Editing Society (section)

==Contemporary usage==
The term "society" is currently used to cover both a number of political and scientific connotations as well as a variety of associations.

===Western===
{{Main article|Western world}}
The development of the [[Western world]] has brought with it the emerging concepts of [[Western culture]], politics, and ideas, often referred to simply as "Western society". Geographically, it covers at the very least the countries of Western Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It sometimes also includes Eastern Europe, South America, and Israel.

The cultures and lifestyles of all of these stem from Western Europe. They all enjoy relatively strong economies and stable governments, allow freedom of religion, have chosen democracy as a form of governance, favor capitalism and international trade, are heavily influenced by [[Judeo-Christian values]], and have some form of political and military alliance or cooperation.<ref>[http://www.palgrave.com/Products/title.aspx?pid=355705 John P McKay, Bennett D Hill, John Buckler, Clare Haru Crowston and Merry E Wiesner-Hanks: ''Western Society: A Brief History''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101112339/http://www.palgrave.com/Products/title.aspx?pid=355705 |date=1 January 2011 }}</ref>

===Information===
[[File:ONU Geneva mainroom.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|World Summit on the Information Society, Geneva]]
{{Main article|Information society}}
Although the concept of [[information society]] has been under discussion since the 1930s, in the modern world it is almost always applied to the manner in which information technologies have impacted society and culture. It, therefore, covers the effects of computers and telecommunications on the home, the workplace, schools, government, and various communities and organizations, as well as the emergence of new social forms in cyberspace.<ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~tisj/ ''The Information Society''. Indiana University.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007160838/http://www.indiana.edu/~tisj/ |date=7 October 2009 }} Retrieved 20 October 2009.</ref>

One of the [[European Union]]'s areas of interest is the information society. Here policies are directed towards promoting an open and competitive [[digital economy]], research into [[information and communication technologies]], as well as their application to improve [[social inclusion]], [[public services]], and [[quality of life]].<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/tl/policy/index_en.htm Information Society Policies at a Glance. From Europa.eu.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324134651/http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/tl/policy/index_en.htm |date=24 March 2010 }} Retrieved 20 October 2009.</ref>

The [[International Telecommunications Union]]'s [[World Summit on the Information Society]] in Geneva and Tunis (2003 and 2005) has led to a number of policy and application areas where action is envisaged.<ref>[http://www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/index.html WSIS Implementation by Action Line. From ITU.int.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326203825/http://www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/index.html |date=26 March 2012 }} Retrieved 20 October 2009.</ref>

===Knowledge===
{{Main article|Knowledge society}}
[[File:Seoul-Cyworld control room.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|The Seoul [[Cyworld]] control room]]
As the access to electronic information resources increased at the beginning of the 21st century, special attention was extended from the information society to the knowledge society. An analysis by the Irish government stated, "The capacity to manipulate, store and transmit large quantities of information cheaply has increased at a staggering rate over recent years. The digitisation of information and the associated pervasiveness of the Internet are facilitating a new intensity in the application of knowledge to economic activity, to the extent that it has become the predominant factor in the creation of wealth. As much as 70 to 80 percent of economic growth is now said to be due to new and better knowledge."<ref>[http://www.isc.ie/downloads/know.pdf ''Building the Knowledge Society. Report to Government'', December 2002. Information Society Commission, Ireland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121152730/http://www.isc.ie/downloads/know.pdf |date=21 November 2007 }}. Retrieved 20 October 2009.</ref>