Social Change: Traditional, Modern

and Postmodern Societies

2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

What is Social Change?

The transformation of culture and social institutions
over time. The process:
1. Is inevitable, but some societies or elements
change faster than others.
2. Is sometimes intentional, but often unplanned.
3. Is controversial.
4. Some changes matter more than others.
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Forces of Social Change

What is Social
Change?

Social

Change: Changes in the way

society is organized, and the beliefs
and practices of the people who believe in it

All societies are involved in a process of social change,

however this change may be so subtle and slow that society is
hardly aware of it
The opposite of social change is social continuity which means
that there are structures within society which are built to resist
change. Example - the Catholic Church

Examples of Social
Change

Question

1: How has public opinion shifted

regarding social issues such as:
-Smoking
-Domestic Violence
-Divorce
-Addiction

Social Change: An Introduction

Change

is a general phenomena that being occurred

in society very much. In an another sense, society
is always in changing process .
Society can never stopped in a specific way .
Changes are either in positive way or in negative
way in society.

Social Change
Changes

or mobilization in different institutions are

both of backward mobility or in upward mobility.
As changes occur, people of the earth are living in
the so-called civilized world. Such as changes from
primitive society to modern society to post
modern society .

Social Change
Social change is a general term which refers:
a) To change in the nature, the social
institutions, the social behaviour or the social
relations of a society, community of people, or
other social structures.

Causes of Social Change

The causes of social change below affect or characterize
every aspect of society across the world.
On a macro scale: They shape all of our major social
institutions such as economics, politics, religion, family,
education, science/technology, military, legal system, and
so on.
On a micro scale: They shape values, attitudes, beliefs and
behaviors of human being to all over the world.
9

What are some of the sources of change in our

society?
Single

dramatic event
Cultural and technological
innovations
Shifting population size
Environmental pressures
Diffusion from other cultures
Media
Others?

Major source of change:

Technological advancement
Technological

change may be one

of most accelerated
Computers have become
indispensable
Convenience and access to
information
Loss of privacy
Blurring of traditional lines
between work and home

Rising Expectations
When

conditions at their worst, many

solely focused on survival
People more likely to seek social
change when living conditions have
improved somewhat
Chance for change seems possible

Causes of Social Change

Invention
Production of new objects, ideas, and social
patterns
Discovery
Taking note of certain elements of a culture
Diffusion
The spread of products, people, and information
from one culture to another
(Contd)
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Causes of Social Change (Contd)

Conflict

and social change: Tensions and stressors

between individuals and groups as they gain or lose
power can bring about change, e.g., capitalists and
workers
Ideas and change: Ideas can fuel social movements
which bring about social change, e.g., human rights
(Contd)

2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Causes of Social Change (Contd)

Natural

environment is under great stress because of

our development. The current patterns of pollution
are not sustainable.
Demographic change: Increases and decreases in
numbers can lead to social change as society may
need to expand and/or contract housing, education,
and health.

2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Modernity
Modernization: The process of social change initiated by
industrialization. The key dimensions are:
Decline of small, traditional communities: Cars, TV, and
high-tech communications puts small towns in touch with
the world
Expansion of personal choice: An unending series of
options referred to as individualization
Increasing social diversity: Modernization promotes a more
rational, scientific world-view
Future orientation and growing awareness of time
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Ferdinand Tnnies:
The Loss of Community
With

modernization comes the loss of

Gemeinschaft, or human community
Modernity brings about a condition referred to as
Gesellschaft, or impersonal relationships
Critical evaluation:
Gemeinschaft exists in modern society
What is a cause and what is an effect?
Romanticized traditional societies
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Emile Durkheim:
The Division of Labour
Specialized economic activity moves from
Mechanical solidarity refers to a time when society was
held together by social bonds anchored in common moral
sentiments
Organic solidarity refers to modernity during which time
social bonding is accomplished by way of mutual
dependence
Critical evaluation: Societys norms and values are strong
enough to avoid anomie for most people, and people value
the personal freedom of modern society despite the risks.

2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Max Weber: Rationalization

Modernization means replacing a traditional worldview with a
rational way of thinking
Modern people value efficiency, have little reverence for
the past and adopt whatever social patterns allow them to
achieve their goals
Modern society is disenchanted: science replaces gods.
Critical evaluation: Rationalization could erode the human
spirit, but the alienation he attributes to bureaucracy could
stem from social inequality
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Karl Marx: Capitalism

Industrial revolution was a capitalist revolution
Modernity weakened small-scale communities
Social conflict in capitalism sows seeds of
egalitarian socialist revolution
Critical evaluation: Complex theory underestimates
dominance of bureaucracy, and stifling socialist
bureaucracies were as bad or worse than
dehumanizing capitalism.
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Structural-Functional Analysis
Theory of mass society, where industry and
bureaucracy have eroded traditional social ties
Modern life is on a mass scale leading to the dehumanizing of everyone.
Ever-expanding states doom traditional values and
social patterns.
Critical evaluation: theory romanticizes the past and
ignores plight of women and minorities
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Social-Conflict Analysis
Theory of class society, a capitalist society with
pronounced social stratification
Capitalism promotes self-centredness
Persistent inequality and the state cannot combat
problems because it is controlled by capitalists
Critical evaluation: theory overlooks the increasing
prosperity of modern societies; human rights have
improved; and most Canadians favour unequal
rewards for talent and effort.
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Modernity and the Individual

Mass

society can make finding an identity difficult

People can shuttle from one identity to another
According to David Reisman modernization brings
changes in social character, personality patterns
common to members of a society, from

Tradition-directedness: rigid conformity to timehonoured ways of living to

Other-directedness: receptiveness to the latest trends
and fashions, often expressed by imitating others
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Class Society:
Problems of Powerlessness
Persistent

inequality undermines modern society`s

promise of individual freedom.
Some are well off and many experience economic
uncertainty and powerlessness.
Herbert Marcuse disagrees that modern society is
rational, and states that science causes problems not
solves them.

2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Modernity and Progress

Progress:

a state of continual improvement

Traditional cultures are seen as backward, but

Is our society too fast and stressful?
Does technology threaten privacy?

Global

variation: In other parts of the world, such as

the Peoples Republic of China and Latin America,
combinations of traditional and modern are not
unusual.
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Postmodernity
Patterns of post-industrial societies
In important ways, modernity has failed: Much
poverty and and lack of financial security
The bright light of progress is fading: Less
confidence about future
Science no longer holds the answers: Science has
created its share of problems.
(Contd)
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Postmodernity (Contd)
Cultural

debates are intensifying: The promises of

social movements have not been fulfilled.
Social institutions are changing: post-industrial
society is remaking society again
Critical evaluation: Great increases in life
expectancy and standard of living have occurred.
What are the alternatives?

2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Looking Ahead

Solutions to problems elude us

Finding meaning
Resolving conflicts among nations
Eradicating poverty
Controlling population
Treating AIDS
Establishing a sustainable economy

9/11 has drawn us into the U.S. sphere of influence.

We cannot isolate ourselves.
2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.