Societies
The sociological principle is that the type of society we live in is the fundamental reason for why we become who we are. Not only does society lay the broad framework for behavior, it also influences the ways we think and feel. ~ James Henslin
A society is a system of interpersonal interaction that extends to an entire population. Societies incorporate both culture and social structure: folkways which enforce conformity.
The sociological significance of social structure is that it guides behaviors. ~ James Henslin
Émile Durkheim thought of societies as superorganisms. A society’s institutions act to ensure their own survival, irrespective of the constituent population.
Social organization and culture have a degree of independence from each other in a society’s character. The historical “melting pot” of American society is exemplary.
Most people think of their society as correspondent with their nation. But in several places around the globe, notably in Africa, tribes within nations consider themselves oppressed by the state. Failure to resolve such conflicts result in civil war.
(A nation is a political territory. A political state is the controlling institutional system. In a nation-state the state is the government of a nation.)
