Social change

SOCIAL CHANGE
FARHAN GAFOOR C H

DEFENITION
According to Jenson : "Social change may be defined as
modification in the ways of doing and thinking of people."
According to MacIver and Page : "Change in social structure
is social change." Social structure is the network of
relationship in a society involving social status, social roles and
social norms.

MEANING
Social change is an alteration in the social order of a society. Social
change may include changes in nature, social institutions, social
behaviours, or social relation
Social change may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural
evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by
evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-
economic structure, for instance a shift away from feudalism and
towards capitalism. Accordingly, it may also refer to social revolution,
such as the Socialist revolution presented in , or to other social
movements, such as Women's suffrage or the Civil rights movement.
Social change may be driven by cultural, religious, economic, scientific
or technological forces[

FEATURES
• Universality: Change is universal, an eternal and invariable law of nature. Social
changes take place in all the societies of the world. Therefore, social change is
universal in character.
• Continuity: Social change is a continuous process. It does not take place at one
point of time only. It takes place all the time at all the places. However, we can
predict some direction of change.
• Variation: Social change is relative in time, and according to a specific period in
time, its rate may be high or low. The rate and quantum of change varies from
one society to another depending upon the prevailing conditions.
• Criteria of larger population: Only those changes are considered as social change
that affects larger population. Social change is accepted as such only when the
majority of individuals in a society accept it in their life, behaviour and beliefs

• Independence: Social change is independent of the desire and will of the people
or society.
• Forces: Social change is caused due to internal and external forces.
• Planned as well unplanned: There was a time when changes were unplanned and
un directed. But in the modern time changes can be planned to achieve the goals
of the society.
• Structural or functional: Any change in the social structure or its function is social
change.

THEORIES
1. Evolutionary Theory:
Despite the wide variety in the possible directions change may take,
various generalisations have been set forth. Because the lot of mankind
generally has improved over the long term, by far the most numerous
classes of theories of the direction of change comprise various
cumulative or evolutionary trends. Though varying in many ways, these
theories share an important conclusion that the course of man’s history
is marked up ‘upward’ trend through time.
TYPES :
(1) Theory of unilinear evolution
(2) Universal theory of evolution
(3) Multilinear theory of evolution

2. Cyclical Theory:
Cyclical change is a variation on unilinear theory which was developed
by Oswald Spengler (Decline of the West, 1918) and Arnold J. Toynbee
(A Study of History, 1956). They argued that societies and civilisations
change according to cycles of rise, decline and fall just as individual
persons are born, mature, grow old, and die. According to German
thinker Spengler, every society has a predetermined life cycle—birth,
growth, maturity and decline. Society, after passing through all these
stages of life cycle, returns to the original stage and thus the cycle
begins again.

3. Economic Theory:
Owing largely to the influence of Marx and Marxism, the economic
theory of change is also known as the Marxian theory of change.
The Marxian theory rests on this fundamental assumption that changes
in the economic ‘infra-structure’ of society are the prime movers of
social change. For Marx, society consists of two structures—’infra-
structure’ and ‘super-structure’. The ‘infra-structure’ consists of the
‘forces of production’ and ‘relations of production’.
The ‘super-structure’ consists of those features of the social system,
such as legal, ideological, political and religious institutions, which
serve to maintain the ‘infra-structure’, and which are moulded by it.

4 Conflict theory:
Conflict theorists do not believe that societies smoothly evolve to
higher level. Instead, they believe that conflicting groups struggle to
ensure progress (Coser, 1956). Conflict theorists assert that conflict is a
necessary condition for change. It must be the cause of change. There
is no society, changing or unchanging, which does not have conflict of
some kind or another. Thus, conflict is associated with all types of social
change in some way or other.
The modem conflict theory is heavily influenced by the ideas of karl
Marx. It may be regarded as the offshoot of his economic theory of
social change which states that economic change only occurs and
produces other change through the mechanism of intensified conflict
between social groups and between different parts of the social
system. Conflict would ultimately transform society.

5. Technological theory:
Social change takes place due to the working of many factors.
Technology is not only one of them but an important factor of social
change. When it is said that almost whole of human civilisation is the
product of technological development, it only means that any change
in technology would initiate a corresponding change in the
arrangement of social relationships.
“Technology changes by changing our environment to which we, in
turn, adapt. This change is usually in the material environment, and the
adjustment we make to the changes often modifies customs and social
institutions.”
- W. F. Ogburn

CAUSES
• Geographical factor (Physical environment): Social change takes place due to
physical environment or geographical factor. Floods, earthquakes, famine,
epidemics, fires, excessive rains, drought hot or cold climate transform the life
style of people. The changing face of the earth due to advancing deserts or due
to irrigation also affects population to a great extent.
• Biological factor: Biological factors like heredity prepare the way for social
change. The biological heredity determines the general and glandular
constitution of the offspring which is closely related to temperament,
intelligence, physique, activity level and other potentialities of individuals.
Biological factors result into better equipped or less equipped persons, strong or
weak persons and several other changes in social set up. Difference in sex ratio
which is in fact the result of the biological factor, changes customs of marriage
makes changes in social set up and social structure.

