Introduction
Different aspects come together to build a society, including concepts such as norms, values, and beliefs that shape how people behave in communities. Social groups are significant in promoting interactions between human beings. Social rankings and classes exist in a society that shows people’s differences. An ideal society is characterized by various factors that combine to ensure that the community members get the best in society. The purpose of this paper is to discuss concepts that relate to society in the quest to establish an ideal society.
Society’s Norms, Ideas, Values, and Beliefs
Social norms entail acceptable behavior and shared standards by a group of people. A society’s values reflect how people relate with each other and include aspects such as freedom, justice, respect, and responsibilities. In addition, persons in society have specific beliefs, convictions, or tenets that people hold to be true. These aspects guide human behavior in various aspects, such as what they wear, how they interact with others, their beliefs on social issues, and their attitudes toward different things (Szifris, 2021).
Human beings need norms that direct and guide their behavior and give predictability and order in social relations, helping people understand each other’s actions. Social norms, ideas, and values are evaluative in nature and remain engrained in the minds and perceptions of the societal structure. They determine what the society approves or disapproves, which may change over time. Just like a set of ethical expectations, social values and beliefs are used to evaluate situations and assign standards to them according to preconceived expectations.
Socialization
Human beings socialize through social groups, providing them with day-to-day life experiences. Later, peer groups and families help communicate expectations and reinforce societal norms (Jacquieret al., 2020). People are introduced to values and beliefs by joining clubs or groups, interacting with friends, attending religious meetings, and joining social media platforms. The first socialization agent is immediate family members, including the mother, father, siblings, and grandparents, who interact with children early in their lives (Jacquieret et al., 2020). They help individuals understand how the world works and how to use different items, including clothes, eating utensils, and bikes. Further, socialization helps individuals learn how to relate to others in different situations, whether strangers or not.
Peer groups involve people of similar age or social status with related interests. Peer socialization starts in early childhood when children interact to show younger ones the norms of playing different games. The socialization process changes as children grow into teenagers and adolescents as they develop identities that differ from those of their parents (Szifris, 2021). The activities in groups help banish loneliness, bring enjoyment, promote a sense of safety, and provide a source of learning for everyone.
Social institutions such as schools and workplaces help people learn norms and navigate different systems. Teachers serve as role models to enforce societal expectations of children. For instance, subject contest helps learners to understand that there are losers and winners in life. When school children are given group work, they learn the importance of working as a team, which teaches the culture of collaboration (Szifris, 2021). Through school activities, children learn to be patient, wait for their turn, follow the rules, and handle disappointments.
Lastly, religion and media form important tools for socialization in society. In the US, many people visit synagogues, churches, mosques, and other places of worship where they gather to interact and learn from each other. Religious places of worship lead the participants to understand their roles in society and their need to relate with others in an appropriate manner (Szifris, 2021). Likewise, Mass media spread information to various groups of people across the world, which impacts social norms globally.
D. Social Control
Societies maintain social control through institutions and individuals such as peers, family, community leaders, organizations such as the state, schools, workplaces, and religious organizations. The law is the formal rule that creates balance and safety in a society designed to control the behaviour of citizens. Social norms are the unwritten rules of attitude, beliefs, and behavior that also help create balance in society. Additionally, Social control is achieved through institutional, social, and economic structures. Enforced and agreed-upon social orders in these structures help maintain this balance. For example, social Control structures such as through the government entail crime punishment. In contrast, control through religion may involve diminished access to religious rituals or objects due to the transgression of rules. Education may also be a form of social control where people learn ways of life and how to behave in different occurrences.
Types of Social Groups
A social group consists of two or more people interacting and sharing characteristics. Types of Social groups are primary, secondary, collective, and categories. In primary groups, members enjoy close, impertinent relationships illustrated by love, care, support, and concern. Secondary groups are more extensive and composed of oriented and interpersonal relationships (Jacquieret et al., 2020). Collective groups are large, and relationships with one another are loosely formed. Finally, categories are aggregates of persons who share things in common.
The Role of Deviance
Deviance provides a platform to understand recalibration and disruptions that occur in society. It creates customs that apprise societal members to behave by establishing acceptable and unacceptable conduct patterns. Deviance increases conformity, promotes positive social change, and strengthens the bonds among persons who react to the deviant (Eissa et al., 2020). Actions marked as deviant can bolster solidarity in society as people take pride and ownership in stigmatized identity. Some traits are stigmatized, resulting in social disruptions, while others help mainstream society.
Societal Rankings
Society ranks people in stratifications that are classified into socioeconomic connections based on aspects such as income, riches, education, influence, and ethnicity. Persons with high income, wealth, education, and power rank higher. These persons tend to gain more power and say in society than others. Therefore, the raking in society may create inequalities and determine a person’s position in the community.
Social Classes
Social classes entail groups with similar levels of influence, wealth, and status. A standard view by sociologists places people in three social classes which are upper, middle, and lower. The persons in the upper class are characterized and distinguished by their possession of enormous inherited wealth (Clerval, 2022). The middle class is in the following social hierarchy regarding wealth and is often defined by income, occupation, social status, and education. Finally, the lower class has the lowest social rankings, has an outstanding low income and wealth, and lacks education and skills.
Gender Roles
Gender roles, referred to as sex roles, entail how humans are expected to speak, act, dress, and conduct themselves following the assigned sex (Eisend, 2019). For example, women and girls are expected to dress femininely and be accommodating, nurturing, and polite. However, gender roles in society are features that should not contribute to how people view each other. In many societies, men are expected to be strong traditionally and display attributes of power, strength, and competitiveness. Despite the physical differences between men and women, gender differences should not be used to rate people’s abilities.
