Society

SOCIETY

Q1. Explain with examples:

a) Social interdependence: Man cannot produce or manufacture all his needs. He is forced to be dependant on other and that is where the society steps in. Society is based on interdependence and it can be of many types for instance economic interdependence where millions of things are produced and sold. Production is wasted if there is no selling and selling is not possible if there is no production.

For example, production of cloth. Cotton is first grown by the farmer. He has to depend on the carpenter to make the plough, he may have to borrow the finance needed from the bank and seeds from the local shopkeeper. Cotton is produced. He has to sell it to the mill owner through the wholesaler. The mill owner processes and produces the cotton products and it is sold to the wholesaler, then to the retailer and ultimately to us.

b) Modern and Pre-industrial society: History is witness to the fact that man has never lived in a single type of society. Indus valley civilization had a different kind of society, where the tools used were what we call the most primitive. The changes that took place led to the era of empires like Ashok and Akbar where there were laws to be abided and the modes of transport and trade and communication had improved when compared to the earlier eras. But there were not large scale productions going on and the government too was most simple. The king was all powerful in his kingdom and his word was law.

But the society changed after industrialization through the production was done, it was being done on a large scale, it was diversified too. The ways to produce goods were different and a unique type of society developed where there were capitalists, middle classes and workers. Though capitalists controlled the industry but with many revolution that took place the workers too started having a say in the concerned matters too..

The industrial society is more complex when compared to pre-industrial society. The way the people live is in complete contrast when you compare both the societies. The class divide too is completely different and more complex. The means of trade and communication which were simple have now tuned more complex. The present society has changed the world into a global village where one can communicate easily with the persons in any part of the world.

c) Industrial revolution: In the later half of the 18th century. Renaissance took place in most of the parts of Europe. There was enormous change in the way production of goods was done. It was done at one place where hundreds of men and women work together on the machines. It was less personalized and more mechanized. The factories expanded so fast that there were jobs and opportunities but the cities also grew in an unplanned way. The industrial revolution changed the production method to large scale machineries were used and steam was used and this revolutionized production where the end product was more perfect with no room for products with low quality.


d) Colonialism: The control of one nation over another is called imperialism. Due to industrialization, when the production of goods went up, there was not enough market to locally now did the maximum of Europeans have enough purchasing power. The producers had to search for new markets, encouraged by the governments set up colonies in the countries of Asia and Africa. The colonies were not only ready markets for finished goods but also were steady suppliers of raw materials too. By the end of 19th century there were two types of countries one that were the imperialists and the other which were the colonies of the imperialist nations.

e) Functions of the family.: A family is the most simple organization in the social structure. A family shows interdependence among the family members. It develops attitudes in a family. It shapes the habits to make own decisions. A family helps for the total development of an individual so that he can take decisions in the socio and political lives. Though interdependence is taught and inculcated to an individual, he is also taught about individualism where he is taught not only to be submissive but also to assert his rights and stand up for his opinion.

A family readies an individual for the society. A balanced family brings out a balanced individual who is an asset to the family but an imbalanced family brings out an imbalanced individual, who is not only a burden to the society but also to the country.

f) Joint / nuclear family : Our country is a country of joint families where more than one family lives together in a house. A joint family helps for the total and wholesome development of an individual where a person is never alone. The total support of the family is present. It acts as a cushion when a person can lean on at his time of need. A joint family was and is still existing in rural areas where the total family is totally dependent on the land generation to generation and they are closely knit.

But the industrial revolution changed all this when the men had to go to far off places for better standard of living. This led to break up of joint family system and the nuclear families came into being. The nuclear family has its advantages where both the parents are working but when the need arises the support of a joint family is non-existing.

Q2. How many types of societies are you aware of?

The different types of societies are feudal, industrial and modern.


Q3. What are the effects of industrial revolution?

Industrial revolution had many effects. The speed of production increased three fold. Many inventions were made to meet the growing demands of industrialization. The villages were empty and cities started expanding on a very fast scale and this led to the development of unplanned cities. Industrialisation did lead to better standard of living among he individuals but had many negative effects too. Industrialization brought about a new kind of society altogether where monarchy was no longer in existence. Democratic setup came into being. But the effects of industrialization were not always good. The unplanned cities led to the growth of slums and epidemics and general ill health. The society was more complex now and than earlier and this led to the breakup of the traditional family system.

Q4. How does one control the evils of industrialization?

Industrialization has led to many evils. The way the societies changed though were for better living did have evil effects like drinking, unemployment, poverty and increased lawlessness. The family support system vanished and individualism with strong sense of personal benefit came to the fore front. It also developed mistrust of one individual towards another and this mistrust of one country to another led to the world wars being fought. This ultimately led to the destruction of old ways of living and trusting one another. The joint family system completely vanished and gave way to nuclear family system.

But the evils of industrialization can be controlled with a basic support of the most simple form of social organization i.e. the family. A healthy family, which is healthy both physically and mentally can provide qualitative citizens which can slowly and steadily rout out the evils of industrialization and work for the all round development of the nation. A healthy citizen can work for the change and development of the society at large.


ECONOMIC BACKWARDNESS:

Economic backwardness depends on purchasing power of the mass population or it can also be the standard of living of the people of the country. In an economically backward country, the purchasing power of the people is low. This can be that the country is under developed where the education is backward and most of the population of the country lives below the poverty line.

A country can be economically backward where the population has no proper living conditions, no proper education system and so naturally the social structure too collapses. A country’s progress is totally dependent on its economy and any government has to work had to make its country economically progressive.