TILLY-Relational Studies of Inequality

8/13/2019 TILLY-Relational Studies of Inequality

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Relational Studies of InequalityAuthor(s): Charles TillySource: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 29, No. 6 (Nov., 2000), pp. 782-785Published by: American Sociological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2654085.

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782 SymposiumRelational Studies of Inequality

CHARLESILLYColumbia Universit)Let us beginwith perverse, anifestlyalse,assumption:hatevery rgumentn my 1998book,Durable nequality,s correct. his briefpaperwill thendraw nferencesrom uchanabsurd ypothesisor wenty-first-centurytud-ies of inequality. he absurdityfferseveraladvantages:t keepsmehonest, equiring e tospell ut hebook's mplicationsor uture ork.It forbids y evoting recious ages o repairsof thebook'smistakes.inally,t allowsme toshowthatthe next generationf researchersfaces ivid hallenges.f heoristsnd nvestiga-tors ake hebook's eachingseriously,hey illchange the direction f their nquiries nto

.lnequa lty.Durablenequalityketches setof explana-tions or ersistentocial nequality heneverand wherevert occurs. ts stipulationsndexplanationsun s follows:* Inequalitys a relationetweenersons

or sets fpersonsn which nteractiongeneratesreaterdvantagesor ne hanfor nothere.g., landowneretsoutplots to multiple harecroppers,hoyield alf f their ard-wonroductothe andlord).* Inequalityesultsrom nequal ontrolover value-producingesourcese.g.,somewildcatterstrikeil,while thersdrill ry ells).* Pairedndunequal ategories,onsistingof symmetricalelationscross social-ly recognizedand usuallyncomplete)boundary etween nterpersonalet-works,ecurn a widevarietyf situa-tions, ith he sual ffecteing nequalexclusionf achnetworkromesourcescontrolled y the other e.g., underapartheid any f outhAfrica's siansmade heirivingsy unningetailhopsin black ettlementshere hey adnorightoreside).* An nequality-generatingechanismemay all xploitation occurs hen ersonswho ontrolresource) enlisthe ffortof thersnproductionf alue ymeansof hat esource,ut ) exclude he th-ersfrom he full alue ddedby theirefforte.g., efore848, itizensf ever-

al Swiss antons rew ubstantialev-enues nrentsnd axes rom oncitizenresidentsf djacent ributaryerritorieswho produced griculturalnd craftgoods nderontrolf he antons'and-lordsndmerchants).* Another nequality-generatingecha-nismwe may all opportunityoardingconsistsf onfiningseof value-pro-ducingresource o members f aningroupe.g., outheastsian picemer-chants rom particularthnic-religiouscategoryominatehedistributionndsale f heir roduct).* Both exploitation nd opportunityhoarding enerallyncorporateairedand unequal ategoriest boundariesbetween reaternd esser eneficiariesof value ddedby effortommittedocontrolledesourcese.g., he istinctionbetween rofessionalsnd nonprofes-sionals registeredursesnd ides, ci-entists and laboratory ssistants,optometristsnd optical lerks, rchi-tects nd architecturalrawers,nd soon often arksust uch oundaries).* Neither xploitation or opportunityhoardingequireself-consciousffortsosubordinatexcludedartiesr xplicitlyformulatedeliefsn the nferiorityfexcluded arties e.g., mutual ecruit-ment fmigrantsrom given riginoconnectedets of jobs creates thnicniches ithinirms).* Emulationtransferf xistingrganiza-tional ormsndpracticesromne set-ting to another) generally owerstransactionosts of exploitationndopportunityoarding hen he trans-ferredormsndpracticesnstall aired,unequal ategoriest the boundariesbetweenreaternd esser enefitse.g.,a merchantettingp new elicatessenadopts hegender,ge, nd thnic ivi-sion of labor and of correspondingrewards lready revailingn otherdelicatessens).* Adaptation nvention f proceduresthat ease day-to-daynteraction,ndelaborationf valued ocial relations

