Mankind, a puppet in the hands of society

Whether Mankind, a puppet in the hands of society or not; has been a long term discussion. For this purpose sociologists have largely argued about whether or not we are controlled by the structure of the society in which we live.

Are people puppets of society? Do we control the social system or does it control us? Society is said to mould individuals, but to which extend? These are such emphatic questions which cannot be answered properly by anyone, although different sociologists have different perspectives. Some of them have argued about`Yes, we are puppets of society' and some  about `No, we have free will and can make our own decisions'

Many sociologists believe that we are controlled by the society; they claim that social institutions, such as work, religion, the law, media, education, and family life, determine our behaviour. These institutions mould us to act like Robots where we all look and work the same. For example the institution of Education controls the way we behave during school. We follow the rules and show respect to teachers. We have to wear school uniform or dress appropriately and cover ourselves in a proper predefined  form. It forms our opinions on things, such as what are considered to be good and bad grades for examinations, different educational institutes have different standards. Certain institutes have control over when students are allowed to go to the toilet, banning them from leaving to go during lessons and most schools decided when students are allowed to eat and drink, confining it to lunch and break time only.

People may believe that they have individual images but sociologists believe that according to the social structure theory, we are puppets of society.

Social structure theorists such as Functionalists and conflict theorists like Marxists, believe that we are ‘puppets’ and that our behavior is controlled by the structure of the society in which we live. Both of the theories are being suggesting that people are controlled by their society.

According to James, Functionalists like Durkheim consider ‘human behavior as learned behavior'(James, 2007, p no. 46); in other respect we may imply that "everything we know and do has been taught to us, that when we are born we have no knowledge of anything".

It is being argued by functionalists that all our behavior is learned through the socialization process. They consider that primary socialization is the base towards learning the norms, values and roles of society and we undertake this process within the family unit. We are taught with the "so_called" values and traditions, of the society, we are born into. And then are compelled to follow these things. It is through learning these norms and values of our own culture that we learn our own role within society and become able to contribute to that society and help maintaining social stability. It could be argued that through these ‘unwritten rules of society’, which we learn within the family, we are forced to behave in a way that is beneficial for the whole of society, thus we are ‘puppets of society’.

Most people generally appear to respect and follow by these rules and it could be, that it is due to the fact that from birth we are: confronted by a social world already in existence. Joining this world involves learning “how things are to be done” in it (James, 2009, p. 16). James appears to suggest that we can only belong to society if we learn what is already known. It does not allow for the fact that people may confront and challenge the learning process of socialization, it assumes that we will just accept what we are told, without question. So it could be said that we are ‘puppets of society’ because we comply with the rules of the society that have been created before we were born and therefore we are abiding by society's rules as well as those of our own family learned through socialization; the family provides ___ the adult with the physical and emotional support needed for their roles in society (Winsett, 1986, p. 5). If a member of the family goes against the ‘rules’ then, generally, punishment is kept within family and it could be argued that the family is ‘acting as an agent of social control’ (Moore, 2001, p164) so, by ensuring that the family members all know what is acceptable behavior in public society and the private sphere and that bad behavior is disciplined as necessary we can see how the idea of ‘puppets of society’ within the family fits in with such an accuracy.😞

I have choosen the path of revoult. And so do I suggest to my readers. Be a rebel , be what you want to be; not what others want to see. Society can never be satisfied of your activities, satisfy your God only!

Be adamant, obstinate and stereos breaker. Let the society be "a puppet" in your hands, be a courageous rebel. 😎

Though rebels are not allowed in society; but who the hell cares for that!😎