Essay on Importance of Secondary Groups – The secondary groups are playing a very important role in the modern civilised and industrialised societies.
For a long time the primary groups could meet the essential requirements of people. Due to the growth of cities and population, complexity of social structure and differentiation of interests, secondary groups have become a necessity.
Particularly, the processes of Industrialisation and urbanisation have added to the unprecedented expansion and growth of society. As a result, the simple face-to-face groups could no longer serve the basic needs of the people. Secondary groups have replaced the earlier primary groups in many fields.
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The Industrial Revolution, modern science and technology on the one hand, and the new political and religious outlook and ideologies on the other, have changed the very character of the modern society. There has been a radical change in the attitudes and outlook, interests and tastes, needs and necessities, ideas and ideologies of the people.
Secondary groups of innumerable kind have come into being in order to cater to the needs and demands of the modern society. Not only the number but even the varieties of the secondary groups are increasing. People are becoming more and more dependent on these groups now. Our life is, today, to a great extent, lived and controlled by large number of secondary groups.
Our social set up is such that we are often inevitably dragged into one kind of secondary group or another. For example, a labourer working in a factory is forced to join a trade union whether he wants it or not. It becomes almost a necessity for the labourer to join one union or the other to protect his rights and fulfill his interests.
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Secondary groups have entered almost all the fields — political, economic, commercial, industrial, religious, educational, cultural etc. More than the primary group the secondary groups are dominating our life. Much of our activities and achievements are carried on through secondary groups. They provide opportunities for us to develop our faculties and express our talents.
They liberate and limit our energy. Much of our attitudes and outlook, ideas and ideologies are shaped and moulded by them. The modern civilised life is such that men have started establishing primary groups within the broader secondary groups.
Small ‘cliques’, ‘gangs’ ‘unions’ consisting of a few may be found in the form of informal groups within the larger secondary groups. Men have started showing their loyalties towards their larger groups.
The spirit of sacrifice, helpfulness, service, cooperation, dedication, sympathy, fair play etc., which we consider to be the characteristic qualities of primary group are also often found to a very great extent in secondary groups.
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Commitment to a political party or religious association, loyalty to the nation, sense of duty towards society, identification with a trade union, allegiance to the army etc., are qualities which are found commonly in many secondary groups.