Chapter 4

Society & Community

Topics: Introduction to Society, some forms (Pre industrial: Hunting & Gathering, Pastoral &
Horticultural, Agrarian, Industrial and Post Industrial Society) and types (nomadic vs sedentary,
rural vs urban, traditional vs modern society), community, types of community (rural and urban),
difference between society and community, Social stratification, determinants of social
stratification, function of social stratification, Social mobility, types of social mobility and
functions of social mobility.
Introduction
 Sometime, probably close to 200,000 years ago, the first modern Homo sapiens evolved
in Africa.

 Within 150,000 years or so, their descendants had spread across most of the Old World,
even expanding as far as Australia.

 All contemporary populations—more than 6 billion living humans—are placed within

this species (and the same subspecies as well).

Questions About the Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans

 When did modern humans first appear?
 Where did the transition take place?
 In one region or several?
 What was the pace of evolutionary change?
 How fast did the transition occur?
 How did the dispersal of modern humans to other areas of the Old World take place?

Theories of Human Origins

1. Complete Replacement Model: suggests that modern humans originated in Africa
within the last 200 000 years due to an isolation event. H sapiens than migrated to
Europe and Asia, where they completely replaced any other populations of Homo they
came across. They did not interbreed with these populations because they were
completely different species.
2. Regional Continuity Model: With this disclaimer in mind, we'll move onto the Regional
Continuity model of human origin. Speaking rather formally, the Regional Continuity
model of human origin asserts that modern Homo sapiens developed from different
regional populations of archaic Homo sapiens that had previously evolved from regional
populations of Homo erectus. That was a mouthful. Let's break it down further.
 First, this model has its foundation in the work of Charles Darwin, who theorized that
humans advanced over a vast amount of time, moving along the evolutionary ladder from
apes to Homo sapiens.
Second, Homo sapiens are the species of humans that exist today. Putting it plainly, you
and I are Homo sapiens.
Third, Homo erectus is theorized to be an extinct species of primitive man, able to walk
upright.
Partial Replacement Model: Stated academically, the replacement model asserts that
there was a single origin of Homo sapiens in Africa and that these anatomically modern
humans migrated out from Africa and replaced all other lesser-evolved humans
throughout Europe and Asia. Hence, the name replacement model.

1. Society: Meaning and characteristics:

 Society is one of the basic sociological terms. In simple sense, society is a large grouping
that shares the same geographical territory, shares a common culture and social culture
and expected to be abide by some laws
 Some scholars are of the opinion that society exists only when the members know each
other and possess common interest or objects.
 “Man is social animal” said Aristotle centuries ago. Man need society for the attainment of
his optimum happiness and where he can work and enjoy his life.
 Broadly speaking, society may be illustrated, as an economic, social of industrial
infrastructure, made up of a varied collection of individuals. Members of society may be
from various ethnic groups.
 In sociology, a distinction is made between society and culture. Culture refers to the norms,
values, beliefs, behaviors, and meanings given to symbols in a society. Culture is distinct
from society in that it adds meanings to relationships. For instance, what it means to be a
"husband" to a gay couple in Boston is very different from what it means to be a husband to a
polygamist man in rural southern Utah. Thus, while the relationship exists in both (i.e., they
both have social structure), what the relationship means differs by culture.
 All human societies have a culture and culture can only exist where there is a society.
Sociologists distinguish between society and culture despite their close interconnectedness
primarily for analytical purposes: It allows sociologists to think about societal development
independent of culture and cultural change even though societal change and development are
contingent upon culture.
 This chapter presents a brief overview of some of the types of human societies that have
existed and continue to exist. It will then present some classic approaches to understanding
society and what changing social structure can mean for individuals.

The term society is derived from Latin word “socious” means companionship or
friendship.
Definitions:
 1. Horton and Hunt, “A Society is a relatively independent, self-perpetuating human group
which occupies a territory, shares a culture and has most of its associations within
group”.
2. Maclver and page, “society is a system of usages and procedures, authority and mutual
aid, of many groupings and divisions, of human behavior and of liberties”
3. Prof. Giddings, “society is the union itself, the organization, the sum of formal relations
in which associating individuals are bound together.”
4. Mike O’Donnell (1997) “A society consists of individuals belonging to groups which
may vary in size.”
5. Anthony Giddens (2000) states; “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.”

6. August Comte the father of sociology saw society as a social organism possessing a
harmony of structure and function.
7. Emile Durkheim the founding father of the modern sociology treated society as a reality
in its own right.
8. According to Talcott Parsons Society is a total complex of human relationships in so far
as they grow out of the action in terms of means-end relationship intrinsic or symbolic.
9. (J.H. Ficther, Sociology, 1957). “A society may be defined as a network of
interconnected major groups viewed as a unit and sharing a common culture”

10. G.H Mead conceived society as an exchange of gestures which involves the use of
symbols.

11. Morris Ginsberg defines society as a collection of individuals united by certain relations
or mode of behavior which mark them off from others who do not enter into these
relations or who differ from them in behavior.

12. Cole sees Society as the complex of organized associations and institutions with a
community.

13. According to Maclver and Page society is a system of usages and procedures of authority
and mutual aid of many groupings and divisions, of controls of human behavior and
liberties.

