Definition: an established, organised system of norms and roles meeting a basic societal need — stable solutions to humanity's permanent problems (reproducing, believing, knowing, producing, governing, adjudicating).
The classical list (expand for the 21st century):
| Basic need | Institution | Unit 6 treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Reproduction, socialisation | Family (and marriage) | 6.1, 6.2 |
| Meaning and ultimate order | Religion | 6.5 (education) & passim |
| Transmission of knowledge | Education | 6.5 |
| Production and distribution | Economy | 6.4 |
| Power and collective decisions | Polity/state | 6.6 |
| Order and conflict-resolution | Law | Unit 3; 6.6 |
| Identity and mutual aid | Kinship, guthi, community | 6.3 |
Characteristics: permanence beyond individuals; normative structure; organised roles; cultural embeddedness; (relative) adaptability — institutions change, but slowly (Unit 5).
Institution vs organisation (a clean distinction examiners like): marriage and family are institutions (patterned norms); the particular guthi committee or the particular court is an organisation (concrete group running the pattern).