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Intro to Social Change | ||||
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Social Change | ||||
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Collective Behavior | ||||
Unplanned Souces of Social Change | |||||
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Social Change & the Physical Env | ||||
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Contact & Diffusion | ||||
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Rationality | ||||
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Technology | ||||
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Technological Determinism | ||||
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Technology & Social Change | ||||
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The Media | ||||
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The Media & Social Change | ||||
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Urbanization | ||||
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Urbanization & Social Change | ||||
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Internal Conflict & Social Change | ||||
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Revolutionary Movements | ||||
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Theories of Revolution | ||||
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Military Breakdown | ||||
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Revolutions & Soc Change | ||||
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Introduction to War | ||||
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War & Social Change | ||||
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Guns, Germs, & Steel: Jared Diamond | ||||
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Rates of Social Change | ||||
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Modernization & Escalating Social Change | ||||
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Beyond Modernity: Even Faster Social Change | ||||
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The Consequences of Rapid Social Change | ||||
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Causes of Social Change | ||||
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Theories of Social Change | ||||
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Equilibrium Theory / Functionalism on Social Change | ||||
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Conflict Theory on Social Change | ||||
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Evolutionary Theories on Social Change | ||||
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Social Evolution | ||||
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Social Evolution & Adaptation | ||||
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Cyclical Theories on Social Change | ||||
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Planned Souces of Social Change | ||||
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Economic Development | ||||
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Social Change in the 3rd World | ||||
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Modernization Theory | ||||
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Dependency Theory | ||||
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World Systems Theory | ||||
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Imperialism | ||||
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Socio Hist Analysis of Imperialism | ||||
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Peripheral Nation s & Socialist Revolutions | ||||
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Foreign Aid | ||||
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International Loans | ||||
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A World System Theory Critique | ||||
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Social Change & Individualism | ||||
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The Importance of Social Movements: Social Mvmts as Agents of Social Change | ||||
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Orgs & Social Change | ||||
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Bono | ||||
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Mandela |
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A Model of Collective Behavior demonstrates that Precipitating incidents justify the emergence of a norm which justifies extra institutional action, i.e., outside of the normal channels & that a precipitating incidents justify or stimulate the interaction of pre-existing groups or ad hoc formations give pre-existing conditions of feasibility & timeliness |
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CHANGES IN THE PHYSICAL ENV CAUSES CHANGES IN HUMAN SOCIETY |
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The physical env can be a major source of soc change | |||||
The phys env limits the systems of production humans develop | |||||
People living in mountains, river areas, valleys, & other isolating areas are more difficult to unify into a society | |||||
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When climate changes, which it has from time to time (as in the Little Ice Age), or when a group moves to a new climate, soc life must adjust |
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NASA defines the Little Ice Age as a cold period between AD 1550 & AD 1850 & notes 3 particularly cold intervals: one beginning about 1650, another about 1770, & the last in 1850, each separated by intervals of slight warming | |||||
CHANGES IN THE PHYSICAL ENV MAY BE THE RESULT OF NATURAL FACTORS OR HUMAN FACTORS | |||||
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While it has often appeared to humans as if the climate was a constant, we now know that the env & climate has changed as a result of 'natural' & human factors |
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As the env & climate have changed, human societies have adapted to it |
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Note that it is a pt of debate whether human action in relation to the env is 'natural' or not |
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Today we generally view human activity as unnatural, but many view humans in hunter gatherer society or in early ag society as natural as we hunted species to extinction, changed the predominant flora in a region, etc |
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Humans can change the climate, as in the expansion of deserts b/c of overgrazing & over harvesting of firewood in the mideast, no Africa, & esp Italy, Greece & England in Europe |
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TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM | |||||
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Since the beginning of org theory, social scientists have asked whether org structure, social structure, society, & even humanity itself is determined by technology, or some other factor |
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Other factors that are considered to be deterministic include human nature, economics, particular drives such as sex or greed, psychological determinism, genetic / the drive to leave minions, religion, ideology, culture, & so on | |||||
Many historians & social scientists have seen tech as a major determining factor throughout the histl ages | |||||
However, the question for scholars of determinism is whether the social relations of production of particular age were determined by the technology or whether they could have been different because they were caused by particular property relations, class structure, or the social cooperation among producers | |||||
Marx analyzed FOUR types of determinism, including economic social relations, cultural / ideological relations, property relations, & technological determinism | |||||
A & B. Marx's determinism holds that economics relations (base) determine culture (superstructure), ideology, etc. |
