The Nature of Society 1.

A society is a social system- A

social system is made up of individuals
Society is universal among humans. For ages, it and groups that interact in a relatively
has performed major adaptive functions that stable and patterned manner. As a
have increased the chances of human survival. system, it consists of sub-parts. A
change in one segment will affect all the
Society is the counterpart of those biological other parts of the system.
adaptive mechanisms that cause one species to
survive and another to become extinct. In the
case of humans, the social organizations that
result in society have enabled man to survive. 2. A society is relatively large. The
society can be regarded as the largest
In human society, members are mutually and most inclusive social unit that exists.
interdependent to an extent not true to any non- In fact, it integrates all the smaller social
human society. groups and units of which it is composed
of the family, neighborhood,
Every society is organized in such a way that communities, and others. It follows
there are rules of conduct, customs, traditions, therefore that society must be larger in
folkways and mores, and expectations that comparison with its surrounding
ensure appropriate behavior among members. population. For example, a small,
The socialization process inculcates these into isolated group like the Tasaday, a Stone
all members in the early stages of life. Age group in the Philippine forest, is a
However, these norms or standards of behavior complete society, even though it consists
are never exactly the same from one society to only of a few hundred people.
another.

Early anthropologists believed that society’s

norms determine the behavior of its members. It 3. A society recruits most of its
was believed that people were born into a world members from within. This is done
in which the society’s norms had already been through reproduction and socialization.
set and that early socialization made these Most members of any society are those
norms an integral part of every member’s born to it, and who are taught the basic
personality. norms and expectations of such a
society. However, the process of
migration and social geographic
mobility give rise to members who come
from other societies. Nevertheless,
Characteristics of Human Society
before any individual is accepted as a
functioning member, he/she must first
The concept of society implies a number of
be socialized into or taught the
characteristics in sociological and
expectations of such society.
anthropological sense. It has been viewed as
people living in interdependence.

1. A society is a social system 4. A society sustains itself across

2. A society is relatively large. generations. This characteristic is
3. A society recruits most of its members related to the fact that societies recruit
from within. their members from within. For any
4. A society sustains itself across generations. group of people to be a society, they
5. Society's members share a culture. must show their ability to endure,
6. A society occupies a territory. produce, and sustain at least several
generations of members. For instance,
 the Ik society in Uganda is on the verge According to Richard Leakey, "Hunting is the
of extinction since they no longer have key characteristic in the development of human
the ability to produce and sustain new social organization." The humans' close primate
members. Conditions of hunger and cousins are primarily vegetarians. Primates are
extreme poverty have destroyed the fiber social animals. However, plant-eating existence
of their social structure. tends to make the individual members very self-
centered and uncooperative. To be a vegetarian
is essentially to be solitary. It can be observed
that each member takes a leaf from a branch, or
5. Society's members share a culture. plucks fruits from a tree, and promptly eats it.
Sharing a culture gives individuals the There is little communal eating or sharing of
vision and sense of purpose to sustain foods.
the patterns of interaction that hold
together the society. As members of In early times, our ancestors organized their
society, individuals acquire a repertory hunting and gathering and started sharing
of ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. between themselves and their primate relatives
Culture consists largely of symbols, through hunting and gathering that helped
norms, and values shared by members of produce an increasingly adaptable way of life.
the society.
Fichter et al. (1977) summarized a package of
traits derived from hunting and food gathering:

6. A society occupies a territory. a. A base camp. This was a place where infants
Society is restricted to a group whose could be cared for and where meat and plant
members mostly live in a specific, foods could be brought. This camp became an
clearly defined geographic area. While important social focus.
many organizations use the term society
to refer to them, human society refers to b. A division of labor. Males were the hunters.
one that occupies a specific habitat. Females were tasked with child rearing and
plant food gathering.

