Competing Notions about Ideal Systems for Family and Community Organization - Essay Example

 Competing Notions about Ideal Systems for Family and Community Organization “The Family is the starting point of all human organization and the cradle of nascent culture” (Malinowski 1927: 182) The importance of the family unit has been recognized over a long period of time, by historians and sociologists alike, in terms of its contribution towards civilization. Family structures have traditionally been organized along the lines of a nuclear unit. – a father, a mother and the children comprise a family unit. In Western societies especially, family organization has been predominantly nuclear, but in other parts of the world the organization is more along the lines of extended families. In these instances, the family comprises not only the father, mother and children but may also include other members such as grandparents, aunts and Uncles. The Joint family is one where all grown up siblings live under the same roof with their respective families and this kind of arrangement is prevalent in Asian societies. Most family structures are geared to provide the ascendancy to the male member of the family and these societies are known as patriarchal families – for example Asian and Western families. Classical civilization and the civilization of the Jews were all organized along patriarchal lines, where the man is assigned the superior role as the head of the family, while the women plays a subordinate role in the family hierarchy. But some societies have been founded along matriarchal lines, mostly in African societies. For example among the Iroquois Indian tribes of North America and the Manipuri tribes of east India, the matriarchal system still exists. Women occupied and still occupy, the dominant position in their culture, thereby fostering a spirit of nurturance and protection of nature and her gifts. The seeds of the family unit, whether patriarchal or matriarchial, lie in the sexual and parental instincts, but neither of these instincts are restricted only to human beings – animals also demonstrate these instincts. However when the purely biological function is transcended by the attainment of a permanent social relation, then these activities are socialized and acquire cultural significance (Dawson 1933). Community structure: Based upon the kind of cultural and social relations that exist within a particular culture, roles of its members become well defined. The causes of gender inequality among the two sexes and typecasting into gender appropriate roles are a direct consequence of societal preferences and the notion that there are certain “provinces” wherein only men may perform satisfactorily[Sen, 1991]. Traditional power strategies are employed by society, for example - coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent strategies - all geared towards eliciting compliance from females with society’s demands and role framework (Schwarzwald and Koslowsky, 1999). Traditional gender roles ascribe to the man the role of provider and the woman that of nurturer. Other roles in society are conditioned by the job or profession of a person, for example, a police officer is expected to play the role of a law enforcer. These are well defined roles, however, other roles may not be so well defined. (Golder and Donath 2004). Undefined roles develop in a social context based upon associated cultural behavior and expectations (Holland and Skinner 1987). Based upon the societal allocation of roles, class structures have also developed accordingly. Social class measures the position of a person in society and is defined from two standpoints: (a) objective and (b) subjective. Objective class is one that can be measured, such as for example: by occupation. But subjective class refers to the class that the person feels he or she belongs to. (For example, a person who has fallen on hard times and lives with lower class people may still perceive himself or herself as high class). In ancient Rome for example, the community was organized based upon their social class into three groups as follows (www.oldworld.sjsu.edu): (a) Patricians: The upper echeleon of society, comprising government officials, landowners and leading citizens. (b) Plebians: Ordinary citizens comprising mostly small businessmen. (c) Slaves: These were the lowest echelon society of society, owned by patricians and plebians, performing mostly menial jobs although well educated slaves were also doctors and teachers In a similar way, social classes are determined in modern times based upon economic status and family lineage. Paul Fussel(1992) states that the modern day class system is defined by the amount of money one has. Domhoff (2000) emphasizes the importance of attendance at boarding schools and an Ivy League college as an indicator of class; “The linchpins in the upper-class educational system are the dozens of boarding schools...'' [Domhoff, 2000:82], which bequeaths a corresponding proportion of power and prestige in the community. Richer families or those families descended from royalty or nobility are placed at the upper end of the community hierarchy, while the poorer families are ranked at the lower end of the community hierarchy, with less power to make important decisions that shape the future of society. Therefore, the mantle of leadership and decision making for the masses is often taken on by the elite class, although this has been contested by movements among the general population, such as through the emergence of Union groups to regulate working conditions for the masses. The strength or weakness of a particular subgroup will determine the extent of its political influence as well. Those groups with a strong lobbying presence in the Government, such as for example the corporate entities, Jewish cultural groups, etc are likely to derive the benefits of political power through the passing of favorable legislation, while those of lower socio economic groups or those with a lower level of education are likely to enjoy less power, both in a political sense as well as in an economic sense, therefore it is these disadvantaged groups that are likely to resort to measures such as violence in order to gain their ends in a society that does not provide for them and for their needs, but rather discriminates against them due to their perception as being of an inferior standing. Present economic exigencies: The structure of family and community has changed drastically