Social control

Societies must have hormony and order because in their absence society do not
exist. Society is in fact a harmonious organisation of human relationship. The
social organisation can not be effectively maintained unless individuals live up to
the prescribed norms of the conduct and their selfish motives are subdugated to
the societial whole. Therefore in order to exist and progress society has to
exercise some control over its members. Sociologist have termed such control as
social control. The control which society exercise over the behaviour of its
members through various mechanism is refered to as social control. It is a control
of society over the individuals.

EA Ross was the first sociologist who delt with the concept of social control.
According to Ross individuals has deep rooted centiments regarding cooporation
with other members for osicla welfare. These centiments are sympathy, socility
and a sense of justice. But these centiments are by themselves not enough to
suppress the self intrest of the individuals. Society has to make use of its
mechanism to maintain the necessary order and discipline. The mechanism
includes public opinion, law, beleafs, suggessions, religion, ideals, customs,
morality etc. Employed to establish social control.

Definations
According to EA Ross social control refers to the system of devides whereby
society brings its members into conformity iwth the accepted standard of
behaviour.
According to Maciver social control is the way in which entire social order cohers
and maintains itself how it operates as a whole as a changing equilibrium.
Acording to Carl Manheim social control is the some of those methods by which a
society tries to influence human behaviour to maintain a gien order.

Relationship between social control and socialisation

Social control and socialisation are intimately related to each other. Social control
is a part of socialisation process. Both of them are operative simultaneously.
Socialisation helps in the implementation of social control. Child after birth till
death keeps learning the way of proper behaviour by internalising norms and
values of society through the socialisation process pertaining to diet, the dress,
the manner of speech, the education, the marriage etc.

These customs and procedures becomes a part of mens life and men get
adjusted to the society. Through socialisation society aims to control the
behaviour of its members unconsciously. Moreover the agencies of socialisation
namely family, law, state, public opinion, neighbourhood etc are also the
agencies of social control. They act as regulatory bodies in the society.

Types of social control

The means by which individuals are compelled to conform to the usages and life
values of the groups are to numerous to be classified. EA Ross has described a
number of means that have been employed by social groups throughout the
human history o keep individuals under control such as public opinion, laws,
customs, religion, moralit, social suggestions, folkways and mores.
Carl Menaich distinguished between direct and indirect means of social control.
Kimball Young classified the means of social control into positive and negative
means. Example :Reward is a positive means and punishment is a negative
mean.

Every society uses different means of social control depending uupon social
situations to realize its purpose of maintain order and hormony. In primitive
societies magic and superstition beleafs are enough to
control human
behaviour. In rural societies, folkways, mores, customs, traditions, beleafs are
relevant method to put as social pressure on individual behaviour. In modern
urban societies means such as mass media, laws, public opinion, school, police,
army etc are employed to hold the individual under control.

Based on the device employed social control is of 2 types namely informal social
control and formal social control.

Informal social control :Informal means of social control evolve themselves in

society. They are not created by any specialised agencies. For example :Brahman
do not take meet. They take meal after bath. Hindu women do not smoke. The
child should respect their parents. All these are due to informal social control.
Informal control prevails over all the aspects of mens life. It is generally held
that people are not afraid of informal social control. Yet they are very powerful
specially in the primary groups. No specific punishment is given to the violators
of these informal means of social control. Still they are more effective than the
formal means of social control. They do no require any extra man power for
enforcement as against the formal ontrol. They do not have the physical force to
enfore conformity to them. Hence there are chances that people may not obseve
them and also go scot free. But faith in the means of informal social control and

the state of enlitement are more important tools to encourage people ot oberve
them.

Informal social control is more effective in primary groups such as family,

neighbourhood, tribes, rural societies where interaction takes place on personal
terms. As society grows larger and complex the informal device become less
effective. These device may bring a rural person under control but these would
be ineffective in the case of urban areas due to enormity of city life. The
enormous life style develop a sense of confidence in the individual that they can
cummit crime and can go free. Hence informal means of social control have been
replaced by formal means of social control such as law, education, coercion,
court, force, police tc. Though informal means of social control are less effective
but they also function alongside the formal means of social control in the urban
areas.

Formal means of social control

The state is a regulatory instritution. It uses various methods to bring its citizans
under control such as law, legislation, military force, police, administrative device
etc. Likewise other secondary associations like political, economic, religious,
cultural also institutes formal control over the behaviour of their members.
Means of formal control are deliberately created and rules are led down to
specify them. Various instritutions and associations emphatically state the
necessity of following the rules. Violators of rules are prescribed punishment
depending upon the gravity of the violation. Some organisations even create an
instritutional setup and appoint officers vested with power to enforce control as
in the case of state which has police, army, paramilitary force etc. In some
associations has its own nomres through which it controls the behaviour of its
members. Formal control is a necessity in the modern days. Urban complex
societies where impersonal relationship prevails.

Law as an agency of social control

In the modern society law is the most powerful formal means of social control.
Law is found only in those societies with a political organisation that is
government. Early societies employed informal means of social control but when
society grow in size and complexity they were form to formulate rules and
regulations defining the appropriate behaviour on the part of the individuals and
specified the panelties imposed upon the violators. Law is a body of rules
enacted by legally autherised bodies and enforced by autherised agencies.

The term law has been variously defined by eminent philosophers and thinkers.

Defination of law by Rosko Pound

Law is an authorative cannon of values led down by force of politically organised
society.

Main characteristics of laws

1. Laws are the genral condition of human activities prescribed by the states
for its citizans.
2. Law is called law only if enacted by a proper law making authority. It is a
product of conscious thought, deliberate attempts and careful planning.
3. Law is definite, clear and precise.
4. In similar conditions or circumstances law is applied without
discrimination.
5. Penalty and punishment are prescribed for the violation of law by the
state.
6. Laws are always written and codified. They can not appear in the nonlitrate society.
7. Laws are not the voluntary concent of individuals against whom they are
prescribed.

Law is derived from various sources. Law is based on moral notion in all
societies. Laws are made and legislations are enacted on the bases of social
doctrine, ideals, and mores. It does not mean that doctrine of law and moral
coexist but it may be said that the maintainence of the legal order depend upon
the moral acceptance of the society. The effectiveness of legal regulation never
rest upon the use of physical punishment. It depends on a general attitude of
respect for law. This attitude is itself determined by moral approval of law as
containing social justice.

Law needs enforcing agencies such as police, court and armed forces help the
enforcement of law. Administrative machinery of the state is the main agency for
law enforcement. The government authoritieis are vested in power and authority
is delegated to them who exercise their authority while enforcing laws. Law
performs 2 functions
1. It eliminates and suppress the homicidal activities of human.
2. Law persuades individuals to pay attention to the rights of others as well
as to act in cooperation with others.

In modern societies relationship are of secondary nature. Security of life and

property and systimisation of relationship requires formalisation of rules. Law
prescribe uniform norms and penalties in the social system. What was in mores
and customs earlier has now formalise into a body of law. The Hindu Marriage Act
of 1955 has led down rules, regulations regulating the marriage among the
Hindus. It has recognised the rights of a Hindu women to divorse her husband.
Law proehebits certain action too. For example proebission act forbids drinking at
public place and smoking at public place is proebitted under law.

In this way law tries to protect the individuals and society and promote social
welfare. A society fully overhand by moral sanction is impossible in todays
circumstances. Law has become a pervasive phenomena. We may observe a
growth in moral unity of human kind in todays world but moral centiments are
allowed not enough to regulate the relations and hence they are suplimented by
the law.