1. The idea of ​​equality when referring to egalitarian societies is used to describe the fact that these societies do not have a formal division of power or access to resources like other societies might have. In other words, no group will be denied access to resources. Everyone will have access to food and other necessary resources. For example, in Annette B. Weiner's "Marriage and the Politics of Yams," we learn that every married woman in the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea is guaranteed yams, which have both monetary value and a subsistence use, but some women will get more yams because there are more people tending their yam gardens for one reason or another. All women will have access to the same resources, and some women and their spouses will have access to more abundant resources, but no one will be denied access because of class or rank. This therefore does not mean that there are no differences between individuals within an egalitarian society. People may have access to more resources or possess more prestige depending on their age, abilities, and sometimes gender. However, nothing in egalitarian societies is decided by formal heredity. Some group leaders might serve in this position because they have proven themselves to be capable leaders, and upon their death their son or daughter might be considered for a similar position, but it is not guaranteed that they will get the job. Nor is it guaranteed that there will be any leader. The group could make all the decisions if that's how society works. We see an example of the ability to raise one's status within an egalitarian in the article "Parent-Offspring Conflict in Marriage" by Polly Wiessner. In the article, Wiessner discusses that parents are...... middle of paper ...... responsible for ensuring that their people pay tribute (i.e. taxes ) and to negotiate with other groups (i.e. foreign affairs.) The fact that this position is hereditary, however, is exactly the opposite of how the American political system works. Term limits are also a big difference between chiefdoms and the modern American political system. A leader is in power until his or her death or assassination, but most American political leaders in the legislative and executive branches are only there for 2 to 6 years at a time, with some having the possibility of being re-elected. The fact that the chiefs hold this position for life is similar to the fact that justices of the Supreme Court of the United States hold their position for as long as they see fit or until they die. Yet no one in the American political system is there for hereditary reasons. Everyone is supposed to gain power on their own..