Social World Analysis Essay
Introduction
The social world is a term used to describe a ‘universe of discourse’ through which common symbols, organizations, and activities emerge (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). There are several examples of social worlds from both controversial and non-controversial perspectives. Examples of a controversial social world are the gay community, politics, nursing and science social worlds. Despite the existence of these social worlds, this paper will focus on the social world of politics, which will be discussed based on concepts of justice, class, race, and gender.
Part #1: Description of Social World
The social world of politics is one of the most dynamic since it is characterized by both cooperation, collaboration and power struggles. Despite its dynamic nature, politics has focused on creating rules and policies to govern interactions of the society. This social world is also characterized by many social processes that have played a central role in determining the behavior of other members of the community. The social world is a significant component of the social institutions existing in almost all societies around the globe. Politics is an essential social structure because lawlessness would be an inherent characteristic of most communities without structures of governance. This is so because its existence has provided an appropriate setting for delivering services, which are essential to both human and societal survival (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). Furthermore, the social world of politics is associated with universal symbols and events, which are identical in almost all societies. Some of the same activities include voting patterns, lawmaking, and amendments to protect societal interests.
Some organizations and unique collaborations also characterize politics. For instance, members of the political structure have collaborated during lawmaking and advocacy to ensure that societal interests are preserved. Different political organizations including the legislature and parliamentary committees are also essential components of politics. Other organizations within the social world of politics include political movements and political parties (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). Political parties are among the elements of politics, which have been characterized by unwavering cooperation, especially in circumstances where party interests are to be protected. Political movements have positioned themselves as crucial components of the politics because they focus on condemning the inefficiencies of the social world of politics to restore sanity, promote equality, and protect government interests.
Despite the high levels of cooperation and organization in politics, it is also characterized by multiple instances of a power struggle. Power struggles occur because of different ideologies or self-interests of members of the political world (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). For example, the power struggle in the U.S. is linked to the difference in opinions between conservatives and liberals. This implies that the power struggle has intensified conflicts in the political structures, which have made members of the unit to focus on promoting their interests at the expense of the needs of the electorate. Despite the inherent power struggles in politics, it is one of largest and independent social worlds, which have focused on connecting different societies. For example, it helps a society to establish good relationships with others to promote peaceful co-existence while limiting inter-state conflicts.
Part #2: Analysis/Interpretation
The social world of politics will be analyzed using the concepts of justice, gender, class, and race. Gender is one of the dominant concepts in the political world because both gender equality and stereotypes characterize political activities. Gender equality has created a platform that allowed women to assume leadership positions existing in the political world. Integration of women in politics has played a crucial role in protecting societal interests as it has facilitated the establishment of a more equitable and inclusive social world. Gender equality has also met societal needs by improving their living standards, increasing access to social services, and reducing political corruption, which has promoted good governance in the political world (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). On the other hand, gender stereotypes have created divisions in the political world by denying women an opportunity to participate in political matters. This has made the political world in developing countries a predominantly male affair.
Justice is one of the moral or ethical concepts in the world of politics because it has laid the foundation for guaranteeing fairness to all members of the society. Justice has also sought to monitor power and authority of politicians to ensure that all members of the political world are held accountable for their actions. This indicates that justice is a crucial concept, which has focused on using judicial process to enlarge/limit the influence of the world of politics (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). The use of a legal process has proved useful in addressing the power struggles among leaders within the political world. Furthermore, justice has emerged as an effective way of promoting integrity and transparency in the world of politics by scrutinizing political leaders and keeping their behaviors in check. Despite the vital role of justice in restoring sanity in the social world of politics, those in power have found a way of promoting injustice in society. As such, they have engaged in malpractices such as corruption because they can modify the law to serve their interests.
Race is an inherent component of the social world of politics because politicians have used race to promote their political agenda (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). The concept of race has fostered the emergence of identity politics in not only the U.S. politics but also in different parts of the world. For instance, politicians have continuously exploited the issues affecting the minorities to gain acceptance and continue asserting their dominance in the political world. The concept of race in politics was more prominent during the Obama regime when voters aligned themselves based on race. For example, the African-Americans and other minorities supported Obama while the whites supported the Republican candidate. This implies that the concept of race in politics has been used to benefit the politicians as compared to its service to social institutions. Even though all races are represented in politics, racial equality is yet to be achieved in the political sphere.
Class is also an important concept when interpreting the world of politics because the emergence of the elite politicians has increased the prevalence of class politics (Ballantine, Korgen, & Roberts, 2016). This has increased differences and conflicts in the political world as members of the unit feel that they only belong to a specific group and not the other. For example, the Brexit demonstrated how class had created distinctions among individuals in the political world. The inclusion of class has produced the notion of superiority and inferiority within the social world of politics. As such, politicians have continuously struggled for political supremacy and prestige. Consequently, class struggles have made politicians to focus on meeting their interests rather than executing their duties. In addition, increased intensity of power struggle within the world of politics has been encouraged by greed and quest for social class.
References
Ballantine, J.H., Korgen, K.O., & Roberts, K.A. (2016). Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology. California: SAGE.
