Society
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Illustration: Antichita Romanae (1748) by Piranesi
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A society is a grouping of individuals, which is characterized by common interests and may have distinctive culture and institutions. In a society, members can be from a different ethnic group. A "Society" may refer to a particular people, such as the Yoruba people, to a nation state, such as Switzerland, or to a broader cultural group, such as a Western society. Society can also refer to an organized group of people associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes.
Western society
The development of the Western world has brought with it the emerging concepts of Western culture, politics and ideas, often referred to simply as Western society. Geographically, it covers at the very least the countries of Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand and sometimes also includes South America and Israel. The cultures and lifestyles of all of these stem from Western Europe. They all enjoy relatively strong economies and stable governments, allow freedom of religion, have chosen democracy as a form of governance, favor capitalism and international trade, are heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian values, and have some form of political and military alliance or cooperation.
See also
- Civil society
- Community
- Culture
- Mass society
- Religion
- Sick society
- Social cohesion
- Societal collapse
- Social contract
- Social disintegration
- Social solidarity
- Social structure
- Structure and agency
- Stratification
