Margaret Thatcher: "There is no such thing as society" Essay rejoinder
Rebecca Jane Rigby 12JPO
Sociology - Essay
Write a rejoinder to Margaret Thatcher’s claim that ‘there is no such thing as society’
Everyone has their own definition of what they feel is society. The common characterization being that it is a community of people living in a particular region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations. There are a wide range of societies within our country which collectively form our British society. We are a formation of various races, religions and classes and it has been this way for as long as we can remember. Having dissimilarity in our country is what defines us as a group as well as individuals.
To say that there is no such thing as society is demonstrably false. Humans are born in groups, raised in groups, work in groups, play in groups, defend their interests in groups, and die in groups. These groups are organized, specialized, interdependent, and greater than the sum of their parts. In fact, individuals owe their very existence to group behaviour.
Human beings almost never live outside groups, and if they do, it is usually only briefly. True hermitism is extremely rare. Even such recluse authors and rugged individualists as Ralph Waldo Emerson (who wrote "nothing can bring you peace but yourself" in his essay ‘Self-Reliance’) depended on the publishing house and national sales to make him world famous and shore up his lifestyle.
As a society, which has grown up with the development of technology, we are judgemental; not only as a group but also as individuals. With access to such facilities as Photoshop, we are able to digitally enhance our appearance in photos to make us look more ‘attractive’ to our community- this is mainly used for publishing or on the internet. Then there are some who choose to take it a step further and physically change the way they look through plastic surgery; with this type of surgery developing by the minute, there is not much that doctors cannot do these days.
Sociology - Essay
Write a rejoinder to Margaret Thatcher’s claim that ‘there is no such thing as society’
Everyone has their own definition of what they feel is society. The common characterization being that it is a community of people living in a particular region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations. There are a wide range of societies within our country which collectively form our British society. We are a formation of various races, religions and classes and it has been this way for as long as we can remember. Having dissimilarity in our country is what defines us as a group as well as individuals.
To say that there is no such thing as society is demonstrably false. Humans are born in groups, raised in groups, work in groups, play in groups, defend their interests in groups, and die in groups. These groups are organized, specialized, interdependent, and greater than the sum of their parts. In fact, individuals owe their very existence to group behaviour.
Human beings almost never live outside groups, and if they do, it is usually only briefly. True hermitism is extremely rare. Even such recluse authors and rugged individualists as Ralph Waldo Emerson (who wrote "nothing can bring you peace but yourself" in his essay ‘Self-Reliance’) depended on the publishing house and national sales to make him world famous and shore up his lifestyle.
As a society, which has grown up with the development of technology, we are judgemental; not only as a group but also as individuals. With access to such facilities as Photoshop, we are able to digitally enhance our appearance in photos to make us look more ‘attractive’ to our community- this is mainly used for publishing or on the internet. Then there are some who choose to take it a step further and physically change the way they look through plastic surgery; with this type of surgery developing by the minute, there is not much that doctors cannot do these days.