Society+and+diversity

**UNIT 13 SOCIETY AND DIVERSITY **
 * SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English ** 

There are three main types of society: **rural, industrial ** and **post-industrial **. In rural societies, the economy is based on **agriculture, stockbreeding, ** and **minerals ** and **energy **. There are only a few traditional industries, such as textile manufacturing. The service sector is less developed. Most people live in villages. There are still many rural societies in **Africa, Asia ** and **Latin America **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. More than a third of the labour force works in **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">industry **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Factories are not usually modern, and production is in traditional sectors, such as **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">iron **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">steel, textiles **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">chemicals **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">.There is little farming, but a strong service sector, particularly in transport, communications and trade. Most people have left rural areas to live in the towns. There are industrial societies in the east and centre of Europe, and in recently industrialised countries in **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Latin America **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">South-East Asia **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. More than 60% of the population works in a variety of high-level services, such as financial and corporate services, and information technology. Less than 30% of the population works in­­­­­­­­­­­ industry. Less than 10% of the population works in agriculture. However, production is increasing, thanks to modern machinery and other technological advances. These are **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">urban societies **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. In the past, people emigrated from the country to the towns. Now, however, some people are moving out of the towns to cheaper places in less polluted environments. Post-industrial societies are found in developed countries, such as the **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">United States, Canada, Western Europe **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Japan. ** The first groups were **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">clans **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">tribes **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, and were small family groups. Later, bigger, more complex groups were formed: **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">villages, cities, states **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">empires **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Societies are organized to cover different needs. They have an **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">economic **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">political system **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Members of each society generally share **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">cultural characteristics **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, such as language, customs, and mentality. Every society has **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">social classes **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> which are organised into a **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">hierarchy **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. In the past, societies were organised into **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">estates **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> determined by birth. In **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Capitalist society **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, people are classified in social classes, mainly according to their wealth. In terms of social mobility, there are two kinds of society: **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">static **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> or **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">closed societies **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">dynamic **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> or **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">open societies **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Sometimes, social change is on a huge scale, or happens in a short period of time. When changes affect the entire society, we say there has been a **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">social revolution **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Important examples of social revolutions are the **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Neolithic revolution **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> or the **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Liberal revolutions **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, many scientists claim that another social revolution is taking place, due to the influence of **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">new technologies **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> on our lives. Age: Today, 17% of Spaniards are over 64. Gender: In the younger age groups there are more men than women. However, there are more older women than men. Social class: Most people are middle class. Languages: The main language is Spanish, although there are other languages, such as Catalan, Basque and Galician. Religion. Most people are Catholics, although there are also religions, such as the Muslim and Protestant faiths. Almost 20% of the population has no religious beliefs. Political ideology: Most people describe themselves as slightly left of centre. Technology: 35% of homes have an Internet connection. Western society can be described in three different ways: a post-industrial society, an urban society and an information society. In recent decades, there has been a change in the traditional roles of the sexes in our society. More and more women are taking advantage of higher education, and are gaining access to positions of **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">responsibility **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> in fields which were open only to men. However, **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">discrimination **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> still exist. The traditional family has also been affected by women going out to work. Western society is becoming multicultural. Millions of immigrants arrive in the European Union, escaping from poverty or political instability. They contribute to the economic, demographic and cultural enrichment of the countries where they settle. However, the distrust of some local people and problems of adaptation sometimes result in <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> xenophobic attitudes.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">WHAT TYPES OF SOCIETIES ARE THERE? **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">RURAL SOCIETIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE FORMATION OF SOCIETIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIETIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">HOW DO SOCIETIES CHANGE? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PERSONAL CHANGE **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Capitalist society **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> is based on equality and the value of personal merit. However, our family and environment play an important part in our education and wealth, and also influence our possibilities of social mobility.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">SOCIAL REVOLUTION **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE STRUCTURE OF SPANISH SOCIETY **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">WESTERN SOCIETY TODAY **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE CHANGING ROLES OF THE SEXES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">