Sociology: Study of the Social Sphere, 2/e, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 12

Socialization and Enculturation

The major source of recruitment of members in a society is via birth. Children born out of wedlock are ‘natural’ members of the society of their parents. The newborn, however, is a biological brute. No matter in what society it is born, it possesses the same attributes that are characteristic of the species called homo sapiens. These characteristics distinguish the newborn from other infra-human species, notwithstanding further distinctions based on racial features. Children of white, yellow, or black races—technically called cuacasoid, mongoloid, and negroid, respectively—possess the same biological make-up that is not to be found among other animals. Yet, as the infant grows, differences begin to occur ...