SOCIOLOGY - WORK AND ECONOMIC LIFE
Marx - Alienation
Durkheim - DOL
The social significance of work:
Money or wage.
Activity level - provides a basis of the acquisition and exercise of skills and capacities.
Variety - provides access to contexts that contrast with domestic surroundings.
Temporal structure - For people in regular employment, the day is usually organized around the
rhythm of work. While this may sometimes be oppressive, it provides a sense of direction in daily
activities.
Social contacts - The work environment often provides friendships and opportunities to participate
in shared activities with others.
Personal identity - Work is usually valued for the sense of stable social identity it offers, especially
important for men.
Slave Society:
According to Marx & Engels, slave society was the earliest form of class society. It is an extreme form of
inequality in which some individuals are owned by others as their property. The slave owner has full control
including using violence over the slave. T Hobhouse defined slave as a man whom law and custom regard
,as the property of another. In extreme cases he is wholly without rights.
According to HJ Nieboer the basis of slavery is always economic because with it emerged a kind of
aristocracy which lived upon slave labour.
In the slave-owning society, primitive tools were perfected and bronze and iron tools replaced the stone
and wooden implements. Large-scale agriculture, livestock raising, mining and handicrafts developed.
The article ‘Slavey” in the “Encyclopedia of Social Science” (1968) makes a distinction between
primitive, ancient, medieval and modern slavery.
Two main types of slavery - ancient slavery and new world slavery. Ancient slavery was
prevalent in ancient Rome and Greece. Here slaves were usually foreign prisoners of war. In new
world slavery, the basis of development of slavery were colonial expansion and racist ideology.
The slave was designated as the master's property and had no political and social rights.
It is said that the decline of slavery was primarily brought about by the inefficiency of slave labour.
In India, both male and female servants and slaves performed specialized functions in domestic and non-
domestic services of the privileged class. They were also used as an object of display. Payments to the
servants were very low. Slaves were very cheap, even cheaper than animals. A woman slave for domestic
work cost from 5 to 12 Tanka; a concubine, 20 to 40; untrained slave boys, 7 or 8 Tanka; and trained slaves,
10 to 15 Tanka during Alauddin Khiliji’s reign
Manu mentions seven kinds of slaves - a captive of war, a slave of maintenance, a son of a female slave,
one purchased for money, a slave obtained as a present, a hereditary one, and one condemned to slavery for
any offence.
Slavery was abolished in 1833 by Britain and 1865 by USA. Between the 17th and 19th centuries an
estimated 24 million Africans were enslaved. 11 million of them survived the journey to the Americas.
Feudal Society:
The term feudalism is derived from the institution of ‘fief’, which was a piece of landed property.
During the medieval period of European history, this form of property was given to a vassal by a lord in
return for military service.
The defining feature of the estate / feudal system, was that the position held in the society, depended entirely
in terms of ownership of land.
The evolution of the feudal system brought about the development of exchange of agricultural and
manufactured products in regional markets. People started using inanimate sources of energy, viz., water
,and wind, besides human labor. The crafts advanced further, new implements and machines were invented
and old ones were improved. The labor of crafts persons was specialized, raising productivity considerably.
Nevertheless, these relations were more progressive than in slavery system, because they made the laborer
interested, to some extent, in their labor. The peasants and the artisans could own the implements or small
parts of land. Power was handed down through family lines, with peasant families serving lords for
generations and generations.
In India, a feudal type of society started emerging during the Gupta period (AD 1300-600) which gradually
got stabilized. Land grants were made by the Gupta emperors, their feudatories and private individuals
which created a class of powerful intermediaries between the king and the masses. Further, land grant
became more common during the post-Gupta period.
Over the years, the term feudalism has also come to acquire a generic meaning and is frequently used to
describe the pre-modern agrarian societies in other parts of the world as well. The distinctive feature of the
agrarian class structure in feudalism is the relationship of "dependency" and "patronage" that exists between
the cultivators and the "overlords". The cultivating peasants have to show a sense of "loyalty" and obligation
towards their overlords. His sense of loyalty is expressed not only by paying a share of the produce of land
to the landlord but very often the peasants are also obliged to work for the overlord and perform certain
duties without expecting any wages in return. Example: In Tehri Garhwal district of Uttaranchal, a labourer,
usually belonging to the untouchable castes of Doms and Koltas borrows a small sum of money from a
landowner in order to get married and subsequently becomes bonded to his landowner-moneylender.
Pre industrial society - Productive skills are simple, productivity is low. Little or no surplus. Reciprocal
and redistributive type of exchange. Private ownership of MOP is absent. Members lack a high degree of
achievement motivation. Innovation is rare and change is slow.
