9
Family, Marriage and Kinship
The difference between a living and a dead social system—of whatever size, be it the largest or the smallest—is the presence, or the disappearance (due to death or migration), of its members.
A social system lives through its membership. Individuals who belong to it may die or withdraw; their replacement is a must if a system is to survive. Since a social system is a plurality of interacting individuals, the first functional prerequisite, as we noted in Chapter 8, is the presence of individuals-in-interaction. Since individuals have a limited life span compared to a social system—particularly a society or a community—the system must ensure their replacement when they die or move out.
Every social system has to attend ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access