Ecological-EvolutionaryTheory
Who gets what and why?
Part I
Overview
An aside…
“Theory” and “stratification theory”
What should a theory of stratification do?
Explanation vs. prediction Emphasis on the question:
“Who gets what and why?”
Key features
Focus on the distributive system Causal taxonomy based on independent
variables Emphasis on technology as a necessary (not
sufficient) condition Attention to both constants and variables
Ecological-evolutionary development
The main independent variable: Technology
What are the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on technology?
As a theoretical construct, what does technology explain and/or predict?
Might there be a more powerful predictor of first-order societal differences?
The “constants”: What are they? Social nature Self-interested nature Unequal ability Reliance on habit and
custom (which can vary)
Scarcity of rewards Human societies are
imperfect systems Which, if any, of these
are problematic?
The “constants” (II): What role do they play?
How would the theory fare without the constants?
Do our methods privilege variables over constants?
Are constants more relevant for explanation than prediction?
The forces
Continuity Innovation Selection
Part II
Macro Level:
Historical Trends
Accurate “predictions”
Growth in average size of societies
Reduction in number of societies Similarity of surviving societies Increasing population Increasing division of labor (w/in
and between countries) Etc.
From technology to inequality
How does technology lead to inequality? How does innovation fuel further innovation? What do these processes imply about the
importance of initial resource endowments?
Societal types
How might we explain “AG reversals” in slavery, despotism, polygyny, etc.?
Why does inequality decline in industrial societies? Why might inequality increase in post-industrial
society?
Part III
“Meso” Level:
Power and Class
Laws of distribution (i.e. stratification)
Sharing occurs to the extent that it benefits those who control the surplus
Power determines the distribution of nearly all the remaining surplus
Simple societies distribute based on need
Societies with a surplus distribute based on power
Power
What is it? What are the sources of power? If power is a predictive concept,
how can we measure it? What is the relationship between
coercion and consensus? How does power “flow both
ways”?
The concept of class
What is Lenski’s definition of class? Is this more or less useful/realistic
than other definitions? How would one operationalize
economic class in this theory?
Conflict and consensus
What is the basis of class conflict?
What is the basis of class consensus?
Class systems What are class systems and how do they differ from
classes? What are historical examples of conflict between class
systems? What role does status inconsistency play in these conflicts? How could one empirically determine the relative weight of a
class system?
Part IV
Conclusion:
Situating the Theory
The theoretical ecology Into what niche does this theory fit? What kind of theory is
this? To which theories is Lenski responding? Who are his main competitors?
Ecological-evolutionary theoryand functionalism
Will someone please pretend to be a functionalist for this discussion?
Briefly, what are functionalism’s central tenets for stratification?
What are the similarities? Differences?
Ecological-evolutionary theoryand “conflict theories”
Briefly, what are conflict theory’s central tenets for stratification?
What are the similarities? What are the differences?
A synthesis?
How persuasive is Lenski’s attempt at synthesizing “consensus” and “conflict” perspectives?
The final test
What can we do with ecological-evolutionary theory that we cannot do without it?