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?