Work · Empiricism, Enlightenment & Liberalism
The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks
Explains the authority of husbands, fathers, chiefs, kings and masters by the mode of subsistence and the progress of property, from hunters to commercial nations; it opens with a history of the condition of women and ends with a critique of slavery.
Introduction
Millar published the book in London in 1771 as “Observations concerning the Distinction of Ranks in Society”; the enlarged third edition of 1779 bore the title “The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks: or, an Inquiry into the Circumstances which give rise to Influence and Authority in the Different Members of Society”. Its six chapters treat the rank and condition of women; the authority of a father over his children; that of a chief over a tribe and over a larger society; the changes brought to government by the arts and polished manners; and the authority of masters over servants, including slavery. The book grew out of Millar’s Glasgow lectures and follows Smith’s account of the stages of society.
Connections
Builds on
- The Spirit of the Laws1748 · Montesquieu
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