DIVERSITY IN SOCIO-CULTURAL DYNAMICS
The Indonesian nation is a society consisting of various ethnic groups that have different
customs. From the existing records, in Indonesia there are 656 ethnic groups with 300 kinds of
local languages. This diversity is the wealth of the Indonesian nation that we must maintain and
preserve so that it can provide a color of peace and tranquility for the Indonesian people so that
in the future there will not be many problems that threaten the disintegration of the nation. In
addition, people's culture is also experiencing quite rapid changes due to various technological
developments and global modernity. The current of globalization that plagues our society has its
own influence on the solidarity built by our society. Globalization also gives rise to different
patterns of cultural interaction and behavior among community groups. This kind of condition
raises the question, will the diversity in Indonesia 126 cause problems that threaten the
disintegration of the nation? An opinion states that the diversity of a society at some time will give
rise to two things, namely: 1. The development of conflict behavior among various ethnic groups,
and 2. The tendency of the presence of power/power as the main unifying force that integrates
society. With such a complex social structure, it is very rational that Indonesia always faces the
problems of inter-ethnic conflicts, social disparities, and it is very difficult to integrate
permanently. Do you agree with this? Indones
ian society, which is a plural society, which contains the potential for authoritarian and
militaristic primordial forces, must be transformed by multiculturalism. In multiculturalism,
these cultural groups are in equality, democracy and true tolerance. For this reason, in this
module, we will learn about the meaning of pluralistic society and multicultural society, as well
as the impact of multicultural societies that are prone to conflict. 127 B. Description of Learning
Materials The Meaning of Diversity How human diversity is a reality that does not need to be
questioned, so that equality between humans will lead to a pleasant human life (peace,
pleasure). The unity and unity of the nation that is manifested from a number of ethnic groups
that were originally independent societies and support diverse cultures need to be strengthened
with a national frame of reference, namely national culture. A culture that is able to give meaning
to the life of the nation and personality, will be proud as a national identity. However, in a
pluralistic society with a diversity of cultural backgrounds like what happened in Indonesia, it is
not easy to develop a national culture only by relying solely on the ability and stability of the
community. Therefore, the national culture to be developed has been set the foundation and
direction of its purpose, which 128 is outlin
ed in the explanation of article 32 of the 45th Constitution which reads. "The nation's
culture is a culture that arises as a result of the efforts of the entire Indonesian people. Old and
original cultures that exist as the peak of culture in regions throughout Indonesia, are counted as
national cultures. Cultural efforts must lead to the advancement of manners, culture and unity
by not rejecting new materials from foreign cultures that can develop or enrich the culture of the
nation itself and enhance the degree of humanity of the Indonesian nation". Based on this
explanation, it is clear that the development of the nation's culture that is to be advanced is
carried out without any stipulation of direction and without paying attention to the diversity of
society with all the needs that arise in the process of developing the nation's society. Although
according to history, Indonesian people are relatively from the same ancestors, but due to their
geographical circumstances, eventually the 129 Indonesian society is plural. The geographical
conditions that cause the plurality of the community are: 1. The form of the territory in the form
of an archipelago. This condition resulted in, even though they came from the same ancestors,
but eventually they were separated on different islands, so that each was isolated and developed
its own culture. 2. Be an Indonesian society experiencing ethnic or ethnic plurality. 3. The
strategic location of the area, between two continents and two oceans, this condition results in
Indonesia being visited by many foreigners who bring cultural influences, among others the most
prominent – religion. This condition results in a pluralistic Indonesian society in terms of religion.
The world's five major religions are in Indonesia. The five major religions in question are (1)
Hinduism (the ruler of India), (2) Buddhism (influence of Asian nations), (3) Catholicism
(influence of the arrival of the Portuguese), (4) Christianity (influence of the arrival of the Dutch),
130 and (5) Islam (influence of the influx of traders from the Middle East). 4. Variations in climate,
type and fertility of different soils among several places, for example, the drier eastern part of
Indonesia, grew into a farmer tribe, and th
e areas of Java and Sumatra affected by volcanism grew into areas with people who lived
from farming. The variation in climate and the type and fertility of this soil results in a pluralistic
Indonesian society in terms of culture, including a way of life. Plurality in Socio-Cultural
Dynamics of Ethnicity or Ethnicity The system of common life gives rise to culture because each
member of the group feels that he or she is bound to the other (Soerjono Soekanto, 2006: 22).
