The document discusses several key sociological theories and concepts: - Social exchange theory examines how relationships are formed through subjective cost-benefit analysis. - Structural functionalism views society as a structure with interrelated parts that work toward the proper functioning of the whole. - Symbolic interactionism focuses on how social interaction and interpretation shape individuals' meanings and actions. - Talcott Parson's AGIL paradigm outlines four systemic functions - adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and pattern maintenance - that are prerequisites for any society to persist over time.

1. Social exchange theory is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. Social exchange theory posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives. The theory has roots in economics, psychology and sociology.<br />Social exchange theory features many of the main assumptions found in rational choice theory and structuralism.<br />Structural functionalism is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions. A common analogy, popularized by Herbert Spencer, presents these parts of society as quot;
organsquot;
that work toward the proper functioning of the quot;
bodyquot;
as a whole.[1] In the most basic terms, it simply emphasizes quot;
the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system.quot;
For Talcott Parsons, quot;
structural-functionalismquot;
came to describe a particular stage in the methodological development of social science, rather than a specific school of thought.[2][3]<br />Symbolic interactionism is a major sociological perspective that places emphasis on micro-scale social interaction, which is particularly important in subfields such as urban sociology and social psychology. Symbolic interactionism is derived from American pragmatism, especially the work of George Herbert Mead and Charles Cooley. Herbert Blumer, a student and interpreter of Mead, coined the term and put forward an influential summary of the perspective: people act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them; and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation. Blumer was also influenced by John Dewey, who insisted that human beings are best understood in relation to their environment.[1]Sociologists working in this tradition have researched a wide range of topics using a variety of research methods. However, the majority of interactionist research uses qualitative research methods, like participant observation, to study aspects of 1) social interaction, and/or 2) individuals' selves. Participant observation allows researchers to access symbols and meanings, as in Howard S. Becker's Art Worlds (1982) and Arlie Hochschild's The Managed Heart (1983).[2] Sociological subfields that have been particularly influenced by symbolic interactionism include the sociology of emotions, deviance/criminology, collective behavior/social movements, and the sociology of sex. Interactionist concepts that have gained widespread usage include definition of the situation, emotion work, impression management, looking glass self, and total institution. Semiology is connected to this discipline, but unlike those elements of semiology which are about the structures of language, interactionists typically are more interested in the ways in which meaning is fluid and ambiguous.[2]Social OrganismIn sociology, the social organism is theoretical concept in which a society or social structure is viewed as a “living organism”. From this perspective, typically, the relation of social features, e.g. law, family, crime, etc., are examined as they interact with other features of society to meet social needs. All elements of a society or social organism have a function that maintains the stability and cohesiveness of the organism.HistoryThe model or concept of society as an organism was developed in the late 19th century by Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist. According to Durkheim, the more specialized the function of an organism or society the greater its development, and vice-versa. Generally, culture, politics, and economics are the three core activities of society. Social health depends on the harmonious interworking of these three activities. Hence, the “health” of the social organism can be thought of a function of the interaction of culture, politics, and economics, which in theory can be studied, modeled, and analyzed. The conception of an quot;
organismic societyquot;
was elaborated further by Herbert Spencer in his essay on quot;
The Social Organismquot;
.A analogous concept is the Gaia hypothesis in which the entire earth is theorized to be a single unified organism. If global society can be seen as a super-organism, then the Internet can be viewed as that organism's global brain.Herbert SpencerSpencer read with excitement the original positivist sociology of Auguste Comte. A philosopher of science, Comte had proposed a theory of sociocultural evolution that society progresses by a general law of three stages. Writing after various developments in biology, however, Spencer rejected what he regarded as the ideological aspects of Comte's positivism, attempting to reformulate social science in terms of evolutionary biology. One might broadly describe Spencer's sociology as socially Darwinistic.The evolutionary progression from simple, undifferentiated homogeneity to complex, differentiated heterogeneity was exemplified, Spencer argued, by the development of society. He developed a theory of two types of society, the militant and the industrial, which corresponded to this evolutionary progression. Militant society, structured around relationships of hierarchy and obedience, was simple and undifferentiated; industrial society, based on voluntary, contractually assumed social obligations, was complex and differentiated. Society, which Spencer conceptualized as a 'social organism' evolved from the simpler state to the more complex according to the universal law of evolution. Moreover, industrial