Features of Village Social Systems

Features of Village Social Systems

Based on interaction: Rural social system is based on interaction between two or more persons who are involved in the system. As Loomis and Beegle have put it, “social systems are made up of social interactions and the cultural factors, which structure these interactions”[1]. Rural social system is impossible if a social interaction does not take place among the individuals who are parts of the system. Social interaction takes place in the same way in which interaction is believed to occur. In other words, social interaction on which rural social system based on passes through three stages- emission of signs[2] by one individual, reception of and reaction to the signs by another individual and the reception of and reaction to the signs that the second individual emits by the first individual[3]. Let’s concretize the fact that rural social system is based on interaction. Consider rural family, which is an example of rural social system. Father asks his children to study well because he wants them to be educated and economically independent in the future. He uses signs (e.g. language) to ask them to study well. This is the stage of emission of signs. After the emission of the sign (language), his children listens to him, i.e. receive his sign(or the oral sentence he utters out in which he asks his children to study well) and then reacts to his signs by altering their course of action, i.e. by stopping being careless about their study and starting paying attention to study. If he had not asked them to study well, they would have continued their previous course of action-not paying attention to study, a situation that caused the father to ask his children to study well. And, at the third stage, the father receives the signs emiited by his children and reacts to them by altering his course of action in light of the reaction of his children.

Meaningful interaction

The interaction that makes it possible for a system to exist is meaningful. In a family, family members interact with each other. For example, all the members in the family interact with each other to fulfill the family objective. It is impossible for them to achieve their common goal if they work in isolation. Their interaction is said to be meaningful if it leads to the achievement of their common goal known as family goal. Their interaction is said to be meaningless if it fails to contribute to the fulfillment of their common goal. If the interaction among family members had been meaningless, a family as a system would not have existed.

Village social system is a unity

The parts of rural social system are related on the basis of functional relationship

Rural social system is related with cultural system

Rural social system has an environment

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[1] Loomis, Charles P, and Beegle, J. Allah, 1950. Rural Social Systems: A Textbook in Rural Sociology and Anthroplogy. New York: XX, p 4-5

[2] Signs encompass lanauage or words and physical gestures expressing certain ideas, which are used when we communicate. For example, we wave our hands to indicate that we are saying goodbye.

[3] Turner deals with the three stages which must be passed if interaction is to be taken place. At the first stage, one organism emits signs. At the second stage, another organism sees these signs and alters its course of action in response to them and emits signs of its own. At the third stage, the original organism becomes aware of the signs of this responding organism and alters its course of action in light of these signs. Turner, Jonathan H. 1994. Sociology: Concepts and Uses. New York/Sydney/Tokyo/Toronto:McGraw-Hill, Inc, p 62