c. The development of cooperation. As society

Types of Human Societies was formed, each individual became more
dependent on the activities and the trust of
The following may be considered the major others in the group. This gave rise to a closely-
types of human societies: knit social group where the prolonged
socialization of children became possible.
1. Hunting and food gathering societies. This is
the earliest form of human society. People 2. Horticultural societies. These societies are
survived by foraging for vegetable foods, believed to have started some 12,000 to 15,000
fishing, hunting large wild animals, and
years ago. These coincided with the retreat of
collecting shellfish. They subsisted from day to
day on whatever was available. They depended,
the last glaciers when a drying trend took place
to a large extent, on tools made of stones, in what previously had been rich, subtropical
woods, and bones. climate, and the giant deserts of Africa, Asia,
and the Middle East emerged.
Anthropologists have estimated that humans
hunted for at least one million years, but it has During this age, some humans continued to eke
only been a mere ten thousand years since the out an existence using the old subsistence
first people began to experiment with the techniques. Others crowded together in more
possibilities of organized agriculture. abundant regions harvesting wild grains, until
population pressures drove them out into less
favorable environments, which they later
attempted to recreate. It is in this so doing that community tends to be structured by kinship
they created a new form of subsistence—the relations that are male dominated.
horticultural societies—with the use of human
muscle power and handheld tools to cultivate Production of surpluses is culturally valued. The
the fields. society is often interested in expansion. They
have an organized military force. In this society,
Anthropologists agree that women invented this expansion means more land and more captured
new and revolutionary form of food production labor, which in turn establish an accumulation
—deliberately planting seeds with the idea of of greater surpluses, specialized craftspeople,
having a source of food in the future. It is said and conspicuous consumption.
that this process seemed to have repeated itself
at least three times in three different places: 3. Pastoral societies. This type of society relies
(a) in the Far East, rice was first domesticated in on herding and the domestication of animals for
Thailand about 11,000 years ago; food and clothing to satisfy the bulk of the
(b) in the Middle East, wheat barley and rye group’s needs. Here, animals being raised
were domesticated about 10,000 years ago; and provide milk, dung (for fuel), skin, sheared fur,
(c) in Mesoamerica, corn was domesticated and even blood (which was drunk as a major
between 6,000 and 9,000 years ago. source of protein in East Africa).

From these three points of origin, the cultivation Pastoral societies develop in many regions not
of plants spread out and has become the most suitable for plant domestication, for example,
widespread means of subsistence and the northern tundra plains in Europe and Asia.
economic base on which all civilizations were Pastoralism never occurs in forest or jungle
built. regions.

