The set of individuals make up a society and everything that is part of it is classified as social. There are scientific disciplines that study social reality as a whole (sociology), some institutions (for example, social security), a series of challenges and difficulties that affect the entire population (social problems) and one can even speak of a social person as a synonym for someone open and communicative.
As you can see, this adjective is used in many senses and contexts.
The man is a social being
Humans do not live in isolation but we establish all kinds of ties, personal, economic or political. These ties indicate that we are social beings. This circumstance forces us to understand each other, because despite individual differences, the fact of living in a community facilitates our existence in every way. A life isolated from others (imagine a man on a desert island) is impoverishing and undesirable.
Different ways of understanding society
Throughout history there have been very different social models. In the Middle Ages the model was based on the division of individuals into classes. This scheme is known as feudalism and in it there was a stratification of the population (nobility and clergy, feudal lords and vassals). In a next stage, the set of citizens were subjects of a monarch. With the passage of time, the rights of citizenship were recognized and an open society model was imposed, through which individuals do not have a fixed role by birth but rather their social position depends on a series of circumstances, such as preparation, effort and luck.
There have always been social problems and a certain malaise in some sectors and because of this alternative theories and proposals have arisen, such as communism, anarchism, groups that decide to create a new society outside of society as a whole, etc.
Challenges of society in the 21st century
In the early years of the 21st century, we faced a series of challenges that, to a greater or lesser extent, affect us all. Among them we can highlight the following:
1) combat environmental problems,
2) find non-polluting, economically viable energy sources that can satisfy all the needs of society,
3) maintain population growth that is compatible with the well-being of the vast majority and
4) reduce inequalities and injustices.
Other uses
On the other hand, social, it also implies that which is a company or a society, or the partners, colleagues, affiliates, confederates or related to them.
Also, the word social is used to refer to that animal that naturally tends to live in society.
Also, at social sciences, or humanities , as these sciences are also popularly known, such is the case of the history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, among others, they are usually referred to by the social term.
Construction of other valuations
The word social is also a term that helps to shape many other concepts, such is the case of social assistant (professional who is dedicated to preventing or solving social difficulties through procedures, advice, financial aid, among other options), social capital (set of money and material goods that the partners contribute to a company), social class (It is about the class that results from the customs, economic means and interests of the people), social work (entity that has charitable or non-profit purposes) and business name (name by which a company is known collectively, anonymously or limitedly, that is, it is the formal, non-public name, with which most recognize it, for example, in Latin America, the company name of Mc Donalds is Arcos Dorados).
