Types of Societies

Sure, we've been on the moon and can have anything we want delivered to our front door. But can we find north without a compass? Can we forage for food in the wild without poisoning ourselves?

While each era of humans may think they're the best or most advanced, it may just be that each era is faced with different environments and challenges. One of the many reasons we've come so far as a species is arguably because we're always adapting and persisting!

On that note, looking at types of societies over time may help us understand just how much we've changed.

• We'll start by looking at the types of societies studied in sociology.
• Next, we'll consider how these societies are categorized.
• We'll go over the different types of early societies in preindustrial societies.
• After preindustrial, we'll look at the types of classes in industrial society.
• Lastly, we'll look at postindustrial society and the characteristics of this major type of society.

Let's get started!

Types of Societies in Sociology

The types of societies we will be looking at in sociology are as follows:

• preindustrial societies

• industrial society

• postindustrial society

What is a Society?

Let's start with a simple definition:

More broadly, society refers to the community, values, institutions, and culture around us. Societies, unsurprisingly, have been and continue to be of great interest to sociologists, who study how they change over time and how they impact individuals.But with so many changes happening in societies at the same time, how are societies categorized? How do sociologists group them together? Let's look at this now.

Categorization of Types of Societies

According to sociologist Gerhard Lenski, categorizing types of societies rests on technological advancements. Societies that advance enjoy the benefit of more sophisticated technology.

He also noted the importance of the economy and economic systems in categorizing societies. Economic systems refer to the institutions through which goods and services are manufactured, distributed, and consumed. Well-known economic systems are, of course, capitalism and socialism. Industrial society, for example, was categorized by its capitalist nature (among other things).

What Do We Mean By Technology?

Typically, technology refers to industrial changes; this includes things like machinery, tools, mass production, and organized labor (to name a few).

Technology enables societies to more firmly control their surroundings, as they have the means to do so. On the other hand, societies with primitive or no technology rely on the natural changes in their environment.

As a result of this, sociologists categorize societies by their level of industrialization; typically, this is a spectrum ranging from preindustrial, industrial and postindustrial.

Now that we've understood how societies are categorized, we can look at each type of society in more detail.

Types of Early Societies in Preindustrial Society

There were five types of early societies in preindustrial society. Before the introduction of machinery in the Industrial Revolution, societies were rural, small and reliant on local and natural resources. The only form of production came from human labor, and few people had specialist occupations (e.g., farmers).

The five types of early societies are as follows:

• hunter-gatherer
• pastoral
• horticultural
• agricultural
• feudal

We'll go through each type in turn and describe the nature of each society.

Hunter-Gatherer Society in Preindustrial Times

We may be familiar with the idea of hunter-gatherers, i.e., the idea that humans would forage for meat, plants and fruits. This type of society existed between 10-12,000 years ago and is the strongest example of a society relying on the surrounding environment for survival.

Hunter-gatherer societies existed in small tribes or kinships, and together, the members hunted animals and plants to make food. If food or resources became scarce, the society would move to another area, meaning they were also nomadic.

Today, only a handful of hunter-gatherer societies remain. Examples of these are the aborigines in the indigenous Australian population and the Bambuti group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Hunter-gatherer societies were common until a few hundred years ago, but are now rare due to a high world population.

Pastoral Society in Preindustrial Times

Pastoral societies depend on animal domestication. Around 7,500 years ago, due to changes in adaptations and conditions, some societies realized they could tame and breed animals to their benefit and survival.

In contrast to hunter-gatherer societies, which relied entirely on existing resources, pastoral societies could use animals for clothing, transportation, and food by breeding them. As a result, they were also capable of creating surplus (extra) goods.

A similarity to hunter-gatherer societies is that pastoral societies were also nomadic due to the feeding requirements of the animals. If animal food was scarce, society was forced to move with the animal in search of food.

Pastoral societies saw an emerging of specialist occupations, and they interacted with local groups and communities through trading. An example of a pastoral society is the villagers from Maasai, Kenya.