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C. Some social theorists focus on modes of ownership, i.e. property relations as being determinant in society |
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See Also: Economic vs. Cultural Determination for a discussion of the determinism of the base, the superstructure, & property relations | |||||
D. Another type of determinism that Marx examines is technological determinism which holds that society, relations of production, culture, etc. are shaped by the current technology |
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How might one make the techl determinist argument in light of the internet or some other modern technology? |
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Marx does not give causal priority to instruments of production (technology), but the relationships that exist w/ a particular set of technology |
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Marx said, "The hand mill gives you a society with the feudal lord; the steam mill, a society w/ the industrial capitalist." |
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As w/ economic determinism, Marx seems to go back & forth |
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For Marx, there is an interaction of all these elements in the economic base, i.e. the forces of production, the relations of production, the instruments of production, the historical conditions, etc. | |||||
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Thus Marx & Engels are also social evolutionists while the final determinant is the economy, but this is not simple economic determinism | ||||
Engels wrote to Block, that there is an interaction of all these elements: the forces, relations, & instruments of production, hist conditions, the superstructure & the economic base, & more | |||||
While the final determiner of social relations is the economy, but Marx & Engels are also social evolutionists | |||||
The level of development of the forces of production at the pure techl level is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the emergence of certain social formations | |||||
For Marx, as the instruments of production (technology) vary, so does div of labor, but not necessarily the nature of the society as a whole, or even its class structure | |||||
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But we must look at each tech & stage of development to see its effect on the mode of prod | ||||
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For Marx, the level of development of forces of production is a necessary but not sufficient condition for emergence of certain social formations | ||||
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Contemporary social scientists have built on & modified Marx's view that social relationships are a primary determinant of society, social life, economic structure, orgl structure, etc. |
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For Marx & most other social scientists today, tech definitely present new opportunities as well as threats to mgt, wkrs, & society in general; however, to date it is still seen as a neutral tool that can be used for ill or good |
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Thus tech is not deterministic & the opportunities or threats that it poses are in the hands of humankind, & because mgt controls most tech, tech's control is in the hands of mgt | |||||
Because control of tech is in the hands of mgt, it often appears to be detrimental to wkrs' interests, & this fact is often used by mgt & even social scientist as a smokescreen that tech is inherently deterministic | |||||
Tech control & tech determinism is used by mgt so that they can say 'this is the way it has to be' |
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NEW TECH THAT IS ADOPTED BY A SOCIETY OFTEN RESULTS IN SOC CHANGE |
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Tech is the application of scientific knowledge to a practical task |
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New tech creates new occupations & often makes the formerly inaccessible or unusable resources valuable |
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New tech often makes old occupations obsolete |
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Changes is tech can cause soc change throughout society |
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An examples of societal change brought about by tech includes the advent of agriculture, the advent of mechanical power (eg water, then steam, then combustion power), the advent of the auto, the advent of the internet, & more |
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The development of ag, mechanical power, the auto, the internet create entirely new field of occupations & industries & made other occupations & industries obsolete |
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As Marx makes clear in his discussion of tech, it is not the tech per se which causes soc change, but how society allows it to develop through particular social structures such as the extent of private & public property, control & ownership of tech, the ownership of skills & education systems, & more |
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Marx calls the social factors that interact w/ tech to determine its ultimate application in society the forces of production & the relations of production |
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See also: Marx | |||||
See also: Mode of Production |
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9. Media SS Examples
Groups: (Orgs): Most media groups today are formal orgs Positions: Mgrs., admin, reporters Relationships: similar to econ model Allocation of Resources: typical History: H-G society: gossip Ancient: Elites receive news orally by messenger Writing develops; elites receive some written communication Industrial: Use of printing press expands; Communication avail to all classes |
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Most media groups today are formal
orgs
Media sectors - entertainment - news - education - advertising |
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The Media is highly networked
Entertainment sector: similar to the Leisure / Recreation Social Structure Media networked to the Ed Social Structure Advertising is networked to Econ / Wk Social Structure News networked to Govt Social Structure & others |
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There are Four Levels of the Media, including the:
National media Regional media (large urban areas) Local media (small cities, towns, etc) The Web & Email Lists |
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Media Orgs
NBC CBS ABC Time Warner CNN Fox Movie & performing arts Books & print media |
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THE MEDIA RARELY CREATES SOC CHANGE ON ITS OWN; RATHER IT ACCELERATES THE DIFFUSION OF SOC CHANGE BY MAKING IT MORE AVAILABLE TO MORE PEOPLE |
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The media from local org newsletters, as in the church bulletin, to Twitter, blogs, etc, is both criticized & praised as an agent of soc change |
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The effect of the media is often overstated in the sense that media more often responds to change than causes change |
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The media is more reflective of society than constructive of society |
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The speed at which info travels today has had the effect of making the world resemble a 'global village' in which everyone instantly knows what is happening elsewhere (McLuhan, 1964) |
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See Also: McLuhan, Ecological Communication |
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The instant transfer of info & the parallel transparency or openness in society both facilitate the development of soc mvmts, while making dictatorial control more difficult |
