Social Change

Social Change: Meaning

Sometimes social changes happen very slowly, while at other times a single event creates a storm that alters the current situation almost instantaneously. Social change can be a result of anything from natural to human-made developments and intentional or unintentional changes.

Social Change in Sociology

Scholars argue that the social changes we experience today are the results of thousand-year old processes. So far, historians have distinguished four major social shifts in human history.

1. The first one was the change from hunting and gathering communities to pastoral societies.

2. The second social change brought advanced agricultural societies. It was the result of technological developments, such as the invention of the plow.

3. The third major social change came after the invention of the steam engine that set the Industrial Revolution in motion.

4. Finally, we are experiencing the fourth social change today, the technological revolution started by the invention of the microchip.

Scholars predict that the next social revolution, which is not so far away, will be based on biotechnology.

Below, we'll be looking at some other causes of social change.

Causes of Social Change

Sociologists have identified four major causes of social change, from technology to the environment. Let us look at them in detail.

Technology Causing Social Change

Thomas Friedman (2005) argues that the most important force behind social change is globalization, which is driven by technological development. He developed his theory in a book titled The World Is Flat. Looking at globalization, Friedman claimed it was happening in three distinct periods.

Initially, globalization was driven by the expansion of military power, including horsepower and wind power. The countries that took advantage of this the most also expanded the most and controlled global politics from the 15th century to roughly 1800.

In the second period, from the Industrial Revolution until the 2000s, globalization was all about the economy; namely, steam power and rail power as the main drivers of social change.

Most recently, globalization is driven by technological development, especially by the changes to the Internet and its use. Technological changes affect other areas of life and thus influence the other three agents of social change: social institutions, population and the environment (which we will look at below).

The social changes generated by technology has had both positive and negative effects on our lives. Some highlight the benefits of technological development, while others can only see the drawbacks. Scholars are most concerned about the digital divide, the loss of privacy and cyberbullying as three major drawbacks of digitalization.

Fig. 1 - Technology driven by social change has both positive and negative impacts.

Social Institutions Causing Social Change

Transformations in social institutions have rippled effects in other social institutions. If something changes in one social institution, it will most likely have an effect on the others.

Similarly, when work moved from the farms to the factories, children had to be educated differently both in terms of study content and time schedule. They needed to gain practical knowledge about the operation of machinery instead of learning about crops and seasonal farming duties. Schools had to organize teaching in a way that allowed the children to work in factories besides the classes.

As a result, industrialization brought about changes in the institution of education.

Population and Social Change

Populations change all the time within countries and globally, sometimes due to external forces such as natural disasters or an epidemic. Such changes can also result from changes in social institutions, as mentioned above. When population trends change, they can impact the rest of society greatly.

America is experiencing an increase of older population and a decline of birthrates. This means there will be higher demand for elderly care and housing facilities as certain social institutions adapt to population changes. In addition, the impact of loss of tax income and demand for retirement plans may affect the country's stability.

Globally, countries with the highest rates of fertility are often the least capable of adapting to a growing population, which emphasizes the importance of family planning, including resources and knowledge. Overall, population growth (especially as the global population just reached 8 billion in 2022) means increased stress on natural resources, even more so in the poorer parts of the world.

The Environment and Social Change

More and more people are affected by natural disasters nowadays, and as we increase human interaction with nature, the numbers will rise even higher. As mentioned earlier, population growth means more people are exploiting the planet’s resources and that is likely to lead to more ecological issues.

Many activists and movements have asserted that we cannot go on like we are. 350.org for example, argues that we are on a verge of a sixth massive extinction. Already, many animal species have become extinct in recent decades and humanity might be the next if - according to 350.org - we don’t reduce the CO2 level in the atmosphere below 350 parts per million and if we don't change our habits.

While the first five massive extinctions our planet has witnessed were all caused by natural causes, the sixth one - if it happens - will almost entirely be blamable on humans, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Effects of Social Change in Society: Modernization

Modernization is a key effect of social change that we can see in society.

A society is usually considered modern if it has sophisticated technology, particularly in terms of industry and infrastructure. We could point out, however, that this judgement is inherently ethnocentric. Why do we immediately assume that nations which do not have developed industries strive to do so? Is what we considered to be modern completely beneficial?

We have already briefly considered how technological development has a dark side. We might save time with devices such as dishwashers and vacuum cleaners, and we might be able to connect to people on the other side of the globe, but it also means we have more time to spend on work and more pressure to always be available online. Information might be available at our fingertips anytime we need, but we are also flooded by misinformation and fake news. We may find it difficult to know what is true and false anymore.

Sociologists, just like average people, must keep in mind that more traditional cultures might not regard the Western world as amazing, and they might not need capitalist countries to go there and force their ‘modernity’ on them. This is not to imply that we should idealize rural communities with serious problems such as diseases and poverty. However, we need preservation as well as development, the issue of which must be understood and handled carefully and with thought.

Theories of Social Change

Sociologists and historians have always tried to find explanations for social change. We are now going to consider four important theories about the causes and results of social change in society.

Evolutionary Theories of Social Change

These theories were based on Charles Darwin’s theory of biological evolution. He argued that species were constantly evolving from low to high development levels.