Horticultural Society in Preindustrial Times

In conjunction with pastoral societies, horticultural societies began to develop due to the ability to grow and nurture plants. Unlike pastoral societies where relocation was sometimes necessary due to their animals' feeding needs, horticultural societies settled in areas which enabled members to grow crops.

Conditions such as steady rainfall helped them do this. As a result, they did not have to relocate and were not nomadic. They created permanent settlements, enabling stability and more goods. Horticultural societies became the foundation for the first step to human survival.

However, horticultural societies were also highly dependent on their surrounding environment for survival, much like the previous types of societies.

Fig. 1 - Preindustrial societies were reliant on local and natural resources.

Agricultural Society in Preindustrial Times

Agricultural Society was, unsurprisingly, marked by the Agricultural Revolution, which took place around 5,000 years ago. The key developments of this revolution are outlined below.

• Unlike its predecessor societies, agricultural societies used large, permanent survival tools instead of small and temporary tools such as sticks.

• Farming became possible and profitable as farmers began rotating crops on fields and reusing products such as fertilizer. This led to better crop harvests and larger amounts of surplus food.

• Farming tools were made of metal, making them more permanent and effective.

• Humans began living in cities and towns; richer areas became hubs for commerce and trading.

This period of time is sometimes referred to as the 'dawn of civilization' because, in addition to farming developments, people began to participate in leisurely and academic activities such as philosophy, poetry, and music. Creative professions and craftsmanship began to take shape, as people sold their artistic goods and make a living.

As society now enjoyed abundant resources, social classes became further entrenched, as did the social divide between men and women. It was apparent that those with more wealth and resources had better standards of living and became a class of nobility (those with high social ranking).

However, with the expansion of cities, the issue of resource preservation became pressing.

Feudal Society in Preindustrial Times

As the last type of society in preindustrial times, feudal society emerged in the 9th century and was characterized by power systems surrounding land ownership.

Lords (the nobility) allowed vassals (the name given to someone protected by a feudal lord) to live on and maintain parts of their land (called fiefdoms). Vassals benefited from the resources provided by the fiefdoms, and they cultivated the land. This arrangement meant that vassals had not only a place to live, but protection from external threats. However, in exchange, vassals vowed to serve and fight for their lords.

Pieces of land and power systems were passed down, and it was common for vassals (mostly peasant families) to serve lords for several generations. The feudal system did not last, though, and was substituted by capitalism and developments in industrial society.

Naturally, we'll be studying industrial society next.

Types of Classes in Society: Industrial Society

The 18th century saw a drastic increase in technological inventions known as the Industrial Revolution, which started in 1765 in Great Britain. Along with major industrial developments, the types of classes in industrial society became more apparent.

Let's go through some of these major industrial changes and developments.

Increased and Efficient Productivity and Technology in Industrial Society

Industrial society saw a vast number of inventions to increase efficiency and productivity in people's everyday lives. Examples of these are considered below.

• Watt and Boulton, in 1782, invented a steam engine to operate power mills and drive pumps. Previously, this work was mainly done by humans or animals. The engine did the work of 12 horses! Following this, steam power became commonplace and a notable feature of industrial society.

• Textile mills decreased the production time of fabric and improved its quality.

• Farmers invested in mechanical seeders and machines for faster results.

• The public gained access to materials such as paper and glass.

• Education and healthcare quality and accessibility increased.

• People began to make use of nighttime, as they were able to see in the dark due to gas lights.

The Rise of Urban Centers in Industrial Society

The prospect of working in factories became attractive to workers, who traveled to cities to find jobs. As a result, cities grew in size and diversity. Newer generations began to focus on acquiring wealth and achieving social mobility for their families instead of cultivating family land.

Landowners were no longer the most powerful economic group - people such as businessmen and bankers took on this role.

Capitalism and Social Mobility in Industrial Society

The growth of capitalism meant that people's goals changed; they wanted future generations to climb further up the social ladder and achieve social mobility. This became possible due to capitalism.

Fig. 2 - Steam power was a key feature of the Industrial Revolution.

