Society, Association

Definition

1. Maciver and page: society is a web of relationship that are ever

changing.
2. Anthony Giddens: A society is a group of people who live in a
particular territory, are subject to
a common system of political authority, and are aware of having a
distinct identity from other
groups around them.
• The term ‘society’ is not easy to define. In general, it refers to people and their
community.
• Man is a social animal who relies on others around him for his basic needs. People form
society. The interaction between people brings them closer to each other and makes
them mutually dependent.
• Society can, thus, be defined as a formal association of people having the same interests.
• A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through
persistent relations, or a large social group, sharing the same geographical or virtual
territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
• In social sciences, a society invariably entails stratification and hierarchy.
• A society helps its members benefit in ways not possible had the members existed
individually.
• It consists of like-minded people governed by their own values and norms.
• Broadly, a society may be described as a social, economic and industrial infrastructure
made up with varied kinds of people.
• Elements of Society Based on the definitions above, let us discuss some of the elements of society.

1. A society is a system of social relationships: According to Maclver, a society is ‘a web of social relationships’.
These social relationships could be within the family and outside the family. For example, the relationship
between a mother and her child, or between a teacher and her student.

2. Likeness: Another elements of society is likeness. According to Maclver, society means likeness. It is this
likeness or similarity which creates understanding between individuals. This understanding lies at the root of all
social relationships.

3. Difference: A society also means difference. If everyone was alike, social relationships would be extremely
limited. Individuals differ from one another in their attitude ability, talent; personality, and so on. People pursue
different activities because of these differences.

4. Inter-dependence: Another vital element of society is interdependence. Without people depending on one
another for their needs, a society would collapse.
5. Cooperation and Conflict Both cooperation and conflict exist in society: They are also a society’s essential
elements. A society is based on cooperation. If individuals do not cooperate with each other, they cannot live a
happy life. According to the author Pascual Gisbert, ‘cooperation is the most elementary process of social life
without which society is impossible’

Along with co-operation, there is conflict in society. Conflicts cause societies to evolve, to change.

6. Culture All societies have their own unique culture. Culture encompasses attitudes, moral values, beliefs,
ideas, ideologies, and so on. Members of a society share a common culture.
• CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIETY

Some basic characteristics of society are given below:

1. A society is a largest human group.

2. It satisfies the needs of its members.

3. It is more or less permanent association.

4. Everyone in society is dependent upon every other member.

5. It is abstract by nature as social relationships can be felt or Imagined and cannot be seen.

6. The members of society have a sense solidarity.

7. It will be having likeness and differences. Due to these differences, variety in human behaviors

8. and division of labor and specialization of roles is there.

EVOLUTION OF SOCIETIES
Sociologists generally classify societies according of their level of industrialization from
preindustrial to industrial to postindustrial.
1. Preindustrial Societies: Before the Industrial Revolution and the widespread use of machines
• societies were small, rural, and dependent largely on local resources.
• Economic production was limited
• there were few specialized occupations.

a. Hunter-Gathering Society: Hunter-gatherer societies demonstrate the strongest dependence on the

environment of the various types of preindustrial societies. As the basic structure of human society until about
10,000-12,000 years ago, for survival-they hunted wild animals and were based around kinship or tribes.
Hunter-gatherers relied on foraged (obtain (food) by searching), for uncultivated plants for food. These
societies were common until several hundred years ago, but today only a few hundred remain in existence,
such as indigenous Australian tribes sometimes referred to as aborigines, or the Bambuti, a group of pygmy
hunter-gatherers residing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
b. Pastoral Society: Changing conditions and adaptations led some societies to rely on the domestication of
animals, referred as pastoral society. Roughly 7,500 years ago, human societies began to recognize their ability
to tame and breed animals and to grow and cultivate their own plants. Unlike earlier hunter-gatherers who
depended entirely on existing resources to stay alive, pastoral groups were able to breed livestock for food,
clothing, and transportation, and they created a surplus of goods. Herding, or pastoral, societies remained
nomadic because they were forced to follow their animals to fresh feeding grounds.

C. Horticultural Society: A horticultural society is a type of society characterized by its reliance on small-scale
cultivation of plants using simple tools and techniques. In horticultural societies, people typically practice
subsistence farming, growing crops primarily for their own consumption rather than for sale in markets. These
societies often have a semi-nomadic lifestyle, where they move periodically to new areas of land in order to
allow previously cultivated plots to regenerate.
d. Agricultural Society: While pastoral and horticultural societies used small, temporary tools such as digging
sticks or hoes, agricultural societies relied on permanent tools for survival. An explosion of new technology
known as the Agricultural Revolution made farming possible and profitable. Farmers learned to rotate the types
of crops grown on their fields and to reuse waste products such as fertilizer, which led to better harvests and
bigger surpluses of food.

