Society
Cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed
somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without.
--Edmund
Burk
Social tensions usually result from
the conscious pursuit of exclusive values by individuals and/or social groups.
The individual members and groups always widen or narrow their claims on
society for life, liberty of movement,
property and other desirable things by competing against one another. Competitors become self-conscious rivals, opponents or even enemies. The relative position of an individual in relation to the current value in a society is controlled by influences of which he is mostly unaware. On the other hand, everyone believes in some measures that his personality and life can and should be protected from the encroachment by others and that it can be enhanced at the expense of others.
property and other desirable things by competing against one another. Competitors become self-conscious rivals, opponents or even enemies. The relative position of an individual in relation to the current value in a society is controlled by influences of which he is mostly unaware. On the other hand, everyone believes in some measures that his personality and life can and should be protected from the encroachment by others and that it can be enhanced at the expense of others.
Our society is feudalistic and capitalistic.
It is greatly stratified into classes, castes and religious, provincial, rural
and encloses groups. In such a vastly stratified society, social tension is
quite common.
Causes of Societal Tension
A single factor cannot create social
tensions. Many factors together could
bring the society under stress and strain.
Today whole world wants to make economic progress through industrialization with
the judicious use of modern technology and science. This has created deep
cooled social tensions all over the world.
The main causes of social tensions
are given hereunder.
Urbanization
Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas,
"the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban
areas", and the ways in which each society adapts to the change. It is predominantly the process by
which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living
and working in central areas.
The United Nations projected that half of the world's
population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008. It is predicted
that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world
will be urbanized. That is equivalent to approximately 3
billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in Africa and Asia.
Notably, the United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global
population growth from 2016 to 2030 will be absorbed by cities, about 1.1
billion new urbanites over the next 14 years.
Unemployment
Unemployment occurs when people who
are without work are actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is a measure
of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by
dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in
the labour force. During periods of recession, an economy usually experiences a
relatively high unemployment rate.
According to International Labour
Organization report, more than 200 million people globally or 6% of the world's
workforce were without a job in 2012. There remains
considerable theoretical debate regarding the causes, consequences and solutions
for unemployment. Classical economics, New classical economics, and the
Austrian School of economics argue that market mechanisms are reliable means of
resolving unemployment. These theories argue against interventions imposed on
the labour market from the outside, such as unionisation, bureaucratic work
rules, minimum wage laws, taxes, and other regulations that they claim
discourage the hiring of workers.
Social stratification
Every society is divided into various
groups and these groups enjoy different social statuses and privileges.
This division of society is called
social stratification. The term social stratification refers to the division of
a population into strata, one on the top of another, on the basis of possession
of certain characteristics, like inborn qualities, material possessions and
performances. It involves the distribution of unequal rights and privileges
among the members of society. According to Melvin M. Tumin, social
stratification refers to “arrangement of any social group or society into
hierarchy of positions that unequal with regard to power, property, social
evaluation, and / or psychic gratification.
Social stratification is universal.
All societies exhibit some system of hierarchy whereby its members are placed
in positions that are higher or lower, superior or inferior, in relation to
each other. The quote Sorokin, “Unstratified society, with a real equality of
its members, is a myth which has never been realized in the history of
mankind”. Hence, the stratification system is a worldwide phenomenon.
Social Stratification in our society,
commenced with the Chatur-varna system. Its origin remains unknown. It,
however, gained prominence towards the end of the Rigvedic age. A person could
be a Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaish, or Sudra. To be of one or the other order
depended on one’s choosing the varna. Apparently, Varna divided the society;
but it did not block the chances of social mobility. The caste in contrast is
acquired on the basis of birth. The advanced industrial societies of the west
are characterized by the “open class” system.
The
social structure of India, on the other hand, is dominated by the “closed
class”, that is, the caste system. Any careful observer will find two types of
class hierarchy in the Indian social scene; the ‘traditional caste hierarchy’
which is articulated in religious terms and the ‘modern hierarchy’ ‘which is
emergent
Political Corruption
It’s natural to think of elections
when we think of political corruption. People or organizations with their own
agendas can skew voting. They may secretly give parties big donations. Or
parties and candidates can buy votes instead of winning them.
But political corruption isn’t just
about election rigging. It can lead politicians in office to steer away from
good government. Their decisions can benefit those who fund them. The public
interest comes second. Political corruption can divert scarce resources from
poor and disadvantaged people. This is especially common in countries where
democratic institutions are weak or absent. Private rather than public interests
dictate policy.
Crime
In ordinary language, the term crime
denotes an unlawful act punishable by a state. The term "crime" does
not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted
definition, though statutory definitions have been provided for certain
purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in
other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and
applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence (or criminal
offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual or individuals but also
to a community, society or the state ("a public wrong"). Such acts
are forbidden and punishable by law.
The notion that acts such as murder,
rape and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide. What precisely is a
criminal offence is defined by criminal law of each country. While many have a
catalogue of crimes called the criminal code, in some common law countries no
such comprehensive statute exists.
The state (government) has the power
to severely restrict one's liberty for committing a crime. In modern societies,
there are procedures to which investigations and trials must adhere. If found
guilty, an offender may be sentenced to a form of reparation such as a
community sentence, or, depending on the nature of their offence, to undergo
imprisonment, life imprisonment or, in some jurisdictions, execution.
Pollution
Factories and industries are being
set up fast resulting in smoke and dust all over. This creates water, air and
soil pollution so much that it threatens the existence of human life on earth.
There can be no specific reason, which create
social problem. However, industrialization; immobility; weak social
institutions and controls cause great social tensions all over the society.