We explain what social control is, in what ways it is exercised and the mechanisms it encompasses. Also, various examples.
What is social control?
When we speak of social control we refer to a series of mechanisms, practices Y values that promotes society, formally or informally, to preserve the established order of the same. In other words, it is about the different methods through which a society seeks to preserve the social order and keep the system going.
The concept of social control is very broad, and within it there is room for very different mechanisms, ranging from laws same up to values Y beliefs. They are enforced in ways:
- Coercive, that is, by force. For example, the police forces are there to forcefully subdue a mob that refuses to respect public order.
- persuasive For example, the laws that govern said public order are imparted in the school, that is, through the education, and promoted by the media.
That is why social control often implies cultural and political control as well. In revolutionary times, it is understood as a barrier that makes it impossible to change and that it acts in favor of the dominant classes, given that the latter generally have command of the Condition.
Under ordinary conditions, however, some degree of social control is indispensable to sustain the peace and allow the continuity of the financial year. In other words, it is an essential element to keep societies stable, but in itself it can be questioned and/or modified.
Social control mechanisms
There are two types of social control mechanisms: the formal ones (made official by the State and present in the law) and the informal ones (inherited from the custom and of the traditions).
- Formal social control, backed by the law and the constitutional order, is made up of the different institutions and state agencies, just like the three public powers (executive or government, legislative or parliamentarian, and judicial or justice), municipal ordinances and other regulatory systems. For example, the creation of new laws that regulate the conduct, or the implementation of universal documentation for each of the citizens, are formal mechanisms of control of society.
- Informal social control, on the other hand, does not necessarily have the explicit support of a law, but rather comes from tradition, customs and the social and cultural life of the people. Its mechanisms are therefore more diverse and changing, and can vary significantly from one society to another or from one time to another. For example, religions and its moral codes, in which certain acts are permitted and others prohibited, or traditionally rooted cultural values, such as language (and therefore the way of expressing oneself, the courtesy and the names of things).
On the other hand, both formal and informal social control mechanisms can be classified as coercive or persuasive, depending on the way they promote their message. When this has to do with obligation and force, it is about coercive mechanisms, which work based on coercing the individual.
On the other hand, when it comes to mechanisms that convince him, seduce him or simply train him as a child to see things in a certain way, we can say that they are persuasive.
Examples of social control
The State maintains statistical records of its citizens.Some examples of social control mechanisms of different types are the following:
- Citizen registration by the State. Whenever a child is born, it must be presented by her parents before the appropriate State authorities, and a birth certificate will be created to provide her with a identity legal, in the same way that later an identity document will be assigned (identity card, passport, ID, etc.). In this way, the State has statistical control of its citizenship, but it can also provide bureaucratic and legal services.
- The prohibition of sale of alcohol to minors. The State prohibits the sale of alcohol and drugs to people who are not of the appropriate age (generally 18 years, in other places 21), as a form of protection of children and youth. This law is controlled by the authorities through fines or prison for vendors who fail to comply.
- The monopoly of violence. To preserve its structure and stability, the State has the armed forces and law enforcement: armed groups that have a legitimate monopoly on violence in society, which allows them to actively combat external (such as rival countries) or internal threats. (such as insurrections, rebellions or terrorism).
- religious prohibitions. Religions monotheists, especially, they impose on their faithful a more or less strict code of conduct, in which prohibitions tend to abound. So, for example, the Islam prohibits the intake of alcohol and the consumption of pork, while the Judaism prohibits the consumption of pork and any other meat that has not been prepared with a specific style of bleeding (kosher), and also prohibits any type of work on Saturdays.
- The roles of gender. Traditional society is structured based on very specific labor, social and public roles depending on the gender of each individual. Thus, men have been identified with active roles (working, inventing, building, leading) while women with passive roles (cleaning, caring, decorating, accompanying), establishing an order that younger generations it has cost them to contradict and remodel.