Social System

A Social System is a composite system that organizes social interactions between agents who rely on each other through social relations.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) establish Social Structure through social roles and social positions.
  • It can (typically) maintain Social Cohesion via social rules and social norms.
  • It can (typically) facilitate Social Interaction through social communication patterns.
  • It can (typically) regulate Social Behavior via social feedback mechanisms.
  • It can (typically) allocate Social Resources through social distribution processes.
  • It can (typically) develop Social Identity through social identification processes.
  • It can (typically) resolve Social Tension through social conflict resolution mechanisms.
  • It can (typically) enforce Social Order through social control mechanisms.
  • It can (typically) transmit Social Knowledge via social learning processes.
  • It can (typically) perpetuate Social Values through social socialization processes.
  • ...
  • It can (often) experience Social Change through social evolution processes.
  • It can (often) resolve Social Conflict via social stabilizing mechanisms.
  • It can (often) adapt Social Patterns to social environmental changes.
  • It can (often) integrate Social Members through social incorporation processes.
  • It can (often) develop Social Hierarchy based on social stratification principles.
  • It can (often) maintain Social Boundary through social inclusion criteria and social exclusion mechanisms.
  • It can (often) produce Social Goods through social collective actions.
  • It can (often) establish Social Networks through social connection patterns.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Simple Social System to being a Complex Social System, depending on its social complexity.
  • It can range from being a Small-scale Social System to being a Medium-scale Social System to being a Large-scale Social System, depending on its social scale.
  • It can range from being a Healthy Social System to being a Stable Social System to being an Unstable Social System to being a Failed Social System, depending on its social functioning.
  • It can range from being a Hierarchical Social System to being an Egalitarian Social System, depending on its social power distribution.
  • It can range from being a Natural Social System to being an Artificial Social System, depending on its social system origin.
  • It can range from being a Closed Social System to being an Open Social System, depending on its social boundary permeability.
  • It can range from being a Homogeneous Social System to being a Heterogeneous Social System, depending on its social diversity.
  • It can range from being a Traditional Social System to being a Modern Social System, depending on its social development stage.
  • ...
  • It can provide Social Capital through social network connections.
  • It can perform Social Regulation through social sanctioning mechanisms.
  • It can have Social Memory via social knowledge preservation mechanisms.
  • It can establish Social Equilibrium through social homeostatic processes.
  • ...
  • It can be Socially Dysfunctional during social crisis periods.
  • It can be Socially Transformative during social revolution periods.
  • It can be Socially Integrated in social stability contexts.
  • It can be Socially Resilient against social disruption factors.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Natural Social Systems, such as:
    • Human Social Systems, such as:
      • Family Social Systems with family roles and family relationships.
      • Community Social Systems with community norms and community identity.
      • Organizational Social Systems, such as:
        • Corporate Social Systems with corporate hierarchy and corporate culture.
        • Government Social Systems with government structure and government functions.
      • Institutional Social Systems, such as:
        • Educational Social Systems with educational processes and educational roles.
        • Religious Social Systems with religious beliefs and religious practices.
      • Economic Social Systems, such as:
        • Market Social Systems with market exchange and market regulation.
        • Subsistence Social Systems with subsistence production and subsistence distribution.
      • Political Social Systems, such as:
        • Democratic Social Systems with democratic processes and democratic values.
        • Authoritarian Social Systems with authoritarian control and authoritarian structure.
    • Non-human Animal Social Systems, such as:
      • Primate Social Systems with primate dominance hierarchy and primate grooming behavior.
      • Insect Social Systems, such as:
        • Bee Colony Social Systems with bee hive structures and bee social roles.
        • Ant Colony Social Systems with ant collective organizations and ant division of labor.
  • Artificial Social Systems, such as:
    • Virtual Social Systems, such as:
      • Online Community Social Systems with online interaction norms and online identity.
      • Social Media Social Systems with social media connection and social media influence.
    • AI Social Systems with AI agent interactions and AI social rules.
    • Multi-Agent Social Systems with agent communication protocols and agent coordination mechanisms.
  • Hybrid Social Systems, such as:
    • Human-AI Social Systems with human-AI interaction patterns and human-AI collaboration mechanisms.
    • Social Computing Social Systems with socio-technical processes and collective intelligence mechanisms.
    • Augmented Social Systems with augmented communication channels and augmented social presence.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • An Ecosystem, which involves ecological interactions rather than social relations.
  • An Organism, which is a biological unit rather than a social collective.
  • Physical Systems, which follow natural laws rather than social rules.
  • Technical Systems, which process data rather than manage social relationships.
  • Conceptual Systems, which organize ideas rather than coordinate social agents.
  • Isolated Individuals, who lack social interdependence necessary for social system formation.
• See: Sociological Systems Theory, Social Environment, Talcott Parsons, AGIL Paradigm, Action Theory (Sociology), Niklas Luhmann, Social Network Analysis, Social Capital Theory, Social Structure.

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References

2013

• (Wikipedia, 2013) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_system Retrieved:2013-12-26.
  • Social system is a central term in sociological systems theory. The term draws a line to ecosystem, biological organisms, psychical systems and technical systems. They all form the environment of social systems. Minimum requirements for a social system is interaction of at least two personal systems or two persons acting in their roles. The first who formulated a systematic theory of social systems was Talcott Parsons where it was a part of his AGIL paradigm yet the social system is only a segment (or a "subsystem") of what Parsons calls action theory; however, Vilfredo Pareto had used the term "social system" earlier but only as a sketch and not as an overall analytical scheme in the sense of Parsons. Jay Wright Forrester describes three counterintuitive behaviours as important: causes from symptoms are often far removed in time and space, identifying leverage points, conflicting short and long-term consequences.

2013

• (Wikipedia, 2013) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Social_systems Retrieved:2013-12-26.
  • Social systems or social structure in general refer to entities or groups in definite relation to each other, to relatively enduring patterns of behavior and relationship within social systems, or to social institutions and norms becoming embedded into social systems in such a way that they shape the behavior of actors within those social systems. Social systems can be said to be the patterns of behavior of a group of people possessing similar characteristics due to their existence in same society.
• Luhmann, N. (1995). Social Systems. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Bertalanffy, L. von (1968). General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications. New York: George Braziller.
• Merton, R. K. (1968). Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press.
• Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Habermas, J. (1987). The Theory of Communicative Action. Boston: Beacon Press.

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