folk society

folk society

an ideal-typical conception of primitive or simple society. The term was applied by REDFIELD to denote small, isolated groups, characterized and controlled informally by sacred values. Kinship relations predominate, and culture is transmitted orally. The moral order is paramount, resulting in a relatively static society that develops indigenously Redfield contrasted folk society with its polar opposite of urban society, and conceived of societies as lying on a continuum between the two. See also RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM.