Social Relationships Create Social Reality

In an academic field where scholars build their careers on introducing new ideas and research approaches, there is little incentive on keeping things simple and demystifying amorphous concepts. Within the field of sociology, society is a great example. Society is often described as something that is outside of human experience, while at the same time having a steady influence over our lives. However, a number of scholars reject this depiction, arguing instead that society is interconnected with the human experience in a mutually influential manner.

In addition to being a more hopeful depiction of society, the idea that individuals play a direct role in shaping society just as society plays a role in shaping individuals helps to bring a lofty concept like society down to earth. Without the need to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t,’ society can be fundamentally described as a complex structure of mutually influencing social relationships. From the micro level of individuals, families, and friends, to the meso-level of organizations and neighborhoods, to the macro level of institutional bodies and multinational bureaucracies, it is this complex network of social relationships connecting individuals to larger social structures.

At the base level, individuals are deeply influenced by the household environment in which they were raised, while also impacting their households. At the macro level, laws and institutional bodies indelibly shape the behavior of individuals and organizations, while simultaneously being impacted by numerous efforts by individuals and organization to effect legislative changes in their favor.

Regardless of the specific level of society, it is clear that the strength and character of social relationships create our social reality. And this fundamental understanding of the social world represents the theoretical base of our work at Kiaspo. We are confident that a better world is possible, because we essentially are the world and have the capacity to build the relationships necessary to create a world where universal justice and prosperity rule the day.