Social Structure, Stratification and Social Processes

Cooperation is the bedrock of social life.

In Agriculture:

• Sowing and Harvesting: These tasks are labor-intensive and time-sensitive. Traditionally, entire village communities or kin groups come together to help each other harvest crops before the rains.
• Irrigation: Managing shared water resources (canals, tanks) requires collective agreement and maintenance to prevent conflict.

In Industry:

• Division of Labor: A factory operates like a complex machine. Workers on an assembly line must cooperate precisely—if one stops, the whole line halts.
• Management-Worker Relations: Successful production requires cooperation between those who plan (management) and those who execute (labor), often mediated by unions.

Is it always voluntary? No. Cooperation can be voluntary (helping a friend move house) or enforced (paying taxes, following traffic rules).

Enforced Cooperation (Karl Marx’s View):

• In class-divided societies, cooperation is often coerced. A worker “cooperates” with the factory owner not out of love, but out of the necessity to survive (economic compulsion).

Mechanism of Enforcement:

• Strength of Norms (Internal): Most often, we cooperate because of socialization. We internalize the belief that it is “right” to follow rules (e.g., standing in a queue).
• Sanctions (External): When norms fail, sanctions apply. Fear of punishment (fines, jail, firing) enforces cooperation.

Example: Women in patriarchal societies may “cooperate” with unequal gender roles due to the deep-seated norm that a “good woman” is submissive, reinforced by the sanction of social ostracism if she rebels.

Conflict arises when groups with opposing interests compete for limited resources or power.

Example 1: Caste Conflict (Dalit vs. Upper Caste)

• Cause: Structural inequality. When Dalits assert their constitutional rights (e.g., entering a temple, riding a horse in a wedding), it challenges the traditional dominance of upper castes, leading to backlash and violence.

Example 2: Inter-State Water Disputes (e.g., Kaveri River dispute)

• Cause: Resource Scarcity. As agricultural and urban water needs grow in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the finite resource of the river becomes a flashpoint for political and social conflict.

Example 3: Land Acquisition (Farmers vs. Industry/State)

• Cause: Clash of economic interests. Industrialization requires land, but for farmers, land is their only livelihood. (e.g., Singur or Nandigram).

Conflict resolution in society happens through various mechanisms:

• Legal/Constitutional Mechanism: The courts are the primary arbiter. Example: The Supreme Court passing verdicts on the Ayodhya dispute or the Kaveri water sharing, providing a binding legal solution.
• Political Process (Democracy): Elections and parliamentary debates allow conflicting groups (e.g., different linguistic groups) to negotiate power without violence. Example: The creation of linguistic states in the 1950s resolved intense language conflicts.
• Social Movements & Dialogue: Civil society groups often mediate. Example: Trade unions negotiating wage agreements with management to resolve strikes.
• Assimilation/Accommodation: Over time, conflicting groups may find a “middle path.” Example: The “Unity in Diversity” model where different religions coexist by agreeing to respect mutual boundaries.

A society completely void of competition is theoretically imaginable but practically impossible in the modern world.

Why it might seem possible:

• Small, simple tribal societies (e.g., hunter-gatherers) often operated on “generalized reciprocity” where resources were shared communally, minimizing competition.
• Utopian ideologies (like pure Communism) envisioned a classless society with “to each according to his need,” eliminating the struggle for resources.

Why it is impossible now:

• Scarcity: Resources (status, power, wealth) are finite. As long as wants exceed supply, competition is inevitable.
• Social Stratification: All complex societies are stratified. The drive to maintain or improve one’s rank creates structural competition.
• Capitalism: The dominant global economic system is built on the premise of competition as the engine of efficiency and growth.

Observation: Most elders will likely say that modern society is more competitive and stressful than their time.

Sociological Explanation:

• Transition from Ascribed to Achieved Status: In the past (caste/feudal society), your status was fixed at birth. A potter’s son became a potter; there was no “competition” to become a king. In modern society, status is ‘achieved’. Everyone theoretically can become anything (doctor, CEO), which leads to intense universal competition.
• Individualism: Traditional support systems (Joint Family) acted as a cushion. Modern society emphasizes the individual success story (“survival of the fittest”), increasing the sense of isolation and conflict.
• Consumerism: Modern capitalism manufactures “new needs” (better phone, bigger car). The race to satisfy these endless artificial needs creates perpetual competition that didn’t exist in subsistence economies.