Spencer has also discussed two types of society, militant and industrial. The distinction between these. Spencer insists is never absolute, but is relative to many social factors operating in a particular society at a particular time. In the militant society, the sustaining system is directed in such a way as to achieve benefits for its armies. Such a society is characterized by militant activities.
On the other hand. In the industrial society military, strength is used only to maintain internal peace and order and to defend society against outside invasion. Furthermore, in the military society, the military chief also assumes the post of the head of the state, rigid discipline and precise gradation of ranks are readily enforced. Private ownership of wealth or property or means of production is not tolerated, industry and wealth are nationalized, the individual and the press are not granted full liberty, the behaviour and the relationships of the people are brought under military code and thus, are limited. Not only that in the militant society, religion assumers a military character, the individual is not so much for himself as for the society, and therefore, co-operation is compulsory in such a society.
On the other hand, in the industrial society the principle of individual freedom is fully recognized, governmental interference decreases, concept of self-government assumes more importance, government in religious matters is recognized, competition in the field of trade and industry is fully allowed, adverse beliefs or criticisms against the government by the public and they are tolerated. ”without making this summary too long, it should be quite evident that the ideas initially elaborated by Conte find further amplification and utility in Spence’s system of thought,”
Super-Organic Concept
Spencer’s concept of the “super-organic” is very important , which got wide attention from social thinkers. After inorganic evolution, i.e, orderly change in astronomical, and geological phenomena, comes organic evolution, or orderly change in the vegetable and animal worlds. Super-organic evolution behinds with “all those processes and products which imply the co-ordinate actions of many individuals” The dividing line between organic and super-organic evolution is necessarily indistinct, since the latter developed in an evolutionary way out of the former.
Super-organic evolution implies co-operation between classes of living forms which have unlike structures and consequent unlike functions, In the with this thread of analysis, A.L. Kroeber makes the super-organic concept a fourth order of phenomena. His classification of order of phenomena is as follows:
(1) Inorganic phenomena,
(2) Vital organic phenomena,
(3) Mental organic phenomena, and
(4) Super- organic phenomena. In the domain of super-organic phenomena falls culture and history.
Spencer pointed out that as a result of super-organic evolution a tremendous amount of super-organic products,like, material appliances, language, knowledge, customs, mythologies, theologies, cosmologies, literature and histories has accumulated in course of time, and which exert an immensely voluminous, immensely complicated, and immensely powerful set of influences on human-beings. Modifying both individuals and societies.” In the thread of analysis of society in terms of bio-organismic concept spencer’s theory delineates the grand evolutionary philosophy where super –organic evolution reached a culminating point passing through the processes of inorganic evolution and then organic evolution stage by stage super organic concept holds good in every aspect of societary processes. Thus Giddings has aptly stated. “Societies are organisms or they are super-organic aggregates.”