society was the direct descendant of the ideal society developed in Social Statics, although Spencer now equivocated over whether the evolution of society would result in anarchism or whether it pointed to a continued role for the state, albeit one reduced to the minimal functions of the enforcement of contracts and external defense.Though Spencer made some valuable contributions to early sociology, not least in his influence on structural functionalism, his attempt to introduce Lamarckian or Darwinian ideas into the realm of social science was unsuccessful. It was considered by many, furthermore, to be actively dangerous. Hermeneuticians of the period, such as Wilhelm Dilthey, would pioneer the distinction between the natural sciences and human sciences. In the 1890s, Émile Durkheim established formal academic sociology with a firm emphasis on practical social research. By the turn of the 20th century the first generation of German sociologists, most notably Max Weber, had presented methodological antipositivism.<br />AGIL paradigm<br />AGIL paradigm is a sociological scheme created by American sociologist Talcott Parsons in the 1950s. It is a systematic depiction of certain societal functions, which every society must meet to be able to maintain stable social life. The AGIL paradigm is part of Parsons's larger action theory, outlined in his notable book The Structure of Social Action, The Social System and in later works, which aims to construct a unified map of all action systems, and ultimately quot;
living systems.quot;
Indeed, the actually AGIL system only appeared in its first elaborate form in 1956 and Parsons extended the system in various layers of complexity during the rest of his intellectual life. In the end of his life he added a new dimension to the action system which he called the paradigm of the human conditions, within that paradigm; the action system occupied the integral dimension. <br />The functional prerequisites of action systems<br />Parsons' theory is a part of the paradigm of action theory. AGIL represent the functional scheme for the whole general action system, so that AGIL also defines the cultural system, the personality system etc. The social system represents the integral part of the action system and is in this way only a subsystem within the greater whole of systems. For example the order of the cultural system vis-a-vis the AGIL functional scheme is:<br />A: Cognitive symbolization. G: Expressive symbolization. I: Moral-evaluative symbolization. L: Constitutive symbolization.<br />Society, in this paradigm, is defined as prototypical category of the social system that meets the essential functional prerequisites that define the system's universal attributes. AGIL scheme outlines four systematic, core functions that are prerequisites for any society to be able to persist over time. It is a misconception that the system functions are quot;
institutions,quot;
they exist on a much higher level of theoretical comprehension than institutions yet each system is inhabitated by institutions. Institutions have either universal implications or historical implications depending on their form, nature and specification. The system shapes the quot;
naturequot;
of its institutions—so that the political system is the orbit of quot;
political institutions.quot;
The stock-market is common sensually not regarded as a political institutions yet the stock-market might have political functions.<br />AGIL is an acronym from the initials of each of the four systemic necessities. The AGIL system is consider a cybernetic hierarchy and has generally the following order L-I-G-A, when the order is viewed from an quot;
informationalquot;
point of view; this imply that the L function could quot;
controlquot;
or define the I function approximately in the way in which a computer-game-program quot;
definesquot;
the game. The program does not quot;
determinequot;
the game but it quot;
determinedquot;
the logical parameter of the game, which lies implicit in the game's concrete design and rules. In this way, Parsons would say that culture would not determine the social system but it would quot;
define it.quot;
The AGIL system had also an energy side, which would go A-G-I-L. So that the Adaptive level would be on the highest level of the cybernetic hierarchy from the energy or quot;
conditionalquot;
point of view. However, within these two reverse sequences of the hierarchy Parsons maintained that in the long historical perspective, system which was high in information would tend to prevail over system which was high in energy. For example in the human body, the DNA is the informational code which will tend to control quot;
the bodyquot;
which is high in energy. Within the action system, Parsons would maintain that it was culture which was highest in information and which in his way was in cybernetic control over other components of the action system, as well as the social system. However, it is important to maintain that all action systems are always depending on the equilibrium of the overall forces of information and condition, which both shape the outcome of the system. Also it is important to highlight that the AGIL system does not quot;
guaranteequot;
any historical system survival; they rather specify the minimum conditions for whether societies or action systems in principle can survive. Whether concrete action systems survive or not is a sheer historical question.<br />Adaptation or the capacity of society to interact with the environment. This includes, among other things, gathering resources and producing commodities to social redistribution.<br />Goal Attainment or the capability to set goals for future and make decisions accordingly. Political resolutions and societal objectives are part of this necessity.<br />Integration or the harmonization of the entire society is a demand that the values and norms of society are solid and sufficiently convergent. This requires, for example, the religious system to be fairly consistent, and even in a more basic level, a common language.<br />Latency, or latent pattern maintenance, challenges society to maintain the integrative elements of the integration requirement above. This means institutions like family and school, which mediate belief systems and values between an older generation and its successor. <br />These four functions aim to be intuitive. For example a tribal system of hunter-gatherers needs to gather food from the external world by hunting animals and gathering other goods. They need to have a set of goals and a system to make decisions about such things as when to migrate to better hunting grounds. The tribe also needs to have a common belief system that enforces actions and decisions as the community sees fit. Finally there needs to be some kind of educational system to pass on hunting and gathering skills and the common belief system. If these prerequisites are met, the tribe can sustain its existence.<br />Systematic depiction of AGIL functions<br />The four functions of AGIL scheme can be divided into external and internal problems, and further into instrumental and consummatory problems. External problems include the use of natural resources and making decisions to achieve goals, whereas keeping the community integrated and maintaining the common values and practices over succeeding generations are considered internal problems. Furthermore, goal attainment and the integral function belong to the consumatory aspect of the systems. <br />It is common to use a table to illustrate the four functions and their differences in spatial and temporal orientation.<br />Instrumental functionsConsummatory functionsExternal problemsAdaptation - natural resources- commodity productionGoal-attainment - political offices- common goalsInternal problemsLatency (or Pattern Maintenance) - family- schoolsIntegration - religious systems- media<br />Each of the four individual functional necessities are further divided into four sub-categories. The four sub-categories are the same four functions as the major four AGIL categories and so on. Hence one subsystem of the societal community is the category of quot;
citizenship,quot;
which is a category we today would associate with the concept of civil society. In this way, citizenship represents according to Parsons, the goal-attainment function within the subsystem of the Societal Community. For example, a community's adaption to the economic environment might consist of the basic quot;
industrialquot;
process of production, political-strategic goals for production, the interaction between the economical system and the societal community, which integrates production mechanisms both in regard to economic as well as societal factors, and common cultural values in their quot;
selectivequot;
relevance for the societal-economic interchange process. Each of these systemic processes will be regulated by what Talcott Parsons calls generalized symbolic media. Each system level of the general action-paradigm has each their set of generalized symbolic media. In regard to the social system, there are the following four generalized symbolic media:<br />A: (Economy): Money. G: (Political system): Political power. I: (Societal Community): Influence. L: (Fiduciary system): Value-commitment.<br />Sociological Theories<br />In sociology, sociological perspectives, theories, or paradigms are complex theoretical and methodological frameworks used to analyze and explain objects of social study. They facilitate organizing sociological knowledge. Sociological theory is constantly evolving, and can never be presumed to be complete. <br />Theory is informed by epistemological discussions as to the most reliable and valid social research methods to use in the conduct of social science. Perspectives also relate to core assumptions regarding the ontological nature of the social world. Theory is thus informed by historical debates over positivism and antipositivism, debates over the primacy of structure and agency, as well as debates relating to other fundamental key concepts in the social sciences and humanities in general (e.g. materialism, idealism, determinism, dialecticism, modernity, globalization, postmodernity, and so on).<br />List of sociological theories<br />Some of the major general sociological theories include:<br />Conflict theory: focuses on the ability of some groups to dominate others, or resistance to such domination.<br />Critical theory: aims to critique and change society, not simply to document and understand it.<br />Ethno methodology: examines how people make sense out of social life in the process of living it, as if each were a researcher engaged in enquiry.<br />Feminist theory: focuses on how gender inequality has shaped social life.<br />Functionalism: focuses on how elements of society need to work together to have a fully functioning whole<br />Interpretive sociology: This theoretical perspective, based on the work of Max Weber, proposes that social, economic and historical research can never be fully empirical or descriptive as one must always approach it with a conceptual apparatus.<br />Network theory: A structural approach to sociology, most closely associated with the work of Harrison White, that views norms and behaviors as embedded in chains of social relations.<br />Social phenomenology: The social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz influenced the development of the social constructionism and ethno methodology.<br />Postcolonial theory<br />Rational choice theory: models social behavior as the interaction of utility maximizing individuals.<br />Social constructionism: is a sociological theory of knowledge that considers how social phenomena develop in particular social contexts.<br />Structural functionalism: also known as a social systems paradigm, addresses the functions that various elements of the social system perform in regard to the entire system.