Lecture 04:

Social Problems:
Social problems are undesirable situations, conditions or behaviour concerning society, social
institutions, social relationships, social structure, social organization, and so on. They affect
society to such as extent that it earnestly tries to find a solution for eliminating them. The society
is organized in a way that conflicts of interests cannot be avoided. These conflicts result into
problems that demand the society’s attention. The list of problems as recognized by the
policymakers and framers of law is quite different fromthose problems identified by the society.
Consensus or agreement is difficult to reach at as far as the forms of social problems are
concerned.
1) Youth unrest:
The term ‘unrest’ simply refers to the ‘disturbed condition of the present’. For instance,the lack
of proper education may lead to social unrest in society. Social unrest is an indication of
collective disillusionment and frustration of a particular group in a society. For example, if there
is unrest among the students of a particular educational institute or university, then it is not
perceived as the problem of student unrest as such. However, when students all over the country
express their frustration on a particular issue, for example, examination, placement in jobs,
content of any syllabus, and so on, then the unrest prevailing due to these problems are termed as
student unrest. In the same way, youth unrest exists in our society where there is a disagreement
or frustration on common social issues in the society.
2) Drug addiction:
According to eminent sociologist Joseph Jullian, ‘Drug is any chemical substance which affects
bodily function, mood, perception or consciousness which has potential for misuse and which
may be harmful to the individual or the society.’ Drug addiction refers to ‘a condition
characterized by an overwhelming desire to continue taking a drug to which one has become
habituated through repeated consumption because it produces a particular effect, usually an
alteration of mental status’. Over the years, drug addiction is becoming an area of concern as
traditional moorings, effective social taboos, emphasis on selfrestraint, and pervasive control and
discipline of the joint family and community are eroding.
The processes of industrialization, urbanization and migration have led to loosening of the
traditional methods of social control, rendering an individual vulnerable to the stresses and
strains of modern life. The fast changing social milieu, among other factors, is mainly
contributing to the proliferation of drug abuse, both of traditional and newpsychoactive
substances.
3) Alcoholism:

Alcoholism, according to Johnson (1973), ‘is a condition in which an individual loses control over his
alcohol intake in that he is constantly unable to refrain from drinking once he begins.’ Alcohol use
disorders are medical conditions that doctors can diagnose when a patient’s drinking causes distress or
harm. In the United States, about 18 million people have an alcohol use disorder, classified as either
alcohol dependence—perhaps better known as alcoholism—or alcohol abuse.

4) Unemploment:

Unemployment is defined as a situation wherein able bodied persons fail to find a job even though they
are willing to work at the prevailing wage rate. Unemployment is a two-fold phenomenon:

(i) An individual is not currently employed.

(ii) He/She is ready to work at the prevailing wage rates.

(iii) An individual must make an effort to find work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, USA, the unemployed include people who do not have a job,
have actively looked for work in the past four weeks, and are currently available for work. It also includes
people who were temporarily laid off and are waiting to be called back to that job. In another sense,
workers are considered to be the producer of services and when they are unable to sell their services, they
are said to be unemployed.

Underemployment, however, refers to a situation when a worker does not work for full hours (normally 8
hours a day). It is again the under-exploitation of manpower resources of the country. The Indian
agriculture sector is facing such a type of unemployment.

5) Crime and deliquency:

The fear of crime is widespread among people in many Western societies, affecting far more people than
the personal experience of crime itself; as such, it constitutes a significant social problem. Criminality has
been a problem confronting India and has become an important area of research in social sciences. In his
classic discussion on the ‘normality of crime’, Durkheim (1964) argues that crime is ‘closely connected
with the conditions of all social life’, leading him to arrive at a conclusion that there cannot be a society
devoid of crime. Therefore, criminal behaviour exists in every society, and it has become a an important
area of research for criminologists, sociologists and psychologists.

So far as the meaning of the word ‘crime’ is concerned, it has come from Latin word ‘Crimen’ which
means charge or offence. TheConcise Encyclopaedia of Crime and Criminals defines crime as ‘an act or
default which prejudices the interests of the community and is forbidden by law under pain of
punishment. It is an offence against the state, as contrasted with a tool or a civil wrong, which is violation
of a right of an individual and which does not lead to a punishment.’

However, it can be said that:

· Crime is an act or omission which is punishable under law.

· It is an act which is believed to be socially harmful, to which law prescribes

certain penalty on the doer.

· Crime is linked with social norms, i.e., society prepares the crime and the

criminal commits it.

· Crime is not vice. It is not punished as an offence against God, but it is prejudicial

to society.

· It is something done against the dictates of society or law and is due to a

failure to adjust oneself to such dictates.

Therefore, crime implies a disturbance in social relationships. The nature of criminal and non-criminal
conduct is determined by social values which the larger defining group considers important. Wherever the
social equilibrium is upset, there develops crime.

Crime and delinquency are often used synonymously, the only difference between the two being that of
age. While crime refers to offences committed at a mature age, delinquency refers to offences committed
at a pre-mature age by the juveniles.

6) Corruption:

The prevalence of corruption in civic life is a universal experience, but recently, it has assumed alarming
proportions in India. It has spread to each part of the governmental bodies, and a more speedy growth of
corruption has been observed among the politicians, the political workers at all stages and even in the
uppermost ranks of political leadership, both at the levels of the state and the Centre. There persists a
massive public scepticismtowards corruption, and there is a general feeling of acceptance of corruption in
civic life by people. It is felt that people indicted of political corruption always go guiltless, and, thus,
accumulate more power, status and wealth. All this has resulted in a state of affairs, where even the most
resolute efforts to fight the evil of corruption have failed dejectedly. It seems that the government is
already aware of its existence, and also knows the likely manner in which it can be controlled, but is
lacking the will required to implement such measures successfully. American political scientist Joseph
Nye states that ‘corruption denotes the abuse or misuse of public offices for personal gains’.

7) Domestic violence:

The Violence Prevention Alliance defines violence as ‘the intentional use of physical force or power,
threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results
in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or
deprivation’. In everyday life, the kinds of violence that women endure are likely to be different from the
kinds that men experience. Men are more likely to experience random violence from strangers out in the
streets. Women, on the other hand, are typically violently assaulted by people whom they know. For
instance, the United Nations Development Fund for Women or UNIFEM (2007) estimates that worldwide
about half of women murder victims are killed by their husbands