The relationship between economic and political development in nonindustrialized societies

Ethnology • Vol/Iss. 2 • Published In • Pages: 228-248 •
By Ember, Melvin

Hypothesis

"[There is a] relationship between relative importance of agriculture and level of political integration" (243

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
PhiSupportedp<.05.49One-tailed

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Level Of Political IntegrationAssociationSociocultural Trends
Relative Importance Of AgricultureAssociationAgriculture

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Ember, Melvin"[There is a] relationship between relative importance of agriculture and differentiation of political authority" (240)
Winkelman, Michael James"Societies with a single practitioner type were generally hunting and gathering societies; while those with two practitioner types always had agriculture as a major mode of subsistence. The societies with three practitioner types present had agricultural or pastoral economies and, with one exception, political integration beyond the local level. Those societies with four practitioner types present had agriculture and political integration beyond the local level and, with one exception, the p...
Aberle, David F."[If political integration is dichotomized into systems with authoritative regulation above the community level and systems at or below the community level] it is possible to see a regular progression among the systems with any agricultural base. As we go from 'plough' agriculture to 'African horticulture,' and thence to 'dominant horticulture' and 'other horticulture,' the percentage of cases at or below the community level rises regularly . . ." (681)
Koch, Klaus-FriedrichA community's mode of production will determine its level of political integration (448).
Winkelman, Michael James"All of the Shamans were in nomadic or seminomadic societies, which generally has hunting and gathering economies" (36)..."However, all of the Shaman/Healers were found in societies with agriculture, and almost all of the Healers were found in societies with political integration beyond the local level" (36)