Sociological theories of social change

Linear theories

Classical evolutionism

August Comte and the idealist conception of evolution

August Comte reconstructs the pattern and mechanism of all preceding history by the means of law of three stages.

The human race goes through three stages;

1. Theological

2. Metaphysical

3. Positive

History is the story of changes in mind and society which mirror each other. Evolution is primarily the evolution of the methods of acquiring knowledge and of the resulting pool of knowledge.

Herbert Spencer and the naturalist conception of evolution

Evolution is definable as a change from an incoherent homogeneity to coherent heterogeneity, accompanying the dissipation of motion and integration of matter

Evolution proceeds by means of structural and functional differentiation.

Evolutionary sequence or classification of society:

1. Simple society – herd or band

2. Compound society - tribe and chiefdom

3. Double compound society – city, state and kingdom

4. Trebly compound society – empire and modern nation state

Lewis Morgan and the materialist conception of evolution

Locates the ultimate moving forces of social change in the area of inventions and discoveries, gradually transforming the entire way of life of human populations.

Uniformity and continuity of evolution derive from the underlying universality and persistence of human material needs. History of mankind follows three distinct phases’ savagery, barbarism and civilization.

1. Lower savagery – simple subsistence

2. Middle savagery – discovery of fire and fishing method

3. Upper savagery – invention of bow and arrow facilitating hunting

4. Lower barbarism – production of pottery

5. Middle barbarism – domestication of animals

6. Upper barbarism – production of iron and iron tools

7. Civilization – phonetic alphabet and the art of writing

Emile Durkheim and the sociologistic conception of evolution

The main direction of evolution is seen in the growing division of labour, differentiation of tasks and occupational roles as society moves forward in time. History moves from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity

Ferdinand Tonnies and the evolution without progress

The personal, intimate, primary, auto telic social ties characterizing community turn into impersonal, mediated, secondary and purely instrumental contacts in modern society.

Lester Ward and the evolution of evolution

Mechanism of change is not constant but itself changes in time

Genesis (natural evolution)

1. Cosmo genesis – big bang theory, common origin, interdependent

2. Bio genesis – life emerged, diverse organisms and their species, increase in size

3. Anthropogenesis – man emerged

Telesis (purposive or goal oriented)

1. Socio genesis – society emerged and started evolving

4 mechanisms operate together.

Neo-evolutionism

Gerhard and Jean Lenski – the ecological evolutionary approach

Socio-cultural evolution is defined simply as technological advance and its consequences

Advancement of human species from animal world was itself due to the advancement in learning and sharing of information. The basic form of information is purely genetic, the higher form is individual learning, and then comes communication by signs and finally communication by symbols, coding information, preserving it and sharing it with others.

Talcott Parsons – the extended theory of evolution

4 basic mechanism of evolution;

1. Differentiation

2. Adaptive upgrading

3. Inclusion

4. Value generalization

The evolution follows discernible stage;

1. Primitive – highly uniform and homogenous

2. Advanced primitive – division into sub system appears

3. Intermediate – marked by the development of writing which allows accumulation of information

4. Modern – complete differentiation of 4 sub systems in a society (adaptation, goal attaining, integrative and pattern maintaining).

For Parsons modern type of society has emerged in a single evolutionary arena, the West hence Parsons image of evolution was criticized of its pro-western bias.

Cyclical theories

Vilfredo Pareto – the circulation of elites

Society and its constituent segments go through repeated cycles of equilibrium, destabilization, disequilibrium and new equilibrium

1. Political-military cycle - Strong rulers lion and cunning administrators fox.

2. Economic cycle – rentiers and speculators

3. Ideological-religious cycle – Dogmatists and rationals

History is a graveyard of aristocracies.

Pitrim Sorokin – the rhythms of cultural change

Sorokin proposes a distinction of two opposite, mutually irreconcilable types of culture.

1. The ideational culture - nature of reality is spiritual, immaterial, hidden behind the superficial material and sensuous appearances.

2. The sensate culture – the only reality is material, accessible to the senses.

The intermediate idealistic culture represents a balanced mixture of ideational and sensate elements – reality is many sided, both material and supernatural.

Development and dependency

Dependency theory states that resources flow from a periphery of poor and underdeveloped states to a core of wealthy states enriching the latter at the expense of the former.

