DEFINITION OF SOCIETY AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
Community in Greek means "friendship". As a reflection of the meaning of the word,
Aristotle posited that human beings live together in society because they enjoy bonds that
cooperate with each other, to meet their basic needs and to find the meaning of life. Society in
the context of community empowerment is a community in English or a community.
Etymologically, "community" comes from a community that is rooted in a comunete or comman.
Community has two meanings (Talizi, 1990-49): 1. As a social group that lives in a certain
location, has the same culture and history 2. As a small refinement there is a small town on it,
and above the small town there is a city or big city (city). Hillery (1995) and Lewis (1977) have
concluded much of the literature and proposed four main components to define the concept of
community. First and foremost that the community involves humans. Areas and residences are
also elements in 146 community development. But., not all authors add territories, land, or
territorial boundaries in their definition of community. Wilkinson (1986) argues that a community
is a human being who lives together in a local ecology with biased territorial boundaries, but he
writes that the habit of boundaries is irrelevant if it is used as one of the main characteristics of
a community or environment. Thomas Hobber argued that community is a natural process by
which people live together to maximize their interests, while Hobbes felt that self-interest could
be found in groups. Another opinion is that the community is identified as a small settlement of
residents, self-contained and different from the other: 1. The community has a strong group
consciousness. 2. The community is not too large so that they can get to know each other
personally, but not too small so that they can work together efficiently. 147 3. Community is
homogeneous 4. The community lives self-sufficiently. According to the Indonesian
encyclopedia, the term "community" contains at least three meanings: 1. Same as gesellschaft,
which is a certain form of social group base
d on rationality, which is translated as a patembayan society in Indonesian. Meanwhile,
other social groups that are still based on the bond of family instincts are called gemainscaft or
community associations. 2. It is the whole "human society" encompassing all common beings.
This term is a result of the development of human dependence which in recent times has been
very felt. 3. Showing a certain social system with its own cirri (identity) and autonomy (relative),
such as western society, primitive society which is a tribal group that has not had much contact
with the surrounding world. Based on the above understanding, it can be mentioned that
community groups are characterized according to their 148 human relationships and the social
values that apply as follows. 1. According to livelihood, such as farmers, fishermen, laborers,
traders, and others 2. According to the environment in which they live, such as forest,
coastal/coastal communities. 3. According to the level of economic life such as the poor who are
distinguished from the rich 4. According to the level of education such as the educated,
intellectual/knowledgeable society which is
distinguished from the general public 5. According to the arrangement of community
environments / settlements such as village, city, metropolitan communities. 6. According to the
environment of religious associations such as scholars, students, churches. 7. According to the
level of civilization such as civil society, as a civilized society that is dichotomized with an
ignorant society. 8. According to the level of social life such as developed society,
underdeveloped and so on. 149 9. According to the gender that is differentiated between women
and men. From the example of community grouping as above in the context of community
empowerment, the focus of attention is more on community groups that still need to be
empowered considering the condition of the helpless community. The concept of a good
community contains nine values (the competent community) (talizi, 1990: 57-58) 1. Each
member of the community interacts with each other based on personal relationships. 2. The
community has autonomy, authority, and the ability to take care of its own interests. 3. Have
viability, which is the ability to solve problems on your own. 4. Equal distribution of wealth,
everyone has the same opportunity and is free to express their will. 5. Opportunity for each
member to actively participate in taking care of the common interest. 6. Community gives
meaning to its members to the extent of the importance of community to a member. 150 7. Within
the community, heterogeneity and differences of opinion are possible. 8. In the community,
community services are placed as close and as fast as possible to those who are interested 9. In
the community, conflicts can occur, but the community has the ability to manage conflict Social
Interaction and Social Layering Social interaction can be understood as a dynamic and mutually
influencing reciprocal relationship that occurs between individuals or groups of individuals in
society. The pattern of social interaction can be in
the form of a reciprocal relationship between: 1) individual to individual, for example two
friends who are having a conversation 2) individual to a group, for example a teacher who is
teaching in grade 3) group to group, for example interaction that occurs at a football match.
Social interaction can take place if the following conditions are met: 151 1) Social contact, which
is the event of a relationship, connection or social touch (which can be accompanied by physical
contact or not) between two or more people. 2) Communication, which is the process of
conveying messages or information from one party (communicator) to another party
(communicator) using symbols. Symbols can be words, sounds, gestures, objects, and so on.
