Social Order in Sociology: Its Reality and Elusiveness

Sabo Suleiman Kurawa

.

DOI: 10.4236/sm.2012.21004                

Abstract

In the past, as well as in the present, depending on certain circumstances, sociologists tend to espouse one or the other of the contradictory answers proposed by political philosophers: social order is the result of some people being able to coerce others into obedience; or it rests on the general agreement among the members of the society; or it stems from their striking bargains with each other which are to every one’s individual advantage as well as the collective advantage. I argue that it is unhelpful to consider these viewpoints as mutually exclusive categories. For the sociologist, social order must be a matter for empirical investigation. It is obvious that each of the above stated old philosophical views has its own grain of truth inherent in it, for each comes near to describing what is observed in some societies, or part of societies, of different types, at different periods of history, in particular situations or circumstances. But to consider each, as a ‘theory’ of social order of universal validity, is to put it mildly unrealistic or absurd. To escape from this unrealistic approach which pervades some sociological discussions of social order it is pertinent to remember that social harmony is very often not achieved, and that social order and disorder are very much relative terms. I therefore posit that the actual state of relative order to disorder in a particular society or part of society is the outcome of complex forces of dependence and interdependence, of cooperation and conflict, of strength and weakness, of alliance and cleavage between people and groups. Thus, in this paper, a treatise is put forward, for the emergence of social order within the context of the theories of social integration and conflict in sociology. The essence is to describe how social order emanates under different circumstances with a view to analyzing its reality and elusiveness in daily social interactions in society. It appears that reality is in some sense Janus-faced (integration and conflict being the two unpropitious faces) and, despairing of ever encompassing both aspects in one theoretical framework. The big question is that: should the choice of reality be left to the whim of each sociologist?

Keywords

Social Order; Integration; Conflict; Reality; Elusiveness; Sociology

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Alias, W. T. (1998). Understanding social interactions. London: Crooke.
[2]	Barton, A. H. (1969). Communities in disaster, double day. New York: Garden City.
[3]	Berghe, P. L. V. (1963). Dialetic and functionalism: Toward a theoretical synthesis. American Sociological Review, 25, 695-705. doi:10.2307/2089908
[4]	Blain, R. R. (1971). An alternative to parson’s four-function paradigm as a basis for developing general sociological theory. American Sociological Review, 36, 678-692. doi:10.2307/2093598
[5]	Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley Press.
[6]	Converse, P. E. (1964). The nature of belief in mass publics. In D. E. Apter (Ed.), Ideology and Discontent (pp. 206-261). Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
[7]	Cooley, C. H. (1918). Social process. New York: Scribners.
[8]	Coser, L. A. (1956). The functions of social conflict. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
[9]	Dahrendorf, R. (1959) Class and class conflict in industrial society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
[10]	Dahrendorf, R. (1967). Conflict after class: New perspectives on the theory of social and political conflict. London: Logmans.
[11]	Douglas, J. D. (1970). Deviance and order in a pluralistic society. In J. C. Mickney, & E. A. Tiryakian (Eds.), Theoretical Sociology (pp. 368-401). New York: Appleton-Century-Croft.
[12]	Elias, N. (1970). What is sociology? , London: Hutchinson.
[13]	Goldthorpe, J. H., Lockwood, D., Bechhofer, F., & Platt, J. (1969). The affluent worker in the class structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[14]	Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity. American Sociological Review, 25, 161-178. doi:10.2307/2092623
[15]	Gouldner, A. W. (1971). The coming crises of western sociology. London: Heine Mann.
[16]	Hobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan. London: Crooke.
[17]	Kemper, T. D. (1972). The division of labour: A post-durkheimian analytical view. American Sociological Review, 3, 739-753. doi:10.2307/2093584
[18]	Lipset, S. M. (1960). Political man. London: Heinemann.
[19]	Lipset, S. M. (1964). The first new nation. London: Heinemann.
[20]	Lockwood, D. (1958). The black coated worker. London: George Allen and Unwin.
[21]	Malinowski, B. (1944). A scientific theory of culture. Chapel: University of North Carolina Press.
[22]	Mann, M. (1970). The sociological cohesion of liberal democracy. American SociologicalReview, 35, 423-439. doi:10.2307/2092986
[23]	Marshall, T. H. (1950). Citizenship and social class and other essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[24]	Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1968). Selected works. London: Lawrence of Wishant.
[25]	Mauss, M. (1954). The gift. London: Cohen and West.
[26]	Nicholis, T. (1969). Ownership, control and ideology. , London: George Allen and Unwin.
[27]	Parsons, T. (1951). The social system. New York: Free Press.
[28]	Parsons, T. (1951). An outline of the social system. In T. Parsons, E. A. Shills, K. D. Naegele, & J. R. Petts (Eds.), Theories of Society (pp. 30-79). New York: Free Press.
[29]	Roethlisberger, F. J., & Dickson, W. J. (1939). Management and the worker. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
[30]	Sabaz, K. (2010). Social interaction and group solidarity. India: Elva Press.
[31]	Sheila, R. M. (1998). Normative behaviour: An analytical framework. , New York: Free Press.
[32]	Shills, E. A. (1961). Centre and periphery. In The Logic of Personal Knowledge: Essays Presented to Michael Polanyo (pp. 117-130). , London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
[33]	Wallace, S. (2009). The socio-economic relationship of labour and labour power. Uganda: The William Press,.
[34]	Weber, M. (1968, org. 1922). Economy and Society. New York: Bedminster.