# Ranked society

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{{Short description|Society that ranks individuals by relation to chief}}
{{No footnotes|date=September 2021}}
A '''ranked society''' in [anthropology](/source/anthropology) is one that [ranks](/source/ranking) individuals in terms of their [genealogical](/source/genealogical) distance from the [chief](/source/Tribal_chief). Another term for a "ranked society" is a [chiefdom](/source/chiefdom). Closer relatives of the chief have higher rank or [social status](/source/social_status) than more distant ones. Societies which follow this kind of structure associate rank with power, where other societies associate wealth with power. When individuals and groups rank about equally, competition for positions of leadership may occur. In some cases rank is assigned to entire villages rather than individuals or families. The idea of a ranked society was criticized by [Max Weber](/source/Max_Weber) and [Karl Marx](/source/Karl_Marx). Ranks in ranked society are the different levels, platforms, or [social class](/source/social_class)es that determine someone’s influence on political aspects, votes, decision making, etc. A person’s ranking also gives them societal power (power within their civilisation).

==See also==
*[Rankism](/source/Rankism)
*[Social class](/source/Social_class)

==References==
* {{cite book |first=Conrad |last=Kottak |title=Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |edition=Fifth |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-07-803489-3 }}

{{Social class}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranked Society}}
Category:Cultural anthropology
Category:Genealogy
Category:Rankings
Category:Social systems
Category:Tribal chiefs

{{Cultural-anthropology-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ranked society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranked_society) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranked_society?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.