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Social System: Elements, Classification and Pre-requisites and Mechanism!
The concept of social system is closely related to the concept of social structure. We have already defined the meaning of social system and distinguished it from social structure.
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As remarked therein social system refers to the functional aspect of social structure. Social structure is the means through which social system functions.
I. Elements of Social System:
Loomis’ View:
According to Loomis, the social system is composed of the patterned interaction of members. “It is constituted of the interaction of a plurality of individual actors whose relations to each other are mutually oriented through the definition of and mediation of a pattern of structured and shared symbols and expectations.” It is the patterned social relations and the social processes which determine the nature of social system.
The main elements of social system are:
(1) belief (knowledge); (2) sentiment; (3) end, goal, or objective; (4) norm; (5) status—role (position); (6) rank; (7) power; (8) sanction; and (9) facility. A brief description of these elements follows:
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(1) Belief and Knowledge:
Any proposition about any aspect of the universe that is accepted as true may be called a belief. According to D. Krech and R. S. Crutchfield, “A belief is an enduring organization of perception and cognitions about some aspect of individual’s world’. A belief may be true or false. It may be verifiable or not. But the people who hold it consider it to be true. Belief furnishes the cognitive basis for social action.
The significance of beliefs is not determined by the objective truth or falsity of the belief. The belief that there is no God will make the social relationships of people different from the relations of those who believe in God. The belief that capitalism is bound to decay may make people optimistic. We find a number of beliefs held by the primitive people. Even today the people hold a number of beliefs.
The Hindu social structure is founded on beliefs about the existence of God, the theory of rebirth, the doctrine of Karma and the reality of hell and heaven. The Indian caste system is based on Karma theory. It is due to the belief that the Hindu social system has been able to survive despite many invasions over it. According to Loomis, the testing and validation of the cognitive aspect of belief is also important. It will make for progress and provide dynamism to the social system.
(2) Sentiment. Closely related to belief is the element of sentiment:
Sentiments represent “what we feel” about the world. Sentiment is the chief element articulated in the internal pattern of a social system. The sentiments as expressed in the internal pattern result from both externally patterned and internally patterned social interaction. The sentiments of the external pattern are those which members bring from outside. Sentiments are acquired.
They are the product of experience and cultural conditioning. Our cultural values and social goals influence and control our sentiments. The sentiments of love, hatred, benevolence, charity, nationalism, internationalism etc. are created by our cultural conditioning. The sentiments may be of various kinds, intellectual, ethical, aesthetic, religious etc.
(3) End, goal or objective:
The end, goal or objective creates social system. The members of a social system expect to accomplish a particular end or objective through appropriate interaction. Had there been no human needs, goals or ends, there would have been no society. The human needs, goals and ends determine the nature of social system.
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(4) Norm:
Norms are the standards for determining what is right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, just and unjust, good and bad in social relationships. Every social system is possessed of its norms which the individuals are obliged to observe. Some norms are general and may not be violated by anyone; others apply only to particular individuals and status roles within the system.
Particular norms may be especially crucial for special social systems. The norm of “efficiency” is of great importance in the economic system. The norm of “fair play” is of importance in athletic activity. The concept of social system implies order. Hence a major criterion for delineating a social system is simply the existence of consensus with respect to the appropriate ways of behaviour.
(5) Status-role:
Status is the position which an individual has in society. In a social system each individual has a status. The place in a particular system which a certain individual occupies at a particular time is his status with reference to that system. The element of status is found in every social system. In the family there are the statuses of father, mother, son, daughter, etc. Likewise there are statuses in a club, school, union or factory.
The status of an individual may be ascribed or achieved. The ascribed status is one which an individual gets at his birth. It is conferred to him by his group or society. It may be based on sex, age, caste or colour. The achieved status is one which an individual achieves by his efforts. A man born in a low caste may, by his efforts, become the Prime Minister and achieve thereby a high status.
There are some functions attached to each status which are called roles. In a social system the individuals are expected to perform their roles in accordance with their statuses. There is a role fixed for each status. The individuals may change but statuses remain unchanged. An individual acting as Principal may die. His place is taken by another individual. The educational system continues to work.