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Symposium783around xistingivisions)suallytabi-lizes ategoricalnequalitye.g., nlistedmen uild alued riendshipsnthe res-ence of mistreatmentnd danger,huscommittinghemselveso the armydespite heir hared esentmentf offi-cers' rivileges).* Local categoricaldistinctions ainstrengthndoperatet ower ostwhenmatched ithwidely vailable aired,unequalategoriese.g., iring omensworkersnd men as bosses einforcesorganizationalierarchy ithgenderhierarchy).* Whenmanynd/orerynfluentialrga-nizationsdopt he ame ategoricalis-tinctions, hose distinctionsecomemore ervasivenddecisiven ocial ifeoutsidehose rganizationse.g., nmin-

1 .1ng owns,lstlnctlonsmongng1neers,hewers,ndhaulerservadewide angeof ocial ife).* Experienceithinategoricallyifferen-tiated ettingsives articipantsystem-aticallyifferentndunequal reparationforperformancen new settingse.g.,police who treat people differentlyaccordingo race nd ethnicityredis-pose hose eople oward ifferentela-tionswithauthoritieslsewhere ndlater).* Most fwhat bserversrdinarilynter-pret s nequality-creatingndividualif-ferencesre actually onsequencesfcategoricalrganizatione.g., enderif-ferencesn schoolperformanceesultlargelyromumulativeffectsfdiffer-ential reatmentfmales ndfemalesyparents,eachers,ndpeers).

l Forthese easons,nequalitiesy race,gender,thnicity,lass, ge, itizenship,educationalevel, nd other pparentlycontradictoryrinciplesf differentia-tion ormhroughimilarocial rocess-es and are to an importantegreeorganizationallynterchangeablee.g., ndifferentospitalsf the same ountryand period ivisionsf abor esembleeach other, utwhich ocial ategoriespredominatemong hysicians,urses,technicians,ooks, leaners,nd clerksvaries reatlyromocale o ocale).* Mistakeneliefsbout ategoricaliffer-ences lay ittle artnthe enerationfinequality,ndeed end o emergefter

the acts ustificationsf nequalityndtochanges a consequencef hiftsnthe ormsf xploitationr pportunityhoardings well as in the partiesinvolvede.g., henubstantialumbersofwomennter reviouslyale-domi-natedrades,eliefsnd racticesener-ally hange apidlys a resultfthatentryatherhan recedingnd ausingthat ntry).* Changingnwarrantedeliefs boutcategoricalifferencesas ittlempacton degreesnddirectionsf nequality,while rganizationalhange lteringexploitationnd/orpportunityoard-inghas a large mpacte.g., giveninvestmentf nergyn ensitivityrain-inggenerallyas muchess nfluenceover rganizationalnequalityhancomparablenvestmentf energynrecruitmentrom reviouslyxcludedcategories)

Of course,t took whole ook o clarify,amplify,llustrate,ndconnecthis rgument.Thebook tselfpplies ifferentlementsf heargumento examplefterxample.xamplesoccupyingpage r more ncludetaturesfEnglishouthsround800, isputeseneratedbyHerrnsteinndMurray'sellCurve,mone-tary ransfersn the wentieth-centurynitedStates,amilyeedingatterns,tigmatizationfpaupersn latemedievalurope,thnic elaStionsn South frican ines,ategoricalivi-sions mong he nineteenth-centuryshidi,South fricanpartheidnd ts ransformations,Rosabeth anter'sndsco,reatmentffemalecadets t the Citadel, talianmigrantsoMamaroneck,igrationfmymother'samilyto the United tates, uropean ationalismsince 1559,professionalizationf Americanmedicineince 1850,oppressionf AfricanAmericans,atholic mancipationn GreatBritain1688-1829),nddevelopmentf itiSzenshipnwesternountries.ozensmoreccu-py ess han page.Even he chematicummaryfferedere,however,ufficeso show hat he ook's rgu-ment ependsn a dynamic,elationalccountof nequality-generatingechanisms.t differsfromrevailingccountsf nequality,nwhichpowerfulgents r institutionsmployers,rulers,chools,hemarket,nd oon sortndi-viduals hose ttributesndperformancesarysignificantlynto ositionshose ewardsiffer



