Social System and Social Structure

It is appropriate to regard such diverse sets of relationships as small groups, political parties and whole societies as social systems. Social systems are open systems, exchanging information with and frequently acting with reference to other systems. Modern conceptions of the term can be traced to the leading social analysts of the nineteenth century, notably Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim. Thus, in Marx's theory, the major units or components of the capitalist societies were socio-economic classes, and the major relationships between classes involved economic and political power.

As a matter of fact, the notion of social structure plays the key role in discussing the issue under consideration. Social structure is a term frequently used in sociology and social theory. It can refer to either entities and groups in definite relations to each other or social institutions and norms becoming embedded into social systems in such a way that they shape the behaviour of actors within those social systems. The concept of social structure emphasizes the idea that society is divided into structurally related groups or sets of roles, with different functions, meanings or purposes. One example of social structure is the idea of "social stratification", which refers to the point that society is separated into differentstrata, guided by the underlying structures in the social system.Social treatment of persons within various social structures can be understood as related to their placement within the different social strata.

Some believe that social structure is naturally developed. It may be caused by larger system needs, such as the need for labour, management, professional and military classes, or by conflicts between groups, such as competition among political parties or among elites and masses. Others suggest that this structuring is not a result of natural processes but is socially constructed. It may be created by the power of elites who seek to retain their power, or by economic systems that place emphasis upon competition or cooperation.

Social structure can also be divided into microstructure and macrostructure. Microstructure is the pattern of relations between most basic elements of social life, that cannot be further divided and have no social structure of their own (for example, a pattern of relations between individuals in a group composed of individuals - where individuals have no social structure). Macrostructure is thus a kind of 'second level' structure, a pattern of relations between objects that have their own structure (say, a political social structure between political parties, as political parties have their own social structure). Some special types of social structures that modern sociologists differentiate are "relation structures" (in family or larger family-like clan structures), "communication structures" (how information is passed in organizations) and "sociometric structures" (structures of sympathy, antipathy and indifference in organisations).

Social structure may be seen to underlay important social systems including the economic system, legal system, political system, cultural system, and others. Family, religion, law, economy and class all represent social structures. The social system, as a result, is the parent system of those various structures that are embedded in it.

COMPREHENSION

Understanding the reading

4.4.1 Give extensive answers to the questions. Use the following expressions to present your answers:

Ø It is clear from the above that …

Ø I am absolutely sure that ...

Ø As for ...

Ø Speaking about …

Ø As far as I could understand ...