Man and society: two way relationship

The founding fathers of sociology discovered that man’s consciousness is simply the reflection of his society, which is more than just an aggregate of individuals. One’s thoughts and actions are determined by his social context and his biographic position? Imagine what would have happened to thoughts of Nathuram Godse if he was born in a Muslim family. What would have happened to thoughts of Muhammad Ali Jinnah if he was born in a typical puritan Brahmin family of north India? At the same time man also affects society. Some men may acquire a position of power to affect society more than others but everybody has some effect on society. Literature shows how certain individuals have changed the course of human history, and how some people have left their mark on regional or national history, in some cases even on international history. Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Karl Marx are among such persons. They have changed the course of social and political history of the world? Even everyday experience shows that man is influenced by the prevailing belief systems, thought patterns, and culture in organizational as well as social settings, and from time to time men of special qualities have influenced the organizational and social processes.

Figure7.1 shows the circular link between man and society. Social structure, i.e., the pattern of social activities is the result of man’s action and reactions in a given social situation. In absence of rational activities on the part of man no ordered social reality is possible. And yet, man is not an independent player. His goals, aspirations, needs, and actions depend on the norms and values he has acquired from society and has made them part of his own existence.