Social Change

Social Science I UP Visayas

Social change
The transformation of culture and social institution over time Variations over time in the relationships among indiiduals, groups, cultures, and societies (Kameyer, Reyzer, & Kitman, 1992).

Social changes four characteristics: Social change is inevitable

Some societies change faster than others Some cultural elements change faster than others
CULTURAL LAG : material culture usually changes faster than nonmaterial culture

Social changes four characteristics: Social change is sometimes intentional but often unplanned Social change is controversial Social change matter more than others

Causes of social change Invention production of new objects, ideas, and social patterns. Discovery occurs when people take note of certain elements or learn to see them in a new way

Causes of social change Diffusion creates change as trade, migration, and mass communication spread cultural elements throughout the world Cloth Asia Clocks Europe Coins - Turkey

Causes of social change Tension and Conflict

Karl Marx : the struggle between capitalists and workers propels society towards a socialist system of production

Causes of social change Ideas (emphasized by Max Weber)

Ideas can inhibit or advance social change
Social movements
Change comes from the determination of people acting together (example: environmental clean up)

Causes of social change Natural environment

Cultural determination to master the environment

Demographic Change

Modernity The progressive weakening, if not destruction, of the concrete and relatively cohesive communities in which human beings have found solidarity and meaning throughout most of history MODERNIZATION
The process of social change initiated by industrialization

Key dimensions of modernization Decline of small, traditional communities The expansion of personal choice
Emerging adulthood
Period between adolescence and young adulthood

Key dimensions of modernization Increasing social diversity

Modernization promotes a more rational, scientific view, in which tradition loses its force and morality becomes a matter of individual attitude Increasing secularization

Key dimensions of modernization Future orientation and growing awareness of time

Modern people look forward to the future, and are optimistic that discoveries and new inventions will enhance their lives

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Gemienschaft and Gesellschaft

by Ferdinand Toennies Modernization leads to a progressive loss of gemeinschaft or human community Growing population, rise in cities, increasing impersonality
European and North American societies gradually became rootless and impersonal as people came to associate mostly on the basis of self-interest (gesellschaft)

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Gemienschaft and Gesellschaft Criticism on this principle:

Modern life, while often impersonal, is not completely devoid of gemeinschaft Say little about which are causes and which are effects Toennies approach favored (and romanticized) traditional societies

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Division of Labor

By Emile Durkheim Modernization is marked by an increasing division of labor, or specialized economic activity Pre-industrial societies are held together by mechanical solidarity or shared moral sentiments

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Division of Labor

Modern societies are organic or natural Durkheim viewed modernization not as the loss of community but as a change from community based on bonds of likeness to community based on economic interdependence View is more complex and positive

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Division of Labor

Durkheim feared that modern societies might become so diverse that they would collapse into a state of anomie
A condition in which norms and values are so weak and inconsistent that society provides little moral guidance to individuals; people tend to be egocentric and find little purpose in life

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Division of Labor Criticism on this principle:

Even though modernization is associated with numerous indicators of stress or distress, shared norms and values are still strong enough to give the majority of people a sense of meaning and purpose

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Rationalization

By Max Weber Modernity means replacing a traditional world view with a rational way of thinking In pre-industrial societies, tradition acts as a constant brake on change; what has always been is greatly valued. In modern societies, rational calculation is given importance (i.e., efficiency).

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Rationalization

for Max Weber, modern society is disenchanted the capitalist, the scientist, the bureaucrat all have a rational view of the world

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Rationalization

Weber was critical of modern society : while science could produce technological and organizational wonders, it might carry human beings away from more basic questions about the meaning and purpose of human existence

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Rationalization Criticism on this principle:

The alienation that Weber attributed to bureaucracy is actually a product of social inequality

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Modernization is synonymous with Capitalism

By Karl Marx Emergence of bourgeoisie in medieval Europe; the bourgeoisie gradually displaced the feudal aristocracy

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Modernization is synonymous with Capitalism

Marx agreed that modernity weakened small-scale communities, sharpened the division of labor, and fostered a rational view but he only viewed these factors as conditions necessary for capitalism to flourish

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Modernization is synonymous with Capitalism

For Marx, social conflicts within capitalist societies would sow the seeds of revolutionary social change, leading to an egalitarian socialism

Model/ Perspectives on Modernization Modernization is synonymous with Capitalism Criticism on this principle:
Marx underestimated the dominance of bureaucracy in modern societies

Modernity and the Individual Mass Society : Problems of Identity

Social Character by David Reisman
Refers to personality patterns common to members of a particular society Tradition-directedness - rigid conformity or time-honored ways of living Other-directedness receptiveness to the latest trends and fashions

Modernity and the Individual Class Society : Problems of Powerlessness

Individual freedom is undermined by the persistence of social inequality According to Herbert Marcuse, society is irrational because of its failure to meet the basic needs of many people

Modernity and the Individual Modernity and Progress

Modernity does not proceed in a predictable, linear fashion, and cannot merely be understood as progress.