Module 5 THE HUMAN SOCIETY The nature of human society Human society is often used to designate an organized and interdependent community of people engaged in a number of role relationships and pooled together through a system of communications geared towards unity. Also often used in contrast to the term individual. Every society is organized in such a way that there are means for social control, mores, expectations that ensure proper conduct and other similar subjects. Regardless of whether the society is small, the factors which unify the members-common interest, relationship and motives- are identical and indispensable. Sometimes the word system is used to represent human societies, A system is an existence made up of interrelated parts that varies a great deal in the degree to which the functions of the parts are coordinated with one another and with the functioning of the system as a whole. Consider a clock. Each component-gears, dial, hands, springs, etc. exist and functions for one purpose, that is, to mark the passage of time. The activities that go on all serve the interest of the system rather than the interest of any components, is more than not poor. For another, they (the components), function in ways that are individualistic and self-assertive rather than serve the interest of the system ( society). They think of their own self-interest instead of subordinating them to the needs of the group Characteristics of Human Society The concept of human society lies in the interrelationship and interdependence among its members. In sociological sense, society is: 1. A social system. The components are the individuals and the groups that interact in a relatively stable and patterned manner. Since they are intertwined, a component cannot change without affecting a consequent change in the social system. 2. Relatively large. It is composed of all the comparatively smaller units-the family, neighborhood, communities, etc. 3. Recruits most of its members from within. Most of the members are born into a society. The old people are thereby replaced by the newborns and are socialized or taught the basic norms and expectations of their society. There may be cases, as with migration, where members came from the other societies. Nevertheless, these persons must be socialized first before they can be considered and accepted as functioning members of the society.
4. Sustains itself across generation. The society should last longer than the lifetime of the individual members. To be a society, they should have the ability to produce several generations of members. 5. Share a culture. The society has a culture that is distinct and is shared by most or all the members- common language, similarities in values and norms, etc.. This gives the individual a vision and a sense of purpose that would sustain the patterns of interaction that holds the society together. 6. Occupies a territory. The society must live in a specific, clearly defined geographic area within which the members should reside to create an environment for which social contact is possible and a common culture can exist. System needs of human society In order that a society to survive, there are certain necessary conditions that should exist. Some sociologists call them functional requisites but for our purposes, let us use the term system needs. 1. Communication among its members. This is the sine qua non of all societies. If the members are unable to communicate or exchange information among themselves, social behavior is impossible. 2. There must be production and distribution of goods and services to satisfy the physical and psychic needs of the members. The term physical here refers to food, shelter, and the like while psychic refers to affection. In human societies, production must be a cooperative effort. Distribution, on the other hand, is a very delicate matter in societies where production is highly specialized. Thus, there should be mechanisms that facilitate exchange between consumers and produces mechanisms for moving goods and services from one place to another, and mechanisms to determine who receives and how much. 3. Protection of the members from threats posed by the environment. These threats include the physical hazards such as storms, floods, etc; other organisms such as wild animals, germs, etc; and other human societies. 4. Members must be replaced. Death is the ultimate fate of everyone. Thus for a society to continue, its cultural heritage must be perpetuated. This is accomplished by means of the socialization process-development of a person's potentialities. 5. There must be some means of control and regulation of behavior of the members. The reason for this are: a.) to ensure that the vital work of the society gets done; and b.) so that conflicts among the members which disrupts societal life would be prevented. 6. Group direction. This implies that every society needs a system of leadership and a culturally defined means on how to select among its members the person to serve in that capacity. !n addition, in order for the members to accept direction and work together in an effort to solve problems, they must, have a sense of a shared identity, the perception that they belong to a distinct and important entity.
Types of human societies 1. Hunting and food gathering society. The earliest form of human society. Their people survived by hunting wild animals and gathering vegetables. Tools and weapons are made up of woods, stone, and sometimes bones. The important thing to note in this society is: their civilization may be primitive but they had discovered simple technologies that can give them living comforts. Take for example the need for heat. They found out that by rubbing two wooden sticks or two stones, heat or fire may be produced- friction. Nomads by nature, have no permanent settlements or properties. After gathering food, they move on. It might be primitive or may be uncivilized way of living for some of us but we can borrow some of their group traits. Their hunting and gathering activities are organized. The concept of the division of labor exist – by age and sex. Males usually perform the tougher jobs while the females get the domesticated jobs. This role differentiation in not extreme though. There are times when both perform the same tasks according to need. Another group trait that is worth adopting is sharing and cooperation. Sharing a catch or a kilt among themselves and their primate relatives is a daily occurrence. 2. Horticultural and fishing societies. They are believed to have started some 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The hunters and gatherers rely on Mother Nature to provide them with sustenance; the horticultural societies are more resourceful. They discovered the possibility of planting and taming animals. It was believed that women were the first to learn that fruits and vegetables could be grown because it was their responsibility to pick them. The horticultural society is a new form of subsistence that uses human muscle power and hand-held tools to cultivate fields. The basic industry of this society is fishing. These societies are considered more advanced than the original societies. For them, fish is a steady, abundant and dependable economic resource. Unlike the first society, they have less inclination to travel The important thing to note here is the existence of a very simple yet a very effective political organization. Usually, authority is based on the positions inherited by males through the kinship system. 3. Pastoral or herding Societies. This society relies mainly on the domestication of animals for food and clothing. In this society, animals are raised to provide milk. These societies are organized along male- centered kinship groups. They are usually united under strong political figures. However, centralized political leadership does not occur. This society marked an advance over the hunting stage toward the development of settled community life.