How to counter the effect of dependency

1. Promotion of domestic industry and manufactured goods

2. Import limitations

3. Forbidding foreign investment

4. Nationalization

Criticism by neo-liberals

1. Corruption

2. Lack of competition

3. Sustainability

4. Domestic opportunity costs

5. Example of ASEAN countries

Agents of social change

In the long evolution of human thought agency has been gradually secularized, humanized and socialized.

1. At the beginning it was placed outside the human and social world in the domain of the super natural.

2. In the next stage agency was brought down to earth, located in slowly unraveling natural forces of various sorts. Agency became secularized but still outside humanity and society but somehow closer.

3. Agential power ascribed to great men. Agency became humanized but not yet socialized.

4. With the birth of sociology, agency became socialized but dehumanized again.

5. Agency finally found its proper face in the actions of social agents. It became humanized and socialized at the same time.

Education and social change: (Also Refer IGNOU MA Notes - MSOE 001 Unit 9 – Education and social change)

Karl Mannheim in his book “Ideology and Utopia” says that education transforms society in two ways:

1. It makes individual capable in research, invention, innovation, discovery, etc.

2. It prepares the mind of the individual that changes are value hence they should adapt the changes rather obstructing it.

According to Kamat there are four positions regarding education and social change

1. Education is for itself and has nothing to do with social change.

2. Education is determined completely by social factors and can therefore, play no role in changing society. It follows social change.

3. Education is an autonomous or relatively autonomous factor and therefore can and does induce social change

4. Educational change and social change must take place simultaneously.

Munis Raza in his study of Indian educational system identified that:

1. Education can only bring/provide social mobility to those who can avail the better schools and colleges.

2. He found that the students who come from public school perform better than government schools.

Robin Fox in her comparative study of kinship found that modern education is anti-community sentiment which can be seen from higher rate of divorce, increasing nuclear family, arrested families in Europe concubinage drug abuse, technology abuse; cyber crimes question the non-ethical side of education.

Science, technology and social change: (Also Refer Articles from EPW Magazine)

Marx was the first who emphasized the effect of technology on society when he says, with the development of forces of production, Relation of production changes.

Technological determinist is like Karl Marx, W.G. Ogburn, T. Veblen believe that

society changes only when technology changes from one form to another.

Karl Marx though an economic determinist believes that the mode of production brings change in the relation of production. Mode of production consists of the tools and technology which changes one economic order to another which brings Social Change finally.

W.G. Obgurn is his concept of “Cultural Lag” identified two types of culture i.e. material culture (technology) and non-material culture (habit). He believes that material culture runs faster than non-material culture, hence the habits have to adopt technology which brings change in the society.

T. Veblen in his book “The Instinct of Workmanship” believed that 99% of Social

Changes come because of the change in technology. Ogburn identified 150 social

changes with invention of radio. Veblen said if a radio can bring this much of changes then easily it can be identified that technology in totality can how much influence the society.

Marx always identified the importance of technology in his theory of dialectical

materialism. Technology is responsible for bringing change in the mode of production

which brings social change.

Industrial revolution is the first revolution of human history which was basically a

technological revolution. Machines replaced the man as a force of production which

completely changed European society in following manners:

1) A feudal agrarian and rural Europe changed into a democratic, industrial and

urban society.

2) Extended family changed into nuclear.

3) Age and sex based Division of labour changed into skill based Division of labour.

4) Primary institutions were replaced by secondary institution.

5) Gerontocratic society became youth centric society.

6) Religious traditional society converted into secular modern society.

These changes were so drastic and structural that is why it was called as revolution.

After industrial revolution even the traditional, developing Third World societies

accepted industrialization as a source of social transformation. Russian society which was a feudal agrarian society became a modern industrial society just after two five year plans centred around industry.

Green revolution in India is one of the examples of how a traditional agrarian society was transformed into rich progressive agrarian society. The Green revolution was basically based on use of modern technology in agriculture which transformed the affected areas socio-economically at large level.

After 1990, the world has gone through IT revolution. This not only led towards the

concept of global village but also it has reduced cultural heterogeneity and the world is becoming like a small approachable community. The impact of science and technology on social change is so multidimensional that it cannot be explained through fen examples.

As MacIver said that ‘Science and technology as a factor of social change is more

observable than expressible’. Though he also recognized that the changes due to science and technology are not positive for the society because the misuse of drugs, arms and knowledge is one of the key concerns but as a theorist he believes a society cannot remain separate from the influence of science and technology because it is an eminent force of Social Change.