SOCIETY (from Lat. societas, from soe-tusl, companion). A naturally formed group, as a tribe, a village, a nation, organized to achieve the common good—a community, a common wealth. The basis of society is mental agree ment and pleasure in association. An entire population occupying a defined territory becomes, through developing communication and assimila tion, increasingly like-minded. Through develop ing cooperation, cultural, economic, legal, and political, it. becomes highly organized. Such a socially developed and organized population is a natural society, and it is within a natural society that all lesser or subordinate societies appear, as incident% of its evolution. These are of two broadly distinguished kinds. the com ponent and the constituent. The component society is a group in which both sexes and all ages dwell together. The name is indicative of the fact that all the larger natural societies. like
modern nations, are compound, having been pro duced by the federation of smaller component groups. The series of component societies is, in or ethnic communities, the family, the horde, the tribe. the federation of tribes; and in civilized societies, the family. the village, the commune or city, the county, the common wealth. the federal nation, the federated em pire. The constituent society is an association of selected persons, formed to carry on a particular work. It represents the principle of division of labor, of specialization. The name is expressive of the fact that society as a whole is constituted of such specialized associations. Colleetively they are the social constitution. They include all societies for amusement. religion, education, philanthropy. business, the promotion of justice, and political activity. See SOCIOLO“Y.