<br />Symbolic interactionism: examines how shared meanings and social patterns are developed in the course of social interactions. <br />Dramaturgical perspective - a specialized symbolic interactionism paradigm developed by Erving Goffman, seeing life as a performance<br />Sociological theory vs. social theory<br />Sociological theory is different from social theory. Social theory focuses on commentary and critique of modern society rather than explanation, and its goals are intensively political. Prominent social theorists include Jürgen Habermas, Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens, Erving Goffman, Michel Foucault, Dorothy Smith, Alfred Schutz, Jeffrey Alexander, and Jacques Derrida.[3]<br />Sociological theory, on the other hand, is centered on the attempt to understand the society. Whereas sociological theory relies heavily on the scientific method, is objective, and does not presume to judge the society, social theory is closer to philosophy, more subjective, and is much more likely to use the language of values and judgment, referring to concepts as quot;
goodquot;
or quot;
badquot;
.[3] Prominent sociological theorists include Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton, Randall Collins, James Samuel Coleman, Peter Blau, Immanuel Wallerstein, George Homans, Harrison White, Theda Skocpol, Gerhard Lenski, Pierre van den Berghe and Jonathan H. Turner. <br />Blurry boundaries affect social science, and there are prominent scholars who could be seen as being in between social and sociological theories, such as Harold Garfinkel, Herbert Blumer, and Claude Lévi-Strauss. <br />Development of sociological theory<br />Sociological theory is constantly evolving, and can never be presumed to be complete. New sociological theories build upon the work of their predecessors and add to them, but classic sociological theories are still considered important and current. <br />Whereas the field of sociology itself and sociological theory by extension is relatively new, dating to 18th and 19th centuries it is closely tied to a much older field of social theory in general. Sociology has separated itself from the other social sciences with its focus on society, a concept that goes beyond nation, and includes communities, organizations and relationships. <br />Some of the key developments that influenced sociological theory were: the rise of individualism, the appearance of the modern state, industrialization and capitalism, colonization and globalization, and the world wars. Those and similar developments challenged contemporary thinkers, inspiring them to question whether existing theories can explain the observed reality, and to build on them, creating alternate theories, in search for the explanation of the observed society.<br />Institutional Logic is a core concept in sociological theory and organizational studies. It focuses on how broader belief systems shape the cognition and behavior of actors. <br />Friedland and Alford (1991) defined Institutions as both supraorganizational patterns of activity by which individuals and organizations produce and reproduce their material subsistence and organize time and space. They are also symbolic systems, ways of ordering reality, thereby rendering experience of time and space meaningful. <br />Focusing on macro-societal phenomena, Friedland and Alford (1991: 232) identified several key Institutions: the Capitalist market, bureaucratic state, democracy, nuclear family, and Christianity that are each guided by a distinct institutional logic. Thornton (2004) revised Friedland and Alford’s (1991) inter-institutional scheme to six sectors, i.e., the market, the corporation, the professions, the state, the family, and religions. This revision to a theoretically abstract and analytically distinct set of ideal types makes it useful for studying multiple logics in conflict and consensus, the hybridization of logics, and institutions in other parts of society and the world. While building on Friedland and Alford’s scheme, the revision addresses the confusion created by conflating institutional sectors with ideology (democracy) and means of organization (bureaucracy), variables that can be characteristic several different institutional sectors. The institutional logic of Christianity leaves out other religions in the US and other religions that are dominant in other parts of the world. Thornton and Ocasio (2008) discuss the importance of not confusing the ideal types of the inter-institutional system with a description of the empirical observations in a study—that is to use the ideal types as meta theory and method of analysis.<br />Variable and attribute (research)<br />In science and research, attribute is a characteristic of an object. Attributes are closely related to variables. Variable is a logical set of attributes. Variables can quot;
varyquot;
- for example, be high or low.[1] How high, or how low, is determined by the value of the attribute.<br />Examples:<br />the variable gender is made of attributes male and female<br />the variable social class is a variable composed of attributes lower class, middle class and upper class<br />the variable age is made of numerical attributes<br />Note that attributes make take different form - words, numbers. Thus they can belong to different levels of measurement. While attributes are often intuitive, in some cases the scientists may decide to artificially limit the amount of attributes a variable has. This process is usually part of the operationalization process. In the example of social class variable cited above the listed attributes are not the only ones that could be used; each class could be differentiated between upper and lower, transforming thus changing the three attributes into six or it could use different terminology (such as the working class. In another example, there are many possible groupings of attributes for the variable education - from a complex, multi-attribute ranking of highest completed education level (primary school, secondary school, masters, doctorate and so on), to a simple two-attribute distinction between educated and uneducated.<br />Variables, together with attributes, form some of the most basic and important concepts in science, aiding with description and explanation. Theories are usually presented as relationship between two or more variables. A simple theory could try to explain relationship between variable income and variable health , showing that there is a positive correlation between income and health.<br />The terms quot;
