The Social Structure of Switzerland [antikvár]

1. Social Structure - an Outline of Society a) What is Social Structure? For our purposes the "social structure of Switzerland" can be defined as the social conditions as a whole which shape the lives of the people living in this country, channel them in a certain direction, and either encourage or hinder their development. Thus we are not dealing with the individual, nor with personal relationships formed between individuals but with the structure of society and the way in which it affects the lives of each member of that society. On the other hand, the Structure of any society is at the same time the product of its members' actions and both aspects will be taken into account in this book. But what do we really mean by "social structure" in relation to people and their daily lives? It is something intangible, which cannot be seen or photographed. But we can still form a picture of it in our minds, although the pictures formed by different people will most probably not be identical. We shall come back to this presently after we have defined more precisely the idea of the social structure used as a basis for the picture we are going to paint below. The inhabitants of every country live within a definite framework of conditions with which they are confronted daily. They have relationships with the people around them, be they members of their family, neighbours, superiors at work, friends, working colleagues or chance acquaintances met on the street. These relationships can be relaxed and friendly or stormy, emotional or platonic and purely on a business basis. All these people take part in certain activities in which they invest varying degrees of time, energy, imagination and expectation. All these relationships and activities, as well as the opinions people form in this connection, are not isolated from the environment. The people involved are not alone and do not act in a neutral, individual and constantly fresh situation. Every thought and