How Society Affected By Social Structures

For decades on end, patterns, structures, and power within society have remained, though with modifications, essentially the same. Changes to society are very difficult to come up with, agree upon, and instill. Change is often severely feared; many cannot fathom the idea of breaking out of tradition and functioning under something new, different, and unfamiliar instead. Unfamiliarity often makes people in society feel uncomfortable, and therefore, ideas for change are strongly refuted by some while thoroughly embraced by others. Three of the main categories of analysis, including structure, culture, and power, are all factors that affect change and, therefore, make it difficult for change to occur. There will, however, come a point in time

Strong and weak ties, or relations, are included in structure; the more structural holes there are in one’s relation network, the more worldviews one will encounter and the more varied one’s experiences will be, which creates for better performance (Hass Lectures). The ways in which people act and live are largely shaped by the social structures in which members of society are apart of. Problems and conflict with regards to social structure arise because of society’s social institutions where “exploitation, political exclusion, and unequal access to resources” often occur (Maiese). “These structural forces create a system” in society comprised of “winners and losers,” resulting in society’s members getting trapped in their social situation (Maiese). “Power inequity, poverty, and the denial of human rights” are just some of the many forms of structural violence that ultimately result because of the social structures in society (Maiese). Additionally, “basic human needs go unmet, and groups suffer from inadequate access to resources and exclusion from institutional patterns of decision-making” (Maiese). Unjust structural forces and divisions also contribute to “discrimination, lack of education, and inadequate employment opportunities,” and until changes are made to social structures, violence and conflict will take place (Maiese). Because members of society become buried in their social placement through the social structures that society constantly builds upon, these structures make it difficult for change to