Types of societies and the social construction of reality
Societies have changed dramatically over human history, and so has the way people understand themselves within them.
From hunting to industry
Sociologists classify societies by how they produce food and goods. Hunter-gatherer societies are small and mobile. Pastoral and horticultural societies domesticate animals and plants. Agricultural societies use ploughs and produce surpluses, which support cities and inequality. Industrial societies use machines and factories, and post-industrial societies centre on information and services.
Durkheim and Marx on society
Durkheim argued that simple societies are held together by mechanical solidarity, based on people being alike, while complex societies rely on organic solidarity, based on interdependence between specialised roles. Marx argued that in industrial capitalism, workers experience alienation, being cut off from the products of their labour, from one another, and from their own creativity.
The social construction of reality
Sociologists Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann argued that much of what we take as natural reality is created and maintained by shared social agreement. Money has value because people agree it does. The Thomas theorem states that if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences: a rumour that a bank is failing can cause a run that makes it fail.
Flashcard
Social unity based on similarity
Check your understanding
Rumours that a bank is failing lead customers to withdraw all their money, causing it to collapse. This illustrates: