighbors wanted to outdo them, so they would attempt to hold even larger feasts. This example of redistribution has become a classic example in anthropology. Ranked societies may be less common in overall human history, but there does seem to be a common desire among humans to develop ranked and status-driven behavior among our cultures.

How Is Today's Global Economy Reshaping Migration? Types of Immigrants: Refugees

Refugees are those immigrants who were forced to leave their home, typically as a result of oppression (either political or religious), or the outbreak of war or other forms of violence in the home country. While we may wish to believe that people rarely are forced to become refugees, it is a large global problem. In 2010, the United Nations estimated that there were a total of 15.4 million refugees worldwide. Many of these refugees are fleeing conflicts and political upheavals that are not widely reported by Western media. For example, four million people have died in the African nation of Congo since 1998 as a result of an ongoing civil war, yet Western media rarely reports on the violence. This conflict alone has created hundreds of thousands of refugees. Both before and after World War II, tens of thousands of Jews were forced to flee Europe. Today, thousands of people are fleeing violence in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria. The forced immigration experienced by refugees is a deeply traumatic event. It often leaves people with little to no economic resources to start a new life. Fortunately, many advocacy groups work tirelessly to aide and assist refugees. Additional assistance is always needed.

Is Religion Both a System of Meaning and a System of Power? Religion and Revolution in Mexico

Religion and Revolution in Mexico People of Chiapas are among the poorest in Mexico. Chiapas sits upon abundant natural resources -- oil, natural gas, and hydraulic power. Most of the profits from these industries leave the state. Zapatistas began to demand economic equality during the 1990s - violence erupted in 1994.

What is religion

Religions and religious expressions are extremely diverse around the world. While they have some things in common, it often seems easier to identify their differences than their similarities. As a result, coming up with a definition for religion is extremely difficult. At the same time, you all have an intrinsic idea of what I mean by the term "religion." Let's step back and look at how anthropologists have attempted to define religion.

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Religion and Ritual

Ritual is the enactment of belief. Kinds of rituals discussed in your textbook. Rites of Passage The attainment of a new stage of spiritual progress often associated with major life events like adolescence, marriage, etc. Pilgrimage The visiting of holy shrines

How Have Anthropologists Viewed the Origins of Human Political History? Putting Typologies in Perspective

Service's typology has been both widely embraced and widely criticized by his fellow anthropologists. The most prominent critique has been that Service's typology oversimplifies the reality. This is undeniably true. We are boiling down every single culture that has ever existed on the planet into just four types. By this point in the semester you should have a new appreciation for just how diverse culture can be. Thus you can imagine that no single culture would ever perfectly fit into any one of Service's types. However, Service's typology is also widely employed by anthropologists. Those who deny they use Service's typology are generally working from data shaped by our understanding of this typology. The great strength of Service's four types is the fact that it gives us a vocabulary to discuss cross-cultural differences. When scholars don't make use of a shared vocabulary system, chaos is generally the result. People talk past one another, and retread ground already well studied by someone else. Imagine if every computer used its own unique programming language. They would never be able to efficiently talk to one another. Service's typology can unwittingly encourage us to over look nuances of difference between cultures. It also allows us to talk about the differences between cultures.

What Are the Roots of Today's Global Economy? Conflicting Theories

Several different and competing theories emerged regarding how to best assist former colonies. Modernization theory came to prominence early on. Modernization theory presumed that development and industrialization represented a natural path of economic development. These theorists presumed that all cultures, with the right resources, would follow a similar path of economic growth and development. In order to help bring about development (i.e., economic growth), it was thought that former colonies simply needed economic aid. Numerous aid agencies and institutions came into being with just such a purpose in mind. These included the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and even the United Nations. These organizations all worked to provide aid to nations around the world in hope of spurring development. Yet, in spite of several decades of earnest effort, many former colonies continued to struggle. As a result, modernization theory came under serious critique. Many people began to favor "dependency theory," which held that the former colonies had become dependent on the aid that they were being given and the only way for them to emerge as stable, independent nations, was to dismantle the system of foreign aid.

How are Class and Inequality Constructed in the United States? Downward Mobility: The Middle Class and the Working Poor

The American narrative of "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps," reinforces an idea that we are responsible for our fate, and thus downplays any possible existence of structural failings such as a lack of good jobs or structural racism that prevents certain people from getting good jobs. Anthropologist Katherine Newman has been studying middle-class families and the working poor. Her findings have challenged the idea of the meritocracy. That is, she challenges the idea that those who work hard succeed, and those who fail are lazy. She found many people who were hardworking and educated, who lost their jobs as factories shipped jobs oversees, or whose jobs were replaced by automation. While these people could look for new jobs, their resumés only qualified them for jobs that no longer existed. While many Americans think that urban poverty is the result of a lack of work ethic or dependency on welfare, Newman found the opposite. She found people working hard for their families, seeking any way out of their situation that they could find. Americans have heavily invested in the idea of the meritocracy, or the idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. But, while it is difficult to succeed without hard work, hard work is also not always enough.

