Social Organization and Authority Quiz

Social Organization

• Bands consist of 20-50 individuals, usually related by kinship. Decisions are made collectively, with the eldest member facilitating. They are egalitarian, meaning everyone has equal access to resources and values.
• Tribes are composed of multiple bands, politically integrated. They share a common language, religious beliefs, and other cultural aspects.
• Chiefdoms emerge when socio-political and economic spheres overlap. Individuals settle in specific areas, pursue a homogenous livelihood (farming, fishing), and organize into a chiefdom.
• States and nations are large geographical entities with their own governments. A state is a politically organized body of people in a defined territory, often sovereign. A nation-state is a political organization where people with shared history, traditions, or language live under one government.

Authority and Legitimacy

• Legal Authority is achieved by following established codes and procedures for distributing power and resources. Leaders are elected or appointed according to existing laws.
• Traditional Authority is based on inheritance of the leadership role. Individuals accept a leader's power due to long-standing societal norms, exemplified by monarchies and their allies in patrimonial and feudal regimes.
• Charismatic Authority stems from a leader's inspiring mission and vision. It is based on perceived extraordinary qualities of the individual, often found in religious organizations.
  • Institutional Charisma combines charismatic and legal authority.
  • Familial Charisma combines traditional and charismatic authority.
• Rational Authority is empowered by formalistic belief in the content of the law. It follows a uniform principle, seen in bureaucratic systems.

Power

• Power is a fundamental sociological concept impacting all levels of society. It refers to the ability to influence outcomes, even when opposed by others. It serves various purposes, including political and cultural.
• Economic Power determines how resources are allocated and used within a group. This can be seen in families, businesses, and society as a whole.

Political Power

• Political Power involves setting conditions for others to live by. Parents set house rules, managers set workplace rules, and governments pass laws and regulations. This emphasizes the power dynamic between those who set the rules and those who follow them.

Cultural Power

• Cultural Power involves shaping understanding and perception of society through media and upbringing. Parents select books, magazines, and games for their children, shaping their values and beliefs. Media, by selecting stories and news, influences public opinion and prioritizes certain issues over others.

Prestige

• Prestige entails special advantages and benefits not enjoyed by everyone. It can stem from social norms, laws, and practices that favor certain groups, like heterosexual individuals in society who enjoy access to marriage, family creation, and freedom of expression.

Wealth

• Wealth varies across societies, but is generally associated with property ownership. Different societies may value wealth in terms of possessions, children, or other factors.
  • Consumption Property serves personal use (clothes, cars, homes).
  • Productive Property generates income (factories, farms, stocks, shares).
• Wealth disparity contributes to social stratification, involving unequal distribution of rights, privileges, duties, responsibilities, and social power.

Political Stratification

• Political Stratification refers to unequal distribution of political rewards and access to political offices.
• All societies exhibit stratification, with even the most primitive societies displaying some form of social hierarchy.
• The Philippines, before Spanish colonization, had a class system within barangays. The Maharlika class consisted of the Datu's family and high-ranking officials. The Timawa class comprised traders, artisans, and Datu's soldiers. The Aliping Namamahay and Saguiguilid classes represented different types of servants.

Perspectives on Stratification

• Functionalist perspective argues that systems exist for a reason, contributing to societal stability.
• Conflict theorists believe stratification promotes inequality, highlighting discrepancies like those between wealthy business owners and poor workers.
• Symbolic Interactionist perspective examines stratification from a micro-level perspective, focusing on individual interactions and interpretations.