Introduction
- Change is the only permanent feature of society
- Sociology developed as efforts were made to understand the rapid social change in Western Europe.
- The last 400 years in human civilization have witnessed rapid and continuous social change.
social change
- Social change refers to changes that alter the structure of a thing or situation over a period of time.
- Social change includes all changes that alter things fundamentally.
- The changes are both profound and widespread and have a major impact on a large sector of society.
- Social change is a very broad term.
- Various attempts have been made to come up with a specific definition of change and to understand it in terms of its causes, nature, impact and pace.
Types of Changes
1. Evolutionary change
- The term evolutionary change was coined by Charles Darwin
- changes that happen slowly over a long period of time
- He proposed the idea of survival of the fittest.
- According to Darwinian theory, people gradually change or evolve by adapting to natural conditions.
- Only those that are best adapted survive and those that do not, or are slow, die.
- Although Darwin's theory refers to natural processes
- It was soon adapted to the social world and was called Social Darwinism
2. Revolutionary change
Revolutionary changes are changes that occur comparatively quickly or suddenly .
It refers to rapid, sudden and complete changes in society
Example -
- french revolution
- Russian Revolution
- Industrial Revolution.
Structural Changes
- It is a change in the structure of society, its institutions, or the rules by which these institutions operate.
- For example, change in the medium of exchange:
- Earlier coins made of gold and silver were used as currency
- But with the advent of paper money, there was a structural change in the organisation of financial markets and transactions.
- The credit market was introduced and the structure of banking also changed.
Changes in values and beliefs
- Social change also occurs due to changes in the values and beliefs of people.
For example
- Changes in ideas and beliefs about childhood.
- Earlier, children were considered as mini adults, wherein they had to work and earn as soon as they became capable.
- A new concept regarding childhood gained prominence.
- Now, children could not go to work and were required to receive education instead
sources or causes of change
1. Environment
2. Technical and economic
3. Political
4. Cultural
1. Environment
- Nature and environment have a significant impact on the structure and size of society.
- Everything from type of clothing and livelihood to patterns of social interaction are largely determined by the physical and climatic conditions of their environment.
- Over time technology has changed the role played by the environment.
- Technology allows us to overcome and adapt to problems posed by nature and thus reduce differences between societies living in different types of environments
- In the context of social change, environment plays an important role during natural disasters.
There are two forms of change
1. Destructive nature
2. Creative format
1. Destructive nature
- The tsunami that struck Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands and parts of Tamil Nadu in December 2004 changed society substantially.
- Permanent changes were observed in the people and social structures of the affected places.
2. Creative format
- Discovery of oil in West Asia or Middle East region
- The discovery of gold in California completely changed the society of this region.
2. Technology and economy
- The combined effect of technology and economy has played an important role in bringing about social change especially in the modern period.
- The most prominent change resulting from technological changes is the Industrial Revolution.
- The development of steam power, a direct result of the Industrial Revolution, had widespread effects.
- Many machines began to run without human intervention, allowing for continuous operation.
- With the transition of steam locomotives to railways, the world's economy and social geography changed.
- The discovery of paper and gunpowder in China was of no great significance for several centuries, until it came into the context of the modernization of Western Europe.
- Changes in economic organizations that are not related to technology also impact society.
- Single cash crops like sugarcane, tea, cotton etc. created huge demand for labour.
- Customs duties, introduced by organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, can lead to the prosperity of some industries and the elimination of others.
3. Political
- The actions of kings and queens were the most important forces of social change.
- These kings and queens have an important role in society as part of a larger political, social, and economic trend.
- This is clearly visible in the case of wars, in which either the victors bring about change or the conquered sow the seeds of change in the victors and transform their society.
- The most prominent examples of such a change in modern times are the United States and Japan.
- After the 1970s, Japanese industrial technology dominated the world and influenced US industrial organization.
- The Indian independence movement not only ended the British rule and brought about political change but also brought about a major social change.
- Another similar political source of change is the rejection of the monarchy by the Nepali people in 2006.
- Therefore, political changes bring about social change through the redistribution of power among different social groups and classes
4. Cultural factors
- Culture is a very diverse term that includes ideas, values, beliefs that are important in shaping the lives of people.