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784 Symposiumgreatly.n suchtandardccounts,ortingrin-ciples arymong erit, arginalroduct,er-sonal ontlection,ymbolicalue, nd gents'prejdices But theyall operate hroughindividual-by-individualriage.uchndividual-isticccountsave one sthe reatervicefspecifyinghat nalystsf inequality ustexplain,speciallyhent omesowaged orkincapitalistirms.hey avenot, owever,ofar ieldedompellingxplanations,speciallywith egardootherormsf nequalityhanwages,ndotherettingshan apitalistirms.Staticndividualismets eriousimitso theirexplanatoryower.Mycounterarguments notonlydynamicand relational,utalsoweaklyunctional.(Strongunctionalrgumentsaythat ocialarrangementsxistecauseheyerveverarch-ingystems.eak unctionalrgumentsay hatsocialrrangementsxist ecauseheyimulta-neouslyerve articularctorsndproduceeffectshatn urneproducehe ocialrrange-ments.)xploiters,unshe ounterargument,expendome f he ains romxploitationnreproducinghe ommandtructurehatmain-tains he xploiters'ositions.imilarly,ppor-tunityoardersnvestome ftheir ains nmaintainingoundarieshateparatehemromotherersonsho ack ccess o he pportuni-ties nquestion.eitherxploitersor pportu-nity oarderseed xtractains rreproducetheirtructuraldvantageself-consciously.orneed hey ate,ondemn,rpersecutehe is-advantaged.llthe rgumentequiress differ-entialgainsfrom roductionymeans fcontrolledesources,lus eedbackeinforcingthe ontrolystem.oth anoccurhroughtaken-for-grantedivisionf abor s well sthrougheliberateesign.hroughmulationand daptation,ndeed,xploitednd xcludedpersons ftencollaborate n reproducing

.lnequa lty.Heres he ort f ausal toryhisccountfinequalitymplies. roadsimilaritiesxistbetweennequality-generatingrocessesndconversation:artiesnteractepeatedly,rans-ferringesourcesn both irections,argainingoutprovisionalgreementsndcontingentlysharedefinitionsfwhat heyredoing.hatinteractionespondsartlyoavailablecripts,butnteractionodifieshe criptshemselves,and nly orkst llbecausearticipantsmpro-vise ncessantly.evertheless,vailablecriptscruciallynclude aired, nequal ategories.

Controllersf aluableesourcesho re ursu-ing xploitationropportunityoardingom-monlynvent r borrowategoricalairs,installinghemtdividingines etweenreaterand essereneficiariesromroductsfthoseresources.xplanationf inequalitynd itschanges usthereforeoncentraten dentify-ing ombinationsnd equencesf ausalmech-anismsnotably xploitation,pportunityhoarding,mulation,ndadaptation ithinepisodesf ocialnteraction.Thisaccount fsocial nequalitylsohasimplicationsortudiesf ocialmobility.eshould ot magine obilitys takinglacenan bstractwo-dimensionalpace, ithhe er-tical xisrepresentingierarchiesf ncome,wealth,ower,restige,nd/or ell eing,ndthehorizontalxis epresentingocialocationsatvariousistancesromach ther.nstead,eshould e followinghe nalogyfmigrationstreams,ithpecificlowsfpersonsromite

. . ..tos1te,ac streamavlngdlstlnctlvetruc-ture ndmodifyingontinuouslys a conse-quence oth f ts nternalynamicsnd f ts. . . . . .lnteractlonltenvlronmentstorlglnnclles-

tination.fwe constructrigin-destinationmatrices,e houldecognizehat ach ellofsuch matrixontainsdistinctiveet f ausalprocessesnd ife istories.Whatgendaollowsorwenty-first-centurystudiesf nequality?et 1Scontinuehe bsur-dity,ssumingot nly hathe rgumentsustreviewedre rue,ut lso hatheymountocomprehensivexplanationf all inequalitieseverywhere.hat hould uturetudentsfinequalityo?Withoutillingn alltheneces-saryonnections,etme ay ut he rogramsr .serles ot lnJunctlons:Conducteparatetudiesfdifferentombina-tionsmong echanisms,ettings,nd ategories.For xample,xamineow mulationransferofexistingrganizationalormsndpracticesfromne settingo another perates ithrespectogenderelationshen he ettingsrereligiousongregations,etail tores, ilitaryunits,nd ollege ormitories.ake he amecomparisonsndistinctimesndplaces. othsimilaritiesnddifferencesill pecifyhat ehaveto explain ndclarifyo what xtentexploitationnd pportunityoardinganplau-siblyigurenour xplanations.Withimilarontrols,xamineariationntheoperationfmechanismsy calef ocialelations.For xample,skwhetherhe elationsf mu-



