Phases of Human Development

Agrarian Society The invention of plough marked the beginning of agrarian societies 6000 years back. According to Collins dictionary of Sociology Agrarian society refer to any form of society especially so traditional societies primarily based on agricultural and craft production rather than industrial production. Wallace and Wallace describe agrarian societies as employing animal drawn ploughs to cultivate the land. The mode of production of the agrarian society that is cultivation distinguishes it from the hunter-gatherer society which produces none of its food. The theories of Redfield and Tonnies are considered important. Robert Redfield talks about folk-urban continuum and little tradition and great tradition as his paramount focus in rural studies.Tonnies on the other hand discuss concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesselschaft. Characteristics of Agricultural societies Cultivation of land through the plough as this invention enabled the people to make a great leap forward in food production. It increased the productivity of land through the use of animals and bringing to the surface the nutrients of the soil. Combining irrigation techniques with the use of the plough increased the productivity and the crop yield. It also brought fallow land under cultivation. The size of the agricultural societies increased as it lessened the burden of large number of people who engaged themselves in other activities. Agricultural societies lead to the establishment of more elaborate political institutions like formalized government bureaucracy assisted by the legal system. It also leads to the evolution of distinct social classes -those who own the land and those who work on the other's land. Land is the major source of wealth and is individually owned. This creates major difference between the social strata. Agricultural societies provide the basis for the establishment of economic institutions. Trade becomes more elaborate and money is medium of exchange. It also demands the maintenance of records of transaction, crop harvest, taxation, governmental rules and regulations. Religion becomes separate institution with elaborate rituals and traditions. The agricultural societies support the emergence of arts and cultural artifacts due to surplus food production people tend to divert their attention to other recreational activities. There is far more complex social structure. According to Ian Robertson the number of statuses multiplies, population size increases, cities appear, new institutions emerge, social classes arise, political and economic inequality becomes inbuilt into the social structure and culture becomes much more

diversified and heterogeneous. Industrial Society The Industrial mode of production began some 250 years ago in Britain and from there it spread to the entire world. In the simplest sense an industrial society is a social system whose mode of production focuses primarily on finished goods manufactured with the aid of machinery. According to Wallace and Wallace in industrial societies the largest portion of the labour force is involved in mechanized production of goods and services. The term 'industrial societies' originated from Saint Simon who chose it to reflect the emerging central role of manufacturing industry in the 18th century Europe in contrast with previous preindustrial and agrarian society. Post-Industrial Society The concept of Post-Industrial society was first formulated in 1962 by D. Bell, and subsequently elaborated in his seminal work 'Coming of Post Industrial Society' (1974) It describes the economic and social changes in the late twentieth century. According to Bell in modern societies theoretical knowledge forms the 'axial principle of society and is the source of innovation and policy formulation. In economy this is reflected in the decline of goods production and manufacturing as the main form of economic activity, to be replaced by services. With regard to the class structure, the new axial principle fosters the supremacy of professional and technical occupations which constitute a new class, in all spheres economic, political and social decision making is influenced by new intellectual technologies and the new intellectual class. Other writers have also commented on the growing power of technocrats in economic and political life. G.K. Galbraith ( 1967) believes that power in the United states economy and therefore in American society as a whole lies in the hands of a technical bureaucracy of the techno-structure of large corporations, A Jouraine (1969) suggests similar technocratic control of French economic and political life.

Types of Society Socilogy recognises many types of Society and defines these types of society in a very clear manner. Following are some of those types of Society and their characteristics.

 Tribal Society Agrarian society Industrial society Post -Industrial Society Tribal Society According to Ralph Linton tribe is group of bands occupying a contiguous territory or territories having a feeling of unity deriving from numerous similarities in culture ,frequent contacts and a certain community of interests.Ghurye calls the tribal of India as imperfectly segment of the Hindus.D.N Majumdar defines tribe as a social group with territorial affiliation endogamous with no specialization of functions ruled by tribal officers hereditary or otherwise united in language or dialect recognizing social distance with other tribes. A large section of tribal population depends on agriculture for survival. The examples of agricultural tribes are: Oraons, Mundas, Bhils, Santhals, Baigas, and Hos etc. The Toda furnish classic example of pastoral economy. Their social and economic organization is built around the buffaloes. They obtain their living through exchange. In some parts of India the tribal people are engaged in shifting cultivation. It is known by different names- Nagas call it Jhum,Bhuiya call it Dahi and Koman ,Maria of Bastar call it Penda, Khond refer to it as Podu and Saiga call it Bewar.Many subsidiary occupations like handicrafts are undertaken in the various tribal zones. These include basket-making, spinning and weaving. For e.g. Tharu depend upon furniture making, musical instruments, weapons, ropes and mats. The Korw and Agaria are well known iron-smelters producing tools for local use. Characteristics of Tribal Society The tribe inhabits and remains within definite and common topography.The members of a tribe possess a consciousness of mutual unity. The members of a tribe speak a common language. The members generally marry into their own group but now due to increased contact with outsiders there are instances of tribal marring outside as well.

