Traditional, Modern And Postmodern Societies Social Change Traditional, Modern And Postmodern Societies Macionis, Sociology, Chapter Twenty-Four

Social Change – the transformation of culture and social institutions over time Four major characteristics Social change is inevitable, only the rate of change varies Social change is sometimes intentional, but often is unplanned Social change is controversial Some social change matters more than others

Why Cultural Change Takes Place 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

Other Reasons Why Conflict and social change Ideas and change Tensions and stressors between individuals and groups can bring about change Different groups gain and lose power and privilege as they struggle for their own positions Ideas and change Ideas can fuel social movements which bring about social change The idea of equal rights for everyone Demographics and change Increases and decreases in numbers can lead to social change as society may need to expand and/or contract Need for jobs, housing, education, etc.

Modernity – Social Patterns Resulting From Industrialization Peter Burger identified four characteristics of modernization – the process of social change begun by industrialization Decline of small, traditional towns 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 diversity in beliefs Modernization promotes a more rational, scientific world-view Future orientation and growing awareness of time People living in industrialized nations tend to focus more on the future than on the past

Ferdinand Tonnies & Loss of Community With modernization comes the loss of gemeinschaft, or human community Loss of community caring and the beginning of individualization and a business-like emphasis Modernity brings about a condition referred to as gesellschaft, or impersonal relationships People live among strangers and ignore most they pass on streets Critical evaluation Gemeinschaft exists in modern society Didn’t distinguish between cause & effect Romanticized traditional societies

Emile Durkheim & Division of Labor Modernization is marked by increases in a complex division of labor People performing highly distinctive roles rather than everyone performing the same daily routines Society transformed from mechanical to organic solidarity 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 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 Modernization means replacing a traditional worldview is nothing more than the 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 Critical evaluation The alienation he attributes to bureaucracy actually stems from social inequality

Theoretical Analysis of Modernity Structural-functional theory Mass society is a society in which prosperity and bureaucracy have eroded traditional social ties Draws upon the ideas of Tonnies, Durkheim and Weber Social-conflict theory Class society is a capitalist society with pronounced social stratification Draws upon the ideas of Marx Critical evaluation Mass society ignores social inequality, romanticizes the past Class society overlooks the way equality in modern society has increased

Modernization and the Future Modernization theory claims that in the past the entire world was poor and that technological change, especially the Industrial Revolution, enhanced human productivity and raised living standards in every nation Solution to poverty – promote technological development around the world

Modernization and the Future Dependency theory: Today’s poor societies have little ability to modernize, even if they want to Rich nations achieved their modernization at the expense of poor ones Solution to poverty – Discontinue ties with rich countries that perpetuate current patterns of global inequality

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, and quietly building new structures.” -John F. Kennedy