What are the different social bodies?

Answer 1

The ways we pursue social change are conditioned by our conception of the nature of society. If we understand society as a Hobbesian "war of all against all", approaches to change acquire a corresponding orientation. If society is understood as a free-market arena of competition, approaches to change acquire a slightly different, but related, orientation. If society is understood as an interdependent social body, approaches to change acquire a radically different orientation.

The concept of the "social body" dates back many centuries in both western and eastern thought. Variations of the concept are found in both Greek and Chinese philosophy. They can be found in the self-descriptive narratives of many indigenous cultures, as well as in the writings of many contemporary thinkers.

Historically, the concept of the social body has sometimes been invoked in superficial and oppressive ways that perpetuate hierarchies of power and domination. In such cases, the emphasis on unity, or social harmony, comes at the expense of an emphasis on justice and equity. This is one of the reasons that some European thinkers began to reject the social body metaphor and favor social contest metaphors in the enlightenment era. In their turn toward institutionalized contests of power, however, they gave birth to new systems of oppression and domination.