The Ideal Society
Theories and research from sociology explain the aspects of an ideal society. A perfect society is viewed with a high equality rate among its people, especially in the opportunities available. An ideal society is where race and gender are perceived as mere features that do not affect how people view each other. Equality exists between society members irrespective of the people’s physicality or background. The powerful and the rich do not dominate others, the helpless and the poor (Szifris, 2021).
People should be allowed to make decisions by voting on laws and guidelines that affect their rights. Every religion should be treated equally, and everyone should be free to practice without fear and discrimination. The society should have an environment that is clean and free from pollution. The ideal society may assist in developing a healthy community by enhancing public safety, reducing inequalities, improving societies, promoting health, and offering help to all people. The efficient working of the government system is essential in the ideal society. The government should respect fundamental human rights and the rule of law and allow for more voting of law through a democratic voting system. All citizens should participate, and the system should allow ordinary people to have a decisive say. The government should be efficient, respect each citizen’s freedom, and be unbiased
Perspective
Comte, Spencer, and Marx held different perspectives regarding society. Of the three, Marx’s perspective fits the ideal community best, where he argued that there are inequalities based on social differences in society. He stated that there needed to be a large-scale change to make society fair (Van Chung et al., 2021). Marx’s perspectives included an entire organization and criticized capitalism due to its impact on increasing societal inequalities. He says the entire society needs to grow in opportunities, especially economics (Van Chung et al., 2021). Each person needs to be given equal chances regardless of social class. Marx’s perspective fits best as he promotes fairness and equality, which are major indicators of the ideal society. Additionally, Marx’s view supports a real society or world because it reveals that people are treated equally despite their gender, race, or other physical differences. However, this may fail to happen even when laws are already established.
Member within a Group
Members come together to learn about each other and determine the group’s purpose. The group members communicate directly to get to know and understand each other. Group conflicts may arise, and the members may learn to solve them. Spoken and unspoken rules are set in the groups that help how they interact with one another. Group members constantly engage in social compassion and assess views and positions in the interactions. As a result, the groups generate conformity, and the members will likely conform to how the group operates. An In-group is a group in which a person identifies as a member, while an out-group is a social group in which a person does not identify. In-group seeks to find negative aspects of an out-group to enhance self-image. Subculture groups are formed to engage in activities and behavior that meet a particular identity’s needs and interests.
Addressing Deviance
Deviance in society is addressed in various ways, such as deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, and rehabilitation. Consequences are present when people commit a deviant action in society. In deterrence, the persons are discouraged from deviance by punishments. Incapacitation involves people being placed in jails or prisons for their mistakes (Eissa et al., 2020). Retribution gives the person who is hurt a chance to hurt the person who hurt them. Finally, rehabilitation is a program to understand deviant behavior and assist in changing them.
Changing Social Positions
People can change social positions within rankings by increasing human capital. For example, human capital theory suggests that more resources related to a job, education, training, or promotions may help increase a social rank (Clerval, 2022). For women, marrying someone with a higher income may help them move to a higher social position. On the other hand, a person may change to a lower social position when they reduce their wealth or income or if they are demoted.
Impacts of Social Classes
Social classes affect how people socialize in a society where different social classes lead to distinct patterns of interpersonal behavior. The classes lead people to experience mismatches in critical social organizations’ social classes and cultures. Social perceptions additionally impact the buying behaviors of people in society. For example, low-income persons may focus on price while high income may focus on quality and uniqueness of service or product.
Effects of Gender Roles
Gender roles affect the functioning of society and may be harmful as they impair people’s ability to be who they want to be. Individuals are constrained to fulfill specific roles and may sometimes have no control over what they wish to do. As a result, people may be restrained from positions where they would be better socially and economically. Often, women and girls are confined to fulfill the roles of wives, mothers, and caretakers (Eisend, 2019). Gender roles restrict diversity and limit people with stereotypes. Tasks should be distributed equally between males and females in society, and no person should be discriminated against for the tasks they choose to perform.
Engaging with the Aging in Society
Members of Society need to engage with older people more positively and sensitively. They need to keep the communication clear, be open, and maintain plain, respectful language. Society can engage the aging in outdoor activities, improve their safety, coordinate family visits, and help them carry out activities in the household. Additionally, society needs to engage the aging in activities involving mental abilities, advice, professional work, and skills and take advantage of their knowledge.
Conclusion
Socialization involves interactions that shape people’s views and behavior towards themselves and society. Several aspects influence socialization, including religious beliefs, mass media, and social institutions. With cultural differences, discrimination, biases, and stereotypes, achieving an ideal society with no inequalities is difficult. This is because people have different perspectives that guide their behavior and actions in society in relation to what is expected of them.
References
Clerval, A. (2022). Gentrification and social classes in Paris, 1982-2008. Urban Geography, 43(1), 34-58. Web.
Eisend, M. (2019). Gender roles. Journal of Advertising, 48(1), 72-80. Web.
Eissa, G., Lester, S. W., & Gupta, R. (2020). Interpersonal deviance and abusive supervision: The mediating role of supervisor negative emotions and the moderating role of subordinate organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 166(3), 577-594. Web.
Jacquier, M., Vandel, J. M., Léger, F., Duhayer, J., Pardonnet, S., Queney, G., & Devillard, S. (2020). Population genetic structures at multiple spatial scales: importance of social groups in European badgers. Journal of Mammalogy, 101(5), 1380-1391. Web.
Szifris, K. (2021). Philosophy Behind Bars. Bristol University Press.
Van Chung, P. V., Huy, M. D. T. N., & Ngu, P. D. T. (2021). Eastern philosophical theories and marxismlenin philosophies in Vietnam society and education. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 11(8), 1586-1591. Web.