ORGANIZING A SOCIETY

Lesson 5

Introduction

The lesson will present topics on our membership to particular social groups, the different
social structures, kinship, and other institutions in society.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Explain & differentiate the different types of social groups;

2. Identify one’s role in social groups and institutions;

3. Recognize the forms of economic transactions such as sharing, gift exchange, and
redistribution in his/her own society;

4. State the definition and explain the different concepts listed below.

Topic Outline
1. Groups within society: Primary & Secondary
2. In-groups & Out-groups
3. Reference Groups
4. Networks
5. Kinship, Marriage & the Household
6. Political & Leadership structures
7. Economic Institutions
8. Nonstate Institutions
9. Education
10. Religion

Page 1 of 10
 Try this!

Directions: Identify the groups that you are a member of and assign this on the drawing below
based on your closeness to the group.

1. What group is the closest to you?

2. What group is the farthest from you?

3. Are the groups connected with each other?

4. What are the factors that made you decide the groups that are closest and farthest from
you?

Page 2 of 10
 Read and Ponder

Society is made up of social groups. A social group consists of two or more people who identify
with and interact with one another. People who make up a group share experiences, loyalties, and
interests. Examples of social groups are couples, families, circles of friends and barkada,
churches, clubs, businesses, neighborhoods, and large organizations (Macionis 2012: 146).

According to Macionis (2012), there are two types of social groups. The primary group is a
small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships. These personal and
tightly integrated groups are among the first groups an individual experiences in life. The most
important primary group in any society is the family. Friends who shape an individual’s
attitudes, behavior, and social identity also form one’s primary group.

The secondary group is a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific
goal or activity. Unlike the primary group which is defined according to who they are in terms of
family ties or personal qualities, membership in secondary groups is based on what people can
do for each other. Over time, a group may transform from secondary to primary, as with
classmates or neighbors who develop closer relationships. Moreover, while it is possible to
identify some groups as either primary or secondary, most social groups actually contain
elements of both. For example, a student organization may be larger and more anonymous, but
its members may identify strongly with one another and provide mutual support. Through
socialization, individuals develop the need to conform.

To assess one’s own attitudes and behaviors, individuals use a reference group, a social group
that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions (Macionis, 2012).
Reference groups can be primary or secondary, as well as groups that we do not belong to, as in
the case of a person following fashion styles described in a fashion magazine.

Besides reference groups, there is also the opposition of in-groups and out-groups. An in-group
is a social group toward which a member feels respect and loyalty, while an out-group is a
social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition (Macionis, 2012).

As groups grow beyond three people, they become more stable and capable of withstanding the
loss of one or more members. At the same time, increases in group size reduce the intense
personal interaction possible only in the smallest groups. Larger groups are based less on
personal attachment and more on formal rules and regulations (Macionis, 2012).

A network is group containing people who come into occasional contact but who lack a sense of
boundaries and belonging (Macionis, 2012). Some scholars claim that networks are
nonhierarchical, value-free, and structure-less organizations, and that they are composed of
people working on similar tasks without necessarily knowing each other. This is illustrated by
social networking sites such as Facebook.

Living in a society implies that we are governed by a set of rules. Some rules may be imposed
while others are negotiated. Regardless of how these were arranged, their importance in
understanding what is culturally, socially and politically acceptable cannot be denied. A social
institution “consists of all the structural components of a society through which the main
concerns and activities are organized, and social needs … are met” (Marshall 1998: 317–318). In

Page 3 of 10
addition to this, there is also a tradition of the study of institutions as constraining. Douglas
North defines institutions as “humanly devised constraints that structure, political, economic and
social interactions” (North 1991: 97). These constraints come in the form of informal control
such as taboos, culture and tradition. Constraints are also manifested through the establishment
of formal rules such as law and constitution. Generally, institutions evolve over time as a result
of the changing relationship among groups in society. There are institutions, however, that
persist despite changes in the economic, social, and political landscape. In Philippine society,
some important institutions are family, religion, and civil society. Other institutions such as
market and economy, education, and health are also notable.

Family is a social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups to
care for one another, including any children (Macionis 2012: 418). The nuclear family is a
family composed of one or two parents and their children. It is also known as a conjugal family.

Most families in the world are formed around the concept and practice of marriage, which is
defined as a legal relationship that involves economic cooperation, sexual activity and
childbearing. Traditionally, the belief in most countries is that people should marry before
having children, this is based from the word matrimony which in Latin means the condition of
motherhood (ibid).

As an extended family is a family composed of parents and children as well as other kin. It is
also known as a consanguine family (Ibid). Shimizu (1991:106) observed that while the nuclear
family is the basic form of household in the Philippines, the nuclear family is “not a closed,
isolated unit consisting of only the married couple and their unmarried children. It has frequent
and intimate interactions with the families living nearby. It is not unusual to find elderly parents
or elderly unmarried siblings of the household’s head still living together in the same
household.”

