Distinguishing Society & Community

Society vs Community

 
Society and Community are often confused as words with the same meaning, even though there are differences between them. ‘Society’ refers to all classes of people or people at large, including various cultures. ‘Community,’ on the other hand, refers to a specific class of people. This article will examine the differences between the two words while providing an understanding of each.

What is Society?

Society can be defined as all classes of people or people at large. The adjectival form of the word ‘society’ is ‘social.’ Society indicates the totality of human conditions, containing a number of social institutions such as family, religion, economy, politics, and education. The functioning of a society with an expected degree of social order that allows the society to function naturally with minimal disturbances depends on the independent as well as interdependent functioning of the social institutions. This does not mean that society disallows individuality and conforms only to collective actions. Instead, it indicates the independent nature of human beings in a setup. Society refers to the social way of life of human beings, including the customs, practices, values, norms, mores, and folkways that contribute to the formation of a society’s culture. Since society is a blend of people from various backgrounds, religions, and ethnicities, it can be created through a combination of many cultures.

What is Community?

Community refers to a specific class of people. The adjectival form of the word ‘community’ is ‘communal.’ Community refers to all the people living in a specific locality, inclusive of its inhabitants. Sometimes ‘community’ is used to indicate a group of people with the same religion or profession, as in the expression ‘immigrant community,’ which naturally has commonness when it comes to profession, religion, or occupation. The word ‘community’ is also used in the biological sense to mean a group of animals or plants that live or grow in the same area.

What is the Difference Between Society and Community?

The main differences between society and community are as follows:

• Society refers to all classes of people or people at large, while community refers to a particular class of people.
• The adjectival form of society is ‘social,’ whereas the adjectival form of community is ‘communal.’
• Community is used in the biological sense to mean a group of animals or plants that live or grow in the same area, while society indicates the totality of human conditions.

Key Takeaways

• ‘Society’ refers to all classes of people and includes various cultures, while ‘community’ refers to a specific class of people.
• Society contains social institutions such as family, religion, economy, politics, and education, which contribute to its functioning and social order.
• ‘Community’ can also be used in the biological sense to describe a group of animals or plants living or growing in the same area.