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During the Tianamen Square uprising in China in 1989 protesters used fax machines & the telephone to communicate w/ one another & the outside world |
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In the US, the Civil Rights Mvmt of the 1950s & 60s gained support as TV showed images of protesters & children being beaten & water hosed by police |
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In 1991 the failed Soviet coup plotters shut down dissident Soviet newspapers but did nothing to control the intl media who broadcast the military moving to occupy Moscow & the image of the friendly tank commander popping out of his tank to shake the hand of the coup resistors' leader, Boris Yeltsin |
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The Arab Spring revolts from Tunisia to Egypt to Syria have all been aided by both the broadcast media sending their messages & plight around the world, making it more difficult for govt to violently crack down, & by the use of social media & cell phones to communicate & coordinate protest & revolutionary activities |
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One ultimate effect of the media & social change is that it allows advocates of democracy to communicate w/ one another & w/ supporters outside the country by many conduits of communication / the media |
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One ultimate effect of the media & social change is that it allows advocates of democracy to broadcast any bloody attacks to the world, preventing them from going unnoticed |
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INTERNAL CONFLICT IS A SYMPTOM THAT SOC CHANGE IS ABOUT TO OCCUR; IN THE PAST AUTOCRATIC GOVTS SUPPRESSED CONFLICT & SOC CHANGE; TODAY MODERN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONS EXPERIENCE MORE INTERNAL CONFLICT & MORE CHANGE |
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Internal conflicts & failures serve as the focal pt for organized efforts for change such as soc mvmts, revolutionaries, terrorists, political parties, etc |
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Inequality & discrimination toward workers, African Americans, women, & homosexuals in the US gave rise to the labor, civil rights, feminist, & gay rights mvmts |
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Each of these mvmts led to soc change both in the form of changed attitudes toward these grps & in the form of legislation |
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Mvmts also originate in an attempt to minimize internal conflict by preserving past traditions |
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The English wking class & early union mvmts emerged from attempts by wkrs to preserve the rights as independent skilled craftsmen that they had existed in pre industrial times |
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Thus the first unions were craft unions who actually fought against the organization of industrial wkrs |
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Craft unions dominated the Labor mvmt until 1935 when the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) was founded | |||||
It was not until 1955 when the CIO merged w/ the lead craft union, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to form the AFL CIO when the internal conflict btwn craft & industrial wkrs was institutionally healed |
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The anti abortion mvmt originated in an attempt to preserve what mvmt members see as traditional religious values |
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Many internal conflict have led to revolutions, the most dramatic, if also one of the rarest forms of soc change |
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- Project: The Most Important Rev |
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Revolutionary mvmts are soc mvmts whose objective is to achieve some radical change, & remake the entire, or most of society | ||||
Revolution is a term that generally refers to a fundamental change in the character of a nation's govt, & possibly in the society, that may or may not be achieved through violent means | |||||
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Revolutionary mvmts are a type of transformative mvmt |
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A revolutionary mvmt hopes to achieve radical change through the elimination of old social institutions & the establishment of new social institutions |
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Rev soc mvmts want to completely destroy the old social order & replace it w/ a new one | |||||
The goal of a rev is the total transformation of society by destroying the old govt & replacing all current leaders | |||||
Revolutions may also occur in other areas than govt, including cultural, economic, and social activities | |||||
Rev are the most threatening to existing social order, authority, & power | |||||
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Sometimes revs have specific goals, sometimes only vague utopian dreams | ||||
For Marx, there is a clear distinction between political changes in governments and radical changes in the economic organization of society even when the former occurs violently | |||||
For Marx, most revs are simply the replacement of one political regime w/ another, while the fundamental structures of soc stay intact | |||||
The type of rev which Marx advocated was the replacement of one mode of production with another | |||||
For Marx, the history of societies is the history of class conflict or the contradiction within the mode of production between the forces and the relations of production, & thus rev must come about through class conflict, which need not be violent, but unfortunately often is | |||||
See Also: Marx's Theory of Rev | |||||
Rev is an important example of mass protest operating outside orthodox political channels, but there are other, limited situations in which uprising or outbreaks of social violence occur in the actions of street crowds or mass demonstrations | |||||
Social mvmts, i.e. loose associations of people working collectively to achieve shared ends, play key roles in revolutions | |||||
The existence of soc mvmts which receive mass support is a defining characteristic of revolution | |||||
As w/ any mass action, soc mvmts come into being in many other situations besides those of a rev mvmt | |||||
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See Also: The Forms of Revolution | ||||
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Revolutionary mvmts are rare compared to transformative or reformative mvmts |
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Revolutionary mvmts usually occur when a series of reform mvmts have failed to achieve the objectives they seek |
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There are "militia groups" in the US who believe the fed govt is evil & want to overthrow it |
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The Montana Freemen could be considered rev soc mvmts |
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Many soc mvmts have actually led to real social & political revs in their society | |||||
Most revs intend to create a better society by replacing the power structure w/ one based on different principles | |||||
The nature of revs have changed over time being extremely rare throughout most of history, then occurring sporadically in the early industrial era, & these becoming plentiful in the industrial age | |||||
See Also: The History of Rev | |||||
Many countries have also experienced unsuccessful revolutions, including Chile, Argentina, Hungary, etc. | |||||
While rare, revolutions do occur & are usually historic in nature as seen in countries as diverse as the US, Russia, France, Cuba, China, Iran, Mexico, Zimbabwe, & the Philippines | |||||
The English Parliamentary Rev in the 1500 & 1600s, the