Society is a complex social system that includes many interconnected social communities, ethnic groups, institutions, statuses and roles. There are several approaches to determining its structure.
Instruction manual
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Society is a complex structure that is in constant motion. It consists of groups of people who are united according to the territorial principle, at the place of work (study) or profession. Within one society, many social positions and statuses, as well as social functions, are represented. In addition, society includes a wide variety of norms and values. The connections that arise between these elements determine the social structure.
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Organic theory is considered by society as a living organism and believes that it also includes various organs and systems (digestive, circulatory, etc.). A. Comte distinguishes as the organs of a public organism regulatory (management), production (agriculture, industry), distribution (roads, trading system). The key institution of the social organism is considered to be managerial, including the state, the church and the legal system.
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According to proponents of Marxism, the basic and superstructure components are distinguished in the social system. The determining element was considered economic (basic). The superstructure formation in the person of the state, law, church was considered secondary. The understanding of the social structure by Marxists divided the material-production sphere (economy), social (people, economic classes and nations), political (state, parties and trade unions) and the spiritual sphere (psychological, value, social component).
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The most popular understanding of society, which is used by modern sociologists, was proposed by T. Parsons. He proposed to consider society as a type of social system. The latter, in turn, is part of the system of action. According to the proponents of a systems approach, society consists of four subsystems, each of which performs its own functions. The social system serves as a way of integrating people and social groups into society, it consists of behavioral norms. It is she who is the core of society. The cultural subsystem is responsible for the preservation of cultural identity and the reproduction of typical behavior and includes a combination of values. The political system aims to achieve the objectives of the societal subsystem. The economic subsystem provides interaction with the material world.
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Some researchers understand society as a set of social relations that arise between people. Among them, two large groups can be distinguished: material (arising in the process of a person’s practical activity) and spiritual relations (ideal relations, which are determined by their spiritual values). The latter include political, moral, legal, artistic, religious, philosophical.
