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Society
Society: People who interact in a defined territory and share culture. In sociology, four diverse perspectives on what accounts for social change and societal evolution are considered important:
Gerhard Lenski: Society and technology Karl Marx: Society in conflict Max Weber: The power of ideas shapes society Emile Durkheim: How traditional and modern societies hang together
Gerhard Lenski
Sociocultural Evolution: The changes that occur as a society gains new technology.
Inventing/adopting new technology causes society to change The more technology a society has, the faster it changes
Societies range from simple to the technologically complex. Societies simple in technology tend to resemble one another. They can only support small numbers of people who live simple lives. More technologically complex societies reveal striking cultural diversity and are able to sustain large numbers of people who are engaged in a diverse division of labor.
Agriculture
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 computer technology
Karl Marx
Social Conflict: Struggle between segments of society over valued resources
Capitalists: People who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits Proletariat: People who sell their productive labor for wages
These two groups are in conflict, gain of one is loss of the other.
Social Institutions: All the major spheres of social life or societal subsystems organized to meet human needs
Infrastructure: Societys economic system Superstructure: Other social institutions: family, religion, political
Economy is the social institution that lies at the base of the society.
Figure 4.1 Karl Marxs Model of Society This diagram illustrates Marxs materialist view that the system of economic production shapes the entire society. Economic production involves both technology (industry, in the case of capitalism) and social relationships (for capitalism, the relationship between the capitalists, who own the factories and businesses, and the workers, who are the source of labor). On this infrastructure, or foundation, rests societys superstructure, which includes its major social institutions as well as core cultural values and ideas. Marx maintained that every part of a society supports the economic system.
Karl Marx
Marx rejected False Consciousness, the explanation of social problems as the shortcomings of individuals rather than the flaws of society. Marx believed that the history of all existing society is the history of class conflictconflict between entire classes over the distribution of a societys wealth and power. Marx believed that workers must replace false consciousness with class consciousnessworkers recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalists and, ultimately, to capitalism itself. Marx said the only way out of capitalism is revolution and remaking society Socialism.
Max Weber
Idealism: A philosophical approach that focuses on how human ideas especially values and beliefs shape society. It is not how people produce things but how people think about the world that differentiates one society from another
Rationality: A way of thinking that emphasizes deliberate, matter of fact calculation of the most efficient way to accomplish a particular class.
A characteristic of industrial-capitalist society Present and future consequences of actions are considered Evaluation of input Vs return is the basic concern
Emile Durkheim
The key to change in society is expanding division of labour. Society is more than individuals.
Society has a life of its own, beyond our personal experiences.
Social Facts: Any patterns rooted in society rather than the experience of individuals.
Society has an objective reality beyond our own subjective perceptions of the world Examples: Norms, values, religious beliefs, and rituals These possess the power to guide our thoughts and actions
Emile Durkheim
Change from mechanical solidarity Social bonds based on common sentiment and shared moral values that are common among members of preindustrial societies.
Traditional societies based on moral consensus
Organic Solidarity: Social bonds based on specialization and interdependence, that are strong within industrial societies.
Modern societies based on functional interdependence
Karl Marx
Social conflict
Max Weber
From traditional to rational thought
Emile Durkheim
From mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity
Karl Marx
Elites force an uneasy peace
Max Weber
Rational thought that favours large-scale organizations
Emile Durkheim
Specialized division of labor