This document discusses social differences and divisions. It begins by defining social differences as differences based on attributes like gender, physical characteristics, socioeconomic status, and personal choices. While social differences exist, they do not always lead to divisions. Divisions occur when one difference, like religion or language, becomes more important than others and people strongly identify with one group. Overlapping differences are more likely to cause tensions, while cross-cutting differences allow people to belong to multiple groups. The expression of social divisions in politics can further intensify divisions and potentially lead to conflicts, but in a democracy some political expression is normal if handled properly.

2. CONTENTS
NO TOPIC SLIDE NO
1 DIFFERENCES, SIMILARITIES,
DIVISIONS 3,4,5
2 ORIGINS OF SOCIAL
DIFFERENCES 6,7
3 OVERLAPPING & CROSSCUTTING
DIFFERENCE 8,9

3. Mexico Olympics: In the
Olympics held at Mexico
City (1968), US athletes
Tommy Smith and John
Carlos received their
medals wearing black
socks and no shoes that
signified Black poverty.
This was the first incident
opposing racial
discrimination and proved
to be an important
landmark in the history of
the Civil Rights Movement
in the United States.
CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT IN THE
USA:- A set of reform
movements aimed to
abolish legal racial
discrimination against
African-Americans.
THE BLACK POWER:-
The movement which
was a emerged in
1966 and lasted till
1975,advocating even
violence if necessary
to end racism in the
US

5. • Division on the
basis of
language.Belgium
• Division on basis
of language and
religion.
Sri
Lanka

6. • Birth is the main
cause of social
difference. People
around us are
male or female,
tall or short, have
different kind of
complexions, or
have different
abilities and
disabilities based
on their birth.
• Social and
financial Status
also add to social
differences. Rich
and poor persons
even from the
same family do
not keep in
relation with each
others. This is
because of the
feeling that they
are different.
• A few
differences are
based on our
choices. Most of
choose what to
study, which
occupation to
take up and which
games to take
part in. All these
create social
differences.

7. All these lead to transformation of social
groups. But, not all social differences
cause social divisions.
Social differences can divide similar
people from one another, but at the
same time can unite people different
from each other.
Differences and similarities are shared
by people belonging to different social
groups.

8.  Social divisions are produced
when one kind of social difference
becomes more important than the
other and people start feeling that
they belong to different
communities.
 Overlapping social differences
create possibilities of deep social
divisions and tensions.
 Cross-cutting social differences
are easier to accommodate as each
person is a part of more than one
social group and does not strongly
identify with the members of only
OVERLAPPING:-
People feel
strongly
connected to one
group and
alienated
towards the
other.
CROSSCUTTING:-
People who
share a common
interest on one
issue feels and
follow different
sides on
different issues.

9. NETHER-
LANDS
Class and
religion
cut
across
each
other.
NORTHERN
IRELAND
Class and
religion
overlap
each
other.
DIVIDED INTO CATHOLICS
AND PROTESTANTS
Results
Had
conflicts
in
Northern
Ireland
Had no
conflicts in
Netherland

10.  Democracy involves competition
among various political parties.
Their competitions tends to divide any
society if they start competing in terms
of some existing social divisions, it can
make social divisions into political
divisions and lead to conflict, violence or
even disintegration of a country.
DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL DIVISION
- It would be best if there are no social
divisions in any country. If social
divisions do exist in a country, they must
never be expressed in politics.
- Social divisions affect voting in most
countries.

11. • Represented by Nationalists
• Wanted to join with Republic of
Ireland.
CATHOLICS
(44%)
• Represented by Unionists
• Wanted to remain with UK.
PROTESTANTS
(54%)
RESULT
• Hundreds of
militants,
civilians and
security forces
died in the
fight between
Unionists and
Nationalists.
•Only in 1998
did the UK
government
and the
Nationalists
signed a
peace treaty.

12.  Expression of various kinds of
social divisions in politics after
results in their cancelling one an
other out and thus reducing their
intensity .
It often affect voting in most of the
countries. People from one
community tend to prefer some
party more than the others.
However, In a democracy, political
expression of social divisions is very
normal and can be healthy.
Social division does not lead to
disintegration of the country if it is
respected and dealt with properly

13. Three factors decide the outcome of
politics of social divisions are:-
 It depends on how people perceive
their identities. If people see that their
identities are multiple and are
complementary with the national
identity, then it becomes easy to
accommodate.
 Demands that are within the
constitutional framework and are not
at the cost of another community
become easier to accommodate.
 It depends on how justly the
government reacts to the demands of
the different groups.