Some social scientists in the 20th century applied Darwin’s theory to societies and argued that society was in a constant process of progression. There are two branches of this theory.

Unilinear Theory of Social Change

The unilinear theory argues that all societies have the same path, developing from simplistic organizations to complex systems.

Lewis Morgan (1877) identified three stages of this path: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. He cited England as an example, as Morgan believed it was the highest form of civilization possible (Morgan happened to be English). All societies were set to follow this path and end up at the same level as England.

August Comte, one of the founding fathers of sociology, also believed in this constant and inevitable progression of human society, as did functionalist Émile Durkheim.

Multilinear Theory of Social Change

Multilinear theory, on the other hand, argues that societies arrive to the highest stage, but following different routes than the same path. However, they agree with unilinear theorists that the goal is a civilized, industrial society.

Both unilinear and multilinear theories of social evolution believe in cultural progress. They view tribalism and, in general, non-Western cultures as primitive and striving for the Western way of life and civilization.

This theory was popular for centuries, but disregarded a few decades ago as it became more evident that Western society was in a crisis and did not have the upper hand on civilization. This is due to ongoing and widespread issues of poverty, racism, terrorism, war, sexual assaults, diseases and crime.

As a result, doubts were cast on the assertion that the West is the highest stage of human civilization. The theory of cultural progress does not seem as convincing as it did during the Industrial Revolution.

Natural Cycles to Explain Social Change

How is it possible that Ancient Egypt was such an advanced civilization and society, yet it fell? How did empires of culture, politics and philosophy, Ancient Greek and Ancient Rome became dust? The natural cycles theory suggests that they might have reached their 'expiration date'.

Fig. 2 - According to natural cycles theory, empires and civilizations, like Ancient Egypt, have a natural life cycle.

That is what cyclical theorists argue when it comes to the rise and fall of societies. They believe civilizations are like organisms: they are born, they have a youth, a middle age, a decline and old age and finally death comes for them (Hughes 1962).

Historian Arnold Toynbee (1946) claimed that while civilizations and empires experience revolts and struggles, the ruling elite usually keeps these under control in a non-violent manner. The fabric of society tears over time when they are unable to maintain control without force - this usually happens when an empire has reached its peak.

According to Toynbee, in these cases civilization and culture has already declined and although force can keep the society up for a long time, eventually it is doomed to collapse.

In a book by Oswald Spengler (The Decline of the West (1926-28)), Spengler states that the West has reached its peak as a civilization and is already on the decline. Many supported this view, given the horrific happenings of the 20th century even though we were able to overcome them.

If we take Toynbee's view that declines of civilizations can last for decades, Spengler may be correct in his analysis that the West is declining. This is evidenced by the ongoing crises mentioned in the evolutionary theories of social change.

Conflict Over Power Theory of Social Change

Karl Marx and his followers established the conflict theory of social change. He argued that social change is a recurring process in which the current system of power (thesis) is challenged by its opposition (antithesis) until a new system of power (synthesis) is developed. This new system functions for a while until the process starts all over again.

In something that Marx called this the dialectical process of history, the social and economic theorist also added that every ruling group creates their own opposition and thus plays a role in its own destruction.

Ogburn’s Theory of Social Change

The fourth major theory comes from social scientist, William Ogburn, and is based on technology. He claimed that technology changes society, and it does it in three ways: by invention, discovery and diffusion.

Inventions in Society

Ogburn argues that the invention of material items, such as microchips and computers, create social change. The invention of cars revolutionized the way we commuted, as we could start traveling longer distances to work. Mass telecommunications revolutionized our interactions in virtually all aspects of our lives.

Similarly, the invention of new concepts and theories (social inventions) can also have transformative effects on society. Examples of social inventions are democracy, citizenship, socialism, capitalism and even gender equality. They generally influence people’s interactions, relationships and everyday lives.

Discovery of Existing Reality

The second process of change, identified by Ogburn, is discovery. Discovery is a new way of seeing reality that already exists; when people discover it for the first time it can have big consequences.

For example, Columbus’ ‘discovery’ of America had history-altering consequences.

Diffusion of Inventions and Discoveries to Other Lands

Diffusion refers to the process of an invention or discovery spreading to other lands and areas. Both social and material inventions, when diffused into new areas can change people’s lives and their social systems there.

For example, the concepts of citizenship and gender equality spread all over the world and changed social systems globally. Similarly, the introduction and widespread use of steel axes to the Australian Aborigine societies gave women the opportunities to possess them. Previously they were handled by men unless women had permission to use them.

Ogburn argued that technology is usually the main driver of change and invention, and that discovery and diffusion are all connected to technology. Culture, however, is always a little behind. Culture, meaning customs, behavior trends, norms and art have to adapt to the technological advances of the world. This is what Ogburn calls ‘cultural lag’.

Evaluation of Ogburn’s Theory of Social Change

Ogburn’s theory is often criticized for being too one-directional and holding technology alone responsible for social change. Critics of Ogburn like to point out that people are not just passive players in the world being affected by technological developments and unable to take control over it. People take control over technology and use it consciously, rather than just being influenced by it.

In addition, social change can also affect technology, not just the other way around. For example, the rise of Nazism in Europe stimulated America and the Soviet Union to develop the atomic bomb.