Socio-Economic Base for Planning

WHAT DOES SOCIETY MEAN TO ME?

The term society came from the Latin word, 'societas', which in turn was derived from the noun, 'socius' meaning comrade, friend and ally. A society is therefore a group of people related to each other through persistent relations. Through socialising, people produce a set of established laws, customs, & practices that systematically reflect the society. Society as a group has collective mind that defines what is right and wrong. According to me, society reflects an individuals constant search of identity. As he discovers himself, so does his society change or transform. Society is that total social heritage of folkways, mores and institutions, of habits, sentiments and ideals as human keeps evolving. Society should be an extension our identity, not we as an extension of societys identity. The society we are born in may not be the society we need to be in. I think any society should help you interact, learn and develop. It is the abstract network of social interactions that is not bound by geography. Today virtual society is as dominant as the traditional stratified society. Since society is a process that helps us function, today in the age of communication, one can be part of many societies while still being one whole individual. Hence to quote Maclver and Page, "Society is a system of usages and procedures, authority and mutual aid, of many groupings and divisions, of human behaviour and of liberties".

Sujathanath Vantimitta Section A Semester I M. Plan - 2013

Socio-Economic Base for Planning

such as social status, roles and social networks or similar interests Cooley: Society is a complex of forms or processes each of which is living and growing by interaction with the other, the whole being so unified that what takes place in one part affects all the rest". Giddings: "Society is the union itself, the organization, the sum of formal relations in which associating individuals are bound together". Ginsberg: "A Society is a collection of individuals united by certain relations or modes of behavior which mark them off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in behavior". Lapiere: "The term Society refers not to group of people, hut to the complex pattern of the norms of interaction, which arise among and between them". G.D.H. Cole: "Society is the complex of organised associations and institutions within the community" If we analyse these definitions it will appear that all these fall under two types: (i) The functional definition which views a society as a process and (ii) The structural definition which views Society as a structure. From the functional point of view, Society is defined as a complex of groups in reciprocal relationship, interacting upon one another, enabling human organism to carry on their life activities structural point of view, society is the total social heritage of folkways, mores and institutions, of habits, sentiments and ideals. Maclver, Cooley and Lapiere have given functional definition of society while Ginsberg Giddings and Cole take a structural view of Society. The traditional version of society may be a group of people belonging to same race, religion, caste or region. These societies have become so rigid in their practices that slowly the modern man has tried to break free in search of a new identity. But since we always have a need to be part of group as much as we need to be individuals, it only resulted in another set of criteria for society. Now we have societies that are based on economic class, education or employment. This flexibility on the surface would seem very easily possible in todays world. But with a sense of belonging comes a sense of rejecting. Every society, in its need to uphold its identity, discriminates against other (sometimes vehemently) and always tries exclude the others in one way or the other. This results in many a clash of opinions leading to arguments on who is right rather than what is right.