HUMAN SOCIETIES

SOCIETY PEOPLE WHO INTERACT WITHIN A DEFINED TERRITORY WHILE SHARING A COMMON CULTURE OR WAY OF LIFE

VISIONS OF SOCIETY FOUR 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 EVOLUTION THE 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 OTHER CULTURAL PATTERNS. SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY CAN ONLY SUPPORT SMALL NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE SIMPLE LIVES. THE GREATER AMOUNT OF TECHNOLOGY A SOCIETY HAS WITHIN ITS GRASP, THE FASTER CULTURAL CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE. HIGH-TECH SOCIETIES ARE CAPABLE OF SUSTAINING LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ENGAGED IN A DIVERSE DIVISION OF LABOR.

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETAL 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

CultureIdeasRealities 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 SocietyCultureIdeas 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 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 SOCIETY WEBER’S RATIONAL SOCIETY BUREAUCRACIES 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 A PERSON CAN TELL WHETHER 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 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.