Factors of Social Change - Essay Example

Social Change Social Change Factors of Social Change Social change refers to any kind of significant alteration over given period in the cultural values and norms and behavior patterns. By significant alterations, the sociology scholars refer to changes that bring profound social consequences (ECLAC, 2010). An example of social change includes the end of the slavery, industrial revolution, and the feminist movement. The factors of social change include the physical environment, demographic, cultural and ideas. i. Physical Environment Some geographical elements do initiate great social changes. The storms, social erosion, climate, floods, earthquake, and droughts, etc., do affect the social life to some magnitude and induce social change (Clarke 2013). The human life is confined to the geographical conditions in the planet. There are a number of instances where human civilizations have fallen prey to natural calamities leading to changes in population densities, agricultural production, etc. ii. Demographic Factor Demographics means the human population size and structure. The society social structure is directly concerned with the structure and size of the human population, the distribution and structure of the population. The population size lies on three main factors including birth rate, migration, and death rate (immigration and emigration). Again the population composition is dependent on factors like marital status, age, sex, levels of literacy, etc. the demographic structure changes may be induced by changes in death rates which will in turn lead to a change in the ratio of dependents to breadwinners. iii. Cultural Factor The sociologists established the relationship between the human society values and social; relationships, our society values, and social institutions. Ideas, values, beliefs, and the institutions are the basic elements of a given culture (ECLAC, 2008). Definitely all the cultural changes constitutes a social change. Cultural and social aspects are closely related. Therefore, any change that happens in the culture, for example, change in beliefs or ideas, brings a corresponding changes in the entire social order. iv. Ideational factor The world has significantly changed in terms of technological development and innovation in the last two decades. Science and secularization had led to great changes in the society. People no longer adhere to certain habits or customs just because they have been followed for the last centuries. A man’s life today has grown to be more based on rationality. I tend to think that the ideational factor is the most important of the other forms of social change in the society. Almost every wave of change must have originated from somewhere. Ideologies and ideas are very powerful ways to motivate social change Causes and Patterns of Social Change Patterns of Social Change The social change theories, both old and new school, do assume that the social change course is not arbitrary, however, to some extent, they are patterned and regular (ECLAC, 1994). The three main types patterns of social change include cyclical, progress and decline change. i. Evolutionary/ Linear Model theories Change is non-repetitive, cumulative, permanent and developmental. The linear theory promotes the idea that change has two or more stages; view a broader historical change patterns in the human communities to involve transition from tiny, undifferentiated societies with a homogenous culture to bigger societies with high levels of structural differentiation and heterogeneous. ii. Cyclical model According to the cyclical model, change is repetitive and cyclical in nature. History repeats itself over time and time again. Examples of cyclical changes include changes in college life, families, and business cycles, etc., (Chevannes 2012). iii. Dialectical model The dialectical model is comprised of both linear and cyclical change, and as a result, change is spiral. According to the theory, a significant change happens as an attempt to bring solutions to problems and contradiction that has accumulated over time change is unraveling the stresses that have been inherited from the social life (Clarke 2013). Change involves short term repetitive alterations but features long-term cumulative change with the direction. The change process persists, but the contents of the process keep changing. Causes of Social Change There are several causes of social change. In the current world where there are high levels of connectivity including the transport system and communication, one change in one place leads to change in another place. Here are some of the causes of social change: i. Culture and Change Culture change can be divided into three main categories including discovery, invention and diffusion. Invention is the combination of the currently available elements of culture into a new thing. Inventions create new social patterns and objects ideas. The invention of social patterns, objects and ideas create a social change. Discovery happens when some people realise some existing patterns on the surface of the earth. Example of discovery change is a discovery of some medicine that cures a chronic disease. Diffusion, on the other hand, is the transfer of the cultural characteristics of one group or place to another. Diffusion occurs when people, products, and information move and spread from one place to another. For example, one culture may experience a diffusional change when they receive products being used by another culture and the people changes from their traditional product to the new product. ii. Conflict and Change Societal conflict and tension also lead to change. Karl Marx identified class conflict as the main