The tribes believe in ties of blood relationship between its members. They have faith in their having descended from a common, real or mythical, ancestor and hence believe in blood relationships with other members. Tribes follow their own political organization which maintains harmony. Religion is of great importance in the tribe. The tribal political and social organization is based on religion because they are granted religious sanctity and recognition. Tribal Practices Joking relationships prevails in Matrilineal Hopi, Matrilineal Trobriand Islanders,Oraons and Baigas Group marriage prevail among Marquesans and Todas Couvade is practiced mainly in Khasi,Toda,Ho and Oraon Teknonymy in Khasis Ultimogeniture in Khasis Uxorilocal in Garos Matrilineal societies are present among Moplahs,Hopi,Nayars Polyandry practices tribes are -Todas,Ladaki Botas and Nayars Polygamy is found among Eskimo tribes,Crows of North America Levirate marriages are found in Ahirs in Haryana,Kodagus of Mysore and Jats and Gujars of UP Profiles of some of the selected Indian tribes Bhils Constitute the largest tribal group in India. Found mainly in Madhya Pradesh (Jhabua,Dhar,Kahnwa) and east Gujarat. Martial race; primarily agriculturalist. Badwas are witch finder,Pujaro are priests and Kotwal are drummers,Tadni is village headman. Generally endogamous Practice polygamy also. Gonds Second largest tribal group in India. Dravidian background Found mainly in Madhya Pradesh Some of the tribal groups are Bastai,Marias,Murias,Prajas,Bhatras

 Dependent mainly on agriculture, cattle rearing second main occupation. Divided into exogamous sects or clans. Speak Gondi dialect. Lineage is traced through male lines. Santhals Third largest tribal group in India believed to be of Pre-Aryan origin. Mainly in Santhal Paraganas of Bihar,West Bengal etc. Speak Santhali language. Naik is the village priest,Gorait is the messenger,Jogmanjhi is the headmentribal council is Parganait. Singlonga or Sun God is the main deity. Todas Found mainly in Nilgiri Hills of South India. Classic example of polyandry. Call themselves Tora Badaga,Kota,Kurumbaand Irula tribes The word Toda is derived from Tundra, name of sacred tree of Topdas. Divided into two moieties called Taratharal and Teivaloil.These are endogamous units.All the sacred herd and cattle are owned by Tartharal thus they occupy a higher status. The clans are divided into families locally known as Kudupeli. Fraternal polyandry found. Divorce freely allowed. Todas have classificatory type of kinship calling many relatives or friends by some designation. Females have low status. People are governed by council of five elders called as Naim.Three members of this council come from Tarthar clans,two from Teivali clans and one from Badagas. Two of the main deities are Teikirizi and On. Chenchu Mainly found in Andhra Pradesh on the river Krishna.

 They are mostly settled cultivators and very much influenced by neighboring plains people. They speak dialect of Dravidian origin. Now they have started living in semi-permanent huts. They are divided into exogamous clans and have animal totems. Divorce is common. Chenchus have traditional leader Peddamanshi. Bhaivov and Garelamaisama are popular local deities. Khasis One of the matriarchial tribes of world. Have a rich economy influenced by industrialization and urbanization. They are mainly in Jaintia hills of Assam. Divided into four main sub-groups- Khynrian,Pnar,War and Bhoi. They speak a dialect that belongs to the Mon- Khmer branch of Austric family. Each of the sub-tribes is divided into a number of clans known as Kurs. Marriage within the clan is prohibited. Khasis are characterized by matrilineal descent. The clan is further sub-divided into sub class known as kpoh (composed of descendents of one grandmother.

