Understanding Society, Culture & Politics

Subject Teacher: Ver Angelo A. Cacharo

Coverage of the Examination

Cultural, social and political institutions

Kinship, marriage, and the household
a. Kinship by blood
Descent and marriage
(unilineal, matrilineal, patrilineal, bilateral)
b. Kinship by marriage
Marriage rules cross-culturally
(monogamy vs. polygamy, post-marital
residency rules, referred marriage partners)
c. Kinship by ritual (Compadrazgo)
d. Family and the household
Nuclear, extended, and reconstituted
families (separated, transnational)
e. Politics of kinship (political dynasty,
alliances)

Kinship- refers to relations formed between members of the society either consanguinity (by blood) or by
Affinity (by marriage).
Descent- refers to the origin or background of a person in terms of family or nationality. It is also a biological
relationship. Has two types
Unilineal – traces only one parent’s ancestor. Either the mother’s or father’s side.
Matrilineal – mother’s side
Patrilineal – father’s side
Cognatic - traces both parent’s ancestor.
Ambilineal – either or both parents as his own links of the group.
Bilateral – both the mother’s and father’s side of the family.
Marriage – a legal and social union between a man and woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs,
beliefs, and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring.
Types of marriage:
Monogamy - Allows a man or a woman to marry only one spouse at a time.
Polygamy - It is a form of more than one marriage and can be describe in two ways
Has 2 types
Polygyny - It is a marriage of one man into two or more women at the same time.
Polyandry - A marriage of a woman into two or more man at the same time.

Selection of marriage partners/ referred marriage

Endogamy - Dictates one should marry within one’s group, clan or ethnic affiliation.
Exogamy- The practice of marrying outside of one's group, clan or ethnic affiliation.
Levirate Norms - A man's widow must marry his surviving brother in order to continue the
relationship between their respective groups that was initiated in the original marriage.
Surrogate Norms - The arrangement where a woman is infertile or dies young and her family
substitutes another woman to bear children for the husband.

Family- it is the basic unit of the society. Socialization also starts at the family.
Structure of Family
Forms of Family Based on:
Organization or Membership
Authority

Based on Organization or Membership

Nuclear Family – composed of Parents and their children only.
2 kinds of Nuclear Family
Family of Orientation - The one that a person is born and reared or socialized. Your original
family.
Family of Procreation - the family that you create.
Extended Family - it is composed of two or more nuclear families that economically & socially related
to each other.

Based on Authority
 Patriarchal - The authority of the family is given to the father or eldest male in the family.
Matriarchal - The authority of the family is given to the mother or eldest female in the family
Egalitarian - Both husband & wife exercise an equal amount or way of authority.
Filipino Values in the Family
Utang na loob – is an exchange of goods and services between an individual in a form of good faith.
Palabra de Honor – is an act of fulfilling the promised services between individuals.
Pakikisama – an act of being with a person in any forms/situation.
Bayanihan – an act of unified workforce I a form of volunteerism for greater cause.

Political and leadership structures

a. Political organization
i. Bands
ii. Tribes
iii. Chiefdoms
iv. States and nations
b. Authority and legitimacy
i. Traditional
ii. Charismatic
iii. Rational

Types of Political Organization

Band - Traditional Group of People. Mostly they are nomadic that aims to meet the needs for survival.
Tribe - Traditional Society which focuses on meeting the basic needs of the group. The leader
possesses more power however can be deposed. This is the evolution of a band during band fission.
Chiefdom - a territory or state ruled by a chief. It is permanent and formal government. Leaders are
role models who are responsible in resolving disputes.
States & Nation
State - is a political division of a body of people that occupies a territory defined by frontiers.
The state is sovereign in its territory (also referred to as jurisdiction) and has the authority to enforce a system
of rules over the people living inside it. Example: Country is a State.
Nation - s a tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture.
Example: United Nations, ASEAN and the like.

Components in Social & Political Structures

Power – ability to lead the group with the use of skills, knowledge and leadership with efficiency and
effectiveness. Power is natural in individuals and cannot be taken from.
Authority – it is the right of a leader to maximize or use the power to command the members of the
group. It is a privilege of power to be exercise the capacity to lead out that can be also taken.
Legitimacy - it is the recognition of someone who serves to be right and proper. Being worthy of a
person to lead the group.

Types of Authority by Max Webber

Traditional – it is the inherited power from the previous leader out affinal privileged.
Example: Tribes or Royal ancestry.
Charismatic – it is the capacity of a person to lead the members of the group by virtue to inspire
them willingly follow and obey.
Example: Manny Pacquiao and Robinhood Padilla.
Rational or Bureaucratic – it is an exercise authority based on a system of rules set by the group.
Members have the right to choose leaders who can represent them in fighting for justice, fairness, and
equality
Example: Normal person who wants to run a position, Government Officials.

Economic Institutions
a. Reciprocity
b. Transfers
c. Redistribution
d. Market transactions
e. Markets and state

Economic institution- (Weber. 1963) refers to the production and distribution of goods and services in order
to supplicate the needs of the members of the society.
Ex: the Philippine Government, BSP, PSA, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Tourism.
Reciprocity - defined as the capacity to give out of generosity/volunteerism without money involvement and
that in the future, it can be reciprocated. Same concept as Utang na Loob.
Can be closely describe as barter, hospitality, gift-giving and sharing of resources.
Example: People’s Taxes to Central Government to Goods and services.

