For

• All great civilizations have had a flourishing city. The government/king/queen have been here. To understand most of its people, the way in which it is ruled, we must understand the city.
  
• ‘Most important characteristics’ shows that life outside of a city can still help illuminate the society, but not as much as city life can.
  
• Learning centers/colleges/universities are typically in a city. Understanding the intellectual output is key to understanding a society.
  
• In post-agrarian societies, most jobs are contained within cities. That is commerce is conducted in the cities.

Against

• Many societies have been agricultural. That society’s customs, rituals can only be understood in the context of a rural backdrop.
  
• Even a modern society depends on agriculture to sustain it. Surely, to understand the important characteristics of a society, we need to understand the people who live in rural areas.
  
• ‘Major cities’ is a stretch. Even smaller cities can help us understand a society, especially if the culture/values tend to be different in the smaller cities/more rural areas.

As the good old clich goes, "when you are in Rome, do as the Romans do," it is understood that Romans can be expected to behave in a manner that is represented by the city of Rome. In other words, the city of Rome reflects the characteristics of the Roman society. Is this true in the present world also? This clich may be questionable in the modern world because Rome would now constitute of people from various societies who have chosen to settle there due to various reasons like their choice of career. Therefore, it is now very difficult to understand the most important characteristics of any one society by studying its major cities. On the contrary, these characteristics could be better understood by studying the villages and small towns of the society where the traits and characteristics of that society would still be preserved.

In the past, the major cities of any civilization or society were the economic, cultural and political centers of that particular society. These cities reflected the true characteristics of the society that they were a part of. However, due to rapid developments across the globe, now most of the major cities of the world are almost the same. This is because there has been an intermingling of various societies with people traveling far and wide in search of careers and better homes. Any major city of the world would now consist of people who may have varied origins.

Can a study of Paris help in understanding the true characteristics of the French society? The answer to this question would probably be a "No". This is because by virtue of being the fashion hub of the world, Paris now the home of designers, fashion models, garment manufacturers who have their roots in some other country. Therefore, a study of Paris cannot be relied upon for giving accurate information about the French society. Moreover, over the years, there would have been inter-race marriages leading to a new generation that does not carry the traits of the societies of either of its parents. In fact, the case is similar in most of the major cities across the world leading to a generation that is not related to any one society in particular. On the contrary, small towns and villages situated in the countryside of France will give you an idea of the characteristics of the French society as these townships would be consisting of French people who have been able to retain their traditions through the generations.

Extensive excavations in Pakistan had led to the discovery of the civilizations of Mohenjodaro and Harappa. These excavations revealed the remains of the towns that were a part of the Indus valley civilization. A study of these towns has shed light on the characteristics of the society that existed in those times. The people of the society were restricted to living in these cities due to lack of suitable means of transport for long distance traveling. They were probably born and brought up in the same city and this made them follow the norms of the society religiously. Therefore, a study of the major cities in the past would have given an exact indication of the characteristics of the societies that existed in those times. However, the same may not be true in the present context.

In sum, it is definitely true that a study of the major cities of any society helps in understanding the characteristics of the society. However, this may not necessarily be true in the modern world where the characteristics of a society are probably limited to its rural areas.







The argument that to understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities is a narrow-minded approach to truly understand a society. While it is logical to study cities as these have the highest concentration of population, such an approach ignores the small towns, and rural areas that also make up the society.

For a country, such as India, where more than 70 per cent of people live in rural areas, studying just the cities will give one an incomplete picture of how the society is. Major cities offer the most visible characteristics of a society, modern or historical, real or fantastic. They are usually the political, financial and social capitals of a society. When we are trying to get a superficial understanding of a society, it is the city which provides us a view of the fast-paced, ever-changing political, financial, technological or social spheres, all of which are situated in major cities. However, to gain a deeper understanding of a society or rather, the relatively permanent aspects of a society, we must also investigate into minor cities, towns, villages.

The political, financial and social aspects of a society are certainly important. But one cannot ignore the other important facets namely tradition, history and culture. Most major cities are cosmopolitan in nature, that is, they have people of different societies living together. Thus, the cultural, and traditional aspects of a society somewhat gets diluted. On the other hand, in small towns and villages, there is almost no globalization and the traditions and cultures of the society are relatively preserved.

In conclusion, while the major cities of a society do provide valuable insights into the political, economic and social aspects of a society, one must also study its smaller towns and villages for more information and understanding of all its traditions and culture.



Most countries in the world are best known for their major cities, and major cities are like windows through which we can have a peep at a society's most important characteristics. It is true that small towns have a lot to do in forming a whole society, but as far as I am concerned, studying major cities is necessary if one wants to understand a society.

Compared to other cities in a country, major cities have the largest population, and that is the most important reason why one should study them if one wants to know about a society. A society is basically formed by people, and its characteristics are mainly decided by people's behaviors. So to understand the characteristics of a society, one must study its people, study the constructs they built, the businesses they run, and study their ways of living. Metropolises always are the most populous cities in a country and in most probability are the most representative in a country. They are often consisted of people from different places with different cultural backgrounds. For example, major cities in the U.S. such as the New York City in the east and Los Angeles in the west, all have WASP’s, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans at the same time, in the same city. So in these cities we can see one of the most important features of America as being a melting pot, which is just an example of the help of studying major cities when trying to understand a society.

Opponents may argue that other cities and towns may have better reservation of a society's most symbolic traditions. Well, it is often true, for some major cities have lost their most valuable traditions through the years of developing. However, this does not mean that major cities have lost the most important characteristics of a society. A society's characteristics do not only lie in the traditions which we can see through our eyes, but mainly lie in people's spirits. Spirits are also easier to be recognized in major cities, as people there are more open and many of them are always prepared to show themselves to outsiders. Thus, it is rather direct to study major cities to get to know about a society.

It is also true that in a large society, people in different areas always have different characteristics; they may say different languages, live in houses that have completely different styles, keep different traditions, and rely on different kind of businesses to make a living. In this case, major cities play an especially important role in understanding the characteristics of a society. As we all know, major cities are always the most representative cities in an area. In the U.S., we have capital cities in each states, and they are all symbols of their own provinces. So if you want to learn about a province, the most convenient and efficient way is to go to its capital city.

In conclusion, societies are created by people, and to study a society is to understand people's way of living there. So as far as I’m concerned, studying major cities is always a must in understanding the most important characteristics of a society.