(6) Rank:
Rank as used here is equivalent to “standing”. It includes the importance an individual has for the system in which the rank is accorded. It is determined by the evaluation placed upon the individual and his acts in accordance with the norms and standards of the system. A political leader enjoys higher rank than a teacher in modern society whereas in ancient times the teacher enjoyed higher rank than that of even the king.
(7) Power:
Power refers to the capacity to control others. There may take place any conflict among the different parts of the social system. Such conflict is harmful for the social system. Thus there may arise a dispute between the students and teachers which is harmful for the efficiency of the institution.
There should exist some power with the capacity to control both the teachers and students. Such power is vested in the Principal. Thus each social system gives power to some individual or body of individuals to remove tension from amongst the system. In the State the ruler, in the family the father, in the union the president has such power. This power always resides in the status-role and not in the individual as such. It is the authority of office.
Thus the authority of the principal, Driest, father, president, police man resides in the particular office. As soon as an individual ceases to hold the office, he no longer exercises the authority of that office. An ex-principal cannot direct the students, an unfrocked priest cannot deliver the sacraments, an ex-president cannot call the parliament. Authority, therefore, implies some degree of institutionalization.
(8) Sanction:
Sanction refers to the rewards and penalties given out by the members of social system as a device for inducing conformity to its norms and ends. Sanctions can be positive or negative. The positive sanctions are the rewards which may include wages, profits, interest, esteem, praise, privileges etc. The negative sanctions are the penalties and punishments.
(9) Facility:
A facility has been defined as a means used to attain ends within the system. It is necessary that the individuals in a social system should be provided with adequate facilities to “liable them to perform their roles efficiently. Facilities should not only exist but should also be utilized. Mere existence of facilities is of no use unless these can be utilized.
The ends, goals, or objectives of a social system can be realized only through the utilization of facilities. The utilization of facilities highlights systemic ends, beliefs and norms that might otherwise remain obscure. To put it other way, a society reveals its ends, beliefs, and norms by its failure to utilize certain available facilities.
The farmers may be having the facilities of tractors and fertilizers but unless they utilize these facilities they may not be able to increase their production and save time and energy. The use of tractors may require a reorganization of land system since the facilities of a tractor cannot be utilized if the land is of a very small size.
There may even be some resistance to its adoption. The same can be said of the facilities available for family planning. Unless these facilities are used, goal of self sufficiency in food cannot be achieved. If we use the nuclear energy for peaceful proposes, it shows our belief in peace, but if it is used for manufacturing nuclear bombs it would show that we are making preparation for war. Thus it is the use of the facility rather than its intrinsic qualities which determine its significance to social systems.
Parsons’ View:
According to Talcott Parsons, a social system “consists in a plurality of individual actors interacting with each other in a situation which has at least a physical or environmental aspect, actors who are motivated in terms of a tendency to the optimization of gratification and whose relation to their situations, including each other, is defined and mediated in terms of a system of culturally structured and shared symbols.” It is a system of action.
It is a system of interdependent action processes. There are three aspects of the structuring of a complete concrete system of social action. These are (i) the personality system of the individual actors, (ii) the cultural system which is built into their action, and (iii) the social system.
While each of these three may be considered to be an independent focus of the organization of the elements of the action system, nevertheless each is indispensable to the other two because without personalities and culture there can be no social system. Personality and culture have their bearing on the structure and functioning of social system.
Thus social system is constituted by the actions of individuals. It involves participation of an actor in a process of interactive relationship. This participation has two principal aspects- the ‘positional aspect and the ‘processional’ aspect. The positional aspect indicates the location of the actor in the social system which may be called his status.
The processional aspect- indicates the functional significance of the actor for the social system which may be called his role. Thus there are three elements of social system. The first is the social act, the second is the status role and the third is the actor himself.
(i) The Act:
Act or action is a process in the actor situation system which motivates the individual or individuals in the case of a group. The orientation of action has a bearing on the attainment of gratifications or the avoidance of deprivations of the actor. Action does not consist only of Adhoc responses to particular situational stimuli, but the actor develops a system of expectations relative to his own need-dispositions.
The need disposition system of the individual actor has two aspects which may be called the “gratification” aspect and the “orientation” aspect. The first is concerned with the content of his interchange with the world, “what” he gets out of his interaction and what its costs are to him. The second concerns the “how” of his relations to the object world. Both these aspects must be present in anything which could be considered an “act”.
