Food, clothing and shelter, production, consumption and exchange are the primarily concerns of economics. The doctrine of economics is concerned primarily with the appropriate use of wealth for the improvement of living standards. It must also be remembered that man is born social. He has never lived except in groups.
His economic action is always his social action. Such simple economic activity as feeling of trees, raising of crops or spinning of yam is not one man’s job. The area of economic activity cannot be separated from social activity. Classes and castes, division of Labour, Industrial organization and planning area among the explanations of this phenomena.
The economics of property motivates all social action. 19th century capitalist order of profit motive destroyed the economic ethics of ages past. Sociology emerged as the result of social enquirey and the demand for reforms and the economic interpretation of history.
The concept of class struggle, the aim of classless society and the realization that concord and conflict must go hand in hand explains the major role of economic forces in the social development. Economic urge is the condition of social growth.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Maclver has well said that ‘economic phenomena is constantly determined by all kinds of social need and activity and in turn they are contantly redetenmining, creating, shaping and transforming social need and activity of every kind.’
It needs, however be remembered that man does not live by bread alone. Economics alone does not provide rhyme and rhythm to life. Social activity falls much beyond the economic action.
Sociology studies economic action and not the economic process. It is concerned with the fairplay in soical action. The consideration of loss and profit and the economic mechanism is no concern of sociology. It is concerned with the welfare of all and not the few. The two have the common concerns and yet the diverse fields of activity.