1. Primitive societies

Regardless of how civilized the world is, there are still large numbers of people living in the most primitive conditions. The most important of these because they are the most scientifically studied are the "aborigines" of Australia. The scientific study of the aboriginal Australian forms the basis of what is best known of primitive societies in general.

The Totem group was the real social unit of the aboriginal Australian. The Totem group is primarily a group of people distinguished by the sign of a natural object, such as an animal or tree, who may not intermarry with one another — this is the first rule of primitive social organization; its object is certainly to prevent the intermarriage of close relatives.

Marriage takes place between men and women of different Totems; the husband belongs to all the women of his wife's totem and the wife belongs to all the men of the husband's totem at the same time that a communal marriage is established between the men and women of the two different Totems - the men and women being of the same generation. This presents a most valuable objective lesson in social history. There are no unmarried couples; marriage for them is part of the natural order into which they are born.

The simple system of relationship of the aboriginal Australian before British colonization is constructed in this way. The mother took a predominant role, for descent was almost always reckoned through females. Parent, child, brother and sister were the only recognized relationships.

The Totem served the purpose of forbidding intermarriage between close relatives and will deal destruction if this rule is not strictly enforced. These are the rudiments of two of the most important factors in human progress: Religion and Law. The rudimentary notion of Law is very specific about what is prohibited or Taboo. Primitive people do not recognize any duties towards strangers unless there is an abundant food supply in a given area.

B. Patriarchal societies

All patriarchal societies are known by certain characteristic features: Male kinship is prevalent. Men are counted as kin because they are descended from the same male ancestor. Marriage is permanent. It is not until one woman is married to one man that certainty of fatherhood appears in society but it is not a general rule of patriarchal society for polygamy does exist in the earlier stages of social development.

Paternal authority is the ruling principle of the social order. In ancient Rome, the patria potestas extended to all descendants of one living male ancestor; it comprised control and punishment not to mention questions of life and death. These features of the development of the patriarchal state of society are as common among the Jews as among the Arabs, among the Aryans as among the Dravidians and even among the Germanic and Celtic races.

The patriarchal state of society consists of two stages, tribe and clan. The tribe is a large group of hundreds of members who descend from one common male ancestor. The clan, on the other hand, is a smaller group reaching back into the past for only four generations or so to a common well-known male ancestor. The clan always breaks down into smaller units when its limit is reached. According to the Scottish historian W. F. Skene in volumen 3 of Celtic Scotland, the tribe or larger unit is the oldest. When the tribe breaks down, clans are formed. When the clan system breaks down, it leaves the households or families as independent units. Finally, with the withering away of patriarchal society, the family is dissolved and the individual comes into existence.

C. The state

A sovereign state (commonly simply referred to as a state) is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state.

The origin of the State is to be found in the development of the art of warfare. Historically speaking, there is not the slightest difficulty in proving that all political communities of the modern type owe their existence to successful warfare. As a result the new states are forced to organize on military principles. The life of the new community is military allegiance. The military by nature is competitive.

Kingship is perhaps the most successful institution of Politics. However, the first kings were not institutions but individuals. The earliest kings were successful militarily. They were men not only of great military genius but also great administrators. Kingship becomes an institution through heredity.

The king rules his kingdom with the aid of his Council, without it he could not hold his territores. The Council is the king's master mind. The Council is the germ of constitutional government. Long before the council became a bulwark of democracy, it rendered invaluable aid to the institution of kingship by:

• Preserving the institution of kingship through heredity.

• Preserving the traditions of the social order.

• Being able to withstand criticism as an impersonal authority.

• Being able to manage a greater deal of knowledge and action than a single individual such as the king.

One of the functions of the Council is to keep the coffers of the king full. Another is the satisfaction of military service and the establishment of lordships by the king to satisfy the task of collecting taxes and soldiers.

DEVELOPING VOCABULARY

1. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate words and expressions from the list below:

tribe, politics, society, association, political view, kingship, authority, individual, undecided voter, election issues, political outcomes, extremism, replacement, distinction.

1) … is perhaps the most successful institution of politics.

2) All patriarchal … are known by certain characteristic features.

3) The … is a large group of hundreds of members who descend from one common male ancestor

4) … is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions.

5) A sovereign state is a political … with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependant on, or subject to any other power or state.

6) Paternal … is the ruling principle of the social order.

7) The family is dissolved and the … comes into existence

8) The media and the impact of … are among the factors which affect voting behavior.

9) Political scientists have been interested in many studies which aimed to analyze the relation between the behavior of social groups and the …

10) … is a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the political center of a society.

11) In democratic societies individuals or groups that advocate the … of democracy with an authoritarian regime are usually branded extremists.

12) There is a heavy stress on the … between extremists and moderate Moslems.

13) In the 2000 presidential election the votes did not share a socially common … .

14) Women constitute a disproportionally large share of the … .

2. Match the following words with their definitions:

clan, patriarchal societies, primitive people, the council, extremists, fundamentalism, state.

1) individuals or groups of people striving to replace democracy with an authoritarian regime

2)  people which do not recognize any duties towards strangers

3) societies where male kinship plays the decisive role

4) small groups of people which are formed when the tribe breaks down

5) the body which the king uses to rule his kingdom

6)  the most radical Moslem political movement

7) a political sovereign association

DISCOVERING LANGUAGE

1. Form new nouns from the following ones:

relative, kin, king, war, descent, house, extremism, vote, science, history, administrator, lord, transit, effect.

2. Make nouns from the following adjectives:

geographic, effective, moderate, extreme, abundant, ideological, sovereign, fundamental, political, independent, social, distinct, authoritarian, ancient, fanatic, patriarchal, paternal, certain, rudimentary, hereditary, personal, critical, aware, democratic.

3. Form nouns from the following verbs:

immigrate, employ, deport, decide, interact, institute, regulate, apply, govern, organize, establish, generate, develop, destruct, populate, descend, colonize, relate, administrate, orient, impress, satisfy, exist.

4. Fill in the missing prepositions in the following sentences:

1) Regardless … how civilized the world is, there are still large numbers of people living in the most primitive conditions.

2) The husband belongs … all the women of his wife’s totem.

3) Law is very specific … what is prohibited or Taboo.

4) Primitive people do not recognize any duties … strangers unless there is an abundant supply in a given area.

5) When the tribe breaks … , clans are formed.

6) With the withering … of patriarchal society, the family is dissolved.

7) A sovereign state commonly referred … as a state is a political association.

8) The king rules his kingdom … the aid of his council.

9) All political communities of the modern type owe their existence … successful warfare.

READING

Part 2

1. Read the following extract. Remind historical examples of political extremism. Discuss them with your partner.

Extremism is a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards. In democratic societies, individuals or groups that advocate the replacement of democracy with a authoritarian regime are usually branded extremists.

The term is invariably, or almost invariably, used pejoratively1. Extremism is usually contrasted with moderation2, and extremists with moderates. (For example, in contemporary discussions in Western countries of Islam, or of Islamic political movements, it is common for there to be a heavy stress on the distinction between extremist and moderate Muslims. It is also not uncommon to necessarily define distinctions regarding extremist Christians as opposed to moderate Christians, as in countries such as the United States).

Political agendas perceived as extremist often include those from the far left or far right as well as fundamentalism or, as a more general term, fanaticism.

Notes

1 pejoratively – уничижительно

2 moderation - умеренность.

2. Read the article about political determination factors. Think of the currently most influential ones.