Durkheim - less social differentiation, division of labour relatively unspecialized, mechanical solidarity
based on similarities, lack of individuality and conscience collective at maximum.
HERBERT SPENCER has defined simple society as one which forms a simple working whole and
of which the parts cooperate for certain public ends. Simple societies have low division of labour.
The occupational differentiation being limited primarily to birth, sex and age. These societies have
no specialized economic organization.
the productive skills are simple and productivity is low therefore these societies cannot sustain large
population size-small population. Most of the adult members are engaged in food gathering activities.
, There is little or no surplus so the social inequalities are not significant and economic interaction takes
place within egalitarian frame-work.
The production system is simple exchange of goods and services assume a complex form the
forms of exchange are reciprocal and redistributive type.
The members lack high degree of achievement motivation as there is neither any intense preoccupation
on generation and accumulation o/ economic surplus.
In fact, most economic activities emphasize on giving rather than storing or accumulation. private
ownership of means of production is non-existent, there is no clear separation between domestic
economy and community economy as they overlap to varying degrees.
The economic system is dominated by sacred consisting of magic.
religious ideas the innovation is rare and change is slow. The customary practices and norms regulate
production and exchange of goods and services.
Some forms of Simple Economic Exchange:
Barter System- It is direct form whether in return services or goods
Silent trade- It was an exchange system where the exchanging parties do not know each other personally
Jajmani system- It is system of economic and social relationship existing between various castes in
villages, the patron is known as jajmin and the service castes are known as Kamin. It is still prevalent in
villages. While the landowning high caste families receive services from lower castes and in return
members of the low castes receive grains
Ceremonial exchange- It is a type of social system in which goods are given to relatives and friends on
various social occasions. The main idea is to establish cordial relations between the various social groups.
Potlatch-This term means Gift. It is meant as a public made to establish certain claims of the giver and
the recipients. It is based on the principle of reciprocity Through this system the host declares his status to
others
Multicentric economy -It is an economy using several media of exchange,
Kula -According to Malinowski it is a ceremonial exchange participated by the Inhabitants or a closed
circle or Trobriand Island. It has no practical or commercial value. The system of exchange is regulated in
a kind of ring with two directional movements. In clockwise direction, the red shell necklaces called
Soulava circulate and in anticlockwise circulation the white arm shells known as Mwali circulate among
the members Of the Kula. Objects given and taken in Kula are never subjected any bargaining,
Marx - Alienation
Durkheim - DOL
The social significance of work:
Money or wage.
Activity level - provides a basis of the acquisition and exercise of skills and capacities.
Variety - provides access to contexts that contrast with domestic surroundings.
Temporal structure - For people in regular employment, the day is usually organized around the
rhythm of work. While this may sometimes be oppressive, it provides a sense of direction in daily
activities.
Social contacts - The work environment often provides friendships and opportunities to participate
in shared activities with others.
Personal identity - Work is usually valued for the sense of stable social identity it offers, especially
important for men.
Slave Society:
According to Marx & Engels, slave society was the earliest form of class society. It is an extreme form of
inequality in which some individuals are owned by others as their property. The slave owner has full control
including using violence over the slave. T Hobhouse defined slave as a man whom law and custom regard
,as the property of another. In extreme cases he is wholly without rights.
According to HJ Nieboer the basis of slavery is always economic because with it emerged a kind of
aristocracy which lived upon slave labour.
In the slave-owning society, primitive tools were perfected and bronze and iron tools replaced the stone
and wooden implements. Large-scale agriculture, livestock raising, mining and handicrafts developed.
The article ‘Slavey” in the “Encyclopedia of Social Science” (1968) makes a distinction between
primitive, ancient, medieval and modern slavery.
Two main types of slavery - ancient slavery and new world slavery. Ancient slavery was
prevalent in ancient Rome and Greece. Here slaves were usually foreign prisoners of war. In new
world slavery, the basis of development of slavery were colonial expansion and racist ideology.
The slave was designated as the master's property and had no political and social rights.
It is said that the decline of slavery was primarily brought about by the inefficiency of slave labour.
In India, both male and female servants and slaves performed specialized functions in domestic and non-
domestic services of the privileged class. They were also used as an object of display. Payments to the
servants were very low. Slaves were very cheap, even cheaper than animals. A woman slave for domestic
work cost from 5 to 12 Tanka; a concubine, 20 to 40; untrained slave boys, 7 or 8 Tanka; and trained slaves,
10 to 15 Tanka during Alauddin Khiliji’s reign
Manu mentions seven kinds of slaves - a captive of war, a slave of maintenance, a son of a female slave,
one purchased for money, a slave obtained as a present, a hereditary one, and one condemned to slavery for
any offence.