in recent times, resulting in the emergence of single parent families, with traditional family nuclear units split apart by divorce, separation, children born out of wedlock and economic hardships that have resulted from the growing divide between the rich and the poor. Crime has erupted in epic proportions and the traditional community hierarchies are crumbling and in a state of flux as improved global interaction produces a multi racial, multi ethnic population framework in most developed countries. While some people are in favor of the increased mobility among classes and increased freedom that exists in current day societies, there is no doubt that there is a negative side to this coin as well and as the experts postulate, there are increasing problems in society that are peculiar to the present times[Simons et al, 2005]. Many experts today state that it is the weakening fabric of the family that is responsible for some of the problems our society faces today. The rise in crime, drug related violence and juvenile delinquency, the deterioration in moral values and standards, are all blamed upon the changes in the family system. A study conducted by Edin and Lein(1997) on welfare mothers showed that even families availing the full range of welfare benefits are finding it difficult to make ends meet and need to supplement their income from various other sources. “The mothers we interviewed had to choose between a welfare system that paid far too little to provide for their basic needs and a labour market that offered them little more than they could have gotten by staying home.” [Edin and Lein, 1997:5). Blau and Blau (1982) also found that high rates of crime were linked to economic inequalities. They concluded in their study that “if there is a culture of violence, its roots are pronounced economic inequalities, especially if associated with ascribed position.”(page 114). In today’s multi cultural society, the need to cater to various ethnic groups, including minorities becomes important in order to ensure that all members function together effectively in the community. Sub groups within a community are formed not only based upon economic status, but also on their racial and national roots. In order for one group to function effectively with another, there needs to be understanding from one group of the cultural mores and sub context within which the other operates. It is the cultural context of a sub group that determines how actions and communications will be interpreted. This understanding of the culture of the sub groups within a community is known as cultural intelligence. Earley and Masakowski (2004) categorize cultural intelligence as follows: “A person with high cultural intelligence can somehow tease out of a person's or group's behavior those features that would be true of all people and all groups, those peculiar to this person or this group, and those that are neither universal nor idiosyncratic.” Conflicts and resolution: Apart from cultural and economic conflicts, other causes of upheavals in society are also the generational gap that exists within families. Teenage rebellion is a well known social phenomenon which results in unlawful behavior. Multicultural systems of education are being framed to address the needs of various sub groups that exist within a society and modern business culture lays stress on racial understanding in an effort to mitigate the problems that arise out of global transactions. However, to a large extent, the socio economic gaps may be seen to present the most potent threat to the stability of society as a whole and the conflicts that are being generated therein are violent and need to be addressed on an emergent basis. It was the generation gap that produced social upheavals such as the Hippie culture in the 60s, but it was the gender inequalities that existed in society which produced the Women’s liberation movement and the racial inequalities that existed in society which produced the Civil Rights movement and consequent upheavals. Conflict is an essential part of growth and most of the progressive movements in society have resulted after much conflict and upheavals, so that the structure of the family and community hierarchies have been constantly undergoing change. Works cited: * Blau, Judith R. and Peter Blau. 1982. "The Cost of Inequality: Metropolitan Structure and Violent Crime." American Sociological Review 47: 114-129. Dawson, Christopher, 1933, 2003. “The patriarchal family in history” “The Dynamics of World History” ISI Books. Domhoff, William G. (2000) Class System analysis, [Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000, 1998] * Earley, Christopher P and Masakowski, Elaine. (2004). “Cultural intelligence”. Harvard Business Review; Oct2004, Vol. 82 Issue 10, p139-146, 8p, 1 chart, 2c ESRC research results.(No Date). Living arrangements, family structure and social change of Caribbeans in Britain. [Online] Available at: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/social/population-and-household- change/15_goul.html! * Kathryn Edin and Laura Lein.(1997). Making Ends Meet. Paul Fussell, Class: A Guide Through the American Class System (New York, Simon and Schuster, 1992 [1986]), p. 16. Golder, Scott A and Donath, Judtih. (2004). “Social Roles in electronic communities”. MIT Media Laboratory. [Online] Available at: http://web.media.mit.edu/~golder/projects/roles/golder2004.pdf Holland, Dorothy and Debra Skinner. 1987. “Prestige and Intimacy”. Cultural Models in Language and Thought., ed by Dorothy Holland and Naomi Quinn. Cambridge University Press. “Iroquois culture” [Online] Available at: http://www.uwec.edu/greider/Indigenous/woodlands/Tom/culture.htm Simons, Ronald L., Simons, Gordon L., Wallace, Lora E. (2005): Families, Delinquency and Crime: Linking Society’s most basic Institution to Antisocial behaviour, Roxbury Publishing Company, CA “Social classes of Ancient Rome” : B. Malinowski,(1927). Sex and Repression in Savage Society Sen, Amartya (2001): The Many faces of gender Inequality FRONTLINE Magazine, India, November 9, 2001. Schwarzwald Joseph and Koslowsky, Meni, 1999. “Gender, self esteem and focus of interest in the use of power strategies by adolescents in conflict situations Social influence and Social Power : Using theory for understanding social issues.” Journal of Social issues, Spring, 1999. [Online] Available at: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0341/is_1_55/ai_54831707; accessed 10/1/2005; Internet. Read More