Anthropologists identified two distinct Many pastoral groups rely partly on horticulture
approaches to horticulture: subsistence farming to subsist. Most pastoralists are nomads (semi-
and surplus farming. nomads) who follow their herds in a never-
ending quest for pasture and water. Therefore,
a. Subsistence farming. This refers to an such societies typically consist of relatively
approach that involves only producing enough small, mobile communities. For instance, the
food to feed the group. It is said that subsistence Kazak people from Central Asia leave some
farmers live in environments that are members of their communities behind to plant
unfavorable to cultivation. These farmers are and harvest grains during the summer; whereas,
often found in tropical jungles where the forest majority of the group follows the herds of
always threatens to overgrow the fields. Due to horses and sheep.
the reason that cultivation depletes the land of
nutrients, subsistence farmers’ settlements must Pastoral societies are organized along male-
be moved every few years when new fields are centered kinship groups. They are usually
cleared. united under strong political figures. However,
centralized political leadership does not occur.
In subsistence farming, the settlements are
small, and the neighborhood is solid. Here, 4. Agricultural societies. This type of society is
political organization is confined within the characterized by the use of the plow in food
village. Usually, authority is based on positions production. Often, agriculture is more efficient
inherited by males through the kinship system. than horticulture. It is said that plowing turns
the topsoil far deeper than hoeing, allowing for
b. Surplus farming. People who practice better aeration and fertilization of the soil and
surplus farming live in thickly populated and thus improving the yield. Interestingly, early
permanent settlements. There is occupational agriculture probably did not yield much more
specialization with prestige differences. Social than the food gatherers were able to harvest in
stratification is well established. The naturally rich environments.
However, by about 5500 B.C., farmers in the revolution because of the changes it brought
Middle East were not only using the plow but about in the society.
irrigation (the channeling of water for crops).
With the use of irrigation, farming became Industrial societies are characterized by more
capable of producing huge surpluses – enough than just the use of mechanical means of
to feed large numbers of people who did not production. They constitute an entirely new
produce food themselves. form of society that required an immense,
mobile diversity, specialized, highly skilled, and
As described by Tischler et al. (1983), reliance well-coordinated labor force. Many members of
on agriculture had dramatic and interrelated the labor force needed to be educated, at least to
consequences for society. Ever-growing be able to read and write. An educational
populations came together into broad river system that is open to all is the hallmark of
valleys like those of the Nile in Egypt, the industrial societies.
Tigris and Euphrates in the Middle East, the
Huang Ho (Yellow River) in China, and the Industrialism also requires the creation of
Danube and Rhine in Europe. highly organized systems of exchange between
the suppliers or raw materials, and industrial
Agriculture also made lands that were suitable manufacturers on one hand, and between the
for farming into valuable resources. Those who manufacturers on the other.
controlled access to arable lands and their use
soon became rich and powerful since they could Industrial societies are divided along class
demand for the payment of taxes and political lines. The nature of the division varies,
support. By taxing the bulk of agricultural depending on whether the society allows private
surplus, political leaders could make ownership of capital (capitalism) or puts all
bureaucracies—implement their plans and capital in the hands of the state (socialism). All
armies to protect their privileges, both from industrial societies have at least two social
external enemies and the internal rebels. Hence, classes:
social classes became entrenched, and the state
evolved. Possibilities for social progress that a. A large labor force that produces goods and
agriculture made available could be seen in services but has little or no influence on what is
Babylon—the cradle of Western civilization done with them; and
about 3,000 years ago. b. A much smaller class that determines what
shall be produced and how it will be distributed.
5. Industrial societies.
Industrialism brought about a tremendous shift
This type of society rose in connection with the of populations. Over the past century and a half,
Industrial Revolution. a huge number of rural peasants have migrated
from the countryside to the cities, transforming
Industrialism used mechanical means themselves into the urban mass. Some of these
(machine and chemical processes) for the changes are the following:
production of goods. Industrial Revolution
began in a small way by the mid-18th century a. Kinship now plays a much smaller role in
and gained momentum by the turn of the 19th patterning public affairs.
century. In 1798, Eli Whitney built the first b. Industrial societies are highly secularized.
American factory for the mass production of
guns near New Haven, Connecticut. In the mid- c. The predominant form of social and political
17th century, Industrial Revolution had swung organization in industrial societies is
into higher gear with the invention of the steam bureaucracy. This is the least personal of all
locomotive and Henry Bessemer’s development formal organizations, which itself was inspired
of large-scale production techniques at the steel by the model of the efficiently functioning
works in England in 1858. This period is called machine—the symbol of industrialism as a way
of life.
6. Post-industrial societies. The Study of
The world has continued to change since the Community
beginning of industrialization. This has
prompted sociologists to consider the concept of Meaning and Nature of
post-industrial society. While industrial Community
societies depend on inventions and advances
made by craftspeople, post-industrial society Based on his researches on the meaning of
depends on specialized knowledge to bring community, George Hillery defines community
about continuing progress in technology. as consisting of persons in social interaction
within a geographical area and having one or
One characteristic of the post-industrial society more additional ties.
is the spread of the computer industries. Highly
trained specialists who work to increase the This definition includes the following:
capabilities of computers make advances in this
field. Knowledge and information are the 1. Territorial aspect (geographical area);
hallmark of a post-industrial society. 2. Sociological aspect (social interaction); and
3. A psychological aspect (common ties).
Some people see major problems developing
out of movement into the post-industrial In other words, a community consists of people
society. One such person is Jacques Ellul, a who live closely to one another, who interact
French sociologist who wrote an influential with one another frequently, and who feel that
book, The Technological Society, in 1964. they have common traits or values that they
According to Ellul, industrial technology is share with one another.
spreading inexorably around the world,
homogenizing social relations among
A community refers to an organized way of life
individuals and the interaction between humans
within a geographic area. It refers to a
and the natural environment.
population aggregate inhabiting a delimited
area, sharing a historical heritage, possessing a
Modern society is caught up in an uncritical set of basic service institutions, participating in
dependence on technology to solve all its a common life, conscious of local unity—able
problems, including the problems (like to act together in a common life to act together
pollution) that arise from the use of technology in solving problems involving public interests.
itself. It seems nobody asks why progress is
needed, and the ends it must serve.
Other authorities define community as referring
to a group of people who occupy a common
Dissolution of Society. contiguous territory, possessed of a common set
of traditions associated with their living
There are four conditions that will bring about together in that territory, and served by a set
the dissolution of a society: institutions which make them interdependent of
(a) if its members are killed off; surroundings to a high degree and who are
(b) if its members become apathetic, no longer conscious of their common interest in the way
caring whether or not the society continues to these institutions functions for the satisfactions
exist; of the group as a whole.
(c) if the society falls into a state of chaos from
which it cannot free itself; and Functions of Community
(d) if the society is absorbed into another
society, as a result of conquest, for example.
The following have been considered to be the
functions of the community:
