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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
Prior to the Revolution of 1979, political connections were
considered a key measure of one's social status. In other words,
the amount of access that one was perceived to have to the highest
levels of decision making was the major determinant of prestige.
Wealth was important, but acquiring and maintaining wealth tended
to be closely intertwined with access to political power.
Consequently, members of the political elite were generally
involved in numerous complex interrelationships. For example, some
members of the Senate (the upper house of the parliament, or
Majlis--see Glossary),
a legislative body that included many
members of the political elite appointed by the shah, were also on
the boards of several industrial and commercial enterprises and
were owners of extensive agricultural lands. Since being part of an
elite family was an important prerequisite for entry into the
political elite, marital relationships tended to bind together
important elite families.
The other classes attempted to emulate the political elite in
seeking connections to those with political power, whether on the
provincial, town, or village level. By the 1970s, however, the
nonelite of all classes perceived education as important for
improving social status. Education was seen as providing entry into
high-status jobs that in turn would open up opportunities for
making connections with those who had political power. Despite a
great expansion in educational opportunities, the demand far
outstripped the ability or willingness of the elite to provide
education; this in turn became a source of resentment. By the late
1970s, the nonelite groups, especially the middle classes, rather
than admiring the elite and desiring to emulate them, tended to
resent the elite for blocking opportunities to compete on an equal
basis.
As a result of the lack of field research in Iran after the
Revolution, it was difficult in the late 1980s to determine whether
the traditional bases for ascribing class status had changed. It is
probable that access to political power continued to be important
for ascribing status even though the composition of the political
elite had changed. It also appears that education continued to be
an important basis for determining status.
Data as of December 1987
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