Senior Esteem as a Factor of Socioeconomic Complexity

Abstract

The essential purpose of our anthropological project was to establish what, if any, correlation existed between type of society and esteem of senior persons. We asked, “Does the aging process transcend cultural boundaries in terms of roles played by seniors and the treatment received by them, or do different kinds of social organizations react in unique ways?” Data on 47 primitive societies were computer-tested and analyzed inferentially. The results indicate that, among traditional societies, maximal socioeconomic complexity corresponds with maximal senior power and positive treatment, but, with the implication that as societies modernize technologically, senior esteem declines as younger persons gradually achieve economic and social autonomy.

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