SOC 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Labour Power, Social Inequality, Social Class

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 202
• Professor: Sean Springer

Document Summary

Lecture: social class, european capitalism emerged under different historical conditions than in non- Living together in small, self-sufficient groups, humans subsisted solely on hunting and gathering. Kinship was the central organizing feature: the many different jobs or tasks performed in the society are referred to as the division of labour. In foraging societies the division of labour was largely egalitarian and based solely on sex and age, not on believed strength or perceived status of job. Women needed to stay close to "camp" due to pregnancy and/or nursing small children so they were the main gatherers of food found close by. As advanced horticultural technologies (like the plough) were developed, there was the ability to have a surplus of food. In order to control the distribution of this surplus, a political structure was developed. The landlord would replace you with another serf family. Merchants would bring goods acquired elsewhere to the market for sale.