Interesting social sciences/Sociology

The social status

             Social status is a position of man in the society, this status have the appropriate list of rights and duties. Status can be compared with the empty cell in the organization or in the group, which this or that person can occupy, people come and leave, but statuses remain in the organization. Organization is a system of interconnected and specialized statuses. Each status has own function in the organization, for example, the function of chief consists in the management of ordinary employees, the function of teacher consists in the education of pupils, the function of worker consists in management and in repair of technical devices and so on. Each person occupies several statuses simultaneously, for example, person can occupy of statuses of worker, husband, athlete, friend, student of the evening department of university, member of the party, author of newspaper publication, visitor of hospital and so on.  

In my opinion, the main kinds of statuses are status of controller and status of the object of control, status of enemies in the conflict. Other kinds of statuses are secondary, for example, notions "ascribed status" and "achieved status" are secondary.

Social role is such behavior, which surrounding people expect from the person, when this person occupies specific status.

Statics and dynamics as two states of social structure

Auguste Comte

       The founder of sociology Auguste Comte had introduced these concepts  

Statics is a social structure or the anatomy of social organism at the given historical moment as the system of the organizations, which resemble organs in the organism.

Dynamics is a description of the sequence of stages for development of the structure of social organism,  that is the description of emergence of new and new organizations and groups. Each organizations has own function in the society.   

In my opinion, eleven basic groups and organizations exist in the society, this groups and organizations were invented in turn:   

• A family. Family has a function of the production of healthy posterity. Family was invented in the period of the origin of primitive society. Family, genus and tribe are built on the moral control. The wars flared up between the tribes frequently.   

• A production’s organization. A production’s organization has function of production of vital goods (food, clothing, houses and so on.). The first modes of production were nomadic cattle breeding and irrigation agriculture, then craft production and machine production. Most effective kinds of social control were applied at that moment in the production’s organization, for example, the moral control was applied in the production’s organizations under the primitive society, the armed control was applied in the production’s organizations under the slaveholding society, the administrative control was applied in the production’s organizations under the feudalism, economic control is applied in the production’s organizations under capitalism. The market competition between the producers had arisen under capitalism when only effective producer survives. All producers survive only under subsistence economy.

• An army. The army was invented in the period of the sunset of primitive society (in period of military democracy). The army has function to wage war, to protect boundaries of national territory from the aggressor and to conquer others territory. The army was built on the moral control initially, then army was built on the armed control, and then army is built on the administrative control today.    

• Law enforcement agencies (court, police, prison). The law enforcement agencies were invented in the period of slaveholding society. The function of the law enforcement agencies is protection of public order that is realizing of armed control of government over citizens, the realization of the system of criminal law. Law enforcement agencies used only corporal punishments in the past. Law enforcement agencies have begun to use administrative and economic sanctions today. The law enforcement agencies are built on the administrative control of the chief over their employees. Prison is built on the armed control, when guard has the right to use corporal punishments against the prisoners. The police exists in the state of war with the criminal organizations. The criminal organizations are the spare underground center of the power which amplifies in case of temporary weakening of police and legitimate authority of the government. Criminal organizations exists in the state of war with each other.

• A bureaucracy. The bureaucracy has a function taxation and to organize of public works sometimes, that is to build channels, dams and so on. This public works under the direction of bureaucracy is the extremely ineffective form of use of labor force in comparison with the system of private enterprise, which is built on the economic control. Bureaucracy is built on the administrative control. The hieroglyphic writing and Cadastral surveying (book of taxpayers) were invented for the realization of the taxation in Ancient Egypt. The bureaucracy was arisen under the slaveholding society.   

• A government. The government has a function administrative control of activity of army, bureaucracy and law enforcement agencies. The government controls to system of education and church sometimes. Theocracy, on the contrary, is a form of government, under which the church controls to government. The government is built on the administrative control of its employees. Supreme power consists from three branches of power (legislative, executive and judicial) today under the conditions of representative democracy, this three branches of power are independent from each other.  

• A church and a sect. These religious organizations have a function of consolation of fear of the believers before death and to convince of the believers in the necessity of existence for the system of social control, to convince of the believers in the necessity of submission to controllers. Church, as religious organization, was built in Buddhism, Christianity and Islam at first. Church, as religious organization, is built on the administrative control of its employees (priests). The church used body’s punishments against its enemies (heretics) sometimes. The church organized the religious wars and crusades against the competitors sometimes. The church had arisen in the period of the sunset of slaveholding society.    • A system of education. The system of education has a function of the socialization of the growing up generation. The state’s system of education is built on the administrative control of its employees. The system of education had arisen under the slaveholding society.

• A system of public health. The system of public health has a function of the treatment for people. The first doctors had appeared under the slaveholding society. Medical organizations are built on the administrative control.   

• An Art, a media and a mass culture. They have a function to satisfy aesthetical needs and to inform to people, to carry out the socialization. The media and mass culture exists in the conditions of competition with each other.  Correspondents enter into the discussion with each other in the course of struggle for spheres of influence on the spectators. The separate means of media and mass culture, for example, the separate newspaper or television channel are built on the economic and administrative control of boss over its employees. The media and mass culture were invented under capitalism.  

• A science. The science has a function of the cognition of truth, function of production of inventions and forecasts. The science was invented under the slaveholding society. Scientists compete with each other in the course of scientific discussions.

Main concepts of sociology

            Social structure is a system of social groups and organizations, roles and statuses. According to representatives of organicism in macrosociology, society is similar to the human organism; therefore society has needs. Each social organization or group resembles some organ of society and each social organization or group satisfies some need of society, each social organization or group fulfills some function.

In my opinion, society is a progressively developing open system of groups and organizations, which is built on the relations of conflict and control between the people.  

Small group is a small quantity of people (from 2 to 15 people), between whom are established relations of moral leadership and moral control.  

Society is built on the inequality of statuses of people, because equality between the controller and the object of control doesn't exist in society. In my opinion, the groups of people located one above another form strata (layers) in the social hierarchy (in the pyramid). Society resembles “layer’s pie”.

Stratification is a division into layers.

Social mobility is a displacement of people on the social “staircase”.

The vertical mobility is a displacement of people up or down on social "staircase" during life depending on their abilities, for example, worker has became by engineer at first, then he has became by the boss of factory, then he has became by minister, and then he has became watchman at the pension age.

Horizontal mobility is a displacement on one step of social staircase without a change of status, for example, pupil has passed from the eighth grade of one school to the eighth grade of another school.

A socialization

Socialization of people occurs in the process of the social control. When pupil comes to school, teacher explains to this pupil of the rules of behavior at school. If the pupil doesn't carry out these rules, then the teacher has the right to punish this pupil.

The agents of socialization are certain people, groups and organizations, which teach people and train of person in execution of roles.

Main agents of the socialization:

• family,

• school,

• kindergarten.

• the media,

• group of teenagers,

• army,

• criminal group,

• religious organizations, production organizations, and so on.