The Main Spheres of Social Life: The Social Sphere of Society

Primary Elements of The Social Structure of Society

Social structure constitutes a part of the social system of society, encompassing two components: the social composition and the social connections. The social composition refers to the aggregate of elements that form the social structure, while social connections denote the myriad linkages among various social strata, classes, and so forth. It is evident that the notion of "social structure" incorporates a multitude of different types of social communities within society, along with the social ties that interlink these communities, which vary in the breadth of their influence, significance, and the characteristics of the social structure at a particular stage of societal development.

From this perspective, social structure represents a stable connection of elements within the social system of society, signifying a subjective division of society into distinct social communities, classes, strata, and groups, unified by one or more attributes that confer upon them a unique identity and differentiation based on social standing, as well as their position and role in the framework of specific historical social relations.

The analysis of the social structure of contemporary society allows for the identification of its fundamental elements, which consist of certain groupings of people. Typically, such elements are referred to as social groups or similarly significant social communities.

Social groups (the first definition of this concept can be found in Thomas Hobbes' work Leviathan) are social entities that exist in reality, wherein individuals are gathered together, united by a common characteristic, a variety of shared activities, or by finding themselves in analogous conditions and circumstances, to a certain extent consciously recognizing their affiliation with this entity (although the degree of such awareness may vary). According to Robert Merton, a social group comprises a collection of individuals who acknowledge their belonging to a common group and are regarded as members of that group by others. Social groups are categorized into small, medium, and large.

Small social groups are those with few members, united by shared activities and engaged in direct communication with one another, which forms the foundation of their emotional relations and unique group values and norms of behavior. Small groups can be formal or informal. The former are organized according to predetermined and officially established goals, statutes, instructions, or regulations. The latter emerge based on personal affinities or aversions, love, friendship, camaraderie, and so forth.

Medium social groups consist of larger assemblages of individuals. They have various bases for formation—ranging from spontaneous to industrial—aimed at achieving specific goals or addressing certain social tasks. When characterized by sustained communication and consolidation, they are also referred to as collectives.

Large social groups are expansive collectives of individuals. There are no direct contacts among their members; they are united solely by fundamental interests shaped by individuals' awareness of the objective circumstances of their lives.

The social community serves as the foundation of social structure. Among the structurally fixing components, the social community occupies the role of a "mediator" between the individual and society. It emerges as the internal unity of a certain circle of individuals, initially formed through a natural-historical process within the depths of society itself, subsequently exerting a reciprocal, often decisive influence upon it.

Rarely, under the influence of powerful subjective factors, does a community form as a result of a deliberate radical transformation of society as a whole, coupled with a similarly radical reorientation of the individual. It must demonstrate considerable resilience, due to both internal and external relational ties (socio-economic, professional, demographic, national, etc.), consistently reproducing itself in approximately the same qualities and quantities at a given stage of social development.

The quantitative and qualitative composition of the community itself is determined, on one hand, by the characteristics of historical structuring and the present level of development of the society as a whole, and on the other, by the specificity of the needs, interests, and ideals of its representatives. These needs, interests, and ideals, particularly in the process of realization, form the foundation of internal community organizational unity, granting it a unique distinctiveness among the other components of society's structure and programming its further development in its ambiguous interaction with the social environment. As Malcolm Payne emphasizes, the essence of community is inherently contradictory: on one hand, it represents a form of social organization; on the other, it embodies an order that resists external attempts to influence it, let alone to submit it to official structures of governance. The community (i.e., the social group) serves as one means of establishing social order from the complex intertwining of human lives and the aspirations of individuals to imbue their existence with subjective meaning.