Some of the opinions of the experts above can be concluded that society has the meaning of
participating or participating, while in English it is called society. It can be said that society is a
group of human beings who interact in 131 social relationships. They have a common culture,
region, and identity, have habits, traditions, attitudes, and a sense of unity bound by
commonality. The term custom is often replaced with customs, but basically the meaning
remains the same, if you hear the word customs, usually individual activities in a society and
activities are always repeated in a certain period of time. According to Soleman B. Taneko (1987:
12), there is a difference between custo
ms and customary law in legal science. A custom that lives (becomes a tradition) in
society can change and be recognized as a legal regulation (customary law). The view that religion
influences the process of realizing customary law, is basically contrary to the conception given
by Van den Berg which with the theory of reception in complex according to the view of the
customs of a tradition and habits of our ancestors which are still maintained to remember our
ancestors as well as cultural diversity. The term custom is often replaced with customs, but
basically the meaning remains the same. If you hear the word 132 customs, usually individual
activities in a society and this activity always repeats again in a certain period of time (it can be
daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and so on), so as to form a certain pattern. 133 C. Closing As we
know, in Indonesia, there are various kinds of cultures that come from almost all ethnic groups.
Is it possible to realize this as a multicultural society? The condition for the realization of a
multicultural society is if its citizens can coexist, tolerate and respect each other. These values
must be used as a guideline for action,
both in the social, economic, political and individual fields. Among the fundamental
principles of democracy that should be developed in Indonesia are equality of individual degrees,
freedom, tolerance of differences, conflict and consensus, fair and civilized law, and humanity.
Indonesian culture can be narrowly defined as all local cultures that existed before the formation
of the Indonesian nation in 1945. All local cultures that come from the diverse cultures of various
tribes in Indonesia are an integral part of Indonesian culture. Indonesian culture, although
diverse, is basically formed and influenced by other major cultures such as Chinese culture,
Indian culture and Arabic culture. 134 Indian culture mainly came from the spread of Hinduism
and Buddhism in the archipelago long before Indonesia was formed. Kingdoms that breathe
Hinduism and Buddhism had dominated the archipelago in the 5th century AD marked by the
establishment of the oldest kingdom in the archipelago, Kutai until the end of the 15th century
AD. The problem usually faced by pluralistic societies is the contact and interconnection
between ethnic culture and local general culture, and with national culture. Among these
relationships, the most critical is the relationship between ethnic culture and local general
culture on the one hand and national culture on the other. Coercion to change values or efforts
to homogenize culture can often strengthen the rejection of regional cultures, or worse if the
effort to maintain it, is actually accompanied by the strengthening of ethnocentrime. 135
Exercise 1. Explain the meaning of diversity? 2. Explain plurality in sociocultural dynamics? 3.
Give an explanation about cultural pluralism in Indonesia? 4. Give an explanation about the
plural society of Indonesia? 5. Explain two things that are caused by the diversity of a society?
136 LEARNING MATERIALS VIII Stratification and Differentiation in Social Life A. Introduction
Social stratification is a concept that is manifeste
d in the system of society, nation and state. Therefore, it is necessary to have a proper
analytical procedure, so that the results of the analysis can be used for various purposes that
benefit the community itself or for those who want to become agents of social, economic,
political, legal and even cultural change. Definition, social stratification is a concept that shows
the differentiation and/or grouping of a social group (community) in stages. For example: in these
communities there are high strata, medium strata and low strata. This distinction and/or
grouping is based on the existence of certain symbols that are considered valuable or valuable
either valuable or valuable in social, economic, political, legal, cultural or other dimensions in a
social group (community). 137 These symbols are, for example, wealth, education, office,
religious piety, and work. In other words: as long as there is something that is considered valuable
or valuable in a social group (community), and in a social group (community) there must be
something that is considered valuable or valuable, then there will also be social stratification in
the social group (community). Sociologically, if traced back, the concept of social stratification
is indeed less popular with the term social class, where the term social class was originally
introduced by the rulers of Ancient Rome, according to Ralp Dahrendorf (1986). At that time, the
term social class was used in the context of cl
assifying society towards taxpayers. At that time, there were two groups of society,
namely the rich and the poor. In the 18th century, the term social class was used by European
scientists in a different sense, i.e. it was used in the sense of social status or position. In other
words, the terms social class and social status are considered the same. In the 19th century, the
term social class began to be used in the analysis of the 138 social gaps, which are rooted in the
economic conditions of a society. Finally, since Marx proposed his concept of social class, the
use of this term is distinguished from the term social status. In sociological studies, the term has
a co-existential relationship. For example, if there is a social status, of course there will be a