What are the Roots of Poverty in the United States?

The United States is one of the richest countries around the globe in terms of both income and wealth. Thus, we naturally want to ask the question of why do people live in poverty within the United States? What are the roots of poverty? As we have seen already, many people in the United States want to blame poverty on the poor. That is, people think the poor simply do not work hard enough. Others argue that structural economic problems restrict the life chances of the poor. Which is to say that poverty breeds poverty. Poor parents cannot give powerful cultural capital to their children, thus their children often remain poor. These beliefs largely derive from two schools of thought about poverty. We will examine the roots of these approaches, and see what we can uncover about poverty in the United States.

What Tools Do Anthropologists Use to Understand How Religion Works? Religion and Magic

The ability to bring about change through supernatural action ... attempt to control outcomes ... Shows up in virtually all cultures Conception and performance of magic varies widely Is magic different from a miracle, or prayer? E. E. Evans-Pritchard: Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande (1937). Witchcraft was a central - rational -- element of daily life among Azande. Illness and death were caused by witchcraft. Witchcraft was inherited - a physical feature said to be revealed in autopsy Witch doctors counteract misfortune created by witchcraft. Magical oracles were -- divinatory tools

What Is an Economy, and What Is Its Purpose? Reciprocity

The basic concept of reciprocity is that if I do something for you, I expect that you will in turn do something for me. The study of reciprocity has been of great importance to anthropology. Many human relationships have been built upon concepts of reciprocity. Kinship relationships, for example, are highly reciprocal. In many cultures, parents expend a great deal of energy to raise their children. They find them food, seek to educate them, and generally prepare them for the world. In return, it is often expected that those children will help to care for their parents in old age. Modern international diplomacy is also essentially an act of reciprocity. Nations offer aid to their neighbors, in hopes that their neighbors in turn will offer future assistance.

An Introduction to the Global Economy: Chocolate and a Civil War in Côte d'Ivoire

The cocoa powder that is used to make the world's chocolate comes from the seeds of the cacao plant. Cacao was originally cultivated by the Ancient Maya of Central America. The Maya used cacao to make a spicy concoction that was drunk with great fervor by royalty. When the Spanish conquistadors encountered cacao they quickly saw its economic potential. They took seeds and plants back to Europe in an attempt to start new plantations. Today, most of the world's commercial cacao plantations are found in Africa. There the tropical climate is similar to cacao's original Central American home. The nation of Côte d'Ivoire alone produces 40 percent of the world's supply of cocoa powder. In other words, odds are much of the chocolate you've eaten comes from Côte d'Ivoire. The chocolate industry is a massive global enterprise, but like any enterprise based on a plant, it has to start with farmers. Someone has to grow the cacao before it can be shipped around the world, transformed into chocolate, and finally consumed. Cacao farmers in Côte d'Ivoire are in high demand, due to the high demand for chocolate around the world. Despite this demand, the farmers make very little in profit. Prices paid for the cacao beans by the international market favor Western countries rather than the farmers. In addition, local government officials in Côte d'Ivoire have placed high taxes on cocoa. The local government knows that consumer demand for chocolate is high and that local farmers will meet that demand. Thus taxing cocoa is an easy and steady revenue stream for the government. As a result of these factors, there is very little money left over for the cacao farmers themselves. In fact, most cacao farmers in Côte d'Ivoire cannot even afford to buy the chocolate bars that are made from the product of their labor. In 2010 the president of Côte d'Ivoire was defeated in a democratic election. However, he refused to leave office and instead began a civil war. This illegitimate president of Côte d'Ivoire was able to fund his military operations from the high taxes he had levied on cocoa. In other words, the money you paid to buy a chocolate bar in some small part went to fund paramilitary troops carrying out a civil war in Côte d'Ivoire. By taking part in the global economy, we are connected to actions all across the world, and sometimes they are actions that we may not particularly like.