SOME FORMS OR TYPES OF SOCIETIES SINCE TIMES IMMORAL: -

 a) PRE-INDUSTRIAL AND INDUSTRIAL

 PRE-INDUSTRIAL: It refersto specific social attributes and forms of political and

cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution.
Which occurred from 1750 to 1850. It is followed by the industrial society.

Some of the features are:

 Use of simplest technology developed locally with the help of indigenous

knowledge.
 They are pro-literate knowledge.
 Low division of labor. In pre-industrial societies production was relatively simply
and the number of specialized crafts was limited.
 Joint family structure is prevalent.
 Dominance of religious and superstitions beliefs over peoples day to day life
activities

PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY CAN BE SUB DIVIDED INTO FOLLOWING SUB-

TYPES:

1. Hunter-Gatherer
The society we live in did not spring up overnight; human societies have evolved slowly over
many millennia. However, throughout history, technological developments have sometimes
brought about dramatic change that has propelled human society into its next [Link] and
Gathering Societies. Hunting and gathering societies survive by hunting game and gathering
edible plants. Until about 12,000 years ago, all societies were hunting and gathering societies.

There are five basic characteristics of hunting and gathering societies:

 1. The primary institution is the family, which decides how food is to be shared and how
children are to be socialized, and which provides for the protection of its members.
2. They tend to be small, with fewer than fifty members.
3. They tend to be nomadic, moving to new areas when the current food supply in a given
area has been exhausted.
4. Members display a high level of interdependence.
5. Labor division is based on sex: men hunt, and women gather.
6. These 1st modern humans were more intelligent and probably better able to
communicate among themselves than were their hominid forebears, although they
inherited a number of valuable customs and technologies from them. Although the rate
of innovation was slow, hominids accumulated a number of useful tools and practices in
the nearly 5 million yeas that had elapsed between the time our ancestors diverged from
the ancestors of the modern great apes and modern humans
7. Probably the most important was the domestication of fire. Fire fostered a technological
and social revolution. Most importantly, fire strengthened the network of
interrelationships within societies.
8. The records are sparse, there is nothing to suggest that there were any major new
developments until much later. Living remained precarious and life expectancy short.
9. Art: Some of the best known innovations from the latter half of this era occur in the arts.
Artistic remains provide many insights into the evolution of human though and the
rapidly growing body of no technological information. By the close of the hunting and
gathering era (about 8000 BC), human societies possessed a far greater store of
cultural information than they possessed 30,000 years before.
10. Language and symbolic version: The explosive growth in the rate of technological
innovation appears to have resulted in critical advances in language.

HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES OF THE RECENT PAST

Even after the emergence of more advanced types of societies, hunting and gathering societies
continued to flourish in many parts of the world. A hundred years ago there were still larger
numbers of them in both the New World and Australia, and smaller numbers is SW Africa, in
parts of the rain forest in central Africa, in certain remote areas in southeast Asia and
neighboring islands and in Arctic Asia.
1. Population Size & Density
Despite the variations in subsistence technology, modern hunting and gathering societies have
much in common. Communities are small and the more completely they depend on hunting and
gathering the smaller they are while those that incorporate other means are larger. The rate of
population growth in also very low. This is in part due to natural causes, but also due to cultural
factors. The most important factors producing equilibrium in growth rates appears to be cultural,
such as delayed marriages and infanticide.
2. Nomadism Modern hunting and gathering societies are usually nomadic and an inevitable
result of their subsistence technology. They move for several reasons:
(1) search new food supplies,
(2) moved to eat a large kill,
(3) seasonal changes and
(4) conflict within the group.
3. Kinship: Ties of kinship are vitally important in most hunting and gathering groups and
social interaction usually organized around kinship roles. Kin groups are of two types: nuclear
and extended families. A nuclear family includes a man, his wife or wives, and their unmarried
children; an extended family contains multiple nuclear families linked by a part-child
relationship although the first is often inclusive in the latter. The extended family is important
because it encourages sharing and serves as a welfare institution.
4. The Economy: Economic institutions are not very complex in hunting and gathering
societies. One reason is that the combination of a simple technology and a nomadic way of life
makes it impossible for most hunting and gathering peoples to accumulate many
possessions. The quest for food is obviously a crucial activity in every hunting and gathering
society. Since most of these societies have no way to store food for extended periods, the food
quest must be fairly continuous. Prior to the last quarter century, most studies of hunting and
gathering societies emphasized the uncertainty of the food supply and the difficulty of obtaining
it. A number of more recent studies, however, paint a brighter picture and indicate that they all
secure an ample supply of food without an undue expenditure of time or energy.
A very few societies do not practice hunting. For the rest, hunting usually provides less food, in
terms of bulk than gathering. According to one estimate, the gathering done by women accounts
for 60-80% of the food supply of hunters and gathers. Because of the primitive nature of its
technology, the division of labor is determined by age and sex. There are no full-time
occupational specialties, although some part-time specialization.
5. The Polity: The political institutions of modern hunting and gathering societies are very
rudimentary. Because they are so small, they have not developed political mechanisms of the
kind required to control and coordinate larger or diverse populations. The primitive nature of the
political system of these societies can be seen clearly in their limited development of
specialized political roles and in the equally limited authority given to people in those
roles. Individuals are hardly free, however, to do as they wish and are restricted by several
elements of social control:
(1) blood revenge,
(2) group pressure, ostracism, or banishment, and
(3) fear of the supernatural.
6. Stratification: The rudimentary nature of the political system and the primitive nature of
the economic system contribute to yet another distinctive characteristic of modern hunting and
gathering societies: minimal inequality in power and privilege or primitive communism. Many
factors are responsible for this:
 Nomadic way of life prevents accumulation of possessions and
 Ready availability of essential resources.
 The concept of private property has only limited development as things an individual use
constantly are recognized as his own, but land and natural resources are public.
 Spite near equality in power and wealth, there is, however, inequality in prestige solely
dependent on personal qualities.
7. Religion: In hunting and gathering societies the members grapple with the problem of
explaining the world, especially those aspects that influence their own lives. Because their store
of information is limited, members quickly reach the limits of their ability to explain things in
naturalistic terms. The basis of their explanations are animistic. The central element of
animism is the belief that spirits inhabit virtually everything in the world of nature.
8. Education: Socialization of the young in hunting and gathering societies is largely an
informal process in which children learn both through their play and through observing and
imitating their elders. This informal socialization is often supplemented by a formal process of
initiation that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. Compared to horticultural or
agrarian societies, education stresses independence.
9. The Arts and Leisure: Modern hunting and gathering peoples have produced a variety of
artistic works. Some of those works include: music, dance, storytelling, and games.

