The one-sentence truth: Society is not one actor. It is a network of groups, institutions, norms and relationships whose ability to coexist depends partly on trust and belonging.
Core vocabulary
Social cohesion describes the capacity of people to live together with trust and shared belonging. Solidarity is mutual support. Social capital concerns networks and norms that enable cooperation. Integration concerns participation within shared institutions. Polarisation describes widening division. Alienation is disconnection from community or institutions.
Cohesion is not uniformity
A cohesive society does not require everyone to think alike. Pluralism allows multiple identities and viewpoints to coexist within shared rules. Excessive pressure for conformity can produce surface order while weakening genuine inclusion.
Trust as infrastructure
Trust lowers the cost of cooperation. Where institutional trust is high, citizens may comply more readily with policy; where interpersonal trust is low, transactions require more monitoring and enforcement. Trust can therefore be both social and institutional.
Polarisation versus disagreement
Disagreement is normal. Polarisation implies positions or identities moving further apart, often accompanied by reduced willingness to cooperate across groups. Use the term only where division is structural or persistent.
Inclusion and marginalisation
Inclusion concerns meaningful participation, not mere presence. Marginalisation occurs when groups are pushed towards the edges of economic, political or social life. Ask which institutions create or mitigate exclusion.
Example sentence
“Economic inequality threatens cohesion most seriously when material gaps become interpreted as evidence that institutions distribute opportunity unfairly, because the resulting distrust can turn economic difference into social alienation.”
GP questions to ask
- What produces belonging?
- Which differences are compatible with cohesion?
- When does diversity become fragmentation?
- What role do institutions play?
- How should cohesion be balanced against individual autonomy?
Singapore application
In Singapore, density, multiculturalism, housing patterns, schools and common institutions can create repeated contact across groups, while economic and demographic differences can still produce distinct experiences. Good AQ analysis asks which mechanisms strengthen shared belonging and where they remain limited.
Continue the JC2 GP vocabulary system
Return to General Paper Vocabulary Year 2 (JC2) and Vocabulary for Junior College (JC1–JC2).
Final thought
Cohesion is not the absence of difference. It is the ability to remain a society despite difference.