What are the different forms of societies and individualities?

• Hunting and Gathering Society

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- It is the earliest and simplest form of society.

- It is generally small in size and it is composed mainly of families.
- They depend on what nature provides for their subsistence.
- From the name itself, this community is nomadic because they spend
most of their time hunting and gathering their food at places where foods
abound. Thus, they have no permanent territory.
- The hierarchy is not very varied. Its members are generally treated
equally and the decision is usually arrived at through a consensus.
Thus, the roles of its members and the division of labor are not very
clearly defined.

● Pastoral Society

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 - From the name itself of this kind of society, It is characterized by the
domestication of animals for food for a more stable and predictable food
supply.
- Its communities have larger populations than hunting and gathering
societies and remain longer in one place.
- They often produce surplus food and resources, which they tread with
other societies. This relative prosperity leads to this kind of societies to
engage in other activities such as handicrafts which are apart from those
necessary for survival.
- There is already an emergence of a special task in the community due
to the engagement in other activities apart from survival.

● Horticultural Society

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- This form of society is called horticultural since it primarily engages in
the small scale cultivation of plants, fruits, and vegetables and the
domestication of animals.
- They travel to another place when they have already depleted the
resources in one area, thus they are semi-nomadic.
- Roles and responsibilities are more clearly defined with many tasks
assigned according to gender.
- Similar to pastoral society, there is also a surplus of goods, which
sometimes leads to inequalities among its members.

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● Agrarian or Agricultural Society

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- It is the further evolution of the pastoral and horticultural societies.

- From the name of this society, it involves the large -scale and long -term
cultivation of crops and domestication of animals.
- It is characterized by improved technology and the use of tools to aid
farming which result in increased pr oduction, giving rise to a growing
population in agricultural societies.
- Its large population leads to a more structured social system that helps
manage resources and its members.
- The increasingly complex social organization andthe growing importance
of territory in this kind of society often result in conflicts among
neighboring societies over resources and land.

● Feudal Society

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- This kind of society is based on the ownership of land.

- They arose out of developments in Western Europe during Medieval
times when rival kingdoms were engaged in conflict over resources,
particularly land.
- Rulers in this society grant their followers or vassals the right to manage
parcels of land. The vassals are served by peasant workers in turn who
cultivate the land and tend to the animals in the farms. They are
provided military protection in return for their services.

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 - The members of this society are organized based on status.
Landowners are considered as more powerful and influential members
of society, while the peasants are considered the lowest group.
- Social relations are characterized by dependence. The lord depends on
his vassals to provide him with resources, the vassals depend on the
peasants for their service, while the peasants depend on their vassals
for protection.

● Industrial Society

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- This society is based on the use of specialized machinery in the

production of goods and services in the late 18 th century which lead to
the so-called Industrial Revolution which in turn gave rise to new
products and industrial methods, as well as innovations in transportation
and communication. The improved trade and commerce and better
living conditions for many people were the results of the technological
advances. Individuals work in factories and public education is more
prevalent.
- It is also characterized by greater inequalities in wealth, power, and
influence.
- It is often defined by the nature of work and the prevailing in an area.
The capitalist or business owners are considered the most influential.
- It has a cultural diversity and there is the presence of bureaucratic forms
of organization.
- Many of the relations are not family or community-based since the
important factor in social relations is in the workplace, and people often
interact with individuals who do not come from the same family, clan, or
community. Thus, impersonal relationships prevail among individuals.
- The difference between social groups is even more marked and is
defined by access to economic resources and prosperity. Furthermore,
alienation is common in this kind of society as people are often treated
as resources to be exploited.

● Post-Industrial Society

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 google.com/ Retrieved: October 11, 2020 Time: 9:22 am

- It is marked by the establishment of societies based on knowledge,

information, and the sale of services, thus, it is also called Information
Age.
- The trend in this kind of society has shifted from industry to the
generation, storage, manipulation, and sale of information.
- Information becomes a very important commodity in this kind of society
since it influences the behavior of people.
- Members of this society have higher educational attainment, better
training, and specialized roles.

● Virtual Society

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- It is the product of a post-industrial society.

- People organize themselves through communication technology and the

internet.
- Members of this society engage in complex relationships and do not
necessarily follow certain norms.
- The members’ freedom means that a person can do various activities,
as well as access to various kinds of information.

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KEY POINTS TO PONDER

Why there are different forms of Society?

❖ “These types of society usually are stages of a society’s development,

starting from the first to the last type. Yet it does not mean that all societies
pass all these stages. Some stop at a certain age; some skip a certain
stage to advance to a higher stage; some never reach the last stage.
Furthermore, these stages usually overlap in that certain features of one
stage are also be found in the other stage, for example, people in
agricultural society may also engage in hunting.” (Mabaquiao 2016, 171)

❖ “In early societies, the individuals were often very family- and clan-oriented
and their behaviors and actions were restricted by tradition. The
assignments of tasks and occupations were often based on gender, with
women doing mostly domestic work in the home, while the men engaged in
hunting and farming.” (Abella 2016, 117)

❖ “An agrarian and feudal society lead to individuals who give importance to
relations among family members and with other members of the
community. People are often very conscious of their status within society
and are mindful of the hierarchy. People which belong to the “higher
classes” are treated with respect by the members of the community. They
are often traditional and do not want social change.” (Abella 2016, 118)

❖ “The growth and development of the various forms of societies highlight the
growing complexity of human interactions over time. The technological
advances and cultural changes that brought about these changes result in
the expansion of communities that now include people from varied
ethnicities. These developments have led to innovations in human
interactions such as language and the establishment of governments. Many
countries around the world are industrial societies, and many developed
countries have evolved into post-industrial societies and virtual societies.
But despite these advancements and changes, the human person remains
the heart and center of society. The person is the primary agent of change,
as he or she derives social changes based on responses to events and
developments affecting society.” (Abella 2016, 119)