Often civilization and society are used synonymously, but civilizations are of much longer duration and time-frame, encompassing several different societies, both simultaneously and over time. Each society is marked by the development of hierarchy, of social orders, castes, or classes. This social hierarchy, however, is never wholly consistent nor universal within a civilization. One of the chief variables in a society is urbanization. Civilizations are signified by the distinction between town and countryside, and the varying degrees of relationship between them.
Villages generally have sparse populations and single social traditions.
Cities themselves are characterized by dense populations and multiple social traditions. Within complex societies, struggles emerge for control of economic, social, and cultural resources. The ways in which a civilization settles questions of power and control, of authority and law, are its politics. Monarchies, republics, bureaucracies, despotisms, democracies, and dictatorships in one form or another have characterized every civilization in almost endless varieties. How competing groups and individuals manage conflict and enforce codes of behavior are central aspects of any civilization, and in specialized, urban economic and social structures, the political rules and practices are of extreme significance.