The Role of Society in Personal and Collective Well-Being

The word society comes from the Latin societas (union); in fact, in a broad and generic sense, it means a group of individuals (men or animals) united by relationships of different types that are established within the same society.

At the anthropological level, social order depends on several factors. The simplest type of society is based on the domestic group or family, which occupies one or more dwellings and which, in turn, creates the union of domestic groups that form a village and, later in human history, a city.

Within a society, the relationship between individuals of the same group has always been determined by various factors: marriage, kinship, cohabitation, etc. Such as, for example, the systems of descent that lead to the formation of groups based on the awareness of having a common genealogical origin. Social cohesion also depends on religious and economic factors.

Indeed, to be considered as such, society has some common factors:

• Members of society share the same territory and interact with each other to satisfy needs;
• Members of the same society share cultural factors such as rites, customs, values ​​and norms, although not in a homogeneous way;
• Within society there is a form of economic organization, which is composed of norms and institutions;
• The individual who is part of a society is aware that he is part of it and identifies with it.

However, not all societies share all these characteristics, as is the case with nomads like the Inuit, who do not share the same territory and live on vast lands, or the Fulani, who have suffered many external influences.

Societies are also determined by their social structures that organize and define the relationships between the various members based on several factors that are:

• Status and social role: status corresponds to the social position of an individual within the social structure. Statuses are ascribed, that is, determined from birth and by factors independent of the individual’s will; acquired, which depend on the actions and choices of the individual, such as the profession and economic position achieved. Each status corresponds to a particular social role, which corresponds to expectations regarding the behaviour of an individual; those who belong to a social status must respect specific norms.
• Groups: the relationships between individuals determine the formation of a group in which members interact and share goals and values. Primary groups are those that have direct contact and close relationships, such as in the family; secondary groups maintain impersonal and formal relationships, such as in a workgroup; on the other hand, formal groups are defined by a socially recognized structure, in which access criteria are regulated, interaction has a specific purpose and a common goal; In contrast, informal groups are not regulated by any structure defined by the organization and are formed naturally by the need to have social contact, such as a group of friends.
• Institutions are forms of organization through which society responds to the needs of its members. Such as, for example, the school system.

In short, society is a group of people who have several of the characteristics previously mentioned. In addition, it is essential to note that culture is a factor that directly influences the construction of this since moral values ​​are fundamental for the progress of human societies.…

The Good Society: Social Justice And Equality Of Opportunity

What are the elements that define a “good society”? Is the concept of social justice the same for everyone, or does it depend on our perceptions?

In general terms, we believe that a good society offers opportunities for development and prosperity for its members: a society in which the weight of inheritance has a minimal influence on social mobility, and there is an equitable distribution of wealth, access to health and education services and decent jobs. In this society, gaps of all kinds would be reduced to their minimum expression and we would all have the possibility of achieving our goals and seeing our aspirations become tangible realities.

The conventional view tells us that a good society results in high rates of social mobility; however, the research on mobility through surnames presented in Gregory Clark’s book The Sun Doesn’t Rise for Everyone tells us a story that does not fit with the conventional view. Societies in some countries have been able to significantly reduce the gaps in health, education, income and work of their citizens despite being subject to a low rate of social mobility. In contrast, in other countries with similar rates of mobility, the inequalities are much higher than desired.

The above leads Clark to consider the correlation between social mobility and a good society by calculating the results of the former in the event of reducing inequalities in the latter, reaching the conclusion that low mobility rates and the considerable weight of inheritance are not necessarily indicators of an unjust society in which people’s talents are wasted.

This reality tells us that the emphasis should be placed on public policies aimed at reducing inequalities, but these policies depend largely on the levels of tolerance or aversion that people have towards the conditions of inequality in their environments. This topic is addressed in the working document Perceptions of Inequality and Social Mobility, published in 2020 by the CEEY, which analyses the effect that perception has on people’s preferences regarding the mechanisms that should be implemented to balance the socioeconomic scale through public redistribution policies.

Therefore, if the actions we take with respect to building a good society are linked—among other factors—to our convictions and our points of view about the conditions of inequality and social mobility that we observe, the dissemination of truthful information and relevant education is fundamental to cementing the processes of social justice that we require.…