9. Hierarchy: Social, Economic, and Political
The concept of hierarchy is as fundamental to human thought as causation. As humans, we create categories in order to more easily associate similar things.
This is most readily understood as a family tree. You begin with one couple, at the top of the tree, and then with each child in each successive generation, the tree branches out (and down the hierarchy, further and further from the original couple). However, one can always trace someone's lineage back up the tree to the beginning (or top of the hierarchy).
Similarly, at work, there may an owner (or boss), he or she may have an assistan
ts or two; in turn, these assistants may have supervisors or managers who work for them and then comes you, as one of the workers. This top to bottom approach to organization is called a hierarchy.The category color is another example. Within the category, we have a rainbow of colors,
ROY G BIV
(Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet),
representing the entire spectrum of possible colors. Within each color category, there are sub categories of variations, sub categories of shades, sub categories of hues, and even cross sub categories of colors, resulting in almost limitless combinations. This is called a hierarchical arrang
ement.In the beginning, there was Philosophy (Love of knowledge). Over the centuries of human existence, knowledge has become increasingly specialized. Knowledge cannot any longer be thought of as a finite amount of information or facts (as Aristotle tried to do in his book The Physics).
One of the most useful hierarchical tools is to consider any situation f
rom the social, political or economic standpoints. This works in your private life and works exceptionally well in school. You can analyze any situation, or anything you might read or consider, from any one or any combination of the social, political or economic perspectives.The Social perspective focuses on morality (what is good or bad about something for society and for the individual). The key questions to ask and answer are what do people think? How will people be affected?
The Economic perspective demands that you focus on value: How do you value something? According to what measure? What is the cost? What is it worth? Concepts of efficiency, return on investment, scarcity (and plentitude), finance and the money economy pay a huge role here.
The Political perspective deals with the power relationships among people. Whether at home, at work, in school or in the world of government, there is always a pecking order - a system of power relationships. Politics is the study of the power human exert over each other. Who is in charge?
Who calls the shots? Who is the boss over whom? are key issues here.You can use these three perspectives to approach any problem or ask. When asked to analyze a situation or something you may have read, it is usually very useful to consider these three points of view.
Copyright: 2004 English 4 All, Inc.