• Demographic factor: Population plays a vital of social change. Due to
increase or decrease in population the possibility of social change is
also influenced. Because of these factors change in social structure of
the country is taking place at a rapid speed. Decrease or increase in
the population has an immediate effect upon economic institutions
and associations. The ratio of men to women in a society affects
marriage, family and the condition of women in the society.
• Technological and scientific factors: Technological and scientific
inventions such as various types of machines and equipments etc. are
potent factors in social change. They break regional barriers by
providing easy and fast means of communication as well as of
conveyance. The press, radio and aeroplane together have brought
the world closer and provided for intercultural impacts. Scientific
inventions in the field of medicine, public health, community
organization, the means of transportation, the means of knowledge,
dissemination and interaction, and physical environment are regarded
as significant factors in social change.

• Ideological factors: Social change is caused by ideological factors.
Ideas rule the world. Philosophical, scientific and political ideas
significantly influence social change. New scientific thoughts, new
religious ideas, new philosophies revolutionize the world. Rise of
Buddhism, Communism, and Fascism have magically influenced new
thought and human mind and changed its attitudes and values of life.
Ideas like "liberty, equality, equality and fraternity", became a
powerful force for bringing about a revolution as they did in the case
of French Revolution in 1789. Similarly ideologies like communism,
socialism and democracy have impact on changing the patterns of
society.

• Cultural factors: Human culture is a process of change. Any change in
cultural order is accompanied by a corresponding change in the
whole social order. Culture gives speed and direction to social change
and determines the limits beyond which social changes cannot occur.
Cultural factors change from generation to generation and they bring
about the change in the society.
• Psychological factors: Psychological factors are important elements in
social change. Man by nature is a lover of change. He is always trying
to discover new things in every sphere of his life and is always anxious
for new experiences. As a result of this tendency the most traditions,
customs etc. of every human society are undergoing perpetual
change.
• War: War is also a cause of social change because it influences the
population, the economic situation and ratio of males to female, etc.

• New opinions and thoughts: Another factor of social change is the
appearance of new opinions and thoughts. For example changes in
the attitudes towards dowry, caste system, female education, etc.
have resulted in wide spread social variations and modifications. In
fact, a majority of the social revolutions take place as a result of the
evolution of new ways of thinking.
• Voluntary acts of individuals: History is replete with examples where
"all important social and cultural changes are brought about by men
of genius." In the modern world, Lenin in Russia and Mahatma
Gandhi in India, have had a profound influence, and it would be
difficult to demonstrate that our world would have been different had
they not lived and acted as they did.
• Acceptance by high status individuals: Any change would become
easily accepted in the society if the people who are in high position
would accept the change.

• Legislation: Legislation plays an important role in bringing about
planned social change. Abolition of slavery in the U.S.A. could be
affected by legislation and it brought about massive change in the
social structure and systems of not only the U.S.A. But other parts of
the world as well. Compulsory primary and secondary education in
Western and Asian countries, legislation against practice of
untouchability, raising the age of marriage by law, ensuring the
property rights of women, are a few measures which have brought
about radical social changes in various countries including India.

• Education: Education is the most powerful factor of social change.
• Westernization: Westernization means blind imitation of the social
ways and values prevailing in western countries. The trend towards
Westernization in India can be seen in all fields— social, economic,
political, cultural, religious and educational. India is following the
example of the West. In the social sphere we are following the West
in matters like dress, life style and town-planning etc.

RESISTANCE
• Social barriers: Social factors such as orthodoxy, rigid caste and class structure,
public opinion, vested interests, factionalism, conflict, are the barriers to change.
• Cultural barriers: Conservatism, fatalism, superstitions, a feeling of pride and
dignity in the old and traditional ways of life, incompatibility of new and old
cultural traits, slavery and poverty are the cultural barriers to change.
• Political barriers: Political factors also resist social change. In our country many
kings, maharajas and big landlords oppose many changes to bring about equality
among the people.

• Economic barriers: Economic conditions also are obstruction in social change.
Poor people do not think of anything except bread and other necessities of life. A
person may become lazy because of excessive surplus money. He thinks
everything in terms of materialistic benefits. He is resistant to good changes.
• Psychological barriers: Man's love for traditions, his pessimistic attitude, the lack
of desire for material and economic gains, indifference towards the material
world and learning problems are some of the psychological barriers to social
change.
• Fear: Fear of the people that social change will prove harmful is resistant to
change. Those who are leading a life of slavery and poverty and those who, for
lack of confidence fear that social change will bring misery and sorrow are
barriers to social change.

• Shortage of inventions: When the public is not dynamic there are fewer or no
inventions. People are not prepared to accept the invention. If there is no
invention or fewer inventions the chances of social change become bleak.
• Isolation: Isolation is another deterrent factor. When a certain social group, a
society or a community is isolated from the rest of the social group, community,
nation or the world, the members do not have the opportunity to observe other
groups and consequently do not become aware of their weaknesses,
shortcomings, tensions and needs. It must be kept in mind that isolation may be
psychological as well as geographical Sometimes strong in-group loyalties also
cause social isolation.

Social change

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