source of change in the historical societies. Social class and stratification has been classified by Marx as a major cause of social change in the society. The two classes of people he identified in his model included the working class and the capitalists. The classes were created out of inequality between the two. iii. Environmental Change A change in the environment can lead to a change in the society structure and change in the relationship between the people. Environmental degradation may force the people living on the land to shift to other places in search of better farming land. Salinity and water logged areas also cause people to migrate in search of better land to breed cattle and build homes. People also settle looking for better factors and running away from drought, poor climate, and other environmental factors. Social Theories of Social Change A sociological theory is a group of ideologies that gives an explanation for the societies. The theories provide a partial and a particular view of a given reality. The sociological theories can be categorized depending on different criteria. The most important categories are the social action and structure action theories. i. Functionalism Functionalism is the equilibrium theory or the theory of order. The stability concept is the distinguishing trait of character, define activities that are required for the system survival, for example, the society has functional imperatives or requisites where varied functional requisite yield different structure that does some specific requisites. Examples of functionalism theories include Parson’s evolutionary theory and neo-functionalism. ii. Conflict Theories Social structures bear inherent strains. Sources of contradictions/ strains are the inherent scarcity of some values and goods. As a result, violence is born out of scarcity. Examples of conflict theories are Marxism and neo-Marxism theories. iii. Interpretive Theories The interpretive theory was created by Weber, who mainly put emphasis on overt events and behavior. Weber also looked at how the behavior and events are defined, interpreted and shaped by cultural meanings according to people’s views. For example, interpretive meaning of social action, verstehen. All the interpretive types of theories looks at the ways actors give meaning to the social issues they face and the impact of the definitions on ensuing interaction and action. According to the theory, humanity is a continuous process and not a constant structure. As the people interact, they negotiate the structure, order, and cultural meanings. Social change with Respect to American Social Trends Every generation has their own unique personalities that define and differentiate them from the other generations. The American teens and those in their twenties are a new generation embracing themselves for a life in the new millennia. The new generation (teenagers) is seen to be more creative, confident, self-expressive, upbeat and open to change (Clarke 2013). These group of young energy are more racially and ethnically diverse as compared to the current older generation. The teenagers are less religious, less superstitious, have never served in the military, and are on their way to being the most educated people in the American history and in the globe. The generation has, however, been faced with a set back by the Great Recession. The generation delayed to gain entry to their first jobs due to the social change brought about by the Great Depression. However, this generation is more positive and expects better things in their lifetime than the older generation. Some trends do have a certain impact on the social function of the family. The trends include the change in the structures of the families, migration rates and single parenthood, delayed marriage and childbearing. Globalization, the HIV/ AIDs disaster, and demographic aging. A variety of social functions including security, education, reproduction and socialization have been identified as a social unit to the family. There is a relationship/ association between the forces that allows the family to meet these functions. Globalization process has significantly reshaped both intra-national and international relations. While globalization has been around for decades now, the globalization configuration process has assumed different forms as time passes. Globalization has the influence of expanding the level of openness that is the element of a given country or territory. The creation of different trade blocks and inter-state agreements could be considered to be the mechanisms that intensify and promotes globalization (Clarke 2013). Experience over the years has indicated that countries that have their roots in other countries at the end of the day get impacted due to the relationship and the different operation settings. Through the globalization process, the conventional cultural vestiges may be overthrown by the ruling cultural artifacts and symbol that have their roots in their nation. In America, globalization influences on the families through electronic media, tourism, and the agreements originating from regional integration projects. References Chevannes, Barry (2012) “If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit: Law and the African Caribbean Family” Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Vol. 27, No. 2 Clarke, Edith (2013) My Mother Who Fathered Me: A Study of the Family in Three Selected Communities in Jamaica, Allen and Unwin, London ECLAC (2010) Population, Social Equity and Changing Production Patterns, Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile ECLAC (2008) Social Panorama of Latin America 1994, Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile Read More