What Is the Relationship among Politics, the State, Violence, and War? The State and War

The concept of militarization refers to the preparation of a society for an ongoing state of warfare. This preparation involves not only the production the objects of war (i.e., weapons such as guns, bullets, tanks, planes, and so on), but also the creation of consent among the population for undertaking a war. The creation of consent is a hegemonic power. You must encourage people to glorify a state of warfare, to believe that it is worth sending people away to die on the frontlines. Many sociologists and anthropologists have expressed concerns about the creation of militarized societies. Once a society has been militarized, it creates patterns of thought that affect everything around it. Fields of scientific research such as physics, information technology, and psychology all can become bent toward improving military capacity. Citizens also become increasingly convinced that violence can be used to solve all problems. There is also a strong tendency to dehumanize enemies, thus encouraging us to think of them as different and less than ourselves.

What Are the Roots of Poverty in the United States? The Culture of Poverty: Poverty as Pathology

The culture of poverty is the idea that those who are poor have adopted a culture that ensures the continuation of that poverty. That is, people become lazy or dependent on government assistance, and they are thus unable to break out of poverty. The idea of a culture of poverty comes from an anthropological study by Oscar Lewis. Lewis carried out ethnographic work in both Mexico and the United States among poverty-stricken populations. He suggested that certain patterns of thought and views of the world developed among the poor, and that these patterns of thought actively reinforced poverty itself. For example, Lewis argued that children who grew up poor often learned patterns of marginality and dependency, and that they continued these patterns in adulthood. This concept of a developed worldview is very similar to Bourdieu's idea of habitus. The world we grow up in affects the views we build of ourselves. Thus, growing up in poverty will certainly have an impact on an individual. Lewis's work on the culture of poverty was primarily meant for an academic audience. He was writing for other anthropologists about cultural problems, but United States politicians and policy makers became attracted to the notion of a culture of poverty. U.S. government officials had an interest in poverty and research on the subject. They were seeking to find ways to craft government policy on the subject. While Lewis's work on the culture of poverty was not well-received by anthropologists, it was well received by the government. In short, it suggested the problem of poverty was not the government's fault, but instead it was the fault of the poor themselves. This idea of a culture of poverty was most influentially applied in a report written by Daniel Patrick Moynihan for the president of the United States, Lyndon Johnson. In his report "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," Moynihan attempted to explain African American poverty as a result of African American culture. He argued that institutional racism, Jim Crow laws, and Segregation laws were not at primary fault, but instead that poverty was culturally created. Needless to say, not everyone agreed with Moynihan's assessment.

What Are the Dominant Organizing Principles of the Modern World Economic System? Global Neoliberalism

The merits of neoliberal policies continue to be debated today. Neoliberal policies are growing increasingly unpopular. World Trade Organization meetings today draw large crowds of protestors. Austerity policies, similar to structural adjustments, are currently being widely debated. Most notably in Europe, many members of the European Union are facing or seeking to impose austerity measures. The proper role of governments in the economy will likely not be resolved for many decades to come.

What are the roots of Today's global economy?

The modern global economy is defined by exchanges occurring across the globe. Goods made in China are shipped halfway around the world to be sold in the United States. Transnational companies maintain offices on multiple continents. And global stock exchanges interact on a 24-hour basis. This state of global interactivity has been growing for thousands of years. You may be inclined to think of early groups of foragers as isolated, but in reality people have always been interacting with their neighbors. Before the arrival of Europeans in Australia, for example, aboriginal groups of hunter-gatherers maintained a continent-wide exchange network. Archaeologists have found that even Homo erectus engaged in exchanging raw materials for stone tools. In some cases, raw materials were found to have traveled hundreds of miles. Human beings (and even our recent ancestors) have long been engaged in world systems.

How Have Anthropologists Viewed the Origins of Human Political History? Chiefdoms

The next most complex form of organization in Service's typology was identified as the chiefdom. Chiefdoms mark a significant change in human organization to a more complex form of organization. Chiefdoms are often regarded as a transitional form eventually leading toward a state. Chiefdoms are principally defined by the following characteristics: Populations at this point become much larger, organizing thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people. As a result, chiefdoms also typically organize multiple villages, or population centers, together. Subsistence methods employed by chiefdoms must be more productive in order to provide for all of these people. We typically see the emergence of agriculture in these groups. Remember we defined agriculture as the intensive production of domesticated plants, by means of irrigation systems, terraces, raised fields, or other means. Agriculture produces a substantially larger food base, and thus can feed the dense population of a chiefdom. Populations in chiefdoms are organized around the consolidated political '/////2'' power structure, i.e., they are organized around the chief and his or her seat of power. Thus we often find that the chief's home village is larger than other villages in the region. Other villages tend to be smaller, with a greater reliance on kinship organization. The political power structures found in chiefdoms represent a major shift toward hereditary and hierarchical power. To be a chief of a chiefdom, you have to be born into the role. Typically no one gets to work their way up to being a chief. The political power of a chiefdom, however, is not as stable as a state. We've already mentioned the possibility of revolutions within modern nation-states, but such revolutions of power are even more common in chiefdoms. One chiefdom will rise in power over a few decades, only to eventually collapse and be replaced by another growing chiefdom.

