Fariha Peuly
HIS 1500
Mon/Wed
10:00-11:15
Civilization and Social Inequality
Social inequality has existed in the world for over hundred years and has existed in
nearly all societies. This inequality is mostly attributable to agricultural development and
urbanization. Social civilization through interactions in trade, migrations, diffusion of
technologies and conflicts led to the increase in social inequality. For most of history, people
depended on fishing, hunting and gathering plants as their main source of food. However, this
soon changed and one of the greatest human revolutions happened when agriculture was
discovered.
Agriculture was the beginning of population explosion because it later led to further
innovations thereby giving room for civilization. This led to the changes in human style
because villages developed into cities. As the society grew in terms of civilization,
occupational specialization led to the development of social stratification based on classes of
religious specialists and government officials. These were the first class individuals while the
lower class were those who took other roles like technical support. Inequality started when
the society realized that materials could have value and therefore the pattern of inequality we
see today was developed and continues to grow. However, societies have developed
approaches of dealing with power conflicts and violence.
Historically, China, India, and The Middle East were some of the first regions which
experienced high civilization with massive empires. Most of this classic civilization was
characterized by relationships with nomadic groups, especially the ones from central Asia.
Distinctive cultures and institutional patterns were established at the time. Meanwhile,
religions were a powerful social force which shaped the life of humanity. Between 100 and
600 CE, religions had started spreading across multiple geographical regions and therefore
most of the political and social contacts which emerged at the time gave much importance
and significance to religion (The Rise of Universal Religions, 300–600 CE, n.d.).
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Universal religion rose to the Mongol empire in 1205. The Mongols created the
world’s first passport with importance of each traveler’s engraved on the passport. These
Mongols then carried new interventions across different cultures and eventually led to spread
of an agricultural plow which helped in revolutionizing agriculture in China. Because of
these interventions, China became the first country to use gunpowder weapons. The Mongols
also used the Chinese engineers to come up a full pack of rocks thereby introducing the
cannon to the world. Universal religion also gave room to Christendom which started when
the Roman Empire ceased functioning as the central power in Europe. In addition, it also
gave rise to caliphate which is one of the first Islamic institutions to be established. This
institution lasted for centuries till 1924 when it was abolished (The Rise of Universal
Religions, 300–600 CE, n.d.).
Inequality has led to a condition where violence and struggle for power is a day to day
activity. Therefore, we have lawyers, judges and police in place to protect us from each other.
Competition created by social stratification is one of the key contributors to conflicts and
struggles over limited resources. Therefore, all human societies have conflicts but have
developed systems aimed at regulating them. These conflicts arise due to struggles over
power, resources and status. Individuals compete for wealth and social standing while nations
are busy competing over prestige, power to make rules and territories. Sometimes these
conflicts are not influenced by competition of resources but an attempt to suppress, punish or
declare some other party’s behaviour illegal.
Overtime, societies have developed many approaches of airing and addressing
conflicts. These approaches include polls, demonstrations, strikes and plays. Mass media has
provided an opportunity for people who have been treated unfairly or the people considered
as minorities, to publically air their grievances. Even though some of these powers and
violence resolution approaches can compromise and make the differences harder to resolve, if
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not addressed, these issues can lead to a stressful social system. If not resolved, these issues
can lead to violence, lawsuits, revolutions or full scale war. Every social structure including
families, schools and businesses have highly recognized authorities and these authorities are
responsible for coming up with violence resolution procedures.
In every state, governments have come up with conflict resolution bodies which are
based on laws made. For nations which are democratic, their social conflicts are resolved
through elections where citizens get to decide on whether to make or modify certain set rules.
Because of civilization, and power which has been bestowed on certain individuals, they feel
the need to do as they please, carry weapons around and organize demonstrations when they
please. However, some of these actions may have conflicting interests with the public
especially in relation to security.
Other socially and politically powerful people may feel the need to dictate on others.
However, this might lead to conflicts or violence due to the societal need to participate in
making decisions through voting. Some nations have passed some laws which cannot be
amended even by majority of citizen. An example is the US where some constitutions both
federal and state cannot be changed unless it’s voted in by a large number which at times is
required to be as high as three quarters of the total number of voters. Therefore, the opinions
of minorities are protected through such systems (Chapter 7: Human Society).
Social conflicts like the World War II, led to conflict resolving strategies becoming a
huge focus. This is because the potential of conflicts was identified and therefore, resolutions
approaches for both intra and inter conflicts deemed necessary. Cases have emerged where
war which in the past was within two groups in a nation, overtime become a multi-faceted
conflict involving more nations due to globalization and social integration. Therefore,
international organizations have been utilized to resolve these conflicts. However, despite the
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role played by international organizations in regulating relations between nations, there is still
a lot of work which needs to be done in regards to violence between nations.
In attempts to suppress violence, Governments always attempt to address issues raised
especially by certain groups. If these people are frustrated, this can increase protest and can
lead to a fully blown violence which might give rise to some form of terrorism through a full
armed conflict. Therefore, legitimate aspirations have been encouraged so that political
differences can be looked at separately and unemotionally therefore avoiding any conflicts
which could lead to the rise of terroristic behaviour. Terrorist behaviour has become one of
the most dehumanizing, unnatural and politically dangerous approaches which some groups
are using so as to establish themselves as separate entities. These conflicts are often resolved
by International organizations which come forward to address the issue of terrorism by citing
how the approach cannot lead to realization of solutions (Bromberg, n.d.).
Power shapes conflict and therefore, conflicts depend on the type of society because
the society affects capabilities, peoples’ will and interests. In most communities, social
control systems put in place especially by the government have extended their control too
much therefore leading to more social conflicts. Conflicts rose among involved parties
because of government interference on issues like prices for products and regulations of
intake of some product which have strict government regulations. Because of the established
systems, everyone now has a view on power and leadership especially in democratic nations
like The United Sates. Supporters of one party have a negative opinion on the other and this
has led to a huge political divide as people are not able to respect other people’s opinion.
Democracy has led to low trust among institutions as the balance of power, integrity of voters
and role of journalism is questioned. The media has also led to so much divide especially
because of the much freedom today which enables the media to address some serious
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economic, social and political issues. Highlighting these issues publically leads to division
especially because of the differences in opinions on matters raise (Rummel).
As civilization leads to growth in inequality, human societies have attempted to come
up with approaches to control power by ensuring that individuals considered to be from
different classes have equal rights and the society lives in harmony. However, the approaches
in ensuring that the society is smooth and in harmony, have led to a social divide especially
because of the political systems put in place. Democracy has been a key contributor to
division because people are not sensitive and accommodating of other people’s opinions.
Media has also been a huge contributor to the division through airing political
demonstrations, and strongly opinionated debates.
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References
Bromberg, E. (n.d.). An Introduction to Cybernetic Ethics. Retrieved from The Evolution of
Ethics: http://www.evolutionaryethics.com/
Chapter 7: Human Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from Science For All Americans:
http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap7.htm#2
Rummel, R. (n.d.). Understanding Conflict And War: VOL. 2:.
The Rise of Universal Religions, 300–600 CE. (n.d.). Retrieved from W.W Norton&
Company: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/worlds-together-worldsapart3/ch/08/summary.aspx
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