2. Horticulturalist or pastoral societies:

1. Horticultural and pastoral societies both developed about 10,000–12,000 years ago.
2. In horticultural societies, people use a hoe and other simple hand tools to raise
crops.
3. In pastoral societies, people raise and herd sheep, goats, camels and other
domesticated animals and use them as their major source of food and also, depending on
the animal, as a means of transportation. Some societies are either primarily horticultural
or pastoral, while other societies combine both forms. Pastoral societies tend to be at
least somewhat nomadic, as they often have to move to find better grazing land for their
animals.

4. Horticultural societies, on the other hand, tend to be less nomadic, as they are able to
keep growing their crops in the same location for some time.
5. Both types of societies often manage to produce a surplus of food from vegetable or
animal sources, respectively, and this surplus allows them to trade their extra food
with other societies.
6. It also allows them to have a larger population size (often reaching several hundred
members) than hunting and gathering societies.
7. In pastoral societies, wealth stems from the number of animals a family owns, and
families with more animals are wealthier and more powerful than families with fewer
animals.
8. In horticultural societies, wealth stems from the amount of land a family owns, and
families with more land are more wealthy and powerful. In horticultural and pastoral
societies, however, their wealth, and more specifically their differences in wealth, leads
to disputes and even fighting over land and animals.
9. Whereas hunting and gathering peoples tend to be very peaceful, horticultural and
pastoral peoples tend to be more aggressive.
10. The invention of the plow during the horticultural and pastoral societies is considered
the second social revolution, and it led to the establishment of agricultural societies
approximately five thousand to six thousand years ago.
11. Members of an agricultural or agrarian society tend crops with an animal harnessed to
a plow. The use of animals to pull a plow eventually led to the creation of cities and
formed the basic structure of most modern societies.
The development of agricultural societies followed this general sequence:

 Animals are used to pull plows.

 Larger areas of land can then be cultivated.
 As the soil is aerated during plowing, it yields more crops for longer periods of time.
 Productivity increases, and as long as there is plenty of food, people do not have to move.
 Towns form, and then cities.
 As crop yields are high, it is no longer necessary for every member of the society to
engage in some form of farming, so some people begin developing other skills. Job
specialization increases.
 Fewer people are directly involved with the production of food, and the economy becomes
more complex.

To conclude, ten to twelve thousand years ago, a new technology began to change the lives of
people. They discovered horticulture, the use of hand tools to cultivate crops. Human first
planted gardens in the fertile regions of middle east and then in Latin America and Asia. With
the spread of knowledge of horticulture throughout the world, people inhabiting and regions,
such as Sahara in western Africa found horticulture a little value. Those people turned to
domestication of animals.

3. Agrarian Society:

 Agrarian societies are societies in which the primary means of subsistence is the
cultivation of crops using a mixture of human and non-human means (i.e., animals and/or
machinery).
 Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber, and other desired products by
the cultivation of plants and the raising of domesticated animals
(livestock). Agriculture can refer to subsistence agriculture or industrial agriculture.
 Subsistence agriculture is agriculture carried out for the production of enough food to
meet just the needs of the agriculturalist and his/her family.
 Subsistence agriculture is a simple, often organic, system using saved seed native to the
eco-region combined with crop rotation or other relatively simple techniques to maximize
yield.
 Historically most farmers were engaged in subsistence agriculture and this is still the case
in many developing nations.
 In developed nations a person using such simple techniques on small patches of land
would generally be referred to as a gardener; activity of this type would be seen more as a
hobby than a profession. Some people in developed nations are driven into such primitive
methods by poverty. It is also worth noting that large scale organic farming is on the rise
as a result of a renewed interest in non-genetically modified and pesticide free foods.
 Main Characteristics

1. What cause horticultural societies to extinguish, were the late agricultural

inventions around the 8,000’s.