What are the roots of today's global economy? The industrial revolution

The next phase of European colonialism was marked by the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. Beginning in the eighteenth century, European industry began to rely increasingly upon mechanization. The Industrial Revolution spurred additional demands for cheap raw materials and increased demand for unskilled workers.

How Have Anthropologists Viewed the Origins of Human Political History? Tribes

The next step up in Service's typology is the tribe. Tribes are principally defined by relatively small populations of a few hundred people up to a few thousand at most. They are larger than a band, but still pretty small. Subsistence is based on simple forms of pastoralism and horticulture. With more mouths to feed, you need a more productive subsistence system. In some cases (where you have a particularly productive environment) tribes may still rely on foraging. Social organization is based on villages and kinship groups (including clans and lineages). At this point we have more people than just a kinship group can encompass. Thus people start to identify with their village or place of residence. Power structures are still relatively egalitarian and consensus-based. Some leaders may emerge, but power is limited and based on achieved status (i.e., that person's personal achievements). "Tribes" can be a problematic term in Anthropology due to its other meanings in more popular discourse. For example, news reporters often use the term in a pejorative sense, attempting to convey a sense of primitive or uncivilized people. When violence breaks out in remote parts of the world, reporters immediately jump on ideas of "tribal" factions or ancient tribal hatreds. This usage of the term "tribe" is very much at odds with the term's use in Anthropology. Anthropologists are solely referring to the structure of political organization within the group. They are not making value-laden statements about the worth of the culture or its politics. If you make use of the term "tribe" in this class, make sure you are very careful about using it correctly.

An Introduction to the Global Economy

Today's Global Economy is a complex network that involves hundreds of thousands of exchanges every day. Money changes hands rapidly and moves around the globe even faster than people do. Check out the website wheresgeorge.com It's a voluntary website where people can enter the serial number on any currency bill they have. Then the next time someone enters that bill on the website it calculates how far the bill has moved since its last check-in. Through this tracking you can see how quickly physical money changes hands and how far it can travel. In one instance, a single one-dollar bill traveled over 4,000 miles in just three years. Have you ever thought about who else has held the money in your pocket? The modern capitalist global economy affects all of our lives, and through these interactions we are connected with virtually everyone else on the planet.

Why Are Class and Inequality Largely Invisible in U.S. Culture? The Consumer Culture

We have talked previously about consumer culture in the United States. Consumer culture is created by the strong cultural influences that we face that encourage us to buy goods and to continue to buy goods even past when our basic needs are met. Consumer culture, particularly readily available credit, has gone a long way to encourage the invisibility of class inequality. We find ourselves in a culture that encourages conspicuous consumption. For example, you may buy a nice set of clothes for a job interview yet sleep on the floor at home as you cannot afford a bed. We buy things to create the appearance of class even if we do not actually earn as much money as we would like. The rise of credit cards greatly enabled this attitude. Approximately half of all U.S. households carry significant credit card debt, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars. People have been spending well beyond their means in order to elevate their apparent class standing for decades. As credit card bills have risen, banks have taken new tactics, offering second mortgages and other risky loans. The banks always promise quick rewards to allow people to keep spending. As long as we all appear on the surface to belong to the middle class (or upper class), then we worry less about what our actual bottom line is.

What Is the Relationship among Politics, the State, Violence, and War? Are Humans Naturally Violent or Peaceful?

With such widespread violence around the world, it is tempting to suggest that there must be something in human nature that predisposes us to violence. Arguments around this question tend to fall into three generalizations: Humans are indeed naturally violent; it must be some form of instinct acquired on our evolutionary trajectory. Humans are not violent, but that violence arises through cultural practices that overwhelm our natural instincts. The roots of violent behavior lie somewhere between nature and culture, that is, both nature and culture influence our behaviors.

Is Religion Both a System of Meaning and a System of Power?

we cannot talk about religion without talking about power. Power is negotiated throughout all cultural systems, and perhaps even more within religious systems. Religion is also a system that provides explicit meaning to many people in their daily lives. We have to balance our understanding of religion between its meaning and its use as a system of power.