Received: 9 December, 2005. Accepted: 15 December, 2005.

Presented at DECOS 2005.

SUMMARY

The assumption that society is a complex system is a common and trivial in sociology. Most of the great sociological theories treat society as a complex system explicitly or implicitly. Because social system is always multidimensional it is easier to build such a theory than to apply it to practice. Therefore, it is still not fully explored issue, especially when theory meets empirical data. The aim of this article is to examine the complexity of a social system on the example of prison. The main issues discussed here are: the interplay of elements of the system and its consequences, dynamics of social process, influence of social change and interdependence of microsystem and macrosystem. The article presents the sociological perspective on social system.

KEY WORDS

social system, complex system, interdependence, social relations, prison

CLASSIFICATION

PACS:

87.23.Ge