2. With the new inventions, food supplies increased and people settled together.

3. Population grew up rapidly, villages came up and farmers, land owners and also
warriors who protect farms in exchange for food against enemies aroused
firstly.

4. In these societies, social inequality solidly showed itself.

5. A rigid caste system developed; slavery and ownership started to be too different
concepts in those lives. Caste system developed the differentiation between the
elite and agricultural laborers including slaves.

6. Lands started to be so important, especially from ninth to fifteenth centuries,

after the understanding of feudalism developed, every small land owner saw
themselves as kings and owners of people who live for them as well.

7. Concept of social classes spread through the Europe and not only land owners,
but also religious leaders did not have to try to survive because workers had to
give them everything that they had.

8. Art, literature and philosophy were in religious leaders´ hands because of this,
time of feudalism is known as the dark ages. Due to existing monarchy, owners
set up their own rules in their lands and each lord led the society with different
rules and all of them depended on the King.

9. This stratification prevented slaves from rebellion, workers were sweated

and classes and inequalities in Europe continued until the industrial
revolution.

To conclude, about five thousand years ago, another technological revolution was
underway in the middle East and eventually transformed most of the world. This was the
discovery of agriculture in which large scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or
more powerful energy sources.

4. Industrial Society
An industrial society uses advanced sources of energy, rather than humans and animals, to run
large machinery. Industrialization began in the mid-1700s, when the steam engine was first used
in Great Britain as a means of running other machines. By the twentieth century, industrialized
societies had changed dramatically:

 People and goods traversed much longer distances because of innovations in

transportation, such as the train and the steamship.
 Rural areas lost population because more and more people were engaged in factory work
and had to move to the cities.
  Fewer people were needed in agriculture, and societies became urbanized, which means
that the majority of the population lived within commuting distance of a major city.
 Suburbs grew up around cities to provide city-dwellers with alternative places to live.

The twentieth century also saw the invention of the automobile and the harnessing of electricity,
leading to faster and easier transportation, better food storage, mass communication, and much
more. Occupational specialization became even more pronounced, and a person’s vocation
became more of an identifier than his or her family ties, as was common in nonindustrial
societies.

Features of industrial societies

1. With usage of the steam power, human beings started to use machines and
advanced technologies to produce and distribute goods and services.
2. Industrial revolution process began in Britain and then spread through Europe
and to the rest of the world, industrial societies started to develop.
3. The growth of technologies led to advances in farming techniques, so slavery
lost its significance, economy developed quickly and understanding of social
charity and governments’ aids grew up.
4. Feudal social classes removed but then societies divided into two parts as
workers and non-workers. Karl Marx explained that non-workers are
composing capitalist class and they hold all money and also set up rules.
5. Considering this explanation, it is easily understood that non-workers are the
same with non-survivors like lords and religious leaders in preindustrial societies.
Thus, the industrial revolution brought only the slavery extinction and there
is only worker class.
6. Learning from previous mistakes rulers gave more opportunities for social
mobility and also gave more rights than they gave to the slaves. With changes in
social inequalities people started to want their rights and freedom as citizens and
then kingdoms and autocracy lost their power on citizens.
7. Democracy seemed more beneficial and necessary with French and
American Revolutions.
8. Nationality became more important and so, citizens won their rights and classes
existed as just economic differences.
9. Politically everyone seemed equal but, of course, inequalities between money
owners and sellers of their own labors to survive, unstoppably increased.
10. Villages lost their significance and towns became places where occupation
opportunities were supplied. Leads to the rise of very large cities and surrounding
suburban areas with a high rate of economic activity
11. With the industrial technology, societies began to change faster and industrial
societies transformed themselves more in one century than they had during the
past thousand years
12. Industrialization draws people away from home to factories situated near
energy sources.
13. Occupation specialization has become more pronounced andDivision of labor
becomes over exhibited.
14. Rapid change and movement from place to place also generate anonymity,
cultural diversity and numerous subculture and counter cultures.

Sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies divided societies into two large categories:

Gemeinschaft societies and Gesellschaft societies.
 Gemeinschaft societies consist primarily of villages in which everyone knows everyone else.
Relationships are lifelong and based on kinship.

A Gesellschaft society is modernized. People have little in common with one another, and
relationships are short term and based on self-interest, with little concern for the well-being of
others.

5. Post-Industrial
 A post-industrial society is a society in which the primary means of subsistence is derived
from service-oriented work, as opposed to agriculture or industry.[8] It is important to
note here that the term post-industrial is still debated in part because it is the current state
of society; it is difficult to name a phenomenon while it is occurring.
 Post-industrial societies are often marked by:

 an increase in the size of the service sector or jobs that perform services
rather than creating goods (industry)
 either the outsourcing of or extensive use of mechanization in
manufacturing
 an increase in the amount of information technology, often leading to an
Information Age
 information, knowledge, and creativity are seen as the new raw materials of
the economy

The Industrial Revolution transformed Western societies in many unexpected ways. All the
machines and inventions for producing and transporting goods reduced the need for human labor
so much that the economy transformed again, from an industrial to a postindustrial economy.

