social order
How communities organize
Social order is the arrangement of relationships and institutions that holds a society together—its hierarchies, norms, and systems of authority.
The term often appears in discussions of what maintains stability or threatens it: The revolution upended the social order.
To disturb the social order is to challenge established structures of power or behavior.
Binding principle or regulation
- justiceFair treatment under law
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
compliance · courts · judiciary · statutes · ordinances · jurisprudence · penal code · tribunal
Rules of polite conduct
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- protocolPrescribed conduct rules
- decorumFitting social conduct
- courtesyRespectful, considerate behavior
civility · propriety · customs · taboo · mores · conventions · expectations · conformity
Ordered position assignment
- chain of commandFormal authority hierarchy
- casteInherited social division
- classGrouping by shared traits
- echelonsLevels within a hierarchy
superiority · subordination · dominance · precedence · stratification · elite · nobility · aristocracy
Structured group with purpose
- frameworkUnderlying support system
- systemConnected parts forming whole
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
- infrastructureBasic physical systems
network · arrangement · fabric · composition · configuration · bureaucracy · establishment · apparatus
Resistance to displacement
- solidarityUnity among allies
- unityWholeness through cohesion
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- equilibriumState of balance
integration · collective · interdependence · cooperation · consensus · cohesion · continuity · balance
Residential area nearby
- kinshipState of being related
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- associationGroup with shared aim
- communeShared-living community
tribe · clan · village · congregation · guild · fraternity · sorority · brotherhood
law
Binding principle or regulation
- justiceFair treatment under law
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
enforcement · compliance · courts · judiciary · statutes · ordinances · jurisprudence · penal code · tribunal · arbitration
etiquette
Rules of polite conduct
courtesy · civility · propriety · customs · taboo · mores · conventions · expectations · conformity · deviance
ranking
Ordered position assignment
- chain of commandFormal authority hierarchy
- casteInherited social division
- classGrouping by shared traits
echelons · superiority · subordination · dominance · precedence · stratification · elite · nobility · aristocracy · gentry
organization
Structured group with purpose
- frameworkUnderlying support system
- systemConnected parts forming whole
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
infrastructure · network · arrangement · fabric · composition · configuration · bureaucracy · establishment · apparatus · machinery
stability
Resistance to displacement
- solidarityUnity among allies
- unityWholeness through cohesion
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
equilibrium · integration · collective · interdependence · cooperation · consensus · cohesion · continuity · balance · reciprocity
neighborhood
Residential area nearby
- kinshipState of being related
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- associationGroup with shared aim
commune · tribe · clan · village · congregation · guild · fraternity · sorority · brotherhood · sisterhood
- hierarchiestier, tiers, level, levels, rank
- orderscommand, decree, dictate, mandate, proclamation
- philosophyethics, logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology
- sociologysocialization, stratification, norms, class, habitus
- law and societylegal institutions, legal systems, rule of law, criminology, criminal justice
- pecking orderalpha, beta, omega, dominant, submissive
social orderchaos
Complete disorder and confusion
anarchy · disorder · lawlessness · social collapse · civil disorder
social orderanarchy
Disorder from absent authority
lawlessness · anomie · failed state · state of nature · mob rule
social ordersocial upheaval
Dramatic disruption of established order
revolution · civil unrest · rebellion · insurrection · societal collapse
order, social, society, sociable, antisocial, socially, unsocial, sociability, societal