SOCIAL CHANGE

Meaning and definition of social change: Change is an ever-present phenomenon. It is an integral part of nature and of man. All societies are subject to change, the physical environment, people, and culture all undergo changes. Society is not static but dynamic.

To Mac Iver and Page, social change refers to the changing pattern of social relations, social structure, of groups and organizations. It is defined as the changes in the structure and functioning of a particular social system. Identifying change involves showing how far the structure of an institution or society or community is altered over a period of time. a given social system is in a process of change when its basic institution is modified, when the roles which individuals constituting the system change when functions change, when status is based on achievement, etc.

Social change mainly refers to changes in the life patterns of people. Changes in art, science, technology, philosophy, may result in the changes in the attitudes, behavior, social processes, social patterns, interactions and relations of people. These changes then amount to social change.

Factors responsible for social change: Social change is the product of the interaction of many factors. A single factor may trigger a particular change, but it is always associated with a number of factors. The physical, biological, technological, cultural, and other factors may together being about social change. None of these factors works separately form the rest. Each factor is therefore an element in the system. Changes in one part influence the other parts, until the entire society or community is involved. The following are the factors that are responsible for change.

Physical environment – has an effect on the development of human social organization, for e.g., in extreme environmental conditions people must reorganize their ways of life in relation to weather conditions. People who live in Alaska follow different patterns of social life from people in Mediterranean countries. Major changes in the environment are quite reare but very compelling when they occur. For e.g., when there is a famine or when soil is eroded or when coal or oil in a particular region is exhausted etc., people have to move away or man’s original activity changes. Human beings however can adapt to their environment. They can master the world around them. Man does not accept the limitations imposed by his natural environment; he strives in various ways to change it. He can change the courses of rivers and turn deserts into fertile areas. Each new invention, each improvement of man can lead to change in society.

Population factors – Changes in the size, density, sex-age composition of population have an important impact on social change. A rapidly growing population must either migrate or improve in productive techniques. For e.g., population explosion in a developing country like India has led to many socio-economic problems including crime and violence. Great historical migrations and conquests of the Vikings, Huns, etc., have arisen from the pressure of a growing population upon limited resources. Migration encourages further change for it brings a group into a new environment, subjects it to new contacts and confronts it with new problems. Population changes have occurred all through human history, by reason of migration, war, changing mores, famines, etc. Those societies were declining death rate have a higher standard of living, high status of women, high levels of literacy, etc. A population change therefore is not only a change in itself, but also becomes a causal factor in further social and cultural changes.

Economic factors – influence the rate and kind of change. Industrial capitalism is one of the most important economic factors that have had a far-reaching impact on the society. It not only aims at technological innovations and increasing productivity but also maximizes profits at the cost of labor welfare. This results in conflicts between the rich and the poor. Economic inequality has become a common feature where there is deprivation of every kind. There is no equality of status, rather, a glaring disparity between the rich and the poor, leaving the country with no savings or capital investments. Our cultural interest are often affected by economy. For eg. Those interested in fine arts, dance, music, theatre, etc., as a career cannot take them for want of enough resources or economic support. However, economic factors alone cannot be the cause of social change.

Political factors – Another type of influence on social change is the impact of political developments. The struggle between nations to expand their power, develop their wealth and military over other nature has been an important source of change over the last few decades. The government as political machinery can either enhance change or disrupt and retard it. The political ideology, the policies and programs and efficiency with which they run the country tends to influence the process of social change. For e.g., political instability in India has adversely affected economic growth. NRIs and other foreign investors dread investing their money in projects or industries in India. Terrorism and religious fundamentalism have caused havoc in India. India has suffered from these politically oriented movements which have resulted in riots and conflicts. Thus, political factors can ruin a generation, affect social change, the socio-cultural and socio-economic life of the people.

Isolation and contact – Societies located at world crossroads have always centers of change. Since most traits come through diffusion, those societies in closest contact with other societies are likely to change most rapidly. Areas of greatest intercultural contact are always the centers of change. Trade, even war has always brought intercultural contact and today tourism is adding to the contacts between cultures. Conversely isolated areas are less likely to change. The most primitive tribes have been those who were the most isolated like the polar eskimos or the Onges of the Nicobar Islands. Isolation invariably retards change.

Attitudes and Values – Societies differ greatly in their general attitude towards change. A society that reveres the past, worships ancestors, are preoccupied with traditions, superstitions, and rituals will change very slowly and unwillingly. Literate and educated people tend to have positive attitudes and values towards change and hence accept changes more readily than illiterate and uneducated people do. A rapidly changing society therefore has a different attitude towards change and this attitude is both cause and effect of the change already taking place.

Perceived needs – A society’s rate and direction of change are greatly affected by the needs its members perceive. ‘Needs’ are subjective, they are real only if people feel they are real. Until people feel a need, they resist change. For e.g., the tire was invented in 1845 but was ignored until the popularity of the bicycle created an awareness of the need for tires. A more recent failure is the need to recognize that death control creates the need for birth control as well as the population will increase tremendously.

The cultural base – By cultural base we mean the accumulation of knowledge and technique available. As the cultural base grows, an increasing number of inventions, innovations and discoveries are possible. Unless the cultural base provides the necessary knowledge and technique available to the inventor, innovations cannot take place. For e.g. Leonardo da Vinci sketched many machines which were entirely workable in principle, but the technology of his day were incapable of building them.