dependent variablequot;
and quot;
independent variablequot;
are used in similar but subtly different ways in mathematics and statistics as part of the standard terminology in those subjects. They are used to distinguish between two types of quantities being considered, separating them into those available at the start of a process and those being created by it, where the latter (dependent variables) are dependent on the former (independent variables).<br />Pattern variables<br />Parsons asserted that there were two dimensions to societies: instrumental and expressive. By this he meant that there are qualitative differences between kinds of social interaction.<br />He observed that people can have personalized and formally detached relationships based on the roles that they play. The characteristics that were associated with each kind of interaction he called the pattern variables.<br />Social conflict is the struggle for agency or power in society. Social conflict or group conflict occurs when two or more actors oppose each other in social interaction, reciprocally exerting social power in an effort to attain scarce or incompatible goals and prevent the opponent from attaining them. it is a social relationship wherein the action is oriented intentionally for carrying out the actor's own will against the resistance of other party or parties<br />Main article: Conflict theory<br />Conflict theory emphasizes interests, rather than norms and values, in conflict. The pursuit of interests generates various types of conflict. Thus conflict is seen as a normal aspect of social life rather an abnormal occurrence. Competition over resources is often the cause of conflict. The three tenets of this theory are the following: 1) Society is composed of different groups that compete for resources. 2) While societies may portray a sense of cooperation, there is a continual power struggle between social groups as they pursue their own interests. Within societies, certain groups control specific resources and means of production. 3) Social groups will use resources to their own advantage in the pursuit of their goals. This often means that those who lack control over resources will be taken advantage of. As a result, many dominated groups will struggle with other groups in attempt to gain control. The majority of the time, the groups with the most resources will gain or maintain power (due to the fact that they have the resources to support their power). The idea that those who have control will maintain control is known as The Matthew Effect<br />One branch of conflict theory is critical criminology. This term is based upon the view that the fundamental causes of crime is oppression, resulting from social and economic forces operating within a given society. This perspective stems from German philosopher, Karl Marx, who believed the justice system and laws favor the rich and powerful in a society and that the poor are punished far more severely for much smaller crimes.<br />Another branch of conflict theory is the conflict theory of aging. This came about in the 1980s due to a setback in federal spending and a loss of jobs across the nation;[citation needed] the older generations competed with the younger generation for employment. Among those that were the worst effected were women, low-income families, and minorities.<br />[edit] Karl Marx<br />Marx himself wrote: In the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or – this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms – with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure.<br />In studying such transformations it is always necessary to distinguish between the material transformation of the economic conditions of production, which can be determined with the precision of natural science, and the legal, political, religious, artistic or philosophic – in short, ideological forms in which men become conscious of this conflict and fight it out. Just as one does not judge an individual by what he thinks about himself, so one cannot judge such a period of transformation by its consciousness, but, on the contrary, this consciousness must be explained from the contradictions of material life, from the conflict existing between the social forces of production and the relations of production. No social order is ever destroyed before all the productive forces for which it is sufficient have been developed, and new superior relations of production never replace older ones before the material conditions for their existence have matured within the framework of the old society.<br />Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examination will always show that the problem itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution are already present or at least in the course of formation. In broad outline, the Asiatic, ancient,[A] feudal and modern bourgeois modes of production may be designated as epochs marking progress in the economic development of society. The bourgeois mode of production is the last antagonistic form of the social process of production – antagonistic not in the sense of individual antagonism but of an antagonism that emanates from the individuals' social conditions of existence – but the productive forces developing within bourgeois society create also the material conditions for a solution of this antagonism. The prehistory of human society accordingly closes with this social formation. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm<br />Karl Marx, a German revolutionary, emphasized his materialist views on ownership and means of production. He argued that what is most valued is a result of human labor and founded his ideas based on a capitalistic community, meaning a majority of the money is owned by only a small percentage. This causes a distinction between two classes, the industrialists and the working class. The industrialists, the ones that make up the small percentage, own the means of production. The working class are those earning their wages by selling their labor. Problems become noticeable because the upper class is looking to get the most production possible for the least amount of money. A Surplus value is created; the profit industrialists hold onto caused by workers producing more than the employers actually need to repay the cost of hiring laborers. Another occurrence is exploitation; when workers receive less money than what their labor is worth. Marx believed that the gap between industrialists and the laborers would continue to grow. The industrialists would become more and more wealthy, and the laborers continue to move towards poverty. Conflict theory is seen throughout relationships and interactions between two groups of people including races, opposite sexes, and religions.<br />Max Weber and Karl Marx have two different approaches to the conflict theory. Marx supports the ideas of deviance, claiming that individuals choose to engage in such rebellious and conflicting behavior as a response to the inequalities of the capitalist system. Weber discusses the conflict of stratification and its effects on power in society. He stresses property, prestige, and power as the main influences to the conflicting behaviors of groups in society.<br />Karl Marx argued: quot;
The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and range. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. With the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion to the devaluation of the world of men. Labour produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity -- and does so in the proportion in which it produces commodities generally.quot;
<br />A commodity is a social use value produced by its owner not for personal consumption but for exchange. Marx believed that an entrepreneur has more and more to keep up with the more his company and power expands[citation needed]. It becomes more difficult each time his range of power increases. Eventually, the entrepreneur himself will become a commodity because he/she will no longer be able to keep up with their business and will have to put themselves (their company) up for sale on the market.<br />[edit] StPakistan<br />The influences of Socialism and socialist movements in Pakistan have been fluctuating and often limited at various times throughout the country's history and at present remain questionable. While capitalism has always held its sway, the prevalence of the socialist ideology has nevertheless continued to be found in a number of instances in Pakistan's political past and prominent personalities. Much of the remaining socialism in Pakistan today accedes to the idea of Islamic socialism, where the state would be run in a socialist set-up consistent with Islamic political principles, while other proponents demand pure socialism.<br />The struggle of socialism and communist system began in August 1947, shortly after the creation of Pakistan. The Pakistan Socialist Party (PSP) was the only socialist party of her time, and had major base in rural areas of East and West Pakistan. The PSP was a secular and socialist party that had first oppose the idea of Pakistan, and it had found itself politically isolated and with little mass appeal despite its strong base in rural areas. Because of its secular policies, the party was labeled as Kafirs, by her opponents. Furthermore, it found it difficult to compete with the Islamic socialism that Lyakat Ali-Khan, first Prime minister, professed to in 1949.[1] It had around 1200 members and was a member of the Asian Socialist Conference.[2] However, after the Chief Martial Law Administrator General Ayub Khan imposed the first martial law, all political parties were banned in Pakistan in 1958.<br />Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a renowned socialist democratic, was a major and driving force of introducing socialism in the country. Bhutto was heavily interested in secularism and socialism during his time, and while studying political science, he would later deliver a series of lectures on the viability of socialism in Muslim countries. During his tenure as the President and later as Prime Minister, he pioneered several socialist economic policies.[3] He eradicated the feudal system to a great extent; mass reforms took place in limiting the amount of land that could be owned, with remaining land divisions being allotted to a large chunk of poor farmers; landless tenants could also find increased support in the new programme. Labour rights were upgraded more than ever before; poverty experienced a sharp reduction.<br />Fundamental rights of the citizen, such as access to adequate health and free education, were brought under a renewed focus. Schools, colleges and universities were nationalized. A large segment of the banking sector, industrial sector (including iron and steel mills), engineering firms, vehicle, food and chemical production industries were also nationalized.[3] The number and strength of trade unions experienced a rise. Rural residents, urban wage earners and landless peasants were to be given ‘material support’ as people of the state.[4]<br />When Bhutto founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1966, he declared the PPP's beliefs in a speech as following: quot;
Islam is our faith, democracy is our policy, socialism is our economy. All power to the people.quot;
[5] His left-wing, socialistic ideas and his famous slogan of quot;
Roti, Kapra aur Makanquot;
(quot;
food, clothing and shelterquot;
