Social Change

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What is Social Change?
Sources of Social Change
Theories of Social Change
– Evolutionary Theory
– Conflict Theory
– Functionalist Theory
– Cyclical Theory
Modernization and Global Social Change
Social Change in the United States

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Social change can originate from either society, or from outside of a society within a
Internal sources of social change are those factors that originate within a specific society that singly or in combination with other factors produce alterations in social institutions and social structure.
External sources of social change are events that originate outside of a society to bring about change to social institutions or structures

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Internal sources of social change typically occur through technological innovation or ideological shifts
Technological Innovation
– Technology has changed society, particularly since the
Industrial Revolution
Ideological Shifts
– Ideology refers to a set of beliefs and values that justify pursuit of identified goals through a given set of means
– Ideologies may be either conservative, liberal or radical
– Liberal and radical ideologies are most likely to produce social change

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External sources of social change emanate from
of the society
Such change takes place through a process of
—the movement of cultural traits from one society to another
In some cases this diffusion is forced upon weaker societies—a process known as

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Grounded in Darwin’s ideas of evolution and applied to social change
Sociologist Herbert Spencer then coined the term “survival of the fittest” to refer to the process by which one culture comes to dominate others
Other social scientists, such as Durkheim and Tönnies, suggested that societies pass through evolutionary stages, from less to more complex
More recently, social scientists suggest that there are many ways that societies develop and that a “general” evolutionary trajectory cannot explain the development of societies around the world

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Grounded in the ideas of Karl
Marx
– Claims that the engine for social change is conflict between unequal social classes
More recent conflict theorists suggest that conflict between various groups, not necessarily class-based, also fuels social change
– Such groups include the National
Organization for Women, the
Christian Coalition and many others
Visit NOW online

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Functionalists see society as a homeostatic system--consisting of interrelated parts
– The normal state of society is one of equilibrium
– Because society is an open system, it is usually in a dynamic state, or a state of near equilibrium
Society changes as it seeks to integrate conditions which act upon it
– The changes, however, are piecemeal and very gradual
– The purpose of these changes is to bring society to a place of equilibrium

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Based on the observation that civilizations rise and fall
An examplar of cyclical theory is the work of Pitirim
Sorokin
– Sorokin identified 2 types of cultures
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Ideational cultures —emphasize spiritual values
Sensate cultures— emphasize sensual experience
– Suggested that societies move between these two extremes of sensate and ideational culture
– Societies occasionally arrive at an intermediate point, or idealistic point, which represents a harmonious mix of both ideational and sensate cultural features

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Modernization is “...a complex set of changes that take place as a traditional society becomes an industrial one”
The process of modernization usually takes place in stages:
– Farmers produce a surplus to be sold at market, creating a money economy
– Simple tools are replaced by industrial technology
– Work becomes specialized

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Unlike Western societies, where modernization developed naturally, third-world nations have had modernization forced on them by colonizing nations
As these societies are establishing political independence, they are rejecting many aspects of
Western modernization
Western organizations are also recognizing that
Western models for modernization are not necessarily appropriate for third-world countries
Click here to visit SIFAT—a Christian-based organization seeking to develop appropriate technologies for third-world economies

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Modernization has had numerous positive impacts on people’s lives
– In Western nations, life expectancy has increased from 47.6 years in 1900 to about 76 years today
– Health has generally improved
– Leisure time has increased
– Standards of living have improved
There have also been costs to modernization
– Obesity, anxiety, and pollution are all products of modernization
– Modernization in developing worlds has resulted in severe psychological dislocation

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Sociologist George Ritzer uses the fast food restaurant as a model for what is taking place in modern society today
– Like McDonalds, modern society is increasingly efficient and predictable
– Moreover, similar to the model of a fast food restaurant, technology controls people in modern society rather than vice versa
Ritzer suggests that there is a downside to
McDonaldization
– Such a society is dehumanizing
– There is little room for human creativity in such systems

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Technological change has dominated the landscape of American society in the last half century
What are some technological innovations that have occurred since you were born?
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One author has suggested that technological innovations have ushered in the “Age of Insight”
– New technology provides more information, and helps us understand the human body and the physical world in ways never before possible
Sociologists sometimes use the term culture technological determinism to refer to the impact that technology has on society and

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Changing demographic composition of the United
States will powerfully affect the nature of the workforce
– The population over age 85 has increased by 30% from
1990-1998
– Teens comprise an ever lower proportion of the population
– Minorities and women will comprise a larger percentage of the workforce in the future
Changing technologies will also affect the workforce of the future
– Manufacturing is decreasing, while service sector and information processing jobs are increasing

Projections for Fastest Growing
Occupations, 1998-2008
0
Percent Increase
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Computer/Data Processing
Health Services
Management/PR
Research/Testing
Day Care
Job Training
32,4
29,3
45
40,2
67
117
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States,
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000

Projections for Fastest Declining
Occupations, 1998-2008
Railroad
-19,9
Cotton Mills
-20,1
Forestry
-20,8
Coal Mining
-34,8
Apparel
-36
-46,2
-50 -40 -30 -20
Percent Decrease
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States,
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000
Petroleum Industry
-10 0