4. Agricultural Societies. These societies are extensions of the horticultural societies. Along with the domestication of animals is the cultivation of soil. They use the plow in their food production. They no longer move from one place to another because this assured a stable supply of food. There are important features inherent in an agricultural society. 1. Presence of a written language. Imperialism are both with the appearance of these societies together with the invention of plow. Communication and transportation facilities are greatly improved. Record keeping is made possible with the emergence of a written language. Mobility of people from one piece to another is made faster and far more efficient. 2. Existence of more permanent urban centers. With the invention of the plow, bigger tracks of land can be cultivated in a shorter period of time. Rise of powerful societies that exploit the week societies. And most importantly, stratification into working class, middle class and the upper middle had eventually evolved. 3. Wars brought about by thirst for power and control over territories. The working class and the peasants compose the lowest level of society in terms of economic resources, power and prestige. They do not own properties and they work with material rather than with humans. The middle class works mainly in the service of the elite. They own small amount of income generating properties such as land, shops, house etc. The ruling class or the upper class considers working with the hands degrading and unsuitable to their elevated positions. They are stingy; their main concern is to acquire more wealth, power and prestige Therefore, because of this economic and social solidarity, peasants fed up with the situation staged revolts to sort of alleviate their impoverish states if not totally wipe they out. Unfortunately, theirs is not a fairytale story where they live happily ever after... As it happens, their efforts proved futile. 5. Industrial societies. These societies are characterized by the use of mechanical means of production and more importantly, an immense mobile, diversely specialized, highly skilled, and well-coordinated labor force. Members of these societies must be literate if not educated. They depend mostly on the inventions and the advances made by crafts people. There were two social classes that existed during the era of industrial societies: Labor force that produces the goods and services but has little, if any at ail, influence on what, is done with them; and A much smaller class that determines what shall be produced and how it will be distributed.
Characteristics of this society Kinship now plays a much smaller role in patterning public affairs Industrial societies are highly secularized Bureaucracy: predominant form of social and political organization in industrial societies. 5. Post-industrial Society. This society depends on the knowledge to bring about continuing progress in technology. The hallmarks of this society are knowledge and information that is why one of the characteristics of this society is the spread of computer technology. Some may view industrialization as a major breakthrough in development, but to sociologist, this may bring problems. According to Jacques Ellui, a French sociologist, industrial technology is spreading inexorably around the world, homogenizing social relations among individuals and the interactions between humans and the natural environment. Also, the industrial environment gives rise to pollution and other major environmental and political problems. Premodern Societies Several types of premodern society can be distinguished. In hunting and gathering societies, people do not grow crops or keep livestock but gain their livelihood from gathering plants and hunting animals. Pastoral societies are those that raise domesticated animals as their major source of subsistence. Agrarian societies depend on the cultivation of fixed plots of land. Larger, more developed, urban societies form traditional states or civilizations. Societies in the Modern World The development of industrialized societies and the expansion of the West led to the conquest of many parts of the world through the process of colonialism, which radically changed long-established social systems and cultures. In industrialized societies, industrial production (whose techniques are also used in the production of food) is the main basis of the economy, industrialized countries include the nations of the West, plus Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. They now include those industrialized societies ruled by communist governments. The developing world, in which most of the world's population live is almost all formerly colonized areas. The majority of the population works in agricultural production, some of which is geared to world markets. The Impact of Globalization The increase in global communications and economic interdependence represents more than simply the growth of world unity. Time and distance are being reorganized in ways that bring us all closer together, but even as globalization threatens to make all cultures seem alike, local cultural identifications are resurging around the world. This is seen in
the rise of nationalism, which can result in ethnic conflict as well as ethnic pride.