In many of the less developed countries a major difficulty in such popular participation in social change arises from the fact that members of the pre-industrial society are poorly equipped with the mechanisms that play a major part in social change. For example, modern industrial society is to a considerable extent an 'associational' society; it involves an intricate framework of associations and groups, organized to foster (directly or through the government) special interests and purposes: professional, welfare, economic, political, artistic, religious and so on. Of particular significance in the this context are social reform movements organized for the deliberate purpose of introducing changes. There is a notable absence of such associations in most pre-industrial societies, where organized human relationships are limited largely to those defined by the structure of the family and local community.