social role, the higher the social status, the more social roles, or the higher the social status, the
less social roles. The stark distinction between social class and social status was put forward by
Max Weber, among others, by proposing his concept of social class, social status and party
(Weber, in Seymour and Lipset, 1963). According to Weber, social class is a social stratification
related to the relationship of production and control of wealth. Meanwhile, social status is a
manifestation of social stratification related to the principles embraced by the community in
consuming its wealth and/or lifestyle. Meanwhile, a party is a social association that is oriented
towards the use of power to influence a certain social action. 139 Weber's concept of social class
is an extension of Marx's concept. According to Marx, a social class is a set of people who
demonstrate the same function in the organization of production. Social classes in a community
are differentiated based on their different positions in the economic order, that is, differentiation
in their positions in the control of the means of production. Weber, uses the term social class in
the same sense as Marx used, by adding two factors, namely individual ability and market
situation. According to Weber: first, a class is a set of human beings in the same situation; and
second, the class is not a community. There are many dimensions that can be used to describe
the social stratification that exists in a social group (community), for example: the dimension of
wealth ownership (theorized by Koentjaraningrat), so that there is a strata of rich people and
strata of small people. This dimension because it was originally used to identify the Javanese
people, the so-called ownership of wealth will focus on economic symbols that are commonly
valued by the Javanese people. 140 For example, the ownership of land (houses, yards or rice
fields). There is a dimension of resource distribution (theorized by Gerhard Lensky), so there is a
landlord strata, a free peasant strata, a merchant strata, an employee strata, a peasant strata, a
craftsman strata, an unemployed strata, and a beggar's strata. This dimension was initially
applied to pre-industrial societies where the social stratification system was not as complex as
that of industrial societies. There are seven di
mensions of social stratification (theorized by Bernard Baber), namely: occupational
prestige authority and power ranking income or wealth educational and knowledge religious and
ritual purity kinship and ethnic group local community These seven dimensions -- either
separately or together -- will be helpful in describing how the social stratification of a social group
(community) is structured and what factors form the basis for social stratification (Singgih, 2010).
141 The definition of society is formed by a group of individuals who each have different
potentials or abilities. This diversity of individuals interacting with each other is called "social
differences". Social differentiation is the process of placing people into different social
categories, which is based on socially created differences. According to Soerjono Soekanto,
social differentiation is a variation of work, prestige and power of a group in society, which is
associated with interaction or general consequences of other social interaction processes.
Social differentiation occurs due to individual interaction patterns that have different physical
and non-physical characteristics, including: 1. Physical characteristics such as body shape and
height, facial features, skin color, hair color
, and others 2. Socio-cultural characteristics, including intelligence, motivation,
dedication, interests and talents. In a broader scope, it includes organizational forms, customs
and other cultural value systems. Social differentiation is a social characteristic that separates
individuals or groups and 142 from each other. This difference is based on several factors,
namely age, gender, ethnic background. Forms of differentiation based on the forming factors
mentioned above, there are several forms of social differentiation, namely: 1. Race and Ethnicity
2. Religion and Belief 3. Gender 4. Clan 5. Ethnicity 143 B. Description of Learning Materials
Individuals and Societies Human beings are creatures that can be viewed from various
perspectives. Since hundreds of years before Jesus, humans have been objects of philosophy,
both formal objects that question human nature and material objects that question humans as
they are with various conditions. As it is known, humans are known as thinking creatures or homo
sapiens, creatures that do or homo faber, creatures that can be educated or homo educandum
and so on. In the dictionary of Echols & Shadaly (1975), individual is the noun of individual which
means person, individual, and person. Based on the above understanding, an environment can
be formed for children that can stimulate the development of their potentials and will bring about
any changes that are desired in their habits and psychology. In its growth and development,
human beings have needs. . At the beginning of life for a baby to attach importance to his physical
needs, he does not care about what 144 is happening outside of him. He is happy when his
physical needs have been met. In the next development, he will begin to get to know his
environment, need communication tools (language), need friends, security and so on. The older
the child, the more non-physical or psychological needs he needs. Each individual has traits and
traits or innate characteristics (heredity) and characteristics that are acquired from
environmental influences. Innate characteristics are hereditary characteristics that are
possessed from birth, both regarding biological factors and socio-psychological factors. Nature
and nature are terms commonly used to describe individual characteristics in terms of physical,
mental, and emotional at each level of development. A newborn baby is the result of two family
lines, namely the paternal lineage and the maternal lineage. Since the occurrence of conception
or conception of a new life, it is continuously influenced by various stimulating environmental
factors.
