Social dualism
Encyclopedia
In sociology
and economics
, Social dualism is a theory developed by economist J.H. Boeke which characterizes a society in the economic sense by the social spirit, the organisational forms and the technique dominating it. According to Boeke, "These three aspects are interdependent and in this connection typify a society, in this way that a prevailing social spirit and the prevailing forms of organisation and of technique give the society its style, its appearance, so that in their interrelation they may be called the social system, the social style or the social atmosphere of that society ".
Boeke qualifies the term dual society by using it only for societies "showing a distinct cleavage of two synchronic and full grown social styles which in the normal, historical evolution of homogeneous societies are separated from each other by transitional forms, as for instance, pre-capitalism and high capitalism by early capitalism."
This qualification is necessary because every society going through the process of evolution or endogenic social progression shows besides the prevailing social systems, the remains of the preceding and the beginnings of its future social style. If, on the other hand, one social system is imported from abroad and this system fails to oust or assimilate the prevailing social system, a dual society obviously exists.
On this account Boeke defines a dual society as a society where "one of the two prevailing social systems, as a matter of fact always the most advanced, will have been imported from abroad and have gained its existence in the new environment without being able to oust or assimilate the divergent social system that has grown up there, with the result that neither of them becomes general and characteristic for that society as a whole."
The first characteristic of dualistic economies pointed out by Boeke is the relatively greater importance of social needs as compared to western economies. Boeke states, "Possessions in the share of cattle, land, clothes, and houses, the fulfilment of social duties in all the circumstances of likr, must be all regarded as largely the satisfaction of social needs. It is not their economic usefulness, not the individual services they render their possessor which determine the value of the goods. It is a matter of secondary importance whether the land produces reasonable profit in proportion to the money paid for it whether the cattle can be made reasonably useful to their owner in his own business,whether the clothing covers, protects,warms the wearer or affects him pleasantly in any way. For it is not the use of these objects to the subject himself that gives them their worth in his eyes; it is what the community thinks of them that sets the standard.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, Social dualism is a theory developed by economist J.H. Boeke which characterizes a society in the economic sense by the social spirit, the organisational forms and the technique dominating it. According to Boeke, "These three aspects are interdependent and in this connection typify a society, in this way that a prevailing social spirit and the prevailing forms of organisation and of technique give the society its style, its appearance, so that in their interrelation they may be called the social system, the social style or the social atmosphere of that society ".
The Dual Society
According to Boeke, it is not necessary that a society be dominated exclusively by one social system. If one social system does prevail, the society in question is a homogeneous society. When, on the contrary two (or more) social systems appear simultaneously, we have a dual society.Boeke qualifies the term dual society by using it only for societies "showing a distinct cleavage of two synchronic and full grown social styles which in the normal, historical evolution of homogeneous societies are separated from each other by transitional forms, as for instance, pre-capitalism and high capitalism by early capitalism."
This qualification is necessary because every society going through the process of evolution or endogenic social progression shows besides the prevailing social systems, the remains of the preceding and the beginnings of its future social style. If, on the other hand, one social system is imported from abroad and this system fails to oust or assimilate the prevailing social system, a dual society obviously exists.
On this account Boeke defines a dual society as a society where "one of the two prevailing social systems, as a matter of fact always the most advanced, will have been imported from abroad and have gained its existence in the new environment without being able to oust or assimilate the divergent social system that has grown up there, with the result that neither of them becomes general and characteristic for that society as a whole."
Characteristics of a Dualistic Economy
Overiding importance of social neddsThe first characteristic of dualistic economies pointed out by Boeke is the relatively greater importance of social needs as compared to western economies. Boeke states, "Possessions in the share of cattle, land, clothes, and houses, the fulfilment of social duties in all the circumstances of likr, must be all regarded as largely the satisfaction of social needs. It is not their economic usefulness, not the individual services they render their possessor which determine the value of the goods. It is a matter of secondary importance whether the land produces reasonable profit in proportion to the money paid for it whether the cattle can be made reasonably useful to their owner in his own business,whether the clothing covers, protects,warms the wearer or affects him pleasantly in any way. For it is not the use of these objects to the subject himself that gives them their worth in his eyes; it is what the community thinks of them that sets the standard.
External Links
- http://www.economypoint.org/d/dualism-theories.html