1. A system of production, distribution, and Approaches to the Study of
consumption. Community
A community must provide for the basic
needs of its members and their group— Several approaches to the study of communities
food, clothing, dwelling, transportation, have been adopted. Each of these approaches
education, and other goods needed for basic emphasizes a particular aspect of community
existence, either by producing them or by life.
importing them from outside.
2. A system of socialization. 1. The community as a territorial unit.
A community must provide mechanisms for People think of their community as the physical
the transmission of existing knowledge, place or geographic environment in which they
social values, and dominant patterns of live. This place has both personal and shared
behavior to the members. The family plays meanings for the inhabitants. This sense of
this role in the early stages of the sharing a common area that may have a specific
individual’s development. Eventually, other name and a unique identity is the territorial
components of the community such as peer aspect of the community.
group, work group, the school, and the
Church, among others, come into play. Many communities are located in certain
3. A system of social control. geographical areas because the characteristics of
This requires mechanisms through which that environment have attracted people. For
conformity to the prevailing group norms is instance, natural resources such as timber and
ensured. Formal organizations such as the coal mines may lead to the development of a
police, the courts, and the Church are community by people who are looking for a
important in this aspect. The pressure source of income.
created by the community tends to regulate
and control the members’ behavior. Mass transportation or the presence of highways
4. A system of social participation. may also affect the location of a community,
Members of a community learn to interact because the people may want to get quickly and
with other members spontaneously, starting easily from their place of residence to their jobs
from the family to a much bigger group. and shops.
Often, religious organizations or civic
associations perform this function by Territory is just one factor affecting the
providing a means for members of the formation of a community but it is an important
community to interact with one another and starting point in any analysis of the community.
to renew their commitments to community
values and norms. 2. The community as a social group.
5. A system of mutual support. The community may be seen as consisting of
The community is always expected to people who are more than an aggregate of
provide relief and solutions to the isolated individuals and who often interact with
members’ problems. For instance, when one another, have a shared culture, and find
someone is in need because of illness or their contact with one another meaningful.
when a family is in distress because of Hillery (1955) first expounded that the
economic problems, the community must community is one of the many social groups.
provide ways to help these people. Forms According to him, the following are the basic
of assistance usually come from family properties of social groups:
members and kin, neighbors, social and
welfare agencies, and social, civic, and  (a) a body of members;
religious groups.  (b) one or more tests of membership;
 (c) a collection of assigned roles; and
 (d) a set of norms.
It is along this point that the community must George Homans, in his book Human Group,
be considered as a social group. The community uses the term "sentiments" to refer to the
must also be viewed as a social system. positive feelings that develop among
community members. Sentiment refers to the
3. The community as a social system. awareness of sharing a way of life that develops
The social system view sees the community as a among community members as they interact in
relatively enclosed system of interaction performing their various activities.
centered on some locality. A collection of small
subsystems performs various community People who live in the same neighborhood
functions such as socialization of members, develop sentiments or a group spirit. These may
social control of the people living in the be seen in neighborhood clean-up activities,
community, and mutual support among the festivals, or block Bible studies or prayer
residents. groups. This group spirit is often a critical
element in the community members’ sense of
This approach sees the community as a network well-being and if it breaks down, severe
of interactions among individuals, groups, and problems may result.
institutions. The community provides a context
within which its members can pursue many, if As a focus of interaction, communities,
not most, of the activities that occupy them in especially small ones with few social
their daily lives. The daily lives of community institutions and a generally homogeneous
members are highly patterned in terms of social culture, have been used by sociologist as natural
system, especially in the social spheres of laboratories in which to test social theories and
emergency mutual aid, reciprocal work methods of research. For instance, when
arrangements, participation in funerals, community conflicts emerge, the patterning of
patronage of local entrepreneurs, formation of splits in the community along social class may
local religious sects that meet in people’s be studied.
houses rather than in the town churches, and
others. [Link] as units of observation.
Sociologist and social anthropologist are
It is in this light that communities may also be interested in the nature and function of the
viewed as social arenas in which people community. Social anthropologist and rural
cooperate with one another while pursuing their sociologists have concentrated on the study of
social, economic, and political lives. small communities with clearly delineated
territories and relatively simple social
4. The community as a network of structures. Urban sociologists have usually
interactions. directed their attention to problems of specific
As a social system, the community encompasses areas undergoing complex social change. In
a broad range of interrelated institutions such as either case, communities are excellent social
families, schools, churches, political, and civic units for study and observations.
organizations. It is in this sense that the
community offers an ideal setting in which to Any student of sociology and anthropology in
observe patterns of human interactions in a wide studying the community may use the above
variety of institutional settings. These patterns elements. This may also be used as point of
of interaction make up the unique texture of life reference in any research about communities.
in the community.
Characteristics of a
It is said that people gain a sense of security Community
when they identify with their community. This
identification consists of common values, The following are the general characteristics or
norms, and goals. elements of every community:
 1. Population aggregate preferable to 6. Voluntary associations – based on
human group volunteerism and voluntaristic character,
2. Delimited area. It exists somewhere; it not kinship ties.
occupies a particular space, a 7. Individuation – in which the individual
measurable habitat; every community is more independent and self-centered.
has a center. 8. Spatial segregation – in which the
3. Sharing of historical heritage. This center of a city is monopolized by
implies an interest in the area’s past, a functions of basic importance.
concern for what has happened.
4. The number of service institutions. Rural-Urban Interaction Pattern
This should be enough to meet the needs
of the people so that they live within the As discussed earlier, a community is a type of
area if they so decide. social grouping which has a system or structure
5. Participating in a common life. This of interrelated parts. It is a human population
refers to the life pursuit of people day by living within a geographical area and carrying
day, the year round. This means that the on a common interdependent life. Its essence
people must have a common lifestyle. lies in the relationships within it. It may refer to
6. Consciousness of local unity. This a neighborhood, a town, a city, or even a nation.
means much the same as community
spirit, which a community exists in the Communities are types of social groupings that
minds of its members as an object of are the extension of family groupings. They
attention and concern. vary greatly in many ways such as size,
7. Ability to act together in solving civic population density, occupation, and
problems. This is the best single test of specialization. Some are very small, consisting
a community; in times of crises, people of a few families like the neighborhood, the
acting together must achieve and barangays, the sitios, while others consist of
maintain control or else they will face thousands and millions of people like Metro
the loss of cherished values, their way of Manila, Metro Cebu, Tokyo, New York,
life, or the death of their community. London, or Calcutta.