A reconstituted family is a family whose composition and form of emotional care differ from
those of the nuclear or extended family. One example is the female headed transnational
family, a household with “core members living in at least two nation-states and in which the
mother works in another country while some or all of her dependents reside in the Philippines”
(Parreñas 2001: 361). From Parreñas’s definition of a female-headed transnational family, we
can define the transnational family as one with core members living in at least two nation-
states.

Identifying people as suitable or unsuitable marriage partner is often based on cultural norms and
laws. These norms and laws promote any/both or all of the following Marriage Patterns
(Macionis, 2017):

Endogamy is marriage between people of the same social category. It limits potential/future
partners to people of the same age, race, religion or social class. The justification for this
marriage pattern is people of similar position pass along their standing/status to their offspring
that would result to status quo of the traditional social hierarchy (Macionis, 2017).

Exogamy is marriage between people of different social categories which encourages the spread
of culture by linking different communities (Macionis, 2017).

Monogamy is a type of marriage that unites two partners. Historically speaking, the preference
for this type of marriage is based on the following facts: A. supporting several spouses is
expensive; and B. the number of men and women in most societies is not the same. (Macionis,
2017).

Page 4 of 10
Polygamy is a type of marriage that unites a person with two or more spouses (Macionis, 2017).
This pattern may either be polyandry or polygyny.

Polyandry is a marriage that unites one woman with two or more men. This extremely rare
pattern is practiced in Tibet due to the mountainous area where agriculture is difficult and this
practice discourages the division of land into parcels too small to support a family and divides
farm work among their men.
Residential Patterns

Patrilocality is residential arrangement where the married couple lives with or near the
husband’s family (Macionis, 2017).

Matrilocality a residential arrangement where the married couple lives with or near the wife’s
family (Macionis, 2017).

Neolocality is a pattern where married couples do not live with or near the husband’s and wife’s
family (Macionis, 2017).

Patterns of Descent

Descent is the system that members of a society traces kinship. There are some families who
trace their kinship either from the father or mother side of the family or both. According to
Macionis (2017) the following are the patterns of descent.

Patrilineal descent is a system that traces kinship through men. In this system, offsprings are
related to other only through their fathers. Tracing kinship through this system ensures that
fathers pass property on to their sons. It characterizes most pastoral and agrarian societies where
men produces the most valuable resources.

Matrilineal descent, a less common pattern of descent where kinship is traced through women.
In this type, mothers pass property to their daughters and is frequently practiced in horticulture
societies where women are the main food producers.

Bilateral descent is a system that traces kinship through both men and women. Thus, children
identify both the father and mother side of the family as relatives.

Kinship, family ties are also called kinship, a “social bond based on common ancestry, marriage,
or adoption” (Macionis 2012: 418). A more traditional understanding of kinship follows the idea
that persons who extend duties and privileges to one another on the basis of consanguinity or
blood relations are considered members of the same kin group. Kinship relations around the
world, however, are organized differently and in ways that do not simply follow blood or
biological relations. There are several types of kinship relations within groups. For instance,
some societies organize themselves through a matrilineal descent, where people are regarded as
members of the mother’s group by birth and throughout their lifetime. Societies organized along
a patrilineal descent automatically consider people as members of the father’s group by birth and
throughout their lifetimes. Societies with bilateral descent, such as many of the societies in the
Philippines, trace automatic membership to both sides of descent. Many societies share the idea
that members of a kin group help each other take care of a person’s welfare, protection,
marriage, offspring, career, and identity (Service 1962; Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).

Ritual kinship refers to ritual parent-child relations such as the godparent-godchild relationship
established through the baptism ceremony of Roman Catholics. In the Philippines, this is called
the compadre system (Shimizu 1991: 118).

Page 5 of 10
Bands. In many areas of the world, small groups of people connected mainly by kinship ties
organize themselves into a community. This form of organization is called a band. A band is
usually led by a headman who members of the community considered as either their best hunter
or wisest member. A band, which is by itself a politically autonomous organization and a type of
society, typically comprises about 100 persons and occupies a large local territory that serves as
their hunting or foraging ground. Members of the band either live within one community or
scatter themselves across their territory. Nearly all societies established before the development
of farming some 10,000 years ago organized themselves into bands. More recent nomadic and
foraging societies also establish themselves into groups that may resemble the anthropological
description of band (Service 1962; Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).

Tribes. Some kindred groups from multiple localities integrate themselves into a larger unit of
relations. That integrated formation of multi-local kin groups can be referred as a tribal society or
a tribe. As a tribe, communities of kin form an informal structure especially in cases of outside
threats but breaks up and return to a state of self-reliance once that threat subsides. A tribe is
rather fragile as a political system but militarily and organizationally efficient in dealing with
threats whether from an external enemy or natural calamities. In the Philippines, some wrongly
consider a linguistic group as a tribal formation. Members of the same linguistic groups do link
together for various reasons but do not necessarily integrate themselves into larger political units
in times of external threat and then dissolve that integration when a threat has passed (Service
1962; Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).

Chiefdoms. Some societies organize some form of formal structures that integrate several
communities into a political unit under the leadership of a council with or without a chief. These
societies are referred as chiefdoms. A chiefdom, however, is usually headed by a chief, a person
of higher rank as well as authority compared to other members of a council. The council that
makes up a chiefdom normally comprises the chiefs of a community or multiple communities
(district). Many chiefdoms have an established system of social stratification with some
members, particularly the chief and the district chiefs, being bestowed with a higher rank and
accorded a status of prestige. The primary role of the chief is to resolve conflicts, distribute
goods, plan the use of resources and public labor, supervise religious ceremonies, and command
military affairs in accordance with the interest of the chiefdom (Service 1962; Ember, Ember,
and Perigrine 2011).

Weberian Types of Authority (Weber 1961: 173–179)

Max Weber’s work on social action showed one of the clearest links between individuals and
institutions. As defined by Weber, social action is one that individuals attach subjective
meanings to. In other words, social action is action that is meaningful.

Weber identified four types of social action.

• Traditional action is determined by the actor’s habitual and customary ways of behaving.

• Affectual action is determined by the emotional state of the actor.

• Value rationality is determined by a conscious belief in the value of some ethical,

aesthetic, religious or other forms of behavior.

• Means-ends rationality is determined by goal orientation.

According to Weber, every society is based on power which he defines as the ability to achieve
desired ends despite resistance from others. The use of power is the business of the government
which is a formal organization that directs the political life of a society. While power is the
ability to achieve desired ends despite of resistance from other. Authority, according to Weber, is

Page 6 of 10
the power that people perceive as legitimate rather than coercive. These four types of social
action form the bases of the structures of authority, or the legitimate forms of domination. There
are three types of authority according to Weber (Macionis, 2017).

Traditional authority is power legitimized by respect for long-established cultural patterns.

Since it is already woven in the collective memory of the population acceptance of this type of
authority is based on the fact that it has been always that way. Examples are the emperors of
China, Japan, India, Korea and the medieval kings of Europe. The power of tradition can be so
strong since people view their rulers as god-like or god sent and in some cases descendants of
god/s. According to Arendt (1963), the decline of this type of authority started when societies
began to industrialize (Macionis, 2017).

Rational-legal authority as defined by Weber as the power legitimized by legally enacted rules
and regulations. It is also the power that is legitimized in the operation of lawful government. It
is also associated with leadership that is goal-oriented and is for the benefit of the society
(example: duly-elected government officials; bureaucrats) (Macionis, 2017).

The ultimate form of goal-oriented action is the bureaucracy, which according to Weber is a type
of organization that dominates in rational thinking modern societies. This same world view that
promotes bureaucracy also removes traditional customs and practices. Thus, today’s high-income
societies seek justice through the operation of a political system that follows formally enacted
laws instead of looking to the past (Macionis, 2017).

The use of power in everyday life that you see at present are guided by rationally enacted rules.
Example, the authority of the principal, deans and classroom teachers rests on the offices that
they hold in bureaucratic universities and colleges. Another example would be, the president or
the prime minister first accepts the office, if elected, and would give it up when his/her term
expires as mandated by law. This shows that the authority resides in the office and not the person
(Macionis, 2017).

Charismatic Authority is power legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities that inspire

obedience and devotion. This power according to Weber can turn authority into charisma and
unlike the first two types, it depends on personality and not on the person’s ancestry or office.
Charismatic leaders often challenge the status quo and make their own rules. Examples of these
leaders are as follows: Jesus, Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Donald
Trump (Macionis, 2017).

Weber stated that charismatic authority requires the routinization of charisma which is the
transformation of charismatic authority into some combination of traditional and bureaucratic
authority. This will enable the survival of the movement even if the leader will die and there is
no worthy or similarly charismatic successor (Macionis, 2017).

Political Systems

Monarchy a political system whose rulers belong to one family and rules from generation to
generation. Presently, there are twenty-six nations that have royal families who trace their
ancestry back for centuries. One type of this system is absolute monarchy whose control on the
government and their people is absolute, and examples are Saudi Arabia and Oman. The other
type is constitutional monarchy whose monarchs are symbolic heads of state and the actual rulers
are elected officials, most of the European countries have constitutional monarchs (Macionis,
2017).

Democracy this political system gives power to the people as a whole but since it is impossible
to for every citizen to be the country’s leader, a system of representative democracy was devised
and this authorizes leaders who are elected to govern the state (Macionis, 2017).

Page 7 of 10
Authoritarianism a political system that denies the people participation in government. It is
indifferent to the people’s needs, they do not have the chance to choose their leader, and the
government uses force to all opposition. In Singapore, the government is categorized as a “soft
authoritarianism” which is defined as a largely peaceful system where political freedom is
limited but the citizens support the government since all are secure and prosperous (Macionis,
2017).

Totalitarianism is a highly centralized political system that extensively regulates the lives of its
people. North Korea is considered as the most totalitarian country in the world, it keeps its
people in poverty and uses the police, surveillance equipment and powerful computers to gather
and store data about them. Governments that utilize this system have total concentration and
control of power with no possible opposition (Macionis, 2017).

Bureaucracy is a large, rational organization, designed to perform tasks efficiently (Macionis

2012: 153).

Weber identified the following as Features of a Bureaucracy:

• Specialization: There exists a specialized division of labor.

• Hierarchy of position: Jobs are structured from greater to lesser amounts of authority.

• Rules and regulations: operations.

• Technical competence: Bureaucratic workers are technically trained.

• Impersonality: Rules and regulations, not personal whim, govern the treatment of both
clients and workers so that they are treated in the same way.

• Formal, written communications: There is a reliance on records and files.

Economy is the “social institution that organizes a society’s production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services” (Macionis 2012: 370). The economy has three sectors (Ibid:
372).

The primary sector relies on raw materials from the natural environment. It is the most
important sector in low-income nations. Examples are agriculture, fishing, and mining.

The secondary sector is the manufacturing sector which transforms raw materials into
manufactured goods. This sector has a significant share of the economy in low-, middle-, and
high-income nations. Examples are automobile and clothing manufacturing.

The tertiary sector produces services rather than goods. It is the dominant sector in low-,
middle, and high-income countries. Examples are call center services, sales, and teaching.

Global economy it is an economic activity that crosses national borders which is caused by new
information technology that brings people around the world closer to each other. According to
Macionis (2017), this development has five major consequences.

1. The appearance of a global division of labor where the different regions of the world will
specialize in one sector of economic activity. At present, the world’s poorest nations specialize in
producing raw materials while the richest nations produce services.

Page 8 of 10
2. There is an increase in the number of products that pass through one nation. Example, the
coffee that we drink in the morning: the beans may have been grown in Batangas and transported
to a factory in Japan using a ship registered in Sweden but was made in Japan whose steel was
mined from Korea and the fuel came from the oil drills of Saudi Arabia.

3. National governments could no longer control the economic activities that takes place in their
own countries. An example is the inability of governments to regulate the value of their national
currencies because the US Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling, and Yen are traded for 24 hours in the
financial markets of New York, London and Tokyo.

4. A small number of businesses that are operating internationally, control a large share of the
world’s economic activity. Based from Forbes 2014 and World Bank 2015 data, 2,000 largest
multi-national companies (with sales of about $38 trillion) are responsible for half of the
economic output of the entire world.

5. The globalization of the economy raises concerns about the rights and opportunities of
workers. Example, many factories are being established in low-income countries where workers
are paid low wages compared to high-income countries where wages paid are high. This results
to an increase in unemployment in countries were worker’s wages are high.

Non-state actors are organizations, groups, or networks that participate in international relations
and global governance. They are deemed to have sufficient power and influence to advocate for
and cause changes in international norms and development practices. They include civil society,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs (INGOs), economic and social
groups, including trade union organizations and transnational corporations, and the private
sector. In practice, non-state actors include, among others, community-based organizations,
human rights association, universities and research institutes, and chambers of commerce.

Civil society is “the population of groups formed for collective purpose primarily outside of the
State and marketplace” (van Rooy 1998: 30).

Education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values and beliefs. There are many competing
ideas about education as an institution. For some, it is viewed as a socializing process while
others view education as a status competition. Finally, education can also be seen as a system of
legitimation, where it restructures entire populations, creating elites and redefining the rights and
duties of its members (Meyer 1977). Mass education, or public education, is an example of how
education can restructure entire populations and redefine the rights and obligations of citizens.

The social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge,
including basic facts, job skills and cultural norms and values. In high-income countries,
education is a matter of schooling which is defined as a formal instruction under the direction of
specially trained teachers (Macionis, 2017).

According to World Bank 2015, all lower income countries have one common trait when it
comes to schooling: There is not much of it. In the world’s poorest nations, about one-fourth of
all children never go to school. Worldwide, more than one-fourth of all children never reach the
secondary grades/high school. As a result, about one-sixth of the world’s children cannot read
and write.

Religion. Giddens and Duneier (2013) cite Durkheim’s definition of religion as involving a set
of symbols that invoke feelings of reverence or awe, which are linked to rituals practiced by a
community of believers.

Page 9 of 10
Page 10 of 10