A postindustrial society,

the type of society that has developed over the past few decades, features an economy based on
services and technology, not production. There are three major characteristics of a postindustrial
economy:

1. Focus on ideas: Tangible goods no longer drive the economy.

2. Need for higher education: Factory work does not require advanced training, and the new focus
on information and technology means that people must pursue greater education.
3. Shift in workplace from cities to homes: New communications technology allows work to be
performed from a variety of locations
4. Economic Development,
5. Innovation,
6. Technological Change and Growth
7. Industrialization,
8. Manufacturing and Service Industries,
9. Choice of Technology.
10. People work with other people to deliver a service:
11. Transformation of working class to professional middle class:
12. Emergence of knowledge elites:
13. Growth of multiple networks:
14. Divide in society:
15. Majority sell labour at cheap rates:
16. Post-industrial turn: Towards social and economic polarization:
17. Sharp gender division:
18. New character of modern economy: Globalization:
19. Interaction between the informational mode of development and the restructuring of
capitalism:
20. Organizational mode of development.
21. It increases the rate of profit.
22. The result of information is the flexible production.
23. Flexibility is also a necessary condition for the formation of the new world economy.
24. Post-industrialism: Dynamics and trends:
25. Multi-national corporations,
26. Information technologies,
27. Informational mode of development,
28. Information occupations,
29. Think work,
30. Knowledge elites,
31. New servile class,
32. Uneven global development, and
33. New social movements.

34. Mass Society

As industrialized societies grow and develop, they become increasingly different from their less
industrialized counterparts. As they become larger, they evolve into large, impersonal mass
societies. In a mass society, individual achievement is valued over kinship ties, and people often
feel isolated from one another. Personal incomes are generally high, and there is great diversity
among people.

 According to common view, in those societies, there is neither social inequality nor
classification. People won their own freedom by working hard, if there are any
differences or discrimination, this is caused by capitalist and global world, not the
governments´ mistakes.
 That is, rather than being driven by the factory production of goods, society is being
shaped by the human mind, aided by computer technology.
 Although factories will always exist, the key to wealth and power seems to lie in the
ability to generate, store, manipulate, and sell information. Sociologists speculate about
the characteristics of postindustrial society in the near future.
  They predict increased levels of education and training, consumerism, availability of
goods, and social mobility. While they hope for a decline in inequality as technical skills
and “know-how” begins to determine class rather than the ownership of property,
sociologists are also concerned about potential social divisions based on those who have
appropriate education and those who do not.
 Sociologists believe society will become more concerned with the welfare of all members
of society. They hope postindustrial society will be less characterized by social conflict,
as everyone works together to solve society’s problems through science. (Andersen &
Taylor, 2006: 118)

To conclude, in history, there have been very different societies in terms of their level of
development, levels of inequality, political organizations and cultural factors but only those six
types explain easily which stages we passed. Moreover, in today´s world almost all types of
societies exist but each of them approaches through postindustrial society even if they are not.
From this research paper, it is proved that how technology is important in shaping and
characterizing society among the economy, social inequalities and classes.

Nature and character of society

 Largest social group of people

 Composed of social groups (profession, age, caste, sex, literacy, residence etc)
 Social institutions are the main organs
 Society changes with the rate depending upon the culture
 Dynamism
 Rural, urban composition
 Presence of culture
 Fulfilment of human needs
 Consciousness of kindness (loyalty with each other)
 Organized in nature
 Limited geographical boundary
 Presence of social system
 Socialization of individuals
 Permanent social groups

Elements of society

 Society is abstract: (Maclver argued, “we may see the people but cannot see society or
social structure, but only its only external aspects”. Social relationships are invisible and
abstract.
 Cooperation and conflict in society: Society is a process and not a product: Society
exists only as a time sequence. It is becoming, not a being; a process and not a product”
(Maclver and Page, 1956).
  Society as a system of stratification: Society provides a system of stratification of
statuses and classes that each individual has a relatively stable and recognizable position
in the social structure.
 A big aggregate of people
 Living together since long
 Having a sense of belonging to one other
 More or less permanent association and
 Having a common culture

Types of society

 Human societies can be divided into the following three sets

1) NOMADIC VS SEDENTARY SOCIETIES

2) TRADITIONAL VS MODERN SOCIETIES
3) RURAL VS URBAN SOCITIES

NOMADIC SOCITIETIES:Nomadic societies have no permanent place of settlement. The

people roam from place to place with their luggage on the backs of camels, horses and donkeys
in search of fodders and water for their animals and food for themselves. They have no
hereditary property. They are more a tribe and have tribal culture. The cultural traditions have
very forceful binding upon the members
Characterizes of nomadic societies:
i. Population size
ii. Geographical mobility
iii. Absence of ownership
iv. Traditional way of living
v. Strict social norms
vi. Local culture
vii. No Profession
viii. Resistance to social change

THE SEDENTARY SOCIETY:

The sedentary is the society other than the nomadic having permanent settlement in rural and
urban areas:
Characterizes of sedentary societies:
i. Permanent settlement
ii. Transfer of ancestral land
iii. Stratified social change
iv. Presence of sub culture
v. Presence of tribal group
vi. Low geographical mobility
vii. Social reforms
viii. Ethnocentrism
 ix. Less social change

TRADITIONAL SOCIETY:Traditional is that society which has fewer social institutions.

simple culture with old ways of life exists. Means of communication are very slow and old.
Urban life is very rarely found. Social changes are minimum almost invisible. The population in
such society is not much and homogeneous social life is found.
Characterizes of traditional societies:
i) Non-industrial structure
ii) Simple economic institutions
iii) Simple way of living
iv) Kacha tracks and roads
v) Lack of modern communication facilities
vi) Slow social interaction
vii) Limited social institutions
viii) Small population
ix) Lack of invention
x) Less social change
xi) Lack of basic civic facilities
xii) Protection of religious and cultural values

MODERN SOCIETY: A modern society is based on expansion of education, technology,

industry and urban life. It has a complex culture changing with the time. Due to diverse social
conditions heterogeneous life is found. Social problems are too much in such type of society:
Characterizes of modern societies:
i) Advance industry and technology
ii) Urbanization
iii) High population pressure
iv) Sub social institutions
v) Job opportunities
vi) Better income opportunities
vii) Social stratification
viii) Urban facilities
ix) Source of communication
x) Social mobility
xi) International relations
xii) Crime rate
xiii) Women status

RURAL SOCIETY: Rural is the society which is sparsely populated with emphasis on
agricultural professions. Simple culture with natural environment and informal social life are the
conditions. Homogeneity in profession, dress, language and customs of social life is usually
found in such people. The rate of change is slow due to slow means of communication.
Agriculture is main profession
Characterizes of rural Societies:
 i. Open settlement
ii. Mud constructed houses
iii. Agriculture
iv. Informal social norms
v. Informal social groups
vi. Informal social interaction
vii. Informal social control
viii. Low literacy rate
ix. Less social change
x. Attachment with religion
xi. Poor urban facilities

THE URBAN SOCIETY: An urban society is similar to having the facilities of modern social
life. Social interaction is fast and formal. The rate of social change is faster due to education,
technology, industry and urbanization. A complex social life is found in which the people or
different races, professions, castes and religions live together. Anonymity is an important trait:
Characterizes of urban societies:
i) Dense settlement pattern
ii) Pakka houses
iii) Urban facilities
v) Formal social interaction
v) Formal group life
vi) Division of labor
vii) Shortage of houses
viii) Social institutions are organizations
ix) Social change
x) Anonymity \
xi) High standard of living

2) COMMUNITY; MEANING AND CHARACTERISTICS.

Definition:

1. Bertrand has defined community as “a functionally related aggregate of people who live
in a particular geographical locality at a particular time, show a common culture,
arranged in a social structure and exhibit an awareness of their unique and separate
identity as a group”
2. Community is a social group with some degree of “we feeling” and living in a given area
(Bargardus)
3. Community is any circle of people who live together and belong together in such a way
that they do and share this or that particular interest but a whole set of interests
(Manheim)

Types of Communities

Rural Community:
  Natural phenomenon
 Present almost in every society of the world having distinct culture and pattern of social
life
 It is actually a product of natural free will of people having extreme similarity in their
objectives and ambitions of life
 Agriculture as a main source of identity and income
 Face to face interaction
 Higher degree of homogeneity
 Basic urban facilities like school, hospital, market, municipal office, police station are
usually missing in this community

Characteristics of Rural Communities:

 Small population
 Lack in administrative organizations
 Lack in modern facilities
 Absence of big social institutions
 Agrarian in nature
 Scattered housing pattern
 Equal division of labor
 Informal interaction
 Slow interaction and social change
 Celebration of events and rituals
 Homogeneity
 Traditional recreations
 Endogamy
Urban Community:
 Opposite of rural community
 In such community people are highly impersonal alongwith high degree of complexity
and heterogeneity in their living style and identities
 Actual product of rational choice
 A complex division of labor with specialization in their jobs
 Modern civic facilities etc

Characteristics of Urban Communities:

