Barnes

CLASS AND COMMITTEES IN A NORWEGIAN ISLAND PARISH1 J. A. BARNES When we study the social organization of a simple society, we aim at prehending all the various ways in which the members of the society matically interact with one another. For purposes of... More

CLASS AND COMMITTEES IN A NORWEGIAN ISLAND PARISH1 J. A. BARNES When we study the social organization of a simple society, we aim at prehending all the various ways in which the members of the society matically interact with one another. For purposes of analysis we treat political system, the pattern of village life, the system of kinship and "ty, and other similar areas of interaction as parts of the same universe of urse, as though they were of equal analytical status, and we strive to how the same external factors, principles of organization, and common 'ues influence these different divisions of social life. This task, though [ways difficult, has been accomplished for a growing number of simple ieties, about which we can feel confident that we have an appreciation of what the society as a whole is like. When we turn to the enormously :mplex societies of Western civilization our task becomes much more !fficult. Fieldwork in a Western community can lead directly to knowledge of only Less