Slavery was abolished in 1833 by Britain and 1865 by USA. Between the 17th and 19th centuries an
estimated 24 million Africans were enslaved. 11 million of them survived the journey to the Americas.
Feudal Society:
The term feudalism is derived from the institution of ‘fief’, which was a piece of landed property.
During the medieval period of European history, this form of property was given to a vassal by a lord in
return for military service.
The defining feature of the estate / feudal system, was that the position held in the society, depended entirely
in terms of ownership of land.
The evolution of the feudal system brought about the development of exchange of agricultural and
manufactured products in regional markets. People started using inanimate sources of energy, viz., water
,and wind, besides human labor. The crafts advanced further, new implements and machines were invented
and old ones were improved. The labor of crafts persons was specialized, raising productivity considerably.
Nevertheless, these relations were more progressive than in slavery system, because they made the laborer
interested, to some extent, in their labor. The peasants and the artisans could own the implements or small
parts of land. Power was handed down through family lines, with peasant families serving lords for
generations and generations.
In India, a feudal type of society started emerging during the Gupta period (AD 1300-600) which gradually
got stabilized. Land grants were made by the Gupta emperors, their feudatories and private individuals
which created a class of powerful intermediaries between the king and the masses. Further, land grant
became more common during the post-Gupta period.
Over the years, the term feudalism has also come to acquire a generic meaning and is frequently used to
describe the pre-modern agrarian societies in other parts of the world as well. The distinctive feature of the
agrarian class structure in feudalism is the relationship of "dependency" and "patronage" that exists between
the cultivators and the "overlords". The cultivating peasants have to show a sense of "loyalty" and obligation
towards their overlords. His sense of loyalty is expressed not only by paying a share of the produce of land
to the landlord but very often the peasants are also obliged to work for the overlord and perform certain
duties without expecting any wages in return. Example: In Tehri Garhwal district of Uttaranchal, a labourer,
usually belonging to the untouchable castes of Doms and Koltas borrows a small sum of money from a
landowner in order to get married and subsequently becomes bonded to his landowner-moneylender.
Pre industrial society - Productive skills are simple, productivity is low. Little or no surplus. Reciprocal
and redistributive type of exchange. Private ownership of MOP is absent. Members lack a high degree of
achievement motivation. Innovation is rare and change is slow.
Durkheim - less social differentiation, division of labour relatively unspecialized, mechanical solidarity
based on similarities, lack of individuality and conscience collective at maximum.
HERBERT SPENCER has defined simple society as one which forms a simple working whole and
of which the parts cooperate for certain public ends. Simple societies have low division of labour.
The occupational differentiation being limited primarily to birth, sex and age. These societies have
no specialized economic organization.
the productive skills are simple and productivity is low therefore these societies cannot sustain large
population size-small population. Most of the adult members are engaged in food gathering activities.
, There is little or no surplus so the social inequalities are not significant and economic interaction takes
place within egalitarian frame-work.
The production system is simple exchange of goods and services assume a complex form the
forms of exchange are reciprocal and redistributive type.
The members lack high degree of achievement motivation as there is neither any intense preoccupation
on generation and accumulation o/ economic surplus.
In fact, most economic activities emphasize on giving rather than storing or accumulation. private
ownership of means of production is non-existent, there is no clear separation between domestic
economy and community economy as they overlap to varying degrees.
The economic system is dominated by sacred consisting of magic.
religious ideas the innovation is rare and change is slow. The customary practices and norms regulate
production and exchange of goods and services.
Some forms of Simple Economic Exchange:
Barter System- It is direct form whether in return services or goods
Silent trade- It was an exchange system where the exchanging parties do not know each other personally
Jajmani system- It is system of economic and social relationship existing between various castes in
villages, the patron is known as jajmin and the service castes are known as Kamin. It is still prevalent in
villages. While the landowning high caste families receive services from lower castes and in return
members of the low castes receive grains
Ceremonial exchange- It is a type of social system in which goods are given to relatives and friends on
various social occasions. The main idea is to establish cordial relations between the various social groups.
Potlatch-This term means Gift. It is meant as a public made to establish certain claims of the giver and
the recipients. It is based on the principle of reciprocity Through this system the host declares his status to
others
Multicentric economy -It is an economy using several media of exchange,
Kula -According to Malinowski it is a ceremonial exchange participated by the Inhabitants or a closed
circle or Trobriand Island. It has no practical or commercial value. The system of exchange is regulated in
a kind of ring with two directional movements. In clockwise direction, the red shell necklaces called
Soulava circulate and in anticlockwise circulation the white arm shells known as Mwali circulate among
the members Of the Kula. Objects given and taken in Kula are never subjected any bargaining,
