Social order refers to the tendency within established social systems that resists and regulates change. It has a positive meaning beyond just resistance to change — it refers to the active maintenance and reproduction of particular patterns of social relations and of values and norms. Social change as a process acquires meaning against the backdrop of continuity provided by social order.

Broadly speaking, social order can be achieved in one of two ways. First, when people spontaneously wish to abide by a set of rules and norms. Second, when people are compelled in various ways to obey such norms. Every society employs a combination of these methods to sustain social order.

Spontaneous consent to social order derives ultimately from shared values and norms which are internalised by people through the process of socialisation. However, socialisation can never completely erase the will of the individual or turn people into programmed robots. It cannot produce complete and permanent consent for all norms at all times.

For a society to establish itself as a strong and viable social system, it must be able to reproduce itself over time and maintain its stability. This requires that things continue more or less as they are — people continue to follow the same rules, similar actions produce similar results, and individuals and institutions behave in a fairly predictable manner.