Collective Action in the Formation of Pre-Modern States (Fundamental Issues in Archaeology)

Collective Action in the Formation of Pre-Modern States by Richard Blanton and Lane Fargher Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN Research over the past half-century has substantially increased the quantity and quality of information on the evolution of early complex societies. New methods and new discoveries have inspired anthropological archaeologists and other social scientists to rethink prevailing theories, which now seem excessively deterministic and unable to account for the role of human action in social change. The authors propose that the rational choice theory of collective action, especially as it has been developed by political scientists, is a fruitful new direction for theory-building that can overcome these limitations. This theory addresses the dilemma faced by any group attempting to build a complex society, namely, that the rational and self-interested behavior of social actors may limit the potential for collective action and group solidarity. This book explores a collective action perspective on the formation of pre-modern states, but does not only promote a new mode of theoretical understanding. Rather, it subjects collective action theory to a methodologically rigorous evaluation using a systematic cross-cultural analysis of historical, ethnographic, and archaeological data drawn from a world-wide sample of societies. These data provide strong support for the theory while pointing the way to a more complex and nuanced approach to collective action, uniting theories of pre-modern and modern states. Anthropological archaeology and other disciplines concerned with the formation of early complex societies are undergoing a theoretical shift stemming from the realization that the social evolution of complex societies was more varied and complex than imagined. Given the need for new directions in theory, the book proposes that anthropologists look to political science, especially the rational choice theory of collective action. Collective action theorists propose that state formation results from the strategic behavior of rational and self-interested actors who make up the polity, including a political elite and those outside the official structure of the state. The theory proposes that the form taken by a state will depend on the “bargaining power”, of rulers and taxpayers. Where taxpayers have more resources with which to bargain, it is predicted that rulers will concede benefits to taxpayers and will agree to restrictions on their power. The authors subject collective action theory to a methodologically rigorous evaluation using systematic cross-cultural analysis based on a world-wide sample of societies. The results presented here indicate strong support for most elements of the theory, but some results, in particular those pertaining to the control of ruler behavior, suggest the possibility that there are contexts in which collective action may play out in ways not anticipated by the theory. While this type of theoretical modeling is commonly seen in political science research, this volume is unique in its approach from an anthropological and archaeological viewpoint. Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Introduction....Pages 1-4 Rethinking the Role of Agency in Political Evolution....Pages 5-11 The Social Actor in Collective Action....Pages 12-24 Selecting a Sample of Societies for Comparative Coding....Pages 25-32 Archaeological and Historical Contexts for the Coded Societies....Pages 33-111 Revenue Sources....Pages 112-132 Public Goods....Pages 133-164 Bureaucratization....Pages 165-202 Modes of Control of Principals....Pages 203-248 Theory Testing and a Question: Is State Formation a Product of Rational Choice or Symbolic Structure?....Pages 249-265 Collective Action Processes at World-Economy, Polity, and Community Scales....Pages 266-289 Collective Action and Political Evolution....Pages 290-299 Back Matter....Pages 300-447