Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/881

 A PROGRAMME FOR SOCIAL STUDY 865

instances, however, of economic and political association. 44 Wolves, for instance, pressed by hunger, form vast cooperative societies for robbery, with a division of labor remarkably far advanced, although we find no family life among them." 1 It is not necessary, however, to discuss the origin of the family. The essential thing is to see that it is a constituent element in the structure of society, and that it should be the object of careful study, and must necessarily be considered in all schemes of social reform, both with reference to its own structure and also with reference to the effect upon itself of any proposed institu- tion.

The combinations next above the family are organs and aggregates, the organ being a combination of persons and prop- erty for the performance of some social task, illustrations of which have already been given, and an aggregate being a group of individuals or families loosely associated. 2

We have already prolonged our suggestions beyond the pos- sibility of speaking of the mutual effect and influence of organs and systems. Enough has been said perhaps to indicate the method of study, and that is all with which we are at present concerned. Each group, system or organ may be analyzed in a manner similar to our analysis of society and studied in exactly the same way.

While the design of the writer is to furnish assistance to local study clubs, it is obvious that the suggestions of this paper may be followed with profit by any person wishing to engage in social study on his own account. The writer would indeed urge everyone to try the method of study here suggested, whether he belong to a study club or not. Choose for instance a family ; study its physical surroundings, the disposition and taste of its personal elements, the influence of heredity, and other causes of its inferior condition. 3 Then on the basis of this knowledge seek

'LEON M ETCH M KOI i, in Contemporary Review, 1 886.

9 As the study of aggregates, which differ but slightly from organs, is not likely to be of great importance in local study, they were omitted from the analysis on p. 856.

J As an illustrative study of this sort, vid. BLACKMAR, "The Smoky Pilgrims." AM. JOUR. OP SOCIOLOGY, January 1897.