SOCIETY

SOCIETYWHAT IS SOCIETY?Refers to the people who interact in a defined territory and share a cultureSOCIETYWhat forces hold a society together?What makes societies differentHow and why do societies change over time?Gerhard Lenski defined by level of technology

Karl Marx defined by type of social conflict

Max Weber defined by ideas/mode of thinking

Emile Durkheim type of solidaritySocio cultural evolution the changes that occur as a society gains new technology

Hunting and gathering making use of simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation for food

Horticulture the use of hand tools to raise crops

Pastoralism the domestication of animalsAgriculture large scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources

Industrialism the production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery

Postindustrialism the production of information using information technologyHunting and GatheringMen use simple tools to hunt animals and women gather vegetation have only a few dozen members and are nomadic Are built around the familyConsider men and women roughly equal in social importanceHORTICULTURE AND GATHERING SOCIETIESDevelop in some 12 000 years ago as people began to use hand tools to raise crops and as they shifted to raising animals for food instead of hunting themare able to produce more food, so populations expand to hundredsShow greater specialization of workShow increasing levels of social inequalityAGRARIAN SOCIETIESDeveloped 5 000 years ago as the use of plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources enabled large-scale cultivationMay expand into vast empiresShow even greater specialization, with dozens of distinct occupationsHave extreme social inequalityReduce the importance of womenINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIESWhich developed first in Europe 250 years ago, use of advanced sources of energy to drive large machineryMoves work from home to factoryReduces the traditional importance of the familyRaises living standardsPOSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIESRepresent the most recent stage of technological development , namely, technology that supports an information based economyShifts production from heavy machinery making material things to computers processing informationRequires population with information based-skillsIs the driving force behind the information revolution, a worldwide flow of information that now links societies with an emerging global cultureKARL MARXHis materialist approach claims that societies are defined by their economic systems:How humans produce material goods shapes their experiencesCONFLICT AND HISTORYClass conflict is the conflict between entire classes over the distribution of societys wealth and power. Marx traced conflict between social classes in societies as the source of social change throughout history:In ancient societies , master dominated slavesIn agrarian societies, nobles dominated serfsIn industrial capitalist societies, capitalists dominate proletarians

CapitalismMarx focused on the role of capitalism in creating inequality and class conflict in modern societiesCapitalism alienates workers from the act of working, from the products of work, from other workers, and from their own potentialsUnder capitalism, the ruing class oppresses the working classMarx predicted that a workers revolution would eventually overthrow capitalism and replace it with socialism, a system of production that would provide for the social needs of allSocial conflict the struggle between segments of society over valued resources

Capitalists people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits

Proletarians people who sell their labor for wages

Social institution the major sphere of social life or social subsystems, organize to meet human needs

False consciousness Marxs term for explanations of social problems as the short comings of individuals rather than as the flaws of the society

Class conflict conflict between entire classes over the distribution of a societys wealth and power

Class consciousness Marxs term for workers recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalists and ultimately to capitalism itself

Alienation the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessnessRATIONALIZATION OF SOCIETYMax Weber traced the idealist approach emphasise the power of ideas to shape society .Ideas and HistoryWeber traced the ideas especially beliefs and values - that have shaped societies throughout historyMembers of the pre industrial societies are bound by tradition, the beliefs and values passed from one generation to generationsMembers of industrial capitalist societies are guided by rationality, a way of thinking that emphasises deliberate, matter of fact calculation of the most efficient way to accomplish a particular taskThe Rise of RationalityWeber focused on the growth of large, rational organizations as the defining characteristic of modern societiesIncreasing rationality gave rise to both the industrial revolution and capitalismProtestants encouraged the rational pursuits of wealth, laying the ground work for the rise of industrial capitalismWeber feared that excessive rationality, while promoting efficiency , would stifle human creativity,Tradition values and beliefs passed from one generation to generation

Rationality a way of thinking that emphasises deliberate matter-of-fact calculation of the most efficient way to accomplish a particular task

Rationality of society the historical change from tradition to rationality as the main type of human thoughSOCIETY AND FUNCTIONEmile Durkheim claimed that society has an objective existence apart from its individual members

Structure and FunctionsDurkheim believed that because society is bigger than any one of us, it dictates how are expected to act in any given social situationHe pointed out that social elements (such as crime) have functions that help society operateSociety has shapes our personalities and provides the moral discipline that guides our behaviour control our desiresEvolving SocietiesDurkheim traced the evolution of social change by describing the different ways societies throughout history have guided the lives of their membersIn preindustrial societies, mechanical solidarity, or social bonds based on common sentiments and shared moral values, guides the social lives of individualsIndustrialization and division of labor weaken traditional bonds , so that social life in modern societies is characterized by social solidarity , social bonds based on specialization and interdependenceDurkheim warned of increased of anomie in motion societies, as society provides little moral guidance to individuals

Division of labor specialized economic activity

Organic solidarity based on specialization and interdependence, that are strong among members of industrial societies

Mechanical solidarity based on common sentiments and shared moral values, that are strong among members of pre industrial societies

Anomie condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individualsWhat holds societies together?LenskiUnited by a shared culture, although cultural patterns become more diverse as a society gains more complex technology

MarxTrue social unity can occur only if production become a cooperative processWhat holds societies together?WeberThe members of a society share a worldviewDurkheimSolidarity as a focus of his workHow have societies changed?WeberChange from the perspective of how people look at the worldDurkheimTraditional societies are characterized based on moral likenessMechanical solidarity gives way to organic solidarity based on productive specializationHow have societies changed?LenkiModern society stands out from the past societies in terms of its enormous productive powerMarxhistorical differences in productivity yet pointed to continuing social conflictWhy do societies changed?LenskiSocial change comes about through technological innovation that over time transforms an entire societyMarxMaterialist approach highlights the struggle between classes as the engine of change, pushing societies toward revolutionWhy do societies changed?WeberA particular worldview set in motion the industrial revolution which ended up reshaping all of society DurkheimAn expanding division of labor as the key dimension of social changeProtestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalismby: Max WeberHe noticed that the rise of Protestantism in Europe coincided with the rise of public enterprise He also noticed that that a majority of the most successful early capitalists were ProtestantsHe hypothesized that religious values taught them that salvation depended not on the good deeds or piety but on how they lived entire lives and on how they adhered to the norms of their callings.

Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalismby: Max WeberProtestants place high on frugality and abstinence

To prove that they were worthy of salvation, they devoted themselves tirelessly to commerce and plowed their profits back into their firms

They often spent their profits on good deeds rather than investing them in their businesses