Sociological Views of Social Change

1. Sociological Views of Social Change © 2007 Alan S. Berger

2. Processes of Social Change • Lenski’s description of social evolution is one theory • Note that this is a social version of Darwin’s theory of evolution… sometimes called social Darwinism • One cause of social evolutions is the introduction of new technologies. Examples: • Early Agriculture • Predicting river floods • Hoes • The plow • Transportation • Canals • Food preservation • Canning food in 1810 • The Role of Napoleon in developing these technologies to improve war. • Canning was important because there was no other alternative to storing food on ice. © 2007 Alan S. Berger

3. Examples of Technology • Mason Jars • Refrigerators • Frozen foods • Automobiles and other forms of Transportation • Sailing ships • Steam powered ships • Iron clad ships • Penicillin and other drugs • Process continuing to this day • Extends to stem cell and genetic research • Communication • Telegraph • Telephone. • Cell phone • Contemporary: personal computers, Internet © 2007 Alan S. Berger

4. Consequences of the Industrial Revolution • Modern technology and the Need for Skilled Workers • Craftsmen and apprentices • Unions • Machines and Unemployment • More or fewer skilled workers needed? • Unemployment or change in careers • Railroads changing from coal to diesel • Buggy whips to Automobiles • Luddites • Marx Saw this as leading to conflict and • Alienation • Ultimately to revolution © 2007 Alan S. Berger

5. Durkheim saw this as leading to Anomie • And he commented upon the change from an organic form of social solidarity to a mechanical form • Also called a shift from communal to associational relationships • A functionalist analysis focuses on the ways that society achieves and remains in balance… in equilibrium • Assumes that societies evolve from simpler to more complex • Current views are that different societies may evolve along different paths. • Also that evolution is not always progress and industrialized societies are not always better than traditional societies © 2007 Alan S. Berger

6. Modernization Theory • Assumes that development into societies like the United States , with similar attitudes and values • That industrialization is good • Conflict Theory • Assumes that Power is an essential element of all social relations • Competition for Power between conflicting groups leads to conflict and revolution © 2007 Alan S. Berger

7. Bringing About Change • Individuals • Gandhi • Martin Luther King • Revolution and War • Population Pressures • Cultural Processes • Innovation/discovery • Diffusion • Globalization © 2007 Alan S. Berger