Social Systems in the Dynamics of Development of the Agricultural Community of La Concordia - Ecuador

Abstract

This paper discusses the social macro-system that existed during the development of the Ecuadorian community of La Concordia during the twentieth century. It implements theoretical models that allow the analysis of the relevant social systems that were behind the rapid demographic and economic growth of the community of La Concordia, which, during the 20th century, went from being an isolated and inaccessible agricultural and rural town to an autonomous urban center and an important agro-industrial production hub. The research defines and uses concepts developed within cultural anthropology and systems theory to explain the state and configuration of the social micro-systems that ended up shaping the community of La Concordia as a social macro-system. The study establishes a diagnosis of the 3 most important social micro-systems for the historical configuration of the social macro-system: Migration, Colonization Dynamics, Corporatism. The study of the dynamics of interaction of the 3 micro-systems results in a social economic panorama that favors development, which is particularly associated with: 1) The relative economic uniformity of a large part of the economically active social layer in the primary and tertiary sectors, which is, for the most part, young. 2) The mobility in the social field and in the labor market, which allows the generation, adaptation and development of economic sectors that respond to population needs and productive potentialities generated in the social dynamics. Mobility is favored by and at the same time enhances the entrepreneurial attitude of the young economically active population. The social dynamics occurring in La Concordia yields a set of potentialities for development that are associated with each of the 3 social micro-systems described in the study.