Key Concepts in Sociology and Governance

Social Group Concepts

Tribus

An anthropological concept referring to joint families with a common patriarch.

Categorías

A more ambiguous term used to define a group of people related by certain characteristics (e.g., property can be a category).

Estamentos

Typical of the Middle Ages (e.g., the nobility, the clergy).

Clases sociales

A term coined by philosopher Karl Marx to designate different social groups and their role in relation to their level or means of production. Today, its strict sense has diminished as division is less simple. While the term capitalism is sometimes used loosely, sociology often uses concepts like middle class, lower class, and upper class.

Clan

A group of people with a head, often linked by an economic relationship. For example, the Mafia is sometimes cited as an example of a clan based on economy. The concept is flexible and can vary depending on context.

Estatus

Position or prestige within a social group. This concept is quite volatile.

Factors Influencing Social Groups

• Cultural Tradition: People often form part of a group based on family, parish, or school tradition. We are all born into a family with a cultural tradition, which we may change in the future.
• Ideological-Religious Factor: This factor is less decisive in Western societies.
• Social or Socio-Economic Factors: These are more commonly recognized in our society, leading to divisions like low, medium, and high classes.

Political and Administrative Terms

Citizen

Often studied in relation to human reality, dealing with biological and social aspects of man.

Public Service

Can be defined as the extension of certain socio-economic activities into the realm of public authority or industry.

Government

The political organization that manages autonomous institutions. Examples may include: President, specific bodies, regional academies (like the Academia Valenciana de la Llengua).

Autonomous Region

A territorial entity within the constitutional system of Spain, equipped with autonomous legislative and executive powers, and the option of using its own representatives.

Local Administration

The territorial government responsible for managing municipalities and provinces.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978, Title VIII, established a territorially organized state into autonomous regions, provinces, and municipalities. Each of these entities enjoys autonomy in the management of their respective interests.

State

A political concept referring to a form of sovereign and coercive social organization, consisting of a set of institutions that have the power to regulate national life in a particular territory.

Constitution

The fundamental rule, written or otherwise, of a sovereign state, established or accepted to govern it.