Is there something like autonomy of a society?

In political philosophy, you can often find ideas about autonomy of a person and autonomy of a society (group of people). It seems that the autonomy of a society is often seen as the sum of individual autonomies, so in a democratic society, people have the right to vote, to choose their lifestyle, etc. In a dictatorship the people can't choose, they have to do what they are told to do, like the way a society can't choose, it is being controlled (by a dictator). <br><br>Another view is that society has its autonomy, like people have their autonomy. People can choose the way of living for themselves, a society can choose the way of living for itself. It seems that the society can choose the way it wishes to live in, for example, a society can choose capitalism or socialism, or monogamy or polygamy or mixed. <br><br>How do these two view connect with each other, or are they completely exclusive?