 Large population with administrative organizations

 Presence of modern facilities
 Modern recreation
 Expanding social institutions
 Division of labor and specialization
 Heterogeneity
 Fast interaction
 Changing behavior
 Rapid social change
 Frequent social mobility
 Least importance of caste
 Religious beliefs as a part of social life
  Anonymity
 Exogamy
Difference between society and community
Society Community
1. Population: Society is a large aggregate of people while community is
comparatively a small group of people.
2. Geographical boundary: The society has limited geographical boundary while
community has no such rigidity in area.
3. Interaction: The people in society form a large group because social interaction
due to high population is not possible, whereas in community, people are very
close to each other and have frequent social interaction which develops group and
strong social solidarity
4. Relationship: The people in a society have mutual relationship on the basis of
common culture which may be lost at any time, whereas in community people have
sentiments of loyalty with each other which creates “we feeling” sense.
5. Sense of belongingness:A sense of belonging to one another is commonly found in
communities but such traits lacks in societies
6. Culture:A local culture dominates in social life in community, whereas in society
people have different cultures as well
7. Self Sufficiency:The community is more or less self-sufficient in its needs. The
society on the other hand depends upon other societies in the satisfaction of its
various needs.
8. Interaction: The interaction in community is mostly face to face while face to face
interaction in society is not possible among all people
9. Institutions: The number of institutions in a community is limited while the
society as a huge networks of institutions.
10. Cooperation: The cooperation and mutual aid are more effective in community
than in the people of a society
 (SOCIAL STRATIFICATION & SOCIAL MOBILITY)
Agenda of Discussion:
Social Interaction: Caste and classes, Forms of social classes, Feudal system in Pakistan, Social
Mobility-nature of social mobility and its determinants in Pakistani society, Culture of poverty
 Social stratification is one of the outcomes of the continuous occurring of social processes.
Every society is segmented in to different hierarchies. In virtually all societies, some people
are regarded as more important than others (more worthy of respect than others), either
within the society as a whole or in a certain situations.

 Social stratification is the segmentation of society into different hierarchical arrangement or

strata. It refers to the differences and inequalities in the socioeconomic life of people in a
given society. It represents the ranking of individuals or social positions and statuses in the
social structure. The term is borrowed from geology where it is used to explain the
hierarchical arrangement of rocks and mineral in the earth’s surface.

 When applied to the world of people, it refers to hierarchical arrangement of people into
different classes or strata which is the division of a population into two or more layers, each
of which is relatively homogenous, between which there are differences in privileges,
restrictions, rewards and obligations (Macionis, 1997; Henslin and Nelson, 1995; Calhoun et
al 1994).

The Importance of Studying Social Stratification

The study of social stratification is particularly important for sociologists. Some of the reasons
for this may include (Giddens, 1995):

I. Analysis of understanding type of people: To investigate the class membership of

individuals in society with the aim of understanding the type of life people live. That is,
knowing what type of life individuals in a given social group or stratum live is very
important for sociological analysis
II. To explore the bases for the assignment of individuals into various hierarchies of the social
structure. What are the bases for stratifying individuals into a specific stratum?
III. To understand the relationship between individuals assigned into different hierarchies.
What kind of interaction and relationship exist between individuals located into different
strata?
IV. To investigate the relationship between individuals or groups belonging to the same
hierarchy. What kinds of relationship exist between people in the same stratum?
V. To understand what type of social system givesrise to what or which types of hierarchies.
That is, the type of social stratification varies across cultures, times and types of social
systems.

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
 The people in different societies have different ranks and high and low. the distribution of
people of a society in groups on the basis of their status is called social stratification. This
distribution may be on the basis of occupation, caste, education, source of income, prestige
and political power.
 social stratification differs from society to society. It is classification of people within a
society.
 sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes
inequalities apparent. While there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists
are interested in larger social patterns.
 Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on
group membership, classes, and the like. No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for
social inequalities. A person’s social standing is affected by the structure of society.
Definitions of social stratification:

1. Ogburn and Nimkoff: ‘The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in more or
less enduring hierarchy of status is known as stratification”

2. Lundberg: “A stratified society is one marked by inequality, by differences among people

that are evaluated by them as being “lower” and “higher”.

3. Gisbert: “Social stratification is the division of society into permanent groups of categories
linked with each other by the relationship of superiority and subordinations”.

4. Williams: Social Stratification refers to “The ranking of individuals on a scale of superiority-

inferiority-equality, according to some commonly accepted basis of valuation.

5. Raymond W. Murray: Social stratification is horizontal division of society into “higher” and
“lower” social units.”

6. Melvin M Tumin: “Social stratification refers to “arrangement of any social group or society
into hierarchy of positions that are unequal with regard to power, property, social evaluation and
psychic gratification”.

Origin of Stratification:

Regarding the origin of stratification many views have been given.

1. According to Davis, social stratification has come into being due to the functional
necessity of the social system.
2. Professor Sorokin attributed social stratification mainly to inherited difference in
environmental conditions.
3. According to Karl Mrax, social factors are responsible for the emergence of different
social strata, i.e. social stratification.
4. Gumplowioz and other contended that the origin of social stratification is to be found
in the conquest of one group by another.
5. According to Spengler, social stratification is founded upon scarcity which is created
whenever society differentiates positive in terms of functions and powers.
6. According to Daherndorf: Stratification is always a rank order in terms of prestige
and not esteem which can be thought of independently of their individual incumbents.
7. Melvin defines that social stratification refers to arrangements of any social group or
society into hierarchy of positions that are unequal with regard to power, property,
social evaluation and psychic gratification.
8. Hogan says that stratification is relatively permanent ranking of statues and roles in a
social system ( ranging from small group to a society) in terms of differential
privileges, prestige, influence and power is called social stratification.
9. Racial differences accompanied by dissimilarity also leads to stratification.
 10. Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing.
Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of
socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power.
11. Social stratification is a system in which groups of people are divided into layers
according to their relative property, power, and prestige. It is important to emphasize
that social stratification does not refer to individuals. It is a way of ranking large
groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privilege

ORIGIN OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Theoretical perspective Major assumptions

Functionalism: Stratification is necessary to induce people with special intelligence,
knowledge, and skills to enter the most important occupations. For
this reason, stratification is necessary and inevitable.
Conflict: Stratification results from lack of opportunity and from
discrimination and prejudice against the poor, women, and people of
color. It is neither necessary nor inevitable.
Symbolic Stratification affects people’s beliefs, lifestyles, daily interaction,
interactionism: and conceptions of themselves.

