CHAPTER 22
Global Social Change
Chapter Outline




The Nature of Social Change
Two Forces of Social Change: War and
Modernization
Social Change in Everyday Life
Models of Change
The Nature of Social Change

Social change refers to variations over time:
 in
the ecological ordering of populations and
communities
 in patterns of roles and social interactions
 in the structure and functioning of institutions
 in the cultures of societies
Levels of Social Change



Macro-level social change produces major
social forces that shape change throughout a
society.
At the middle level, change is experienced in
communities, economic organizations, and
governing bodies.
At the micro level of social life, social change
is experienced through new patterns of
interaction.
Examples of Effects of Social Change
Macro- Level Change
Population growth
Tribal (Ebrié)
Creates new markets for Ebrié
real estate; adds newcomers to
villages.
Metropolitan
(U.S.)
Causes new conflicts and need
for social control in increasingly
congested regions.
Examples of Effects of Social Change
Middle- Level
Change
Urbanization
Tribal (Ebrié)
Surrounds villages with new
neighborhoods and nontribal
strangers.
Metropolitan
(U.S.)
Enmeshes most residents in
metropolitan regions, where
community boundaries are blurred
and diversity becomes an issue.
Examples of Effects of Social Change
Micro- Level
Change
Rising Material Expectations
Tribal (Ebrié)
Leads village women to rebel
against polygyny.
Metropolitan
(U.S.)
Pushes more women into the labor
force, creating the need for child
care.
Two Forces of Social Change
1.
2.
War
Modernization
War



The greatest and the most violent force of
social change.
Major ecological effects of war are casualties
and conquest.
War changes a society’s culture:
A culture that has been at war is often marked by
shame and guilt.
 War increases contacts among different cultures.

War


American Marines
pulled down this statue
of Saddam Hussein
after the conquest of
Baghdad.
Fear of his henchmen
remained high among
Iraqis for many months
as Hussein’s loyalists
resorted to tactics of
asymmetrical warfare.
The Marsh Arabs

In one of the worst
examples of the
ecological effects of
warfare against a
civilian population, in
the aftermath of the
1991 Iraq war, Saddam
Hussein’s forces
ordered the marshes
drained in an effort to
destroy the Marsh
Arabs’ 5,000-year-old
way of life.
The Marsh Arabs


By the time of the 2003
war, an estimated
20,000 of the original
500,000 inhabitants of
the marshes remained.
The marshes are now
being rebuilt with help
from the United States
and the United Nations.
Thinking Critically
Where do you stand on the issue of how the
United States spends its taxpayers’ funds?
 Do
you believe there is a need for “fortress
America,” no matter what the cost?
 Are you worried about the effects the “war on
terror” is having on social institutions?
 If so, what changes are of particular concern to
you?
Long-Term Budgetary Costs of the
War in Iraq
Total budgetary cost
$1.3 trillion
Interest payments on debt
$386 billion
Combat and support operations
Future spending
271 billion
Spent to date
251 billion
Long-Term Budgetary Costs of
the War in Iraq
Increased military spending higher
pay, recruitment, research and
development, and maintenance
139 billion
Disability payments to veterans
122 billion
Healthcare costs for veterans
92 billion
Demobilization costs
8 billion
Modernization

Associated with the following changes:
 From simple techniques toward the application of
scientific knowledge.
 From subsistence farming toward the commercial
production of agricultural goods.
 From the use of human and animal power toward the
use of power-driven machines.
 From farms and villages toward urban concentrations.
Postmodernism


According to
postmodernist theories,
styles of dress and
grooming and
preferences for
particular lifestyles and
tastes in music will
become more diverse.
At the same time, there
will be less consensus
on what the norms of
society should be.
Social Change in Everyday Life



Changing definition of women’s roles affects the ways
families rear children and share household and
occupational pursuits.
Blacks and Hispanics are severely affected by the
economic structure of society.
Citizens of the U.S. and Canada will increasingly be
faced with the need to end practices that contribute to
pollution.
Worldwide Patterns of
Environmental Stress
Evolutionary Models Of Change
Model
Unilinear
Multilinear
Description
Social change is natural, constant, and
continuous. Change is necessary.
Large-scale change in a society does not
represent progress. Each society must be
studied separately to discover the
evolutionary stages unique to it.
Cyclical Models Of Change
Model
Description
Oswald
Spengler
Societies pass through stages like the life
stages of humans and eventually decline.
Arnold
Toynbee
Societies grow and decline as they respond
to challenges posed by physical and social
environments.
Pitirim
Sorokin
Social change originates in a society’s
culture, which alternates between
“ideational” and “sensate.”
Conflict Models Of Change
Model
Karl Marx
Ralf
Dahrendorf
Description
Social change results from conflict
between social classes, which are
defined by how people make their living
or gain their wealth.
Social change results from conflicts
among many different kinds of groups
and in every social institution.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Which is true relative to social change?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Social change always entails positive change.
Social change and social improvement are
synonymous.
Social change is an ongoing process, occurring
in all societies.
Macro-level social changes are most always
immediately apparent in everyday behavior,
particularly in the ways people relate to each
other.
Answer: c

The following is true relative to social change:
 Social
change is an ongoing process,
occurring in all societies.
2. Which is false concerning the consequences of war?
a. Modern war entails the loss of life among
civilians, as well as the military.
b. It can lead to many demographic changes in
addition to increasing mortality rates.
c. War was far deadlier when it was fought with
lances, arrows, and battle axes, rather than with
missiles and "smart bombs."
d. War has changed women's lives dramatically as
well, even though they have not traditionally
participated as combatants.
Answer: c

The following is false concerning the
consequences of war:
 War
was far deadlier when it was fought with
lances, arrows, and battle axes, rather than
with missiles and "smart bombs."
3. The ________ model of social change is least
likely to assume that societies are wellintegrated, smoothly operating collectivities.
a.
b.
c.
d.
conflict
cyclical
evolutionary
functionalist
Answer: a

The conflict model of social change is least
likely to assume that societies are wellintegrated, smoothly operating collectivities.
4. Models reflecting the ________ perspective
assume that social institutions within societies
are highly interrelated, and that there is a
tendency for societies to seek a type of
steady-state or equilibrium.
a.
b.
c.
d.
cyclical
conflict
evolutionary
functionalist
Answer: d

Models reflecting the functionalist
perspective assume that social institutions
within societies are highly interrelated, and
that there is a tendency for societies to seek
a type of steady-state or equilibrium.