Introduction

Agrarian farmers work much harder than do the members of earlier types of societies. The tasks of clearing land, plowing, sowing and harvesting crops, tending animals, and so on require extensive labour inputs. Where irrigation systems must be constructed, people work even harder. Because of their efforts, agrarian farmers produce much more per unit of land than do horticulturalists, and they are able to produce large economic surpluses. But their greater efforts and larger surpluses do not yield for them a higher standard of living. Indeed, their standard of living is generally lower, and in some cases much lower, than that enjoyed by the members of horticultural societies. This apparent paradox will be resolved in due course.

Definition of Society

The simplest definition of society is a group of people who share a defined territory and a culture. In sociology, we take that definition a little further by arguing that society is also the social structure and interactions of that group of people. Social structure is the relatively enduring patterns of behaviour and relationships within a society. Thus, a society is not only the group of people and their culture, but the relationships between the people and the institutions within that group.

Purpose of the Book

This book provides deep insight to various dimensions of issues relating to the subject.