The Aims of Society

So everything I've written this morning has had this patronizing overtone. I can't helpt it, reading history does that to me. It strikes a deep chord within my soul-whatever that means.

In reading about the first industrial society-the epic transformation of social life, the shift of wealth from landowners to men of industry, the class system that ensues-I came to wonder what society really is. Is society as it's defined-a structured community of people, a group sharing interests, or a relationship among groups? Is it something else entirely?

It seems to me, that much of the inequality that exists, in societies and institutions, are functions of belonging to this thing we call a society. A structured community of people, it definitely is; a group sharing interests, I'd say it's not; while a relationship among groups I'm inclined to accept. What if one wants out of society? Is it that easy? Societies, I might be inclined to think, are responsible for the ills and inequalities that exist within our governments. So what are those of us that see things this way to do? Pack up and leave for a home in the wildneress, where I can be left to my own my devices, that is until society begins to encroach upon the land I'm living on, blacken my sky, and warm the planet I'm living on? Everywhere we go, we're affected by the actions of others. It only gets worse when self-interest is taken into account. When we think about the sheer numbers of people that the industrial revolution produced, and the limited resources we're going to face in the coming years, it makes me wonder what's going to come of all of it. Will we ever have a just society-one where all people are created equal-have access to equal opportunity, even if we don't all have the same things. Because one definitely can't say that now.

Even if I were to complete my doctorate degree, get a job paying me 120k or more, and work for the rest of my life, I'll never be part of that owning class. So what's it all for? What's it all mean?