Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
HUAMANGA
TEORIA Y
ESCUELAS ANTROPOLOGICAS III
_____________________________________________________________
AYACUCHO-PERÚ
2018
PALABRAS CLAVES
Estado (militar, sacerdotal, administrativa),
Cultura
Estructura
Superestructura
Categoría
Hereditario
Jefatura
ABSTRACT
From my point of view there are two great theories to explain the social organization and its
"evolution" in all aspects, be they infrastructural (economy), structural (political) and super
structural (ideology and culture). The first of these two great theories is that of social harmony,
understood in the sense that there is an internal tendency within each society that leads it to
reproduce itself within a scheme of collaboration among its members, correcting, at the same time,
those elements that may tend to imbalance or adapting according to their needs, those novel aspects
for it. The maximum exponents of this social conception are the Functionalist and Structuralist
schools. In the first place, the functionalist school bases its analysis on the theory that the social
order is based on the harmonious functioning of society; Faced with the trend of evolution of that
society, it is argued that
it tends to be functionally balanced, and the social structure works by basic needs. The Structuralist
school argues that the structural cohesion of society is only explained thanks to a collective
conscience, which translates into a solidarity that allows organizing the distribution of work; society
would be structured thanks to its social conscience (mentality) and its solidary order of
organization, integrating itself in the division of labor. The other great theory about social
organization is the theory of conflict, understood as a tendency of society to resolve contradictions
and tensions, both external and internal. Spencer maintains the idea that the conflict unfolds in an
external dynamic, being solved generally by the war, when the society is able to confront, thanks to
a better government, its conflicts with other societies; the adequacy of all resources for the
achievement of victory makes possible the cooperation that allows the fulfillment of the marked
objective and likewise, the repeated victory allows the increase of prestige and power of a minority
leader of the war. Marx and Engels are the supporters of another variant in the theory of conflict;
This is based on the internal dynamics of the same and is proposed as the attempt of diachronic
solution of a synchronic situation, which is the appropriation of the means of production by a
minority of society. These two currents have in common the assumption of the struggle, without
ruling out the use of violence, as a method to achieve social objectives; nevertheless, they maintain
an important difference between themselves, because while the theory of conflict as external
dynamics, it needs the existence of a state or parastatal structure and even relies on it as a means to
achieve its objectives, tending to repress any action that does not contribution in the line of
achievement of the marked objective, the theory defended by historical materialism aims precisely
the opposite, ie: the abolition of the State, which is understood as an element of repression of
society as a whole As can be seen, both Spencer, on the one hand, and Marx and Engels on the
other understand the State as a repressive element, but with the important difference, at the same
time, that for Spencer the State is necessary, and for Marx and Engels is the element to be deleted.
As a concretion of the mentioned currents, we find ourselves with two conceptions of the State
diametrically opposed; thus for structuralists and functionalists, the state structure responds to the
fulfillment of needs arising from the greatest social complexity, perhaps the product of demographic
growth, and all this in a harmonious or solidary framework of society as a whole; An example,
synthetic, of these theories are the postulates of Elman Service in one of the works that have been
used for the elaboration of this work: The origins of the State and civilization, in which it raises the
emergence of the State from of the need to order the productive process and the distribution of the
benefits of the surplus generated, among other things, thanks to the technological improvement,
creating a new class of bureaucrats that feeds on itself and whose only reason for being and
remaining is the maintenance of social equilibrium. An example of this same current of thought,
which from my point of view seems contradictory, is that of Adam Ferguson. This author maintains
that conflict and rivalry can have the positive function of helping the organization of the State,
given that the conflict, danger and hostility of strangers strengthen the internal service to the
community; To this idea we must add that the increase in the division of labor in a society increases
its prosperity, size and complexity. However, we say that it seems contradictory because, although
formally assumes the theory of conflict, its interpretation of the origin of the State is based on the
harmonic theory that should govern its activity. On the other hand, we find the duality of conflict
theory, for whose thinkers the State emerges as an expression of the internal tensions of society. In
our view there is a different view of Spencer's idea, inscribing it in a phase subsequent to that
enunciated by Marx and Engels; for us, within the logic of those who hold power, we can not
consider a dynamic of external conflict if previously a dynamic of internal control has not been
established and strengthened, which means an inversion of the terms of Spencer's formulation. It
draws attention that the structuralist functionalist current, when it alludes to the defending current of
conflict to try to refute it, does not reflect in it the existence of a fundamental element such as the
superstructure, which nevertheless assumes as its own, although giving it a particular interpretation.
According to those who defend the harmonious or solidary idea of society, the superstructure is
nothing more than the voluntary assumption, by society as a whole, of a series of values and mental
schemes that allow its subsistence according to the new needs, playing the State and especially its
"bureaucracy",
an arbitration and moderator role. Therefore, for the defenders of this idea, the State appears as the
collective solution of new needs that arise from new situations (such as surplus production and its
redistribution); Following this scheme, only a few men are able to carry out the necessary measures,
the "Great Men" who at a later stage are surrounded by specialized personnel for each of the tasks
(military, priestly, administrative), giving place thus to the appearance of a bureaucratic caste and
passing to a different status, that of chief; in the next phase, a process of hereditariness takes place
that leads to the institutionalization of the figure of the boss, becoming the headquarters a
permanent situation and not temporary as in the previous phase; from this moment one can begin to
talk about the existence of structures or state forms. It is noteworthy that, for those who hold this
idea, the superstructure does not have a repressive role. It is assumed voluntarily and automatically,
reinforcing aspects of solidarity and harmony in society. We said that the former draws attention
because, for the materialist current, inscribed within the current that defends the conflict as the
origin of the State, it is not only that the existence of the superstructure is affirmed, but also, in the
case of Marxism, is understood as parallel to the consolidation of state forms, since it considers it
the moral justification of a situation unfavorable to the majority of society, which otherwise would
not surely accept. The cultural materialist school also subscribes to this position, granting it a
category of even greater importance, since it understands the superstructure as an element without
which the existence of States is not possible. It will be easily understood that the absence of
references to the superstructure by structural-functionalist thinkers in their references to those who
hold the idea of conflict is so striking.
INTRODUCCION
1.) El objetivo de este trabajo es hacer un somero análisis sobre la necesidad, o no, de la
aparición y existencia del Estado y las diferentes posiciones que, sobre su origen, existen
actualmente. Necesariamente, este trabajo no puede ser investigativo, sino de inferencia
e interpretación a partir de las investigaciones existentes; no obstante, sí pretende
situarse en una posición concreta con respecto al objetivo que nos hemos trazado al
abordarlo. Es preciso hacer una aclaración metodológica y terminológica, referida al
mismo concepto de Estado. Cuando, a la lo largo de este trabajo, mencionemos esta
palabra, lo haremos como una convención para expresar la existencia de estructuras
diversas, que tienen entre sí el nexo común de ser articulaciones para solventar el
problema de la complejidad social, pero que no siempre responden al concepto que de
Estado tenemos en la actualidad. En concreto, nos hemos apoyado en las dos teorías que
nos parecen más generalistas sobre la organización social, como son la teoría del conflicto
y la teoría de la armonía social; a lo largo del trabajo nos iremos posicionando sobre
nuestra actitud ante cada una de ellas, analizando, al tiempo, aquellos aspectos que nos
han parecido más importantes para afirmar o refutar las distintas argumentaciones que
tanto nosotros, como los autores citados en el trabajo, realizamos.
. KOTTAK, C.P (1994): Antropología. Una exploración de la diversidad humana. Ed. McGraw.
Madrid.