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3. Mann, M. (1986) <i>The sources of social power</i>. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York, Cambridge University Press. While this multi-volume work is slightly out of date, it is still a very useful volume that has provided a large-scale historical analysis that has looked at how social inequality developed from prehistoric societies to more recent ones. States and social stratification emerged to justify social ideals but also to reinforce power of leaders. Religious and other social authorities often emerged to enable emerging elites, often forming close bonds with rulers. Even in recent periods, many of these families and historical influences have shaped evident social inequality.
4. Kerbo, H.R. (2012) <i>Social stratification and inequality: class conflict in historical, comparative, and global perspective</i>. 8th ed. New York, NY, McGraw-Hill. Although this book does not look at deep history in any detail, the book does provide a useful global perspective and historical assessment of more recent periods to demonstrate how social stratification is developed and justified in different societies. Social stratification is often reinforced by religious or deep historical reasons in many parts of the world, but in the United States this is different, but inequality is pronounced based on racial and social access and opportunities for wealth.
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