The Birth of Sociology in the 18th and 19th Centuries

It's important to also look at academic changes during the Industrial Revolution. During the 18th and 19th centuries, social scientists began to study the relationship between individuals and society due to concerns about living conditions.

In big, busy cities, people often lived in unsanitary conditions, overcrowded places, and even in poverty. This was a change from traditional life in an agricultural society.

Family Fortunes and Power in Industrial Society

Lastly, a key feature of industrial society is the power dynamic shift from aristocrats (those with 'old money') to entrepreneurs who created wealth during their lifetime. Powerful families manipulated their business influence to gain control of some aspects of government, too - such families include the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers.

Over time, labor laws and unions established protection and mandatory sanitary conditions for employees due to exploitation concerns.

The Rise of Social Inequality in Industrial Society

Not all developments during this time were positive, and many forms of social inequality that started then are still prevalent today.

A morose side effect of the introduction of the steam engine was its impact on social life, as many laborers were now out of work after being ejected from their land that was passed down from their ancestors. Cities had overwhelming supplies of desperate, homeless, and hungry workers who faced limited options - theft, starvation, or exploitation by employers. On the other hand, those who developed steam engines and controlled employees were accumulating wealth comparable to royal money.

Lack of Labor Laws in Industrial Society

The rights we are made aware of and have didn't exist in industrial society, such as the fundamental right to safe working conditions or the right to unionize. Workers were fired for protesting unsafe and exploitative working conditions and weren't allowed to return to their factories without the risk of arrest.

Organized forms of dissent, such as strikes, were absolutely not tolerated - in fact, they were illegal! Strikers were arrested or physically abused by the employer's security enforcers.

However, eventually, workers managed to obtain rights for safer and better working conditions.

Social Changes in Industrial Society

With the continuation of industrialization came an improvement in quality of life and workers' rights. More people owned homes and vehicles and enjoyed a wide variety of goods and services. Workers now enjoy (maybe even take for granted) good levels of healthcare, food, possessions, housing, and education.

Other, more holistic indicators of equality include:

• the abolishment of slavery

• the transition from monarchies to representative and authoritative political systems

• more rights for minorities and women

• and other rights, such as the right to vote

We can now protest against virtually anything we want, from our school's dress code to the presidential regime.

Do We Still Live in an Industrial Society?

Technically speaking, we no longer live in an industrial society - with the development of technology bringing us into a new era at the beginning of the 20th century, we seem to be in a postindustrial society (discussed below).

However, many of our social structures and dynamics retain ties to the industrial era. For example, our family structures and time standardization (measuring time in a standard way, e.g., using time zones) are relics of industrial society.

Characteristics of Major Types of Societies: Postindustrial Society

We'll now look at the characteristics of another major type of society, the one we live in, called postindustrial society. Postindustrial society is sometimes also referred to as an information society or digital society.

The key characteristic of postindustrial society is that it is rooted in information and service provision. This era's steam engine is digital technology, and powerful families have been replaced by business tycoons such as Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates. Those with knowledge and the ability to store, control and distribute information are the ones with power, rather than those with just material possessions.

Therefore, people with technical knowledge and skills, such as software engineers or businesspeople (instead of goods manufacturers), are likely to be employed as providers of services. Individuals that don't have access to obtaining such knowledge or skills may find it difficult to achieve success - as a result, education plays a large part in social class division.

How is Postindustrial Society Different from Industrial Society?

By now, hopefully, you've got a good idea of how vastly different these types of societies are. To summarize, let's go over some key contrasts.

• Postindustrial society has much more protection for its citizens, including protection based on personal characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, etc. Preindustrial society largely favored wealthy White men as this was the most powerful social group.
• We have a much higher quality of life. While our healthcare systems may not be perfect, we know that we can easily be treated for diseases that used to wipe out entire populations, and we know a lot more about nutrition. We live longer and healthier lives. We have more travel options than ever before, access to education, and virtually any profession we have an interest in. We can shape our identities in many ways to suit who we are.