Class System and Jajamani

Class System The class system is universal phenomenon denoting a category or group of persons having a definite status in society which permanently determines their relation to other groups. The social classes are de facto groups (not legally or religiously defined and sanctioned) they are relatively open not closed. Their basis is indisputably economic but they are more than economic groups. They are characteristic groups of the industrial societies which have developed since 17th century. The relative importance and definition of membership in a particular class differs greatly over time and between societies, particularly in societies that have a legal differentiation of groups of people by birth or occupation. In the well-known example of socioeconomic class, many scholars view societies as stratifying into a hierarchical system based on occupation,economic status, wealth, or

income.According to Ogburn and Nimkoff a social class is the aggregate of persons having essentially the same social status in a given society. Marx defined class in terms of the extent to which an individual or social group has control over the means of production.In Marxist terms a class is a group of people defined by their relationship to the means of production.Classes are seen to have their origin in the division of the social product into a necessary product and a surplus product. Marxists explain history in terms of a war of classes between those who control production and those who actually produce the goods or services in society (and also developments in technology and the like). In the Marxist view of capitalism this is a conflict between capitalists (bourgeoisie) and wage workers (proletariat). Class antagonism is rooted in the situation that control over social production necessarily entails control over the class which produces goods -in capitalism this is the exploitation of workers by the bourgeoisie. Marx saw class categories as defined by continuing historical processes. Classes, in Marxism, are not static entities, but are regenerated daily through the productive process. Marxism views classes as human social relationships which change over time, with historical commonality created through shared productive processes. A 17th-century farm labourer who worked for day wages shares a similar relationship to production as an average office worker of the 21st century. In this example it is the shared structure of wage labour that makes both of these individuals "working class. "Maclver and Page defines social class as any portion of the community marked off from the rest by social status.Max Weber suggest that social classes are aggregates of individuals who have the same opportunities of acquiring goods, the same exhibited standard of living. He formulated a three component theory of stratification with social, status and party classes (or politics) as conceptually distinct elements. Social class is based on economic relationship to the market (owner, renter, employee, etc.) Status class has to do with non-economic qualities such as education, honour and prestige Party class refers to factors having to do with affiliations in the political domain According to Weber a more complex division of labour made the class more heterogeneous.In contrast to simple income--property hierarchies, and to structural class schemes like Weber's or Marx's, there are theories of class based on other distinctions, such as culture or educational attainment. At times, social class can be related to elitism and those in the higher class are usually known as the "social elite".

For example, Bourdieu seems to have a notion of high and low classes comparable to that of Marxism, insofar as their conditions are defined by different habitus, which is in turn defined by different objectively classifiable conditions of existence. In fact, one of the principal distinctions Bourdieu makes is a distinction between bourgeoisie taste and the working class taste.Social class is a segment of society with all the members of all ages and both the sexes who share the same general status.Maclver says whenever social intercourse is limited by the consideration of social status by distinctions between higher and lower there exists a social class. Characteristics of Social Class A social class is essentially a status group. Class is related to status. Different statuses arise in a society as people do different things, engage in different activities and pursue different vocations. Status in the case of class system is achieved and not ascribed. Birth is not the criterion of status. Achievements of an individual mostly decide his status. Class is almost universal phenomenon. It occurs in all the modern complex societies of the world. Each social class has its own status in the society. Status is associated with prestige. The relative position of the class in the social set up arises from the degree of prestige attached to the status. A social class is relatively a stable group. A social class is distinguished from other classes by its customary modes of behaviour.This is often referred to as the life-styles of a particular class. It includes mode of dress, kind of living the means of recreation and cultural products one is able to enjoy, the relationship between parent and children. Life-styles reflect the specialty in preferences, tastes and values of a class. Social classes are open- groups. They represent an open social system. An open class system is one in which vertical social mobility is possible. The basis of social classes is mostly economic but they are not mere economic groups or divisions. Subjective criteria such as class- consciousness, class solidarity and class identification on the on hand and the objective criteria such as wealth, property, income, education and occupation on the other hand are equally important in the class system. Class system is associated with class consciousness. It is a sentiment that characterizes the relations of men towards the members of their own and other classes. It consists in the realization of a similarity of attitude and behavior with members of other classes. Sociologists have given three-fold classification of classes which consists of - upper class, middle class and lower class.Sorokin has spoken of three major types of class stratification -they are economic, political and occupational classes. Lloyd Warner shows how class distinctions contribute to social stability. Veblen analyzed the consumption pattern of the rich class by the concept of conspicuous

