Consociety/Basics

Before you can begin to create a living, breathing society of your own, you must first understand the various ways societies can function, and how they can vary dramatically from each other. This section will provide a quick crash-course in societies; later in the book, more specific examples of societies on Earth will be provided to compare and contrast.

Societies are classified in a variety of different ways. Anthropologists, for example, classify societies by subsistence strategy. Sociologists take a broader approach, placing them into one of three categories: pre-industrial, industrial, or post-industrial.

Generally, societies start as hunter-gatherers and later evolve to be more complex. This isn't necessarily the case, however. If you are creating a world that has been contacted by aliens and skipped most of the Pre-Industrial period and the entire Industrial period. Society can also be artificially created. For example, during World War II, Jewish and other Non-Aryans were forced into internment camps. The people, coming from all across Europe, had their societies and cultures mash together to create new societies. Natural disasters can also greatly change the structure if a society. For example, if the Sea God's or Volcano God's chosen have power within a city, a tsunami or volcanic explosion, attributed to said god, may make their chosen fall out of favor. Think about the outside influences on your society. What will cultural mishmash do to it?