POL S 204 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Nationstates, Intentionality, Network Effect
Document Summary
Main thing is humans are political animals: not self-sufficient and require coordination and cooperation with others to survive and use cultural and political institutions to organize and make collective decisions. Originally lived in small bands (30 to each band) with males circulating freely in between (kin and in-laws) and genetic relations were relatively weak in some. Moved to larger clans (made up of social network of bands) and norm violators were punished. Theoretical socially-enforced constructs in economics for determining how a resource or economic good is used and owned. City states were independent cities populated by merchants and dedicated to long distance trade and empires were powerful cities levying tribute (taxes) upon groups that were self-governing and located far away from imperial seat of power. A nation-state plays to a much larger system and is an actor on the international stage. Traders created networks which created the need for guilds.