Transfer & the Government

Government transfer or transfer of payments is used for redistribution of resources especially wealth
and income where no goods and services are given to the donor in return.
Example: Taxes are form of transfer payments from the people of the State. Also, the Government will
receive other payments like Fees, Fines, and or Donations.

Redistribution - the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to
others through a social mechanism. It is observed when the collection of goods from the individual in a
community is kept in the central authority and vise-versa.
Example: taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confiscation, divorce or tort
law.

Market Transactions
Understanding the market structure
Market Principle- implies that the market is tasked for the sale and distribution of the goods
and services to the society. In the market arena, money plays a vital role for it is the main means in all
transactions.
Market- refers to a wider setting where buyers or sellers simultaneously trade or exchange
goods and services.

ELEMENTS OF MARKET TRANSACTIONS

Money- it consists of the objects that serves as way of exchange for goods and services.
Prices- the amount required or agreed upon by both exchanging parties.
Supply- the quantity of goods or services that are available to sell at a given price in a period of time.
Demand- the quantity of goods and services that the consumer is willing to purchase or take a given
price for a period of time.
LAW of Supply and Demand
When the Demand increases, the Supply decreases
When the Demand decreases, the Supply increases
Market and States
Types of State according to Market Roles
A. Laissez-faire State - is French word which means “to leave alone”. This principle is described as
the participation of the government in the regulations, subsidies, privileges and other ways of the
government, therefor this type of state completely does not have any role in managing the market.
Example State: Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Ireland.

B. Intervention or Developmental State – the intervention of the state in the market and sets
direction towards economic development. The state implements policies, subsidies, protection or
tariffs and local industries.
Example State: Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India,
Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia
C. Welfare State – a vital role in the achievement and protection of the economic and social
readiness of the citizens. This concept is centered int the idea of good quality life for all people
instead of prioritizing the economic development.
Example State: United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Denmark,
Findland, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Greece, Japan, Netherlands,
Switzerland, Iceland, Kuwait, Israel, Slovenia, Australia, South Korea,
Estonia, Latvia, Israel, Canada, New Zealand.

Education
a. Functions of education in society
(formal and nonformal)
i. Productive citizenry
ii. Self-actualization
iii. Primary education as a human
right

Education – a process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge , developing the powers of reasoning and
judgement, and generally or preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.
It is also a social institution that formally socializes members of the society. It also refers to the process
through which skills, knowledge, and values are transmitted from the teachers to the learners.

Formal Education – usually takes placed in a classroom setting and provided by trained teaching and
non-teaching staff.
Under the Formal Education are as follows:
Elementary Education- from grade 1-6 (DepEd)
Secondary Education- from grade 7-10 (Junior high) to grade 11-12 (Senior High) (DepEd)
Tertiary Education- Bachelor’s degree, Masteral, Doctoral (CHED)
Vocational Education- like TESDA, short period of time in schooling.
Special Education- For individuals with mental, physical, emotional and cultural differences.

Non-Formal Education- is an organized educational activity that takes placed outside a formal set
up. It has no age-limit, even adults can take part in a non-formal education program.
Example: ALS (Alternative Learning System) under the Department of Education.

Informal education - is a lifelong process of learning by which every person acquires and
accumulates knowledge, skills, attitude from daily experiences at home, at work, at play, and from life itself.
Goals of Education to the Society
A. Productive citizenry refers to an idea that a citizen can create opportunities to become productive.
B. Self-actualization refers to a desire for self-fulfillment. If an individual’s self-fulfillment is through
achieving his dreams and aspirations in life, once these are attained, he reaches the level of self-
actualization.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

states that everyone has the right to education. Education has to be free and compulsory at least in
the primary level, higher education and technical-vocational education should be made generally available.

“Every child has the right to Education” “No Valenciano is left Behind”

Social and political stratification

a. Social desirables (wealth, power,
prestige)
b. Social mobility system
i. Open (Class)
ii. Closed (Caste)
Social Stratification - Is defined as a systematic categorization of individuals and institution in a society
based on their roles or functions and statuses.

Social Classes- Categorizing individuals or group of people based on factors such as wealth, power and
prestige.
Upper Class - Described by the sociologist as the ELITE individuals. Most prolific & successful.
Example: Investor, Broker
Middle Class - Mostly professional groups of individuals or group of people. Able to meet their
needs and wants without worrying about their finances. They value education.
Example: Lawyer, Doctors, Executives, Small Business Owners
Lower Class - These people lack revenue or income and educational training or background.
Without proper education, some of them are jobless or have difficulty to find jobs in order to make
ends meet. They also lack support network that could lift them up.
Example: Streetsweepers, sales clerk, Stockman, underemployed.

Pre-colonial Social Stratification in The Philippines.

Timawa - to privileged middle classes but during the Spanish period, the sense demoted to “freemen”.
Maginoo - he royal blooded such as the Datu, which is the leader of the barangay consisting of 100-500
persons
Alipin - the slave who had his or her own house and family and, like a vassal, was expected to help the
master during harvests, raids, trade, and feasts
Maharlika - (meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in
Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the Timawa of the Visayan people.

God Bless You all sa EXAM 😊

Goodluck……………………..