Chapter 5

Society and Inequality in Eurasia/North Africa

Society and the State in China

• Was more shaped by state actions than other societies
• Power came with being a state official
• Elite of Officials
• Extremely hard written examinations to select officials
• Wealthy favored (educated sons)
• Commoners could rise via education
• Landlord Class
• Small scale peasant farmers replaced by large landowners and tenant farmers
• State tried to oppose creation of large estates (not much success) 
• Peasants
• Most population in Chinese history have been peasants
• Periodic peasant rebellions
• Often expressed in religious terms
• Merchants 
• Elite disliked merchants
• Stereotyped as greedy and profiting from work of others
• Merchants often prospered anyways
• Won way to being respected by purchasing estates and educating sons

Class and Caste in India

• Caste as Varna
• Grew from interactions of culturally diverse people and development of social and economic differences between them
• Varna Theory
• Four groups formed and untouchables 
• Caste as Jati
• Social distinction based on occupations
• Blended with varna
• Clearly defined social position
• Marriage and eating could only be done with people in your Jati
• Couldn't raise social status but whole Jatis could improve social standing
• Caste functions
• Provided social security
• Made it easier for wealthy and powerful to exploit poor

Slavery and Roman Empire

• Why slavery emerged in civilizations 
• Domestication of animals provided model for human slavery
• War, patriarchy
• Patriarchal "ownership" of women
• Slavery in civilization
• Slavery=social death
• Almost all civilization had some form of slavery that varied over time
• Less common in China (convicts)
• Roman Slavery
• SLave society
• 1/3 population 
• Modest means often owned 2-3 slaves
• How people became slaves
• War prisoners
• Piracy
• Long distance trade
• Natural reproduction
• Abandoned/exposed 
• Resistance and rebellion
• Mass suicide of war prisoners
• Flights
• Occasional murder of owners
• Comparing Patriarchies
• Patriarchy generally less restrictive in the early years 
• Women active agents in histories

My reflection for this chapter could go on and on, I simply could not believe what I was reading and the fact that such horrible inequalities were happening and people really did nothing to deserve the treatment they received.  As a latina woman with hearing loss, I have faced many inequalities myself, from struggling with people refusing to be accommodating, to people believing that I would never be successful because of my background.  I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to prove those people wrong and to make my own way, and I genuinely feel for the people in this time period who had little to no chance of ever being treated like an equal.