Hickel, Jason and Haynes, Naomi. 2016. Hierarchy, Value, and the Value of Hierarchy. Social Analysis, 60(4), pp. 1-20. ISSN 0155-977X [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Many of the communities in which anthropologists work are hierarchically organized, and the people who live in them often describe this arrangement in positive terms. Nevertheless, anthropologists rarely paint hierarchy in a favorable light. This special issue aims to question this tendency with ethnographic insights into social contexts where hierarchy is regarded as a desirable social good. By way of an introduction to the research articles, we explore those aspects of Western thought that make it difficult for anthropologists to take hierarchy seriously. In addition, we develop an interpretive approach that treats hierarchy both as a relational form and as a theoretical model—that is, as a framework for understanding value—drawing in part on our own ethnographic research in southern Africa.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.3167/sa.2016.600401
Keywords:	hierarchy; individualism; liberalism; Louis Dumont; social organization; southern Africa; value
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Anthropology
Dates:	Date Event 1 December 2016 Published
Item ID:	22007
Date Deposited:	14 Nov 2017 16:16
Last Modified:	22 Jan 2021 16:15
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/22007

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