Determinants of Social Stratification:

Max Weber gave a model of three elements for social stratification: economic resources,
prestige and political power. In Pakistani society, following factors determines social
stratification:

1. Economic Resources
2. Occupation
3. Prestige
4. Power
5. Caste
6. Education

Characteristics of Social Stratification:

On the basis of the analysis of the different definitions given by eminent scholars, social
stratification may have the following characteristics.

(a) Social stratification is universal: There is no society on this world which is free from
stratification. Modern stratification differs from stratification of primitive societies. It is a
worldwide phenomenon. According to Sorokin “all permanently organized groups are stratified.”

(b) Stratification is social: It is true that biological qualities do not determine one’s superiority
and inferiority. Factors like age, sex, intelligence as well as strength often contribute as the basis
on which statues are distinguished. But one’s education, property, power, experience, character,
personality etc. are found to be more important than biological qualities. Hence, stratification is
social by nature.

(c) It is ancient: Stratification system is very old. It was present even in the small wondering
bonds. In almost all the ancient civilizations, the differences between the rich and poor, humble
and powerful existed. During the period of Plato and Kautilya even emphasis was given to
political, social and economic inequalities.
(d) It is in diverse forms: The forms of stratification is not uniform in all the societies. In the
modern world class, caste and estate are the general forms of stratification. In India a special type
of stratification in the form of caste is found. In Hindu society, the ancient Aryas were divided
into four varnas: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras.

The ancient Greeks were divided into freemen and slaves and the ancient Romans were divided
into the patricians and the plebians. So every society, past or present, big or small is
characterized by diversed forms of social stratification.

(e) Social stratification is Consequential: Social stratification has two important consequences
one is “life chances” and the other one is “life style”. A class system not only affects the “life-
chances” of the individuals but also their “life style”.

The members of a class have similar social chances but the social chances vary in every society.
It includes chances of survival and of good physical and mental health, opportunities for
education, chances of obtaining justice, marital conflict, separation and divorce etc.

Life style denotes a style of life which is distinctive of a particular social status. Life-styles
include such matters like the residential areas in every community which have gradations of
prestige-ranking, mode of housing, means of recreation, the kinds of dress, the kinds of books,
TV shows to which one is exposed and so on. Life-style may be viewed as a sub-culture in which
one stratum differs from another within the frame work of a commonly shared over-all culture.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:

1. Encourages hard work

2. Ensures circulations of elites ( when too much respect is given to people based on status
or position, people tend to get it again and again). People start competition which is
called circulations of elites
3. Serves as an economic function (ensure rational use of available talent
4. Prevents waste of resources
5. Stabilizes and reinforces the attitude and skills
6. Helps to pursue different professions and jobs
7. Social control

SOCIAL MOBILITY:

every society has social mobility, but the rate of social mobility is different in all the societies
depending upon their cultural conditions.

Social mobility refers to the movement within the social structure, from one social position to
another. It means a change in social status. All societies provide some opportunity for social
mobility. But the societies differ from each other to extent in which individuals can move from
one class or status level to another.

It is said that the greater the amount of social mobility, the more open the class structure. The
concept of social mobility has fundamental importance in ascertaining the relative “openness” of
a social structure. The nature, forms, direction and magnitude of social mobility depends on the
nature and types of social stratification. Sociologists study social mobility in order to find out the
relative ‘openness’ of a social structure.
Any group that improves its standard will also improve its social status. But the rate of social
mobility is not uniform in all the countries. It differs from society to society from time to time. In
India the rate of mobility is naturally low because of agriculture being the predominant
occupation and the continuity of caste system as compared to the other countries of the world.

Definition:

i. According to Fairchild " social mobility is a movement from one condition to another"
ii. Stephen says that "social mobility is moving of an individual or group of people from one
status to another"
iii. Horton and Hunt " social mobility may be defined as the act of moving from one social
class to another"

from the above definitions, social mobility can be defined:

 is a movement of an individual or group of people from one condition to another

 is adoption of change which may be social progress or
 is rejection of previous social conditions and adjusting into the new changes of life

types of social mobility:

1) Territorial mobility: from Karachi to Islamabad etc

2) Vertical mobility: (Upward & downward
3) horizontal mobility ( change of job within same grade)
4) intergenerational mobility: ( mobility between generations for example a son of taxi
driver gets education and becomes doctor is intergenerational mobility
5) intra-generational mobility: (a change or change of social status of an individual or
group of individuals within the same generation i.e. among four brothers one is CSP,
Doctor, Businessman and Clerk)

Causes of social mobility:

 Dissatisfaction from previous condition

 adoption of new conditions
 industrial and technological conditions
 education
 urbanization
 means of communication and transportation etc