Role of Society: How Society Imparts Values

How does society play a role in imparting values?

• Religion: It carries a set of values that are to be imbibed by its followers. Moreover, it carries great weight among people particularly in India and thus, plays a key role in value inculcation.
• Tradition and Customs: These are sincerely followed by people from generation to generation and are based on various values such as loyalty (rakshabandhan), courage (tilak) etc.
• Politics: Political issues and promises shape the thought process and values of people, especially young citizens. 
  • For example, the Anti-Emergency student movement of 1975 inculcated among youth the values of liberty, democracy, constitutionalism etc.
• Economy: The nature of economy and market affects the value system. 
  • For example, socialist economy inculcates values of unity, equity, temperance etc., whereas the market economy inculcates values of creativity, competition, prosperity etc.
• Media: Mass media and communication affects the values by determining what people think, what people give importance to and so on. Hence, governments around the world try to control the media so as to control the value system of the people.
• Civil Society: Social and civic organizations mobilize people on a common cause and promote their cause using media, demonstrations etc., and thus, influence people’s values. 
  • For example, the Jan Lokpal movement in India in 2013 enhanced the values of honesty and integrity.
• Local Community: Every local community has certain values and norms which are passed on to everyone in the community. 
  • For instance, the local Dongria Kondh tribal community of Odisha valued their sacred Niyamgiri mountains and fought against mining projects.
• Leadership: Leaders mould people’s attitudes through persuasion. Max Weber calls such social authority as ‘charismatic authority’ through which leaders control societies. 
  • For example, celebrities affect people’s values by their dressing, eating, behavior etc.

Also Read: LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTAS

Strengths of Society for Value Inculcation

• Stability and Harmony: Societal values ensure that individuals fit in with the society and the social order is sustained. For instance, respecting old traditions and customs ensures stability.
• Diversity: Societal values ensure inculcation of a variety of values and holistic development of individuals. It also gives choice and freedom to individuals to choose their preferred values.
• Social Influence: The influence of society drives individuals to adopt similar values.
• Enforcement: Society has formal as well as informal ways to incentivize adherence to some values whereas it penalizes breach of certain values.
  • For example, some societies use censure or boycott as a way to ensure adherence to its value system.
• Credibility: Many actors in the society enjoy sufficient credibility in people’s eyes and therefore have special impact on values held by individuals like teachers, leaders, religious leaders etc. 

Problems in the Role of Society

• Heterogeneity: Diverse societies like India offer a diverse set of values that might often be conflicting and hence, confuse individuals. 
  • For example, in present times, Indian society has both spiritual and materialistic values to offer.
• Orthodoxy: Societies often suffer from backwardness and social ills. For example, dowry is often valued and celebrated in some sections of Indian society.
• Corruption: Sometimes social institutions and leaders indulge in misdeeds, then people lose trust due to which value inculcation is undermined.
• Misdirected: Sometimes societies are inculcated in wrong types of values due to larger political, economic and other phenomena around them. 
  • For example, children are imparted values of rote-learning but are not encouraged to be thoughtful, creative and so on.
• Introversion: Some people have limited interaction with society and hence, cannot absorb the values imparted by society.
• Boomerang effect: Sometimes society uses harsh and unreasonable methods to inculcate values, by influence of which individuals get repelled. 
  • For example, it is seen that when families exert excessive control over children, they tend to become more rebellious and mischievous. 
  • When society imposes its will over the youth without due explanation, it often leads to radical revolutionary tendencies among youth.

Conclusion:

The value inculcation is a complex and prolonged process that is controlled by many actors like  institutions of family, education, community etc.. Each institution has its own pros and cons whose interplay can be seen in the form of complex value systems and personalities that people develop.