 Subsistence Strategy: Way a society uses technology to provide for the needs of its members  One of the most common ways in which sociologists classify societies is by their subsistence strategy

 Preindustrial Societies: Food production (which is carried out by human and animal labor) is the main economic activity; family is the main social unit  Hunting and Gathering Society: Main form of food production is daily collection of wild plants and hunting of wild animals ▪ Need for mobility limits size  Pastoral Society: Rely on domesticated herd animals to meet food needs ▪ Nomadic life and can support larger populations ▪ Encourages trade which helps create inequality

 Horticultural Society: Vegetables grown in garden plots that have been cleared from the jungle/forest is the main source of food (slash-and-burn method) ▪ Use human labor and simple tools to cultivate land ▪ Allows for semi-permanent or permanent villages and greater population (30 - 2,000) ▪ Specialized roles  Agricultural Society: ▪ Animals and plows are used to till the fields ▪ Can support very large populations ▪ Specialized roles and specialization leads to development of cities ▪ Move from barter (exchange of a good or service) to use of money as a medium of exchange ▪ Develops system of writing to assist government, landowners, and traders in keeping records ▪ Landowners v. Peasants

 Production of food  Production of manufactured goods  Most of production carried out by machines  Production: Home  Factories  Urbanization: Most of population in cities  Production and education take place outside bounds of the family  Need for literacy leads to establishment of education programs  People have more control over their position in the social structure

 Much of economy is involved in providing information and services  Many significant changes result from transition from industrial to postindustrial  Standard of living and quality of life increases with wage  Strong emphasis on social equality, democracy, science, and education

 Used by Durkheim  Mechanical Solidarity: Close-knit social relationships common in preindustrial, when small groups of people share same values and perform same tasks  Organic Solidarity: Impersonal social relationships that arise with increase job specialization and individuals can no longer provide for all their own needs  Depend on others for aspects of their survival  As a result many societal relationships are based on need rather than values

 Developed by German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies  Ideal types of societies  Gemeinschaft: Most members know one other and people share a strong sense of solidarity ▪ Ex: Preindustrial or rural village  Gesellschaft: Social relationships based on need rather than on emotion; relationships are impersonal and often temporary; traditional values weak ▪ Ex: Modern society like the USA

Hunting and Gathering Horticultural and Pastoral AgriculturalIndustrialPost-Industrial Describe the economy of the society What technology is used by the society? How is each society more advanced than the one before it? Describe the lifestyle of the people of the society.