Society and Inequality Chapter 5 – Eurasia/North Africa (600 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.)

Society and the State in China The most shaped by “state actions” than any other society. Very powerful centralized bureaucracy: - officials were the social elites. World’s first civil service exam: – imperial academy was established in 124 B.C.E. by Emperor Wu Di. - around 30,000 students by end of the Han Dynasty. - primarily the scholar-gentry class.

The Landlord Class The landlord class consisted of wealthy landowners: - they could evade taxes. - could almost mount their own military forces to challenge imperial authority. - could buy-out smaller landowners. Wang Mang Reforms (1st century B.C.E.): – redistribute land and end slavery. - reforms ended, and Wang Mang assassinated.

Peasants Peasants: - majority of the Chinese population. – high taxes (sometimes ½-2/3 of crops). - used as state labor for public projects. - military conscription. Periodic Rebellions: - Yellow Turban (184 C.E.) – provoked by floods and epidemics. - unified by Daoism. - periodic rebellions devastated economy, weakened the state, and led to the Han Dynasty’s overthrow.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion

Merchant Class Cultural elites disliked merchants: - “profiting from other people’s work.” Efforts to control merchants: - could not hold public office. - state monopolies on profitable industries. - forced to “loan” money to the state. However, merchants still became wealthy. They eventually won respect by purchasing estates and educating their sons.

Class and Caste in India Caste, in Portuguese, means “purity of blood.” - Grew from interactions of diverse people in India. - Aryan “light skinned people” migrated to India and interacted with darker-hued natives. - Development of economic and social differences. Since 500 B.C.E., the idea of 4 castes (Varnas): - Brahmins – priests. - Kshatriyas – warriors and rulers. - Vaisyas – commoners. - Sudras – native people, very subordinate positions.

Caste as Jati Job specialization by caste. Jati – a caste within a caste. Each jati had its specific duties, rules, and obligations. Karma and Reincarnation – being born into a particular caste reflected past good or bad deeds. No individual social mobility in Indian society. How does India’s social hierarchy differ from China?

The Functions of Caste Localization: jati membership made one a part of an immediate and self-governing community. Security and support: the system provided an identity and a mechanism of social support and security for members of a jati. Assimilation of new arrivals: the flexible system allowed for the creation of a new jati groups. Exploitation: it allowed the wealthy and powerful to rationalize the poorly paid labor of the lower social orders.

Slavery: The Case of the Roman Empire Domestication of animals – a model for humans? War, patriarchy, and private property ideas encouraged slavery. Women captured in war were likely the first slaves. Patriarchal “ownership” of women may have encouraged slavery. Slavery varied considerably over place and time.

Slavery and Civilization Ancient Greece and Rome: slave emancipation was commonplace.                                     Aztec Empire: children of slaves were considered to be free people. China – a minor element, 1% of the population. India – people could become slaves as criminals, debtors, or prisoners of war.        

The Making of Roman Slavery The Greco-Roman world society was based on slavery. How you became a slave: - massive enslavement of war prisoners. - piracy.                                    - long-distance trade to the Black Sea and East Africa. - natural reproduction.                                     - abandoned or exposed children. Not associated with a particular ethnic group. No serious social criticism of slavery.

The Making of Roman Slavery Slavery was part of all levels of the Roman economy: manual labor in the fields to white-collar work in the cities to gladiatorial blood sports. Cases of mass suicide of war prisoners to avoid slavery. Others resorted to “weapons of the weak:” - theft, sabotage, poor work, and curses. Many slaves fled their masters. There were occasional murder of owners.

Resistance and Rebellion Rebellion: - most famous was led by Spartacus in 73 B.C.E. - it attracted perhaps 120,000 slaves. - eventual military defeat; crucifixion of 6,000 rebels. Nothing on similar scale occurred in the West until Haiti in the 1790s. Roman slave rebellions did not attempt to end slavery. The participants just wanted freedom for themselves.

The Rebellion of Spartacus

Comparing Patriarchies Every human community has created a gender system. At least since the First Civilizations, the result has been social patriarchy: - men regarded as superior to women. - men had greater legal and property rights. - public life served as male domain. Urbanization and empires restricted women more.

A Changing Patriarchy: The Case of China Confucianism linked to defined gender roles. Thinking about pairs of opposites applied in unequal terms. Yang: masculine, related to Heaven, rulers, strength, and rationality.                                                Yin: feminine, related to Earth, weakness, and emotion. Men’s sphere is public; women’s sphere is domestic. The “three obediences:” a woman is subordinate to father, then husband, then son. Empress Wu – women could own property. Daoism, Buddhism – new female roles.

Contrasting Patriarchies: Athens and Sparta In Athens, growingly excluded from public life. Represented by a guardian in an Athenian court; not even named in court proceedings. Aristotle: position justified in terms of women’s natural “inadequacy” compared to males.

Contrasting Patriarchies: Athens and Sparta Poor Athenian women were restricted to the home.   Within home, lived separately from men. Married in mid-teens to men 10–15 years older. Role in life: domestic management and bearing sons. Land normally passed through male heirs. Women could only negotiate small contracts.

Contrasting Patriarchies: Athens and Sparta Sparta’s militaristic regime very different from Athens: - need to counter permanent threat of helot rebellion. - Spartan male as warrior above all. - situation gave women greater freedom. - central female task was reproduction.

Contrasting Patriarchies: Athens and Sparta Women encouraged to exercise. Not secluded like Athenian women.     Married men around their own age (about 18). Men were often preparing for or waging war, so women had larger role in the household. Sparta, unlike Athens, discouraged homosexuality. Other Greek city-states approved of homosexuality. Greek attitudes toward sexual choice was quite casual.