Morality and Social Control

MORALITY AND SOCIAL CONTROL

MORALITY

According to Gisbert, morality refers to “that body of rules and principles concerned with good and evil as manifested to us by conscience.”

Morality is the human attempt to define what is right and wrong about our actions and thoughts and what is good and bad about our being who we are.

It seems to be used in two distinct broad senses: a descriptive sense and a normative sense.

1. Descriptively it refers to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as a religion), or accepted by an individual for her own behavior, or

2. Normatively it refers to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.

DEFINITION OF SOCIAL CONTROL

1. According to Maclver, “social control is the way in which the entire social order coheres and maintains itself how it operates as a whole, as a changing equilibrium.”

2. According to Horton and Hunt, “sociologists use the term social control to describe all the means and processes whereby a group or a society secures its members’ conformity to its expectation.”

3. Parsons defined it as “the process by which, through the imposition of sanctions, deviant behaviour is counter acted and social stability is maintained.”

(Any one definition)

SOCIAL CONTROL

Social control tends to take one of two different forms: informal or formal. 

Informal and unplanned (incidental) control

Informal social control refers to our conformity to the norms and values of society and adoption of a particular belief system, which we learn through the process of socialization. This form of social control is enforced by family, primary caregivers, peers, and other authority figures like coaches, teachers, and colleagues.

Informal social control is enforced by rewards and sanctions. Reward often takes the form of praise or compliments but also takes other common forms, like high marks on school work, promotions at work, and social popularity. Sanctions used to enforce informal social control, like those discussed above, tend to be social in form and consist mainly of communication or lack thereof, but can also take the form of the ending of a relationship, teasing or ridicule, poor marks in school, or being fired from work, among others.

Formal and planned (deliberate) control

Formal social control is that which is produced and enforced by the state (government) and representatives of the state that enforce its laws like police, military, and other city, state, and federal agencies. A simple police presence is often enough to create formal social control. In others, police might intervene in a situation that involves unlawful or dangerous behavior in order to stop it-to “arrest” literally means to stop in order to ensure that social control is maintained.

Other government agencies also enforce formal social control, like those that regulate which substances or foods can be legally sold and those that enforce building codes, among others.

It is up to formal bodies like the judiciary and the penal system to dole out sanctions when someone fails to comply with the laws that define formal social control.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND MORALITY

Emile Durkheim defined religion as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, things set apart and forbidden.”

Moral code is that body of rules or principles concerned with good and evil as manifested to us by conscience.

Differences between religion and morality prescribe and control human behavior. The prescribed form of behaviour is obeyed by internal urges or pressures. In religion, the internal pressure is fear of god; in morality, it is the pressure of conscience.

The sanction and authority behind each one of them are also different. Behind the religious standards, there is divine authority and the sanction of God. Disobedience to religious standards is believed to result in incurring the displeasure of God. Hence the violation of laws of religion is considered a ‘sin.’

Some important relationships between religion and morality are as follows:

1. Both religion and morality are closely interrelated. Religion prescribes rules of conduct and in so doing, it tends to identify these with moral conduct.

2. Each religion has a code of conduct of its own which is very often based on moral values.

3. Moral standards draw their support from religion itself. Much of the moral practices of society are justified on the grounds of a religious belief system. The religion gives sufficient justification to existing social and moral practices.

4. The moral and religious standards are interlinked. If the moral standards are addressed to man directly the religious standards are addressed to him indirectly.

5. The violation of moral codes will have direct consequences to man, whereas the disobedience of the religious code or standards will have indirect consequences.

Thus, morality can be practiced without being religious, but religion does not exist without morality.

MORALITY AND SOCIAL CONTROL

Morality is one of the fundamental social institutions. It is an effective guide to human behaviour. Morality has its own code of conduct. Moral ideas are embodied in the moral code. Therefore, morality is a powerful means of social control. Informal means of social control include established and accepted institutions relating to folkways, mores, family, neighbourhood, customs, religion, etc.

1. Folkways: 

‘Folkways’ refer to the ways of the people. They constitute an important part of the social structure. They contribute to the order and stability of social relations. Human infants learn them through their elders through socialization.

2. Mores:

‘Mores’ or ‘morels’ represent another category of norms. When ‘folkways’ act as regulators of behaviour then they become ‘mores.’ They are always considered as ‘right’ by the people who share them.

3. Family: 

In Indian society, it is the moral responsibility of the parents to look after their children till they are settled in their life. A person might violate the other codes and conducts but not the family norms.

4. Neighbourhood:

There are unwritten laws which demand cooperation and coexistence among neighbours. The fear of rejection, ridicule, gossiping and social isolation by the neighbours forces the individuals to conform their behaviour to the normative pattern.

5. Customs:

Customs are the long established practices of people, which occur spontaneously but gradually. Along with regulating social life, they also bind them together. In primitive societies, customs were powerful means of social control, but in modern times, they have weakened due to a rise in the forces of rationality and diversity.

6. Religion:

The religious ideology helps to demarcate between good and bad, sacred and profane, etc.

Therefore, its group members remain united and exhibit a common behavior pattern and influences and changes in the course of society. In case there is no social control, society would wither away. People may break laws on some ground but do not go against dominant moral values. This is why an overwhelming majority of our society adheres to a normative pattern.