social change modern and postmodern societies

Chapter 16

Social ChangeModern and Postmodern Societies

Social Change

• Four major characteristics:– Social change happens all the time– Social change is sometimes intentional but

often unplanned– Social change is controversial– Some changes matter more than others

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Causes of Social Change

• Culture and change– Invention: Production of new objects, ideas,

and social patterns– Discovery: Taking note of existing elements of

a culture– Diffusion: The spread of products, people and

information from one culture to another



• Conflict and social change– Social conflict arising from inequality would

force changes in every society• Ideas and change

– Ideas can fuel social movements which bring about social change



• Demographics and change– Population patterns also play a part in social

change– Migration within and among societies

promotes change



• Collective Behavior and Change– Many people may be involved without most

having any direct interaction with others• Crowds

– Have the power to bring about change



• Mobs and Riots– Challenge the status quo and sometimes to

force social change• Rumor

– Information that people spread informally



• Fashions and Fads– People’s ideas about polite behavior, their

tastes in clothing, music, and automobiles; • As well as their political attitudes

• Social Movements and Change– About connecting people who share some

political goal



– Types of Social Movements– Claims Making– Explaining Social Movements– Stages in Social Movements



Who Stays Put? Residential Stability across the United States

Four Types of Social Movements

Disasters: Unexpected Change

• Disaster– Event that is generally unexpected & causes

extensive harm to people & property damage• Three types:

– Natural disasters• Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes


Disasters: Unexpected Change

– Technological disasters• Widely regarded as an accident• More accurately the result of our inability to control

technology– Intentional disaster

• One or more organized groups intentionally harm others


Modernity

• Berger: – Four major characteristics of modernization:

• Decline of small, traditional towns• Expansion of personal choice• Increasing social diversity


Modernity

• Future orientation and growing awareness of time

• Modernization– The process of social change begun by

industrialization


Tönnies: The Loss of Community

• With modernization comes the loss of Gemeinschaft, or human community.

• Modernity brings Gesellschaft, or impersonal relationships


Tönnies: The Loss of Community

• Critical evaluation – Gemeinschaft exists in modern society– Didn’t distinguish between cause & effect– Romanticized traditional societies


Durkheim: Division of Labor

• Society transformed from mechanical to organic solidarity– Mechanical solidarity: Shared moral

sentiments



– Organic solidarity: Mutual dependency between people engaged in specialized work

• Modernization is defined by an increasing division of labor



• Critical evaluation– Societies’ norms and values strong enough to

avoid anomie– People value the personal freedom of modern

society despite the risks


Max Weber and Rational Society

• Modernity meant replacing a traditional worldview with a rational way of thinking– Adopt social patterns that allow goal

achievement– “Truth” is the result of rational calculation


Max Weber and Rational Society

– Value efficiency; little reverence for the past• Critical evaluation

– Weber feared that rationalization, especially in bureaucracies, would erode the human spirit

• With endless rules and regulations


Karl Marx: Capitalism

• Industrial revolution was a capitalist revolution

• Modernity weakened small communities• Social conflict in capitalist societies would

incite revolutionary change


Karl Marx: Capitalism

• Critical evaluation– Complex theory underestimates the

dominance of bureaucracy– Stifling socialist bureaucracies are as bad or

worse than dehumanizing capitalism


Theoretical Analysis of Modernity

• Structural-functional theory – Mass society–A society in which prosperity &

bureaucracy have weak traditional social ties– Draws upon the ideas of Tönnies, Durkheim,

and Weber– Mass Scale of Modern Life– The Ever-Expanding State



• Social-conflict theory– Class society–A capitalist society with

pronounced social stratification– Draws upon the ideas of Marx– Capitalism– Persistent Inequality



• Critical evaluation– Mass society ignores social inequality,

romanticizes the past– Class society overlooks the way equality in

modern society has increased


Modernity and the Individual

• Personal identity can be a problem since society changes so rapidly– Social character–Personality patterns

common to members of a particular society


Modernity and the Individual

– Tradition-directedness–Rigid conformity to time-honored ways of living

– Other-directedness–Openness to latest trends & fashions, expressed by imitating others


Problems of Powerlessness

• Persistent social inequality undermines modern society’s promise of freedom

• Problems of relative disadvantage for racial and ethnic minorities

• Power of multinational corporations• Does technology solve the world’s

problems, or cause the world’s problems?


Modernity and Progress

• In modern societies, most people expect and desire social change

• Modernity is linked to progress• Social change is too complex to equate

with progress


Modernity and Progress

• New technology sparks controversy• Toffler

– Coined the term "future shock" to describe rapid, overwhelming social change


Postmodernity: Postindustrial societies• In important respects, modernity has failed• The bright light of “progress” is fading• Science no longer holds the answers• Cultural debates are intensifying


Postmodernity: Postindustrial societies• Social institutions are changing• Critical review

– Increases in longevity and living standards– What are the alternatives?


Modernization and the Future

• Modernization theory– In the past the entire world was poor– Technological change, esp. the Industrial

Revolution, enhanced human productivity • & raised living standards in many nations

• The United States is no longer separate from change in the rest of the world



• Communitarian movement: Rights come with responsibilities– Our society should halt the expanding “culture

of rights” by which we put our own interests • Ahead of social responsibility



– All rights involve responsibilities. For society to work, we must all play a part

– The well-being of everyone might require limiting our individual rights

– No one can ignore key responsibilities such as upholding law & responding to cry for help


social change modern and postmodern societies

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