Evolution of Human Societies and Family Structures

Living with them: So-called hermits are people living completely alone. People like to live in groups, assemble, and associate. It is known that humans cannot live in isolation. Our nature is intrinsic to us; we look to others to exchange ideas, help, and live in communities. You are a part of different groups and live amidst various environments that help a person become social. Companies are creating various forms of social and economic organization.

Historical Forms of Social Organization

Primitive Communities

The appearance of human beings on Earth led to the first social structures:

• The Horde: This is the simplest form of society. They are nomads and do not distinguish paternity.
• The Clan: These groups are exogamous, meaning they choose their partners from outside the group.
• The Tribe: This includes large villages with no specific possession characteristics of a given territory.

Slavery and Feudalism

Slavery: A system of holding people. It is characterized predominantly by individual property, agricultural development, and the structuring of social classes.

Feudalism: The regime of the Middle Ages, characterized by the development of large landholdings.

Economic Systems in Modern Times

Modernity is based on industrial development and trade. It offers two possibilities for organization:

• Capitalism: It is based on the exchange of merchandise, advocates for free competition, and wealth accumulation. Labor is free.
• Socialism: An organization where the means of production are collectively owned and the economy is centrally planned.

Sociability and the Evolution of the Family

The traditional family faced a crisis in the Spanish state during the late 1960s and the 20th century for several reasons: the incorporation of women into the workforce, the extension of family planning methods that separate the practice of sex from procreation, the individualization of marriage, the transfer of educational and socializing functions to schools, and the liberalization of divorce.

Legal marriage and couples are changing; marriage is no longer a lifelong union but one with an expiry date. It is the union of two people based on love, with the possibility of dissolution through divorce. Sociologists agree that there are modern nuclear families, single-parent families, and multi-parent families. This means that a child may live with both parents, then later with just the father or mother, and eventually form a new family.