(ii) The Actor:
The actor also is a significant unit of social system. It is he who holds a status or performs a role. Though every action involves an actor and so the element of actor can be taken for granted without needing any explanation yet it is battle to keep the element of actor as an independent element. In the actor it is not the body but ‘ego’ or self which acts.
A social system cannot be so structured as to be radically incompatible with the conditions of functioning of its component individual actors. I must have a sufficient proportion of its component actor adequately motivated to act in accordance with the requirement of its role system.
The social system must be adapted to the minimum needs of the individual actors. It must also secure adequate participation of a sufficient proportion of the actors. I other words, it must motivate them adequately to the performances which are necessary for the social system to develop or persist. The significance of an action is, therefore, to t understood not only in terms of its motivation but also of its actor or probable consequences for the system.
If an actor is motivate to action for spiritual bliss, but his action is at the same time disruptive of the social system, then in that case the problem for the system becomes one of control than of motivation. There is a immense variety of particular acts which are disruptive of the social system as they interfere with the role performance of one more actors. This presents for the social system the function, problems of socialization and of social control.
(iii) The Role and Status:
Since social system is a structure the relations between the actors involved in the interactive process, therefore, the participation of an actor in a patterned interactive relationship is the most significant unit of the social system. This participation has two aspects—role aspect and status aspect. Role denotes functional significance of the actor for the social system whereas status denotes his place in the social system.
An actor has a high or low status in a social system and he has a definite role to play. In a social system there are differentiated roles which are integrated together. The actors are distributed between the various roles in the social system. This process of distribution has been called by Parsons ‘allocation’.
For a proper functioning of the social system there must be proper allocation of roles between the actors. The problem of allocation of roles is related to the problem of allocation of facilities because in a social system their supply is limited in comparison to demand. Associated with the problem of facilities is the problem of power because possession of facilities means to have power—economic or political.
Thus a social system faces the problems of proper allocation of roles, proper allocation of facilities and rewards and proper allocation of economic and political power. And if it can bring a proper allocation, it may preserve itself, otherwise, it may disintegrate.
II. Classification of Social Systems:
The following are the important classifications of social systems:
(1) Classification by Morgan and other Evolutionists:
Morgan and other evolutionists have presented a classification of social systems on the basis of evolution. According to them, society or social system has passed through three stages: (i) Savagery social system, (ii) Barbarian social system, and (iii) Civilized social system. They have also classified social systems on the basis of means of livelihood. Thus these social systems have been (i) Hunting social system, (ii) Pastoral social system, (iii) Agricultural social system, and (iv) Industrial social system.
(2) Durkheim’s Classification:
Durkheim has described two kinds of social systems (i) Mechanical social system, and (ii) Organic social system of the ancient societies had mechanical system whereas in modern societies we find organic social system.
(3) Sorokin’s Classification:
Sorokin has classified the cultural systems. According to him, there are three kinds of cultural systems (i) Sensate, (ii) Ideational, and (iii) Idealistic. Under sensate cultural system material happiness is given primary importance whereas under ideational system spiritual happiness is regarded more important. In idealistic cultural system both the material happiness and spiritual happiness are given importance.
III. Pre-Requisites of Social System:
There are certain pre-requisites of a harmonious and active social system. It need no emphasis that there should be harmony in a social system. A tension ridden social system cannot function efficiently. Just as an organism can work as a healthy body only if there is no disorder in its parts, or there is no diseased part, similarly a social system can function efficiently only if there is order among its parts and these parts remain active.
The essential pre-requisites of a healthy social system can be classified into three kinds:
(1) Biological pre-requisites (2) Functional pre-requisites, and (3) Cultural pre-requisites.
(1) Biological Pre-requisites:
These are the following:
(a) Adequate number of people and (b) A definite system of procreation.
There should be sufficient number of people in a social system so that it may function efficiently. But the number should not be too much. Overpopulation is an evil. The number of people in a social system should be neither too less nor too many. Moreover, a social system should ensure a definite system of procreation to maintain its continuity. There should not be an exceedingly high death rate.
