Social Hierarchy

Social Hierarchy Definition

Social Hierarchy may be defined as a network of relationships establishing powers and duties of different members of society.

Meanings

For information on:

* rigid social hierarchy under Hinduism, see Caste; Brahman (class) and Hinduism

* survival of the fittest as the principle of social organization, see Social Darwinism

* view of society as a hierarchy of opposing economic classes, see Communist Manifesto

* philosophers’ visions of societies with strict hierarchies determined by ability and education, see Plato, Aristotle and Ethics

* social hierarchy of the European Middle Ages, see Feudalism; Till Eulenspiegel

* ideals of egalitarian societies, see Democracy; Communism

* traditional subclasses of the social hierarchy, see Slavery; Women’s Rights; Discrimination, Racial Discrimination

* Magna Carta and extension of voting rights to ordinary workers in Reform Bills

Main Source: “Social Hierarchy,”Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia

See Also

Court Hierarchy in the legal system
Moral Values
Economic Discrimination
Social Darwinism
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
History of Social Darwinism
Environmental and Social Theories of Crime
The Problem of Social Cost