Processes of social change

When we refer to social change as a process we mean that it is a definite step by step manner by which change takes place and where one state leads and merges into another. A process means a continuous change taking place in a definite manner through the operation of forces present from the very beginning with the situation. Examples of processes is communication, integration, socialization, inventions, diffusion, discovery, innovations, etc.

Discovery – A discovery is a shared perception of reality, which already exists. It is an addition to the world’s store of already existing knowledge. It adds something new to the culture because although this reality may have always existed, it became part of the culture only after its discovery. For e.g., human beings discovered continents, circulation of blood, the different planets, comets, etc. A discovery becomes a factor in social change only when it is put to use. For e.g., before AD 100 Hero of Alexandria had build a steam engine as a toy, but steam power produced no social changes until it was put to serious use years later. Therefore, when new knowledge is used to develop new technology, cast changes generally follow.

Invention – An invention is often defined as a new combination or a new use of existing knowledge. The wheel did not exist until someone had the idea of using a round slice of tree log and length of tree limb, or round stone. Thus, even though the elements used are not new, it is the idea of combining them in a useful way that produces something that never existed before. For e.g., iron, with the addition of small amounts of other metals, became steel, a new metal altogether. Inventions may be classified into material inventions such as bow and arrow, telephone and so on and social inventions such as the alphabet, law, etc. Each invention may be new in form, function and meaning. Form refers to the shape or trait of the new invention; function refers to what the invention does and meaning the long range consequence of its use. For e.g.  the hooka, bedi and cigarette are different in form, but not in function or meaning.

Innovation – The term innovation usually includes both discoveries and inventions. In either case something new has been added to the culture. Innovations are usually compatible with being the existing culture. Usually traits are modified to fit into the existing culture of the society. Example – A new speech form – Hinglish – new dance step, etc. A society with a good cultural base that provides for the accumulation of science, technology will have more innovations.

Diffusion – Most of the social changes in society have developed through diffusion, the spread of cultural traits from group to group. Diffusion operates both within societies and between societies. Jazz originated among the black musicians of New Orleans and today it has been diffused throughout the world. Diffusion takes place whenever societies come into contact. A typical American wears pajamas invented in India, uses coins invented in Lydia, eats waffles invented in Scandinavia and smokes (an American India habit) a cigarette, derived from Mexico. The process of diffusion therefore is an important instrument of social change. Most of the aid-programs in underdeveloped countries and underprivileged groups within countries are efforts to promote diffusion.

 

Planned social change – The direction and spread of change are often conditioned by human engineering. Planned social change referred to a conscious and systematic planning, projects, programs, etc., launched by man to determine and control the rate and development of change. For e.g., fiver year plans, Family Welfare Programs, Economic policies and so on. Planned social change is desirable as the various goals to be achieved the means to achieve them are outlined before. India has adopted planning programs after independence to bring about overall development particularly in the villages. For e.g., irrigation projects, credit societies, etc. Similarity, in the urban areas town planners seek to introduce various projects and constructive changes to make life in cities more bearable. For e.g., building flyovers, highways, controlling air and water pollution, reducing noise pollution, etc., Planning is also necessary to combat the problems that could arise of unplanned changes. Unplanned changes refer to changes resulting from natural calamities, wars, etc. Therefore, planning change is a necessary feature of modern societies in order to achieve overall progress.

 

Resistance to and acceptance of social change

Specific attitudes and values – Aside from its general attitude towards change, each society has many specific attitudes and values. Peoples establishes likes and dislikes are important factors in social change. If an object or trait has a purely utilitarian value – i.e., if it is a valued because of what it will do, or how it will benefit people – change may be accepted quite readily.

Demonstrability of innovations – An innovation is most quickly accepted when its usefulness can be easily demonstrated. The American Indians very eagerly accepted the European guns and pistols, as it was more useful than the bow and arrow. The people in the urban areas readily accepted the pressure cooker, washing machine, and various other household appliances. Sometimes inventions are inefficient in their earlier stages that the general acceptance is delayed until they are perfected. For e.g., the recent innovations of the solar operated autorickshaws or cars are not readily accepted. Social inventions however can be tested only through long term trial.

Compatibility with existing culture – Innovations are most readily accepted when they fit in nicely with the existing culture. If the innovation conflicts with the existing culture, it may be rejected, or it may be modified to fit into it. Many tribal areas have readily accepted the procedures and materials of scientific medicine – antibiotics, vaccinations, etc., and have continued to use their traditional folk medicine. Today American movies, sport, fashion, etc. have been readily accepted in Indian society, but with necessary modifications.

Technical difficulties and costs of change – Change is almost always costly. Not only does it disrupt the existing culture and destroy cherished sentiments and values, but it also involves some specific costs. The very poor resist change because they cannot afford to take any risks. Technology not only costs materially but also brings about difficulties if the culture is not modified enough to accept new change.

Role of the change agent – who proposes a change how does this person go about it? The identity of the originator greatly affects acceptance or resistance of change. Innovations, which are first adopted by persons at the top of the social ladder, are likely to filter downward quite rapidly. Many change agents are deviants of some sort. The non-conformists may launch a new fashion, speech form, or dance step, which may be readily accepted among people.