HUMAN SOCIETIES

SOCIETYPEOPLE WHO INTERACT

WITHIN A DEFINED TERRITORY WHILE SHARING A

COMMON CULTURE OR WAY OF LIFE

VISIONS OF SOCIETYFOUR DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES ON WHAT ACCOUNTS

FOR SOCIAL CHANGE AND SOCIETAL EVOLUTION

• GERHARD AND JEAN LENSKI– SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY

• KARL MARX– SOCIETY IN CONFLICT

• MAX WEBER– SOCIETY AND “RATIONALITY”

• EMILE DURKHEIM– SOCIETY AND FUNCTION

SOCIOCULTURAL EVOLUTIONTHE PROCESS OF CHANGE THAT RESULTS

FROM A SOCIETY’S GAINING NEW INFORMATION, PARTICULARLY TECHNOLOGY

• SOCIETIES RANGE FROM SIMPLE TO THE TECHNOLOGICALLY COMPLEX

• SOCIETIES SIMPLE IN TECHNOLOGY TEND TO RESEMBLE ONE ANOTHER

• MORE COMPLEX SOCIETIES REVEAL STRIKING CULTURAL DIVERSITY

THE WAY THE LENSKIS SEE THINGS

TECHNOLOGY SHAPES OTHERCULTURAL PATTERNS. SIMPLETECHNOLOGY CAN ONLY SUPPORTSMALL NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHOLIVE SIMPLE LIVES.

THE GREATER AMOUNT OF TECHNOLOGY A SOCIETY HAS WITHIN ITS GRASP, THE FASTER CULTURAL CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE.

HIGH-TECH SOCIETIES ARE CAPABLEOF SUSTAINING LARGE NUMBERS OFPEOPLE WHO ARE ENGAGED IN ADIVERSE DIVISION OF LABOR.

TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETAL EVOLUTIONSOCIETAL EVOLUTION

• TECHNOLOGY– APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE TO

THE PRACTICAL TASKS OF LIVING

• HUNTING AND GATHERING – SIMPLE TOOLS USED FOR EACH TASK

• HORTICULTURAL– USE OF HAND TOOLS FOR CROP WORK

• PASTORALISM– DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS

• AGRICULTURAL– LARGE-SCALE CULTIVATION

• INDUSTRIAL– USE OF SOPHISTICATED FUELS AND

MACHINERY

Culture Ideas Realities of Society

The ways in which we define problems will often limit the strategies and technologies used to address them. (social construction of reality)

Realities of Society Culture Ideas

The levels of technology available to a society will limit their ideas about what are problems that they can address. (materialism)

The ideational superstructure, then, both shapes society, and, is also shaped by the operations of society. Marx believed that the economic relationships between peoples shaped their ideas about the world. Weber believed that peoples beliefs about the world shape their economic relationships. Durkheim believed that achieving an equilibrium in society is the force that shapes the ideas, and the culture which then creates the structure needed to sustain that equilibrium.

CAPITALISM AND ALIENATIONCAPITALISM AND ALIENATION

• FOUR SPECIFIC WAYS CAPITALISM CAN ALIENATE WORKERS: “Marx”– FROM THE ACT OF WORKING

• NO LONGER HAVING A SAY IN PRODUCTION

– FROM THE PRODUCTS OF WORK• NO OWNERSHIP IN THE PRODUCT THAT IS

MERELY SOLD FOR PROFIT

– FROM OTHER WORKERS• WORK HAS BECOME COMPETITIVE

RATHER THAN COOPERATIVE

– FROM HUMAN POTENTIAL• BECOMING A STRANGER UNTO ONESELF

WEBER’S RATIONAL SOCIETYWEBER’S RATIONAL SOCIETYBUREAUCRACIES WILL BECOME THE FAVORITE FORM OF

ORGANIZATION, AND SOCIAL LIFE WILL STRESS THE FOLLOWING:

• DISTINCTIVE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS• LARGE ORGANIZATIONS• VERY SPECIALIZED DIVISION OF

LABOR• PERSONAL DISCIPLINE IS PART OF

VALUE SYSTEM• AWARENESS OF TIME• TECHNICAL COMPETENCE• IMPERSONALITY

HERE ARE SIX WAYS APERSON CAN TELLWHETHER OR NOT ORGANIZATIONS ARE MORE “RATIONAL” THAN “TRADITIONAL.”

WHERE’S THE GLUE?

• WHAT HOLDS SOCIETIES TOGETHER?– LENSKIS

• A SHARED CULTURE

– KARL MARX• ELITES FORCE AN ‘UNEASY PEACE’

– MAX WEBER• RATIONAL THOUGHT, LARGE-SCALE

ORGANIZATIONS

– EMILE DURKHEIM• SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS OF LABOR page 108

ARE SOCIETIES IMPROVINGARE SOCIETIES IMPROVING??• THE LENSKIS:

– MODERN TECHNOLOGY OFFERS EXPANDED HUMAN CHOICE, BUT LEAVES US WITH NEW SETS OF DANGERS

• KARL MARX:– SOCIAL CONFLICT WOULD ONLY END ONCE PRODUCTION OF

GOODS AND SERVICES WERE TAKEN OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE CAPITALISTS AND PLACED INTO THE HANDS OF ALL PEOPLE

MAX WEBER:

– SAW SOCIALISM AS A GREATER EVIL THAN CAPITALISM, AS LARGE, ALIENATING BUREAUCRACIES WOULD GAIN EVEN MORE CONTROL OVER PEOPLE

• EMILE DURKHEIM:– OPTIMISTIC ABOUT MODERNITY AND THE POSSIBILITY OF

MORE FREEDOM FOR INDIVIDUALS, BUT CONCERNED ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ANOMIC FEELINGS

Modernity and Anomie

• Weak social bonds

• Waning social support

• Social control mechanisms that represent society “inside” the individual no longer provide guidance and restraint

• Functional interdependence

• Growth of external social control agents

Anomie and Alienation

• Anomie stresses conformity and adaptation by the individual to the changes in society.

• Alienation stresses the realization of the causes of one’s situation in life, and an active attempt to change the conditions which have led to that stress.