(2) Functional Pre-requisites:
Functional pre-requisites are those pre-requisites which are concerned with the functions of the members of the social system. These are:
(a) Obedience to social norms:
Each social system has some norms of conduct. There can be no norm-less society. The norms are the socially approved ways of behaviour which the members of a social system are required to observe. If these are violated, social system cannot function efficiently.
(b) Mechanism of Social Control:
Since some individuals in society violate its norms, therefore, it is essential that requisite mechanisms be provided whereby the individuals may be compelled to observe these norms and the social system may function in a satisfactory manner. The mechanisms of social control may be formal and informal.
(c) Interest towards Positive Action:
The actors should willingly accept the social system. They should have no resentment against it. They should evince keen interest towards positive action.
(3) Cultural Pre-requisites.
These pre-requisites are:
(a) Language:
The members of a social system should possess a meaningful language to communicate and express themselves. Without language no social system can operate.
(b) Symbols:
The symbols also have a significant place in social system. According to Piper, “A symbol is essentially a material object or process which stands for a meaning beyond bare sensation. It represents man’s supplement to animal response and signalizes his entrance to the space-less, transcendental world of meaning”. A symbol is an object representing an invisible and inaudible object, for example, God is represented by an idol.
The lion represents bravery, the fox represents cunningness. The tribes, clans and nations adopt symbols which have importance in their individual and social life. The flag is a symbol of the nation. A leaf, a flower, an animal can become a symbol of a social system. A symbol must not be arbitrary but must be natural, i.e., it must convey as well as illuminate the idea.
(c) System of communication:
Lastly, every social system should have a system of communication. Social interaction acts through communication. The means of communication may be language, script, gesture, symbols, telephone etc.
IV. Mechanisms of Social System:
Social system is a system of interdependent action processes. Our knowledge of individuals informs us that there are tendencies in the individuals to alter established status of social system which disturb the stabilized or equilibrated interaction process.
It is, therefore, of utmost importance that requisite mechanisms be applied for maintaining the equilibrium between the various processes of social interaction so that the social system may function in a satisfactory manner.
These mechanisms have been classified by Parsons into two categories:
(i) Mechanisms of socialization, and
(ii) Mechanisms of social control.
Socialization is a process of learning whereby an individual acquires the requisite orientations for satisfactory functioning in a role. The process of Socialization develops a child into a functioning member of society. He adjusts himself with the social situations conforming with social norms, values and standards. But the process of socialization is not confined to the child alone. It goes on throughout life.
The case of socialization of the child is singled out because it is in childhood that the major value- orientation patterns are laid down which are not subject to drastic alteration during adult life. Socialization takes place through various motivational processes which may be called the mechanisms of socialization. Parsons has mentioned five mechanisms of socialization. These are re-enforcement extinction, inhibition, substitution, imitation and identification.
Social control consists of the mechanisms whereby the society moulds its members to conform to the approved pattern of social behaviour. It is evident that there are tendencies in the actor to deviate from the conformity with the normative standards. Such deviance may disintegrate the social system. Through the mechanisms of social control the actor is motivated to abandon his deviance and resume conformity.
It may be mentioned that the conceptions of deviance and conformity are highly complex because it is not always possible to make a judgment of deviance without specific reference to the system to which it applies. Moreover, the structure of normative patterns is always intricate and usually far from fully integrated. Nevertheless, the fact remains that all social action is normatively oriented and all the actors must conform to the social norms to maintain an integrated and equilibrated interactive system.
According to Parsons, ‘The most fundamental mechanisms of social control are to be found in the normal processes of interaction in an institutionally integrated social system”. Thus institutionalization is one of the primary means of social control through which the different activities and relationships are co-ordinated to minimize conflicts on the social level. A proper institutionalization of ‘time schedule’ for different activities and of priorities can minimize source of serious potential conflict.
Besides, in every society there is a system of rewards for confirmative and punishments for deviant behaviour. In addition to this system, there are also unconscious mechanisms which counteract deviant behaviour. These may be divided into three classes : (a) those which tend to “nip in the bud” tendencies to development of compulsively deviant motivation before they reach the vicious circle stage, (b) those which insulate the bearers of such motivation from influence on others, and (c) the “secondary defences” which are able to reverse the vicious circle process.
Concluding, it may be said that deviant behaviour tendencies which are not successfully coped with by the control mechanisms of the social system, constitute one of the principal sources of change in the structure of the social system.