TRADITIONAL SOCIETY: MAIN CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

A traditional society, in the field of sociology, is a society that is based on the rules and customs set in the past and that, therefore, has great respect for tradition and the ways of behaving that it dictates. This type of human society is characterized by the importance of the family and traditional social roles.

These roles are, for example, those marked by the age, status and gender of the people. Traditional societies are frequently compared to modern and industrial societies. In many ways, both types of social organizations have completely opposite characteristics.

Traditional societies are associated with the feudal system and the Middle Ages

For example, in traditional societies greater importance was placed on community, while in modern societies more emphasis was placed on society as a whole. Traditional societies were the predominant way of organizing communities until the arrival of the Enlightenment.

This movement questioned traditions for the first time in the West, and focused on promoting other values ​​such as equality, progress or knowledge.

Characteristics of a traditional society

Despite the fact that each one presents some peculiarities, most traditional societies share a series of common characteristics. The most important are the following:

Importance of traditions

A traditional society is based on the idea that the best way to deal with the typical problems of a society is through the use of traditions and norms that have been tested over time. For this reason, the population of these societies resists any type of innovation.

In traditional societies, institutions such as organized religions are primarily responsible for dictating codes of conduct for citizens.

Greater importance of family and small communities

Today most modern societies share universal values, such as freedom, equality or justice.

However, in traditional societies the prevailing values ​​were more centered on family, tradition and the protection of the community itself.

For this reason, the inhabitants of these societies used to be very little open to strangers, and relationships with "outsiders" were very frowned upon and socially penalized.

Difficulty modifying social status

Due to the importance of traditions and the immobility of life forms, a person could not change their own social status in a simple way.

In general, a person's position in society was acquired at birth, and with exceptions such as marriages, it could not be changed.

Predominance of agriculture

Due to the lack of technological advances, traditional societies were organized around agriculture and nature.

This could be seen in their beliefs, traditions, and ways of behaving. For example, village activities were organized around harvest cycles.

Little mobility between communities

Due to mistrust of foreigners, and the requirement of all possible labor to maintain a traditional society, it was very difficult for an individual to leave his community and move to another.

In this way, the exchange of ideas and knowledge was scarce and difficult to achieve.

Distance between the population and the government

In a traditional society, the population had little or no power over the way it was governed. The people in power operated independently of their citizens, and pushing to change things was unthinkable.

Lack of education among the population

Due to all the above characteristics, the majority of the population in a traditional society did not have access to a large amount of knowledge.

Among other things, the majority of the inhabitants of these communities were illiterate; this was due to the fact that manual work was given much greater importance than theoretical knowledge.

Types

Throughout history, different types of societies have appeared, each with specific characteristics. Within traditional societies, we can mainly distinguish two types:

Tribal societies

The organization of the population was made around small nomadic tribes that lived by hunting, fishing and gathering.

The feeling of union between the members of the tribe was very strong, so on many occasions the individuals sacrificed themselves for the common good. Sometimes the concept of paternity did not even exist, so there was no family grouping.

Agrarian societies

When the techniques of agriculture began to spread, the tribes settled in a fixed place and formed larger and larger communities.

Within these communities, the need for protection against other towns arose, for which a social group emerged: the nobility. This was in charge of security in exchange for vassalage.

In general, when we speak of traditional society we refer to agrarian societies, also known as feudal ones.

Traditional society according to Weber

Max weber

Weber explained these types of societies based on the concept of traditional authority. According to him, in some societies, leaders get their power due to tradition since "things have always been done this way." This is in contrast to the other two types of power he described, which were charismatic authority and rational authority.

According to Weber, in these societies power was acquired at birth and the rulers did not have any kind of authority beyond that granted by tradition.

Therefore, power depended on the members of the society respecting the authority of the ruler.

Traditional society according to Durkheim

Emile Durkheim, pioneer of sociology - Source: verapatricia_28

Durkheim, considered by many the father of modern sociology, studied the social changes brought about by the division of labor. For him, this was the main difference between traditional and modern societies.

Besides improving the living conditions of the workers, the division of labor also caused changes in the way of life and the rejection of traditional values ​​(what he called anomie).

Therefore, the more modern a society is, the fewer social norms are present and the more problems occur.

For Durkheim, traditional societies kept the most problematic instincts of the population at bay through traditions and religions. According to this sociologist, the lack of these social conditions could lead to the suffering of the population and instincts of self destruction.

References

1. "Traditional society" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 8, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
2. "7 Main Features of a Traditional Society" in: Sociology Discussion. Retrieved on: March 8, 2018 from Sociology Discussion: sociologydiscussion.com.
3. "Traditional societies: what can we learn from them?" in: Diario de Centro América. Retrieved on: March 8, 2018 from Diario de Centro América: dca.gob.gt.
4. "Types of Societies" in: Cliffs Notes. Retrieved on: March 8, 2018 from Cliffs Notes: cliffsnotes.com.
5. "Emile Durkheim" in: University of Hawaii. Retrieved on: March 8, 2018 from University of Hawaii: hawaii.edu.