that emanates from a "status structure," which can take various forms -- ethnic structure, class structure and so on: for example, "A status segregation grown into a caste differs in its structure from a mere ethnic segregation: the caste structure transforms the horizontal and unconnected coexistences of ethnically segregated groups into a ver-tical social system of super- and subordination" (Weber "The Distribution of Power within the Political Community:Class, Status, Party" 934). Thus, cultural power is essentially based on organization and segregation. The means by which the culturally powerful obtain and maintain their power is the organization principle itself. Weber explains it thus: "Domination in… Continue Reading...
class structure. And, of course, inevitably, the politicians and their friends were the ones with the best seats—and were therefore the ones seen by all the rest of the citizenry and believed to hold all the sway and power. This design reinforced the concept that the politicians were the real movers and shakers in Rome, the real people of influence and power. Roger Dunkle notes that “not surprisingly, senators, the most prestigious class of citizens at Rome, were first to be singled out for priority seating at spectacles…[they] had the… Continue Reading...
class structure in America. America has long attempted to distinguish itself from its class-focused land of origin—England. Americans are happy to distinguish themselves via their regions of the nation that they are from, via their ethnic differences or even via their race. There’s more of a reluctance to distinguish oneself via their economic class. However, as Manstios is able to illustrate quite clearly, these hesitations do not mean that we exist in a classless society. Actually, just the opposite: “Approximately 144,000 Americans or 0.1 percent of the adult working population,… Continue Reading...