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Symposium785

Inequality in Social CapitalNAN LINDuke University

lation nd daptationoexploitationork if-ferentlyhenllpartiesre ntimatelyonnect-ed to one anotheras within ouseholds)rwhenmost o notevenknow heothersaswithinransnationalirms).Conduct obilitytudiesy racingite-to-sitechannelsnd heirocial peration.or xample,examine ow pecificets fhouseholdslacetheir hildrenn particularchools,hen owthosechoolshannelheir raduatesovariouseconomiciches.Withinrganizations,ompareobilityystemsandtheirarriersith aily ocial elations.orexample,etermineo what xtentociabilityclusters ithinob adders,ndhow hepres-ence fmobilityarriersmongnteractingo-workerse.g.,mobilityarriersetweenursesanddoctors)tselfffectshe ualityf ocialrelationsmonghem.For ierarchiesositedpriori,ubstituteatri-ces f elationsmongositionserivedrommpir-ical observation.or example,tudymobility,social nteraction,nd lowsf esourcesmongjobs o dentifyloselyonnectedr tructurallyequivalentobs. et symmetriesn hese egards

. .

measurenequatlesmong o s.Move tudiesf nequalityway rom agesootherarietiesf dvantagenddisadvantage.orexample,ocumentnd explainnequalitynnonmonetaryerquisites,ealth,nformation,security,utrition,aterialossessions,and,politicalnfluence,ndfinancialealth. heninvestigateausal onnectionsin both irec-tions) etweenhesedvantagesndwages.Studyreationnd ransformationf oundariesand ategoriesirectly.or xample,nvestigatehow ffectiveoundariesmongacial nd th-nic ategoriesre hangingndifferentepublicsof he ormeroviet nion.Clarifyausal elationshipsetweenndividualand categoricalariationn performancesndadvantages.or xample,nquireowhat egreeandhowmembershipndistinctivethnic-reli-

gious ategories) homogenizesxperiences,propensities,nd apacities,) governsnequal-ity-generatingnteractionsithmembersf th-er ategories,nd ) therebyffectsubsequentperformancend rewardsor erformancenostensiblypen ompetitions.Trace nterdependenciesetweenoliticalys-tems ndnonpoliticalnequalities.orexample,studyowmuchmaterialnequalityscompati-ble withmaintenancef democraticnstitu-tions,nder hat onditions,ndwhy.Integratetudiesf nequalityndofpoliticalcontention.or xample,omparendcontrastthe ormsfbargaininghat ccurwithinela-tions fexploitationith hose hat ccur nlegislatures.Crack he roblemfhistorical-culturalarticu-larism.or xample,stablish hetheristinc-tivemechanismsndprocessesenerateacialinequalitys functionf ariationn acialat-egories'reviousistoriesrembeddedeliefs,representations,nd ractices.Informedeaders ill mmediatelyomplainthat his rogramoesn'took ery ew thatstudentsf nequalityave een ursuingne ranotherf hese oncernsormore han cen-tury. heywill e both ightndwrong.heprogramctuallyeturnso major oncernsfsuch ld-timereatssAdam mLith,arlMarx,Georg immel,ndMaxWeber,ll ofwhomlookedt nequalityn ategoricalnd elation-al terms.n that ense, heprograms reac-tionary.t reactso the taticndividualismfmore ecent ork n nequality,ndyearnsorlong-lostynamic,elationalhinking.et ustaketdialectically:hat arlierody f houghtservess our hesis,he ndividualismf ecentinvestigationss our ntithesis,renewedela-tional ealismsour ynthesis.earchingorustsuch yntheses,tudentsf nequalityanmovemuchmore onfidentlynto he twenty-firstcentury.

Recently,ocial cientistsave sed otionsfcapitale.g., umanapital,ulturalapital,ndsocial apital) s organizingonceptso under-standhemechanismshat ffectife hancesfindividualsnd hewell-beingf ommunities

(Schultz 961; Becker 1964]993; Bourdieu1980;Lin 1982;Coleman 988;Burt 992;Portes998). hile the asic efinitionf ap-ital mployedn heseheoriess onsistentiththat n Marx's classic nalysisMarx 867),


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TILLY-Relational Studies of Inequality