This article is about institutions as social mechanisms. Please see Organization for formal establishments.

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Institutions are social structures and social mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of two or more individuals. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions, and with the making and enforcing of rules governing cooperative human behavior. The term, institution, is commonly applied to customs and behavior patterns important to a society, as well as to particular formal organizations of government and public service. As structures and mechanisms of social order among humans, institutions are one of the principal objects of study in the social sciences, including sociology, political science and economics. Institutions are a central concern for law, the formal regime for political rule-making and enforcement. The creation and evolution of institutions is a primary topic for history.

Aspects of Institutions

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Although individual, formal organizations, commonly identified as "institutions," may be deliberately and intentionally created by people, the development and functioning of institutions in society in general may be regarded as an instance of emergence; that is, institutions arise, develop and function in a pattern of social self-organization, which goes beyond the conscious intentions of the individual humans involved.

As mechanisms of social cooperation, institutions are manifest in both objectively real, formal organizations, such as the U.S. Congress, the Roman Catholic Church or the Bank of England, and, also, in informal social order and organization, reflecting human psychology, culture, habits and customs. Most important institutions, considered abstractly, have both objective and subjective aspects: examples include money and marriage. The institution of money encompasses many formal organizations, including banks and government treasury departments and stock exchanges, which may be termed, "institutions," as well as subjective experiences, which guide people in their pursuit of personal economic well-being and wealth. Powerful institutions are able to imbue a paper currency with certain value, and to induce millions into cooperative production and trade in pursuit of economic ends abstractly denominated in that currency's units. The subjective experience of money is so pervasive and persuasive that economists talk of the "money illusion" and try to disabuse their students of it, in preparation for learning economic analysis.

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IFEX: Newspaper management instructs staff to stop criticising certain institutions http://bit.ly/8iKbtK
FreeBahrain (Deborah Marcs) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:45:17 -0000
IFEX: Newspaper management instructs staff to stop criticising certain institutions http://bit.ly/8iKbtK
Rel Institutions Tax-Exempt Status Can Be Revoked. http://destrantalk.blogspot.com/2009/12/religious-institutions-tax-exempt.html?spref=tw
DeSube (De Sube) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:30:14 -0000
Rel Institutions Tax-Exempt Status Can Be Revoked. http://destrantalk.blogspot.com/2009/12/religious-institutions-tax-exempt.html?spref=tw
For the record I have no ill will towards the FBI or the CIA as institutions, but I know there are possibly individuals in the agencies.
rangerOGA (Shaun Thomas Mcguire) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:20:35 -0000
For the record I have no ill will towards the FBI or the CIA as institutions, but I know there are possibly individuals in the agencies.
Chinese settlers in Uyghuristan and Chinese taking control of vital economic and political institutions while giving Uyghurs peanuts.
Nodi666 (Ed Koltaks) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:50:29 -0000
Chinese settlers in Uyghuristan and Chinese taking control of vital economic and political institutions while giving Uyghurs peanuts.
Assistant Chief (Finance): Handling all aspects of finance, liaise with banks and financial institutions, budgeting... http://bit.ly/7dG0P4
edu_channel (Edu Channel) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:22:16 -0000
Assistant Chief (Finance): Handling all aspects of finance, liaise with banks and financial institutions, budgeting... http://bit.ly/7dG0P4
Chief (Finance): Handling all aspects of finance, liaise with banks and financial institutions, budgeting, MIS, int... http://bit.ly/5GF7R1
edu_channel (Edu Channel) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:22:15 -0000
Chief (Finance): Handling all aspects of finance, liaise with banks and financial institutions, budgeting, MIS, int... http://bit.ly/5GF7R1

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