All the above characteristics must be found in A community is rural when the people live in
any group before it can be regarded as a contiguous farms; their chief occupations and
community. interests are fishing and farming; and they have
certain interests and purposes to common
Criteria for Classification of Community actions. It refers to a number of families
residing in a relatively small area within which
Davis (1969) gave the criteria in classifying their lives have developed a more or less
communities. These are the following: complete sociocultural definition imbued with
collective identification and by means of which
1. The size of the population (whether they solve problems arising from the sharing of
thick or scarce) an area.
2. Secondary association – their presence
will indicate diversity of the population The following characterize the rural
3. Social tolerance – caused by the interaction pattern:
diversity of the population and
impersonal contact 1. Primary contacts among the population.
4. Secondary controls – controls 2. Complete and solid due to people’s
regulating the complex and predatory cooperation.
relations of members. 3. Gemeinschaft in nature.
5. Social mobility – requires division of 4. Sacred.
labor, competition, and impersonality. 5. Homogeneous in terms of population.
 6. Familiarity among the members. Folk Societies
7. Life is characterized by general competence.
Robert Redfield defined folk society as a
On the other hand, the following characterize group of homogeneous, isolated, nonliterate
the urban pattern of interaction: people living in a small community with a high
degree of group solidarity.
1. Secondary contact among the population.
2. Population is segmented due to limited and Folk society offers an ideal unit of observation
minimal personal relationships.
for the student of society. Around the world,
3. Gesellschaft in nature.
there remain to this day many isolated
4. Secular. settlements, hamlets, villages, and small towns
5. Population is heterogeneous in terms of of less than three thousand residents. In such a
occupation, background, attainment, and setting, a single researcher or a small research
lifestyle.
team using the methods of participant
6. There is an element of anonymity among the
observation can get to know almost all the
people – less interaction and less personal
contacts.
inhabitants and discover much of what is
7. Life is characterized by specialization.
important in their social lives.

In addition, Redfield (1963) studied a village in

Sociologists use special indices to show rural-
Mexico and published what has since become a
urban differences. These are occupation,
classic community study titled Tepoztlán,
environment, size, density of population,
referring to a certain Mexican village. To him,
heterogeneity and homogeneity of culture,
this village was a relatively well-integrated,
social differentiation and stratification,
homogeneous village. Social life proceeded
mobility, and system of interaction.
smoothly, and the people, although far from
affluent, were quite content. There was a high
In the Philippines, the urban areas are those
degree of solidarity and cooperation.
that fall under the following categories:
However, seventeen years later, Oscar Lewis
1. All municipal jurisdictions whether or not
designated as chartered cities or provincial
made a sequel study of Tepoztlán, only to
capitals; having a population density of at least discover the underlying individualism in the
1,000 inhabitants for cities and 500 per square village’s institutions and character, the lack of
kilometer for municipalities. cooperation, the tensions between the villagers,
2. All poblaciones and any barrio contiguous to the the schisms within the village, and the
poblacion with 1,000 inhabitants for cities and pervading quality of fear, envy, and distrust in
500 per square kilometer for municipalities. interpersonal relations.
3. All poblaciones and barrios contiguous to the
poblacion having at least 25,000 or more This points out that a simple study of any
persons. community must not be considered complete.
Such a study must only point out similar
In the United Kingdom and Scotland, urban patterns that indicate how communities in
refers to cities and all burghs; in Switzerland, general operate.
to communities of 10,000 more or less,
including the suburbs; in Thailand, to
municipalities; and in Japan, to urban
municipalities usually having 30,000 or more
inhabitants and may include some rural areas as
well as urban clusters.