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Introduction to the issue: The outsider versus social order

What is social order?

Social order is a concept used in sociology, history and other social sciences. It refers to a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which conserve, maintain and enforce ‘normal’ ways of relating and behaving.

Social order is usually established and maintained through some kind of belief system, be it political, religious or ideological. It is reinforced through the structures/authority of that system, e.g.
- religious tenets such as the Christian Ten Commandments or ideological systems of values or cultural forms
- secular laws, such as road safety or driving rules, etc.
‘Social order’ is therefore a relatively stable system of institutions, pattern of interactions and customs, capable of continually reproducing at least those conditions essential for its own existence. The concept refers to all those facts of society which remain relatively constant over time.

Hence, what forms our society and keeps it together and operating as a whole is social order. Within social order there are many layers of practices and institutions e.g. government, religion, family, schooling, groups, networks, associations, etc. One has to conform to the general beliefs and manners of behaving in order to be accepted as part of these groups.
Who is the outsider?

The outsider may be defined as someone other than a member of the group. S/he does not follow the same mores and is likely to think and behave along different lines. We are all part of a social order, but we are also outsiders, e.g. when we join a new club or a new group we watch how things proceed and then decide if we would like to be part of the group. Sometimes we accept the rules, other times we would not accept these rules, and thus we choose to remain on ‘the outside’.

It can also happen that others within the group decide to keep us out, excluding us and making outcasts of us. We only need to observe society to see examples of “outsiders”: drug addicted people, the poor, the new immigrants, the disabled, etc.

There are many instances of being an outsider. This is indeed a complicated and deep issue that needs to be thought through with steadfastness and calm.

Consider who the outsiders in society can be:
1. At the general societal level:
  In Australia:
  - Aboriginal people have been considered outsiders in their own land due to colonisation.
  - Immigrants: waves of immigration to Australia supplied a much needed workforce and then offered safe haven to those fleeing war, repression, brutality, or a range of other reasons.
    - Economic and/or educational migration which started in the 1850s; then after World War II displaced people from Europe and in recent times, after the Vietnam war the Indochinese (Vietnamese) “boat people”; then Middle Eastern groups (Christian refugees, then Muslim refugees), South Africans, followed by people from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a predominantly Muslim population. After the fall of communism, people from the Balkan and other states, to present day Somalia, Sudan, and many other groups.
  In France:
  - Groups arriving predominantly from former French colonies - from Northern Africa, e.g l’Algérie, le Maroc, la Tunisie and then Sub Sahara Africa, e.g. La Côte D’Ivoire, le Mali, le Gabon, le Togo, le Sénégal, etc as well as those from present day external territories who have French nationality – La Martinique, La Nouvelle Calédonie, La République de Guinée and departments such as la Réunion, la Guadeloupe, etc.
    - Problems have arisen with these groups specific to France, in terms of integration, education, unemployment and religious and economic differences.
  Others:
  - Generally, each new group’s arrival in host countries may have been the focus of negative behaviour such as discrimination, and carries the blame for many of the problems in the existing ‘social order’. Over time, (perhaps one or two generations) some groups are absorbed (e.g. in Australia Italians, Greeks, Chinese, Poles, Russians, etc.) into the fabric of society. But communities of immigrants develop in some suburbs, resulting in larger associations of people from the same background. There may be easily identifiable differences, (e.g. physical appearance, clothing, religion and linguistic or cultural behaviours) which can provoke/aggravate discriminatory attitudes and behaviour from the dominant culture towards these groups, and this may be sensationalised by the media.
    
    However, each group brings positive, often unacknowledged, contributions and riches, e.g. economic benefits, knowledge, ideas, culture, art, music and food.
2. Additional outsiders - within society:
  - regional outsiders
    e.g. ‘country bumpkins’, ‘westies’, ‘surfies’ or ‘bikies’ and ‘bogans’
  - other outsiders
    e.g. the aged, homosexuals, religious groups, people who have a physical or mental disability
  - power related relationships, such as bullying.

Now it is your turn

Think about some instances of being an outsider in the social order. Look around you first as you try to find examples. Then, as you develop a deeper understanding at a personal level, you will perceive many other examples within the wider social order. Are there sub-categories to your broad ideas?
Make a list of groups you consider to be outsiders and discuss these with your teacher and your classmates.
Keep a vocabulary list (this one has been started for you) of words, phrases and expressions used to discuss this issue. Update it and refer to it regularly to develop your ability to discuss this issue.