- As a result any change in ideas and beliefs naturally brings about changes in social life.
- Religion is one area where beliefs and norms have helped organize and change society.
- Max Weber's study 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism' showed that some Christian Protestant denominations played an important role in the establishment of the capitalist social system.
- Shows the influence of Buddhism on the social and political life of ancient Indian people and the effect of the Bhakti movement on the medieval caste system
- Apart from religion, other cultural changes also initiate social change.
- The most prominent example of such a change is regarding the place of women in society
- During the Second World War, women in Europe started working in factories.
- The fact that women could build ships, operate heavy machinery, manufacture weapons, etc., strengthened their claim to equality.
- But it is also true that if the war had not happened they would have had to struggle for a longer time
Social system
- Social order refers to stable patterns of social behavior and relationships that establish expectations for how individuals and groups in society should behave with one another.
- It involves the maintenance of norms, rules and institutions that ensure stability by governing social life.
- The social system provides a framework within which individuals can pursue their goals and interact with others without constant uncertainty or chaos.
- Social order and social change are very deeply interconnected with each other.
- Every society strives to maintain stability which requires that people follow the same rules.
- Most societies are stratified, so their status is determined by either economic resources, political power, or social status.
- The powerful group opposes change due to its vested interests while the oppressed group has shown interest in change. Hence, change does not happen so easily.
- Resistance to social change ensures that the existing social order of the rich and powerful remains in place , and therefore societies are generally stable.
maintenance of social order
- The concept of social order is not limited only to resistance to change.
- It refers to the active maintenance and reproduction of particular patterns of social relations, values, and norms.
through the maintenance of social order
1. By socialization
- Adherence to norms arises from consensual shared values that are accepted by people through socialization.
- Socialization does not ensure complete obedience as people can question the current system
2. By coercion and power
- In most societies, people are compelled through some form of power or coercion to ensure that institutions and individuals adhere to norms
1. Dominance
- The ability to impose one's will on others and to control resources, decisions, and behavior
2. Power
- the ability of individuals or groups to achieve their goals despite resistance from others
3. Authority
- The legitimate authority to exercise power and enforce decisions within a specific area or context
- This power of dominance works through legitimacy which is the degree of acceptance involved in power relations.
- Whatever is lawful is considered fair
- Power is considered part of the social contract.
Max Bever
- Legitimate Power = Authority
- A power that is just.
- For example, a police officer has authority because of their job.
- Everybody should fulfill their rights and duties within their field of work
Types of Authority
1. Formal
- Legal recognition
2. Informal
- There is no legal recognition
- The difference between informal authority and clearly codified authority is law.
Law
- Law is a clearly codified written norm that every citizen living in a society has to follow whether he agrees with it or not.
- Laws are made by public representatives in the name of the people.
Dominance
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Power
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Legitimacy
👇 Authority 👇 Law 👇 Society is governed by
Conflict crime and violence
- The existence of authority, rights and laws does not mean that they will always be followed
- Along with disputes and disagreements, differences of opinion also keep occurring in the society.
- Youth rebellion in which young people counter cultures through their clothing, hairstyles, etc. to show rejection of prevailing norms.
Conflict/Counter-argument
- Contesting” refers to the act or process of contesting something, typically involving disputes, challenges, or disagreements over a particular issue or claim.
Crime
- An act that violates existing law or goes beyond the limits of legitimate dissent.
- The crime is taken from the law
- Societies generally permit dissent but only to a certain extent.
- If the limit is crossed, there is a response from law enforcement agencies.
- The question of the extent to which dissent is acceptable is central because it marks an important boundary between legitimate–illegitimate and acceptable–unacceptable.
- If an existing law is deemed unjust, it is just and ethical to go against it.
- For example, the salt law was broken by Mahatma Gandhi under the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- There are crimes which have no great moral merit.
- Violence is an extreme form of competition that is not only against the law but also against social norms.
- It is a social product that serves as a challenge to state power.
Most societies in our world are divided into rural and urban areas.
- Both these areas reflect the living conditions of the people, form of social organisation, nature of social system and the social change prevalent in the society.
nomadic life
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Durability
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Village development
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sustainable agriculture
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surplus production
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Social Discrimination
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There was a division of labour.
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A village social organization was established.
Village