) drew mass support and contributed to much of the PPP's popularity.[6] A number of critics, notably the conservatives and hard-line religious leaders, have however blamed Bhutto's socialist policies for slowing down Pakistan's economic progress, owing to poor productivity and high costs.<br />After the removal of Bhutto, the socialism in the country would met with harsh political opposition from the conservative Pakistan Muslim League and the hard-line religious bloc Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. General Zia-ul-Haque, Chief Martial Law Administrator (President as well) and Chief of Army Staff, dealt with socialists, communists and the secularists met with harsh political oppression under the General Zia regime. Many of the socialists, marxists, communists, secularists, and the democratic activists were either thrown in jail or went missing in which their records are not yet to be found anywhere. The socialism under Zia regime saw itself struggling with political opponents as well as with military dictatorship. During 1977 until 1988, government cracked down the socialists and were not allowed to took participate in the elections. Despite Benazir Bhutto's democratic regime, the oppression of socialists forces continued and subsequently they had lost public support in the country. In 2002, Pakistan Social Democratic Party but it was short lived. After few months, the party was disbanded in favor of Pakistan People's Party.<br />[edit] Contemporary situation<br />Notwithstanding the changes which took place during the Bhutto era, the ability of socialism to expand in Pakistan has for most of the time, been restricted and unsuccessful. Hardcore organisations such as the Pakistan Socialist Party have failed to make an impact, especially after the Islamic socialism that Liaquat Ali Khan theoritically professed to in 1949.[7] Pakistan furthermore does not have the required economic capability nor infrastructure which would make it self-reliant and allow socialism to institutionalise.[3] Other contended reasons are opposition by right-wing religious parties, who claim that socialism in any form is not compatible with Muslim norms of ruling the state.<br />[edit] Socialist organisations<br />Mazdoor Kisan Party<br />National Workers Party (Pakistan)<br />Pakistan Socialist Party<br />Pakistan<br />The 2011 congress of The Struggle being addressed by a representative of the IMT.<br />Main article: The Struggle (political organisation)<br />The Struggle is the Pakistan section of the IMT which is active within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Its leader and best known theoretician is Lal Khan. The Struggle is the largest section of the IMT. As of March 2010[update] its membership is in thousands.[42] It has been active in the worker's movement through the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC),[43] while also being involved in the student movement.[44]<br />[edit] A<br />The break-up of the Soviet Union had an enormous impact on the left in Pakistan, as elsewhere in the world. A great number of factions abandoned Marxism and the Communist movement. At this difficult juncture in history the Communist Party of Pakistan and the Mazdoor Kissan Party came together to uphold the banner of Communism. In 1995 both parties engaged in criticism and self-criticism. Both parties came together and formed the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party.<br />In 1999 much of the former Communist Party of Pakistan broke away and reconstituted itself as a separate party.<br />After further organizational problems and ideological disagreements in 2003, a large section of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party separated and reformed Mazdoor Kissan Party, whereas a group led by Sufi Abdul Khaliq Baloch and Taimur Rahman remained aligned with CMKP and its Marxist-Leninist program.<br />During the Lawyer's Movement against the military regime of Pervez Musharraf for the restoration of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as Chief Justice of Pakistan, the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party played a significant role in the demonstrations, mobilization of students and distribution of literature denouncing the ruling political party of the time, Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid).<br />In late 2009, CMKP faced another split when several long-time members, including Sufi Abdul Khaliq Baloch, separated from the party and joined the Workers Party of Pakistan, a broad-left political party. CMKP continues as a distinct Marxist-Leninist Party.<br />The Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party's prominent areas of influence include the working class district of Thokar Niaz Beg in the city of Lahore where its head office is located, and Hasthnagar in the northern part of Pakistan. CMKP is presently led by its General Secretary Taimur Rahman of Laal fame and operates several fronts, most prominently Laal Theater.<br />[edit] See also<br />The etymology of quot;
bureaucracyquot;
derives from the French word for quot;
officequot;
(bureau) and the Ancient Greek for word quot;
powerquot;
(kratos).[149] Like the military and police, a legal system's government servants and bodies that make up its bureaucracy carry out the directives of the executive. One of the earliest references to the concept was made by Baron de Grimm, a German author who lived in France. In 1765 he wrote,<br />The real spirit of the laws in France is that bureaucracy of which the late Monsieur de Gournay used to complain so greatly; here the offices, clerks, secretaries, inspectors and intendants are not appointed to benefit the public interest, indeed the public interest appears to have been established so that offices might exist.[150]<br />Cynicism over quot;
officialdomquot;
is still common, and the workings of public servants is typically contrasted to private enterprise motivated by profit.[151] In fact private companies, especially large ones, also have bureaucracies.[152] Negative perceptions of quot;
red tapequot;
