We explain what social relationships are, their types, characteristics and examples. Furthermore, the social relations of production.
Commonly, social relations are understood as set of interactions that occur between two or more people or two or more groups of people, according to a series of mutually accepted protocols or guidelines, that is, according to specific standards.
These relationships are studied by sociology and they constitute for her the maximum degree of complexity of social behavior. They are the basis of other concepts such as social organization, social structure or social movements.
Human beings are gregarious creatures, that is, we tend to live among their peers. So, we form communities that require a set of regulated interactions to live together in relative peace. Therefore, social relationships are part of who we are and their study will reveal a lot about how we think about ourselves and others.
In this sense, both the types of ties (friendship, love, rivalry, etc.) and the type of norms with which we distinguish legitimate or appreciated relationships from those that are prohibited, unacceptable or incorrect are of interest. Socialization is the way in which these elements modify and shape the behavior of human beings.
Social relationships can be:
- Materials. They involve some type of exchange of objects. These are concrete relationships that include those that have a link with the economic, the material.
- Ideological. They involve the adhesion or transmission of some type of thought patterns. They are abstract relationships that are linked to the moral, spiritual, political, etc.
On the other hand, social relations They are usually supported by protocols and standards . These norms are determined historically and culturally, but also based on the needs of the group.
In fact, courtesy and everyday forms of treatment are evidence that even brief and superficial contacts with those who live around us require a certain way of doing things that we must learn, in order not to fit in with society.
Social relationships can be classified in different ways, depending on whether our approach to this matter is psychological, sociological or of another nature. For example, we can distinguish between social relationships according to the type of link established, in the following way:
- emotional relationships. Those that we have with the people chosen to make up our intimate environment: friends, partners and colleagues, people with whom we develop deep emotional connections.
- Labor relations. Those that we must undertake in our work environment, whatever it may be, and that are usually governed by hierarchical, formal rules that are different from the intimate ones. In general, they are less emotionally deep connections, but very important in everyday life.
- Family relationships. Another type of intimate and very intense relationships, but which we cannot really choose, since they are given in advance, are those of our family, at least the close nucleus of father-mother-siblings. In fact, these relationships are psychologically vital for individuals, in both a positive and negative sense.
- Circumstantial relationships. Those superficial, ephemeral and local relationships that we will have with strangers throughout the day, many of which could become of another type, or not. They tend to have little emotional connection and are quickly forgotten.
As we said at the beginning, social relations They are the basis of human society as a whole. They are determined by the social interaction of human beings, especially as it is transmitted to future generations.
Our social relationships They are the legitimate ways to connect with each other which is very important if we consider that humanity, at this point, is increasingly forced to accept those who think differently, those who live differently and present, precisely, other types of social relations.
To what extent is it legitimate to tolerate another's ways of bonding? To what extent should we sacrifice our own and learn those of others? This is a debate that is at the heart of human civilization at the beginning of a globalized 21st century.
Examples of social relationships are the order of the day. We establish them with our friends, family, the people we work or study with, the rivals of our soccer team, the buyers we serve in our store, the boss who supervises us or the people with whom we have a romantic date.
Taken together, all of our social relationships are a fundamental aspect of our existence.
Social relations of production
The term “social relations of production” must be understood in a different area than what we have discussed so far. It is a term from the Marxist school of thought, founded in the 20th century by the European theorists Karl Marx and Frederick Engels.
His approach involved a historical reading of society, looking at which social classes had held power at each stage. In addition, he studied how they had achieved their power through control of the mechanisms of the production of consumer goods.
Therefore, in this context, social relations of production are the type of links established between human beings based on their role within the economic production process. These relationships are determined by the control of the means of production .
These relationships are legally valid and validated. They determine the management of socially produced assets (such as real estate, vehicles or machines used to produce), and allow the distribution of benefits according to those who occupy the dominant position.
References
- “Social relationship” in Wikipedia.
- “Social relations of production” in Wikipedia.
- “Social relations” in Filosofía.org.
- “Interpersonal communication and social interaction. Social relations” at the University of La Coruña (Spain).
- “What is a social relationship? A set of dyadic mediations” by Michel Grossetti, in REDES, Hispanic magazine for the analysis of social networks.