Industrial Society: In the 18th century, Europe experienced a dramatic rise in technological invention, ushering
in an era known as the Industrial Revolution. What made this period remarkable was the number of new
inventions that influenced people's daily lives. Within a generation, tasks that had until this point required
months of labor became achievable in a matter of days. In 1782, James Watt and Matthew Boulton created a
steam engine that could do the work of twelve horses by itself. Steam power began appearing everywhere.
Hand-made things were replaced by machine-made products.

3. Post-Industrial Societies: Postindustrial societies are those societies, which emerged after industrial
revolution or industrialization. Information societies, sometimes known as postindustrial or digital Societies, are
a recent development.
 DIVISION OF SOCIETY
1. Rural Society: Traditionally, rural settlements were associated with agriculture. In modern times other types of rural communities have
been developed. It is less populated. The profession is mostly can be called as agricultural society. They live in farmstead agriculture,
settlement.

There are various characteristics of rural society, which are given bellow:

1. Smaller in Size

2. Population Density

3. Agriculture based economy

4. Natural Environment:

5. Homogeneous Population:

6. Social Stratification:

7. Social Interaction:

8. Social Mobility:

9. Social Solidarity:

10.Joint Family System

Urban Society: According to Robert Redfield urban society has a large and heterogeneous population, complex division
of labor, impersonal social relations, relation are also casual, secondary, complex and formal. There is formal social
control and interaction. There is diversity in profession, education, religion etc. A complex social life is found in which
the people or different races, professions, castes and religions live together.

Some major characteristics of urban society are mentioned below

1. Dense Population

2. Well Decorated Houses

3. Modern facilities

4. Formal interaction

5. Division of labor

6. Social Institution

7. High standards of living

8. Social change
Nomadic society: nomadic society have no permanent place of settlement and people use donkeys and camels
and other animals as a sources of transportation. The cultural tradition have a forceful binding among the
members. The people roam from one place to another.

Characteristic of nomadic society.

1. Small Population size

2. Absence of ownership

3. Traditional lifestyle

4. Strict social norms

5. Local culture

6. Profession (animal husbandry etc.)

7. Resistance to social change

Sedentary society: Sedentary lifestyle or else sedentism can be defined as a society or way of life where people are
permanently settled in one place, without traveling from one place to the other. For sedentary societies, it is vital to find
fertile land to settle down so that they can grow plants and also raise livestock. Their settlements are much more permanent
and include houses, storage buildings, etc. They also need preservation methods and storage techniques, unlike the nomads.

Characteristic of sedentary society

1. High population size

2. Less geographical mobility

3. Property ownership

4. Modern lifestyle

5. Less strict norms

6. Modern culture

7. Social change
An association

is an assembly of people planned for a particular purpose or a limited number of purposes. To constitute an
association, there must be,

firstly, a group of people;

secondly, these people must be organized, i.e., there must be certain rules for their conduct in the groups, and

thirdly, they must have a common purpose of a specific nature to pursue. Thus, family, church, trade union and
music club are the instances of association.

Associations may be formed on several bases, for example, on the basis of duration, i.e., temporary or
permanent, such as Flood Relief Association which is temporary and State which is permanent; or on the basis
of power, i.e., sovereign like state, semi-sovereign like university and non-sovereign like club, or on the basis of
function, i.e., biological like family, vocational like Trade Union or Teachers’ Association, recreational like Tennis
Club or Music Club, Philanthropic like charitable societies, and so on.
According to Maclver, ‘An organization deliberately formed for the collective pursuit of some interest or set of
interest, which the members of it share, is termed as association.

Characteristics of Association

The various characteristics of association are as follows:

(i) Concrete Structure

Since in an association people come together for a common purpose, it keeps

them united to accomplish the tasks at hand.

(ii) Established

An association is not spontaneous, rather, every member of the association is

specified, all of whom work in a structured manner.

(iv) Associations are voluntary

Associations are mostly voluntary in nature. No one can be forced to participate in the working of the
association. Due to its voluntary nature, ever member of the association is answerable for his or her own deeds
and results. However, involuntary associations also exist.

(v) Rules and Regulations

All associations have rules and regulations that members are expected to follow. Only those individuals who
follow the rules and regulations provided for and participate in the pursuit of the aim of the association are only
called as the members of it.
Types of Association
Associations can be classified on the basis of its formation.

A voluntary association is one where individuals join on their own, for example, as
association formed for cricket lovers. On the other hand, involuntary associations as the
name suggest are involuntary in nature. For example, an involuntary association is formed
between people breathing harmful polluted air and the company causing it. In addition, the
relationship that we have with the government is also an involuntary association. Trade
associations are formed by individuals working in one specific industry. They can also be
called business associations.