16.1. Society as sociocultural system
People are mutually related with countless ties of social interactions and relations. Some of these interactions are rather stable and institutionalized, while other emerge spontaneously and sporadically. One of the major features of social interaction is its 'focal' locality in a particular region. Intensity of social interaction is maximal in the focal center of social activity, while this interaction abates at its boundaries which mostly coincide with the territorial location of the population chosen by it to develop the individual ecological niche and to satisfy its vital needs. Diversity of climatic conditions and natural landscape impart individual and unique features to population. The differences in societies are manifested either clearly (language, culture, geographic location, political system, public welfare) and in a less demonstrative way (stability level, the degree of social integration, social lift and possibilities for self-realization).
A society includes the variety of social bonds and relations, all social institutions and communities formed in a certain territorial region. Due to its universal character, a society can meet the prerequisite conditions to satisfy the diverse needs of individuals and offer them a broad spectrum of possibilities for self-assertion and self-actualization. A person can be occupied with some specific activity only as a part of a society, being confident that he can always satisfy his needs in food and clothes. Only being the parts of society, the individuals can acquire the necessary skills to familiarize themselves with progress in culture and science, and only society can provide the persons with the possibility to make an official career. In other words, society is characterized with that very universality, which opens the ways for individuals to actualize their basic destination and help them to attain their aims by providing the necessary organizational forms of life.