The communication process is stated to take place if there is a common understanding of the
symbols used, both by the communicator and the communicator. Contact and communication
can take place in primary or secondary ways. What is meant by primary contact or
communication is contact or communication that occurs directly face-to-face or face-to-face
(face to face). For example: two or more people who meet and talk to each other in a meeting
room. Meanwhile, secondary contact or communication is contact or communication that
occurs with the help of communication tools such as letters, telephones, emails, conversations
on the internet, and so on (direct secondary), as well as through the help of third parties (indirect
secondary). 152 The occurrence of social intera
ction can be described in the following order: 1) there are two or more people 2) there is
social contact in which 3) communication occurs 4) there is a reaction to communication 5)
finally, there is a reciprocal action (action-reaction) that affects each other Social interaction has
the following characteristics: 1. Social interaction can be patterned: (1) individual to individual,
(2) individual to group, and (3) group with group 2. Interaction can take place as a positive
(associative) or negative (dissociative) process, but there is a tendency for interaction to be
positive. 3. Relationships in social interaction can take place at a shallow level or at a deep level
4. Social interaction produces self-adjustment for the perpetrators 5. Social interaction is guided
by the applicable rules and norms. 153 In this regard, it is necessary to identify forms of social
interaction that tend to be positive and sustainable. Such interaction is important in the
formation of institutions, groups and social organizations, namely social interactions that have
the following characteristics: 1. based on real needs 2. Pay attention to effectiveness 3. Pay
attention to efficiency 4. Adapt to the truth and applicable rules 5. are not coercive both
physically and mentally Institutions, groups and social organizations are basically forms or forms
of order and social and cultural dynamics in society. Therefore, to understand the process of
forming institutions, groups and social organizations, it is necessary to first understand the
socio-cultural order in society. Let's imagine activities on the highway. Many vehicles of various
sizes are driving on the road with different directions and speeds, people are walking. 154 Social
Stratification in Community Life Social status or position is the place, position or position of an
individual within the social structure of a group or society. Individuals with different social
statuses will have different rights, responsibilities and obligations. To facilitate the
understanding of status, it can be stated that in society there are people with high and middle
positions and some with low positions. Some of these positions or statuses are obtained by a
person since his or her birth (called ascribed statuses), for example: gender, nobility titles, titles
in caste, and so on, some are obtained through struggle or achievement (called achieved
statuses), for example: status as an expert, teacher, doctor, journalist, company manager, and
so on, and some are obtained because of the provision of services that have been provided to the
community (called assigned statuses). statuses), for example, the title of Hero of Development,
Hero of Proclamation, Hero of Reform, Honorary Doctorate, and so on. 155 In relation to social
action and interaction, it turns out that different ways of acting and interacting socially are found
among people of different social standings. The di
fference can be seen in for example the way of speaking, the words and language used,
body posture, the way of dressing, the status symbols used, and so on. The status held by a
person is also related to his social role. What is meant by social role is the behavior that is
expected of a person or group in relation to the status or position they hold. He explained, when
a person holds a certain status, for example a person has the status of a father, teacher, minister
or president, then the community will expect or even demand that the person behave in
accordance with the status and position he holds. A father must be responsible for the
maintenance of his children and his wife, a teacher is required to behave in a way that can be
"imitated" and "imitated" by his students, a minister is required to master all problems in his 156
departments, and a president is required to be able to protect all groups and layers in society,
his words and actions must reflect the noble culture of the nation. There are three types of social
roles: 1) Ideal role, which is a role that is initiated, formulated or expected by society towards
people with a certain status. 2) Perceived role, that is, the role that is carried out in a certain
situation. For example, a teacher when accompanying his students on a tourism trip plays the
same role as an older brother or friend to his students. 3) Role is implemented, which is a role
that is actually carried out by a person or a group of people. It may happen that the role carried
out is not the same as the ideal role. In the implem
entation of their social roles, a person can experience what is called status conflict and
role conflict. Status conflict is the conflict between the statuses held by a person when a social
interaction takes place 157 caused by differences in interests between these statuses. This can
happen because in reality a person will simultaneously hold various social statuses. When a
social interaction takes place, there is an active state, which is a state that functions when a
social interaction takes place, and there is a latent state, which is a state that does not function
when a social interaction takes place. Status conflicts occur when in a social interaction there is
more than an active status and the interests are different. For example, a young policeman on
duty on the highway has to sanction a girl who rides a motorcyclist who violates traffic rules, and
it happens that the girl is his beloved wife-to-be. In the young policeman, there can be a conflict
between his status as a police officer who must take action against traffic law violators and his
status as a future husband who must protect. Meanwhile, what is meant by role conflict is a
situation that occurs when a person is unable to carry out his social role in accordance with the
expectations of society. In the case of the Police in the example above, there can be a role
conflict because 158 cannot play the role of a police officer who deals with traffic law violators.
Role conflicts can also occur when we have to do actions that are not in accordance with the will
of our hearts. An engineering graduate who works as a bicycle repair shop, or an economics
scholar who works as a waitress at a grocery store, may experience a role conflict because they
will feel forced to carry out a job that according to their judgment is not in accordance with their
status. 159 C. Closing The emergence of social stratification in society has a significant impact
that can be easily encountered in daily life. According to Kamanto Sunarto, the impact caused by
inequality in the social system, namely the occurrence of lifestyle differences caused by the
existence of status symbols that indicate a person's status in society. In Peter Berger's view,
people always show others that what they have achieved by using various symbols can conclude
that status symbols function to tell the status that a person occupies. This status symbol is
manifested in the way of greeting, language, speech style and nonverbal communication such as
gestures, clothing styles, and the use of accessories. In addition, all differences in social
differentiation and stratification make the structure of society plural. A pluralistic society
generally has various cultures. This can lead to social conflicts or at least by a lack of integration
and interdependence among the social units of which 160 are part. However, a pluralistic society
does not always have a negative impact. The structure of a pluralistic society certainly has rich
cultural treasures. Furthermore, this condition causes the community to seem to be
compartmentalized. This situation encourages th
e emergence of primordialism. The term primordialism describes the existence of ties in
a person's social life with things that have been brought since the beginning of their birth, such
as ethnicity, region, race, and others. From the attitude of primordialism comes the attitude of
ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is an attitude that views other people's cultures from the lens of
one's own culture, as a result of which can give rise to a social conflict. The impact of the social
stratification system makes the structure of society have social gaps. This is because the
stratification system contains layers of social layers based on high and low positions. Therefore,
in society there is a vertical classification, namely a higher or lower group of people when
compared to other groups. These differences often give rise to oppressive attitudes towards
other groups.
