What is an Egalitarian Society?

Before analyzing the different parts of Danish culture, it is important to see what an egalitarian society is and what makes Danish society considered to be egalitarian. The definition of egalitarian is relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and should have equal rights and opportunities. In an egalitarian society, differences in wealth, power, and status are seldom recognized. In American society, although we would like to think that everyone has equal ability to succeed, certain groups have power over others and are thus better equipped to succeed in society. For example, there is a gender hierarchy that is institutionalized in American society where women still on average earn less than men and are expected to balance work and family with little support. Conversely, in Danish society, women are highly respected in the workplace and generally receive equal pay and have access to promotion to senior positions. Women are entitled to at least four months maternity leave after giving birth and working mothers are able to arrange flexible hours to easier balance work and family life.
It is impossible to have a completely egalitarian society. From lecture, we learned that power relations will always exist within a continuum (Antonio Gramsci). Every society has some kind of hegemonic system where a group of people in power creates ideas that others willingly prescribe and consent to. Danish culture could be different in that the hegemonic ideology influences people to prescribe to an egalitarian viewpoint. Danes are encouraged to be modest and to be concerned about group needs. Egalitarianism can be seen in many aspects in Danish culture that I will discuss in later posts. By examining this one part of Danish culture, an understanding can be made of the whole culture. In Anthropology this is called a part-to-whole approach; studying a single aspect of a culture to make an inference into the inner logic of that culture. I hope to obtain a greater understanding of Danish culture by studying how egalitarianism influences Danish society.


Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation
Work. Electronic document, http://www.workindenmark.dk/Maternity_leave/0/4/0, accessed October 16, 2007.

Kwintessential Cross Cultural Solutions
Denmark – Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette. Electronic document, http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html, accessed October 16, 2007.