This work investigates how communication functions as the primary mechanism for creating and maintaining social order within human communities. Hugh Dalziel Duncan, a prominent sociologist, utilizes a framework grounded in symbolic interactionism and the study of rhetoric to argue that social structures are not merely physical or economic, but are fundamentally symbolic constructs. He examines how the rituals, language, and symbols used by individuals serve to organize social life and define the boundaries of group identity.

Scholars in the field of communication theory recognize this text as a foundational exploration of the symbolic nature of social organization. Readers frequently note the dense, academic prose that requires a strong background in sociological theory to fully grasp the author's complex arguments.