aside, public services such as schooling, health care, policing or public transport are a crucial state function making public bureaucratic action the locus of government power.[152]<br />Writing in the early 20th century, Max Weber believed that a definitive feature of a developed state had come to be its bureaucratic support.[153] Weber wrote that the typical characteristics of modern bureaucracy are that officials define its mission, the scope of work is bound by rules, management is composed of career experts, who manage top down, communicating through writing and binding public servants' discretion with rules.[154]<br />[edit] Legal profession<br />It is now commonplace to depict the contemporary world as one of rapid, increasing, and frequently cataclysmic change. Such forces as disappearing colonialism, revolution in communications and technology, international technical assistance, and spreading ideology cancel out centuries of relative stability, replacing it with conditions of economic upheaval, social disorientation, and political instability. While the so-called developed nations prepare to harness at least a portion of space, most of the rest of the world –spurred along by the West and by the revolution of rising expectations – struggles to cross the threshold of social and economic modernity.<br />Computer Use<br />The purpose of any data analysis procedure is to condense information contained in a body of data into a form that can be easily comprehended and interpreted. Sometimes this process is used simply to describe a body of empirical data, but it is far more common for the social scientist to use tools to search for meaningful patterns of relationships among sets of variables, that is, as a means to test empirical social theory. In its most simple form, such analysis could appear as a chart or some other visual display of information. The more complex forms, however, require computers to help us complete analysis in a timely and accurate fashion. Computers are extremely useful for the processing of large quantities of data and reducing data to more manageable and easily understood forms. The need for large-scale processing led directly to the development of the computer, with... <br />Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please, subscribe or login to access all SRMO content<br />Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. Social research methods may be divided into two broad categories:<br />Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases (or across intentionally designed treatments in an experiment) to create valid and reliable general claims<br />Qualitative designs emphasize understanding of social phenomena through direct observation, communication with participants, or analysis of texts, and may stress contextual and subjective accuracy over generality<br />Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast breadth of social phenomena; from census survey data derived from millions of individuals, to the in-depth analysis of a single agents' social experiences; from monitoring what is happening on contemporary streets, to the investigation of ancient historical documents. The methods rooted in classical sociology and statistics have formed the basis for research in other disciplines, such as political science, media studies, and market research<br />Social research is the scientific study of society. More specifically, social research examines a society’s attitudes, assumptions, beliefs, trends, stratifications and rules. The scope of social research can be small or large, ranging from the self or a single individual to spanning an entire race or country. Popular topics of social research include poverty, racism, class issues, sexuality, voting behavior, gender constructs, policing and criminal behavior. <br />Social research determines the relationship between one or more variables. For example, sex and income level are variables. Social scientists will look for underlying concepts and cause-and-effect relationships of a social issue. Before even beginning research, scientists must formulate a research question. For example, a researcher might ask if there is a relationship between a person’s sex and his or her income level. Do men have higher incomes than women? Are women most likely to be poor? <br />A third variable, race, can be added to the question. Then the social scientist can pose a research question: Does race and sex affect a person’s income level? Social scientists will then collect data, organize and analyze information and create a report of their findings. People conducting social research must also consider ethics, biases and the reliability and validity of the research they’re conducting. They must decide which form of sampling to use, how to measure information, how to analyze data and present their findings. <br />Research can be conducted using surveys, reports, observation, questionnaires, focus groups, historical accounts, personal diaries and census statistics. There are two types of research: qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research is inductive, meaning the researcher creates hypotheses and abstractions from collected data. Most data is collected via words or pictures and mostly from people. Researchers are interested in how people make sense of their lives and in the research process itself. <br />Quantitative research is the complete opposite and most often involves numbers and set data. Quantitative data is efficient but focuses only on the end result, not the process itself, as qualitative research does. Quantitative data is precise and is often the result of surveys or questionnaires. <br />Even though social research is most often conducted by social scientists or sociologists, it is an interdisciplinary study crossing into subjects like criminology, the study of crime; politics, the study of power; economics, the study of money and business; psychology, study of the mind; philosophy, study of beliefs and morals; and anthropology, the study of culture. <br />