Chapter 2 - Personal and Social Orders

Social Order 
Theories Of Social Order, 2nd Ed.

By Michael Hechter And Christine Horne

Social order is a core theoretical issue in the social sciences. The problem arises because human beings are both individual and social. If we were each living alone on a private planet, we could do whatever we wanted and would never have to worry about anyone else. Or, if each of us were attached to one group mind, we would have no individual impulses and urges. But we are both. Every individual inhabits a separate physical body and thus each has his or her own experiences, information, feelings, and ambitions. Yet we are not completely independent. Stories of people living in isolation—neglected children, prisoners in solitary confinement—tell us that we need social con- tact to be physically and emotionally healthy and simply to stay alive.
For social order to arise and be maintained, two separate problems must be overcome. People must be able to coordinate their actions and they must cooperate to attain common goals.