What Society Does

This dimension is more complex than the first, but it is also more useful to us as sociologists because it starts to explore the way our behaviour is affected by the people around us. Thus, a society is:

• A form of organisation that involves co-operation between individuals in order to produce the things they need for their survival (at its most basic, these things are food, water, shelter, clothing, heat, light and so forth).
  

• A way of regulating the behaviour of its members in order to:
  

a. Meet certain social needs
b. Prevent conflicts occurring.

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