consumption. Warner has classified classes into six types- upper-upper class, uppermiddle class, upper-lower class, lower-upper class, the lower middle class and lower class. Anthony Giddens's three class model is the upper, middle and lower (working) class. Jajmani system William H Wiser introduced the term Jajmani system in the vocabulary of Indian sociology through his book The Hindu Jajmani system where he described in detail how different caste group interact with each other in the production and exchange of goods and services. In different parts of India different terms are used to describe this economic interaction among the castes for example in Maharashtra the term Balutadar is used. However in sociological literature jajmani system has come to be accepted as a general term to describe the economic interaction between the castes at the village level. This system is also a ritual system concerned with the aspects of purity and pollution as with economic aspects. It functions so that the highest caste remains pure while the lowest castes absorb pollution from them. Villages are composed of number of jatis each having its occupational speciality.Jajmani system is essentially an agriculture based system of production and distribution of goods and services. Through jajmani relations these occupational jatis get linked with the land owning dominant caste. The jajmani system operates around the families belonging to the land owning dominant caste the numbers of which are called jajmans. The land owning caste occupy a privileged position in the jajmani relations. The interaction between occupational castes and the land owning castes take place within the framework of non-reciprocal and asymmetrical type of relations. The land owning castes maintain a paternalistic attitude of superiority towards their occupational castes that are called Kamins in North India. The term Kamin means one who works for somebody or serves him. In terms of Karl Polanyi's classification of exchange system -Jajmani exchange can be termed as redistributive system of exchange. The Functionalist view of jajmani system regards it as the basis of self-sufficiency, unity, harmony and stability in the village community. However the Marxist scholars hold a very different opinion. They regard the jajmani system as essentially exploitative, characterized by a latent conflict of interest which could not crystallize due to the prevalent social setup. Thus if in future the conditions of the lower caste improve an open conflict between the lower and upper caste is inevitable. Oscar Lewis who studied Rampur village near Delhi and Biedelmn has been critical of the Jajmani system which they regard as exploitative. According to them the members of occupational jatis are largely landless labourers and have no resources to wage a struggle

against the dominant caste out of the compulsion of the need for survival. They succumb to all injustice perpetuated by the landowning dominant caste who enjoy both economic and political power. Scholars like Berreman, Harold Gould and Pauline Kolenda etc accept that there is an element of truth in both the functionalist and Marxist views of the jajmani system. They believe that consensus and harmony as well as conflict and exploitation are prevalent in the village society. According to Dumont jajmani system makes use of hereditary personal relationships to express the division of labour.This system is a ritual expression rather than just an economic arrangement.S.C Dube refers to the system as corresponding to the presentation and counter presentation by which castes as a whole are bound together in a village which is more or less universal in nature. Leach believes that the system maintains and regulates the division of labour and economic interdependence of castes. Definitions & Things to Remember Peculium: An institution in the estate system where a sum of money or some property was given to a slave by his master. Cartel: A group of industrialists who together monopolize or gain complete control over the market. Differential mobilization: A process takes place when the changes that caste has and undergoing carries it beyond the traditional ascriptive definition. Dahrendorf held that the differential distribution of authority leads to class formation and class conflict. Hiller observed that when a class system becomes closed to vertical mobility, it becomes a caste. Marx was the first one to introduce the concept of alienation into sociological theory. Srinivas termed independence among castes as vertical unity. It was Hutton who pointed out that the exclusivity and range of the caste panchayat led to an arrangement in which the members of the caste ceased to be members of the community as a whole. Aristotle classified the society into three strata- guardians, auxiliaries and workers. Max Weber characterized caste as a closed status group. Davis and Moore stressed that stratification served to ensure effective role allocation and performance.

Senart advocated the religious theory of the origin of caste. Parsons held that society would rank highly and reward those who perform successfully in terms of society's values. According to Tawney in estate system inequality is not primarily economic but judicial. Nesfield gave the concept of occupational theory of caste. Marx categorized India under the Asiatic Mode of Production. Pelham stated that the higher the class one belongs the lessen is the pretence because there is less to pretend to.This is chief reason why our manners are better than other persons. Proudhon stated property is theft. Durkheim advocated a form of guild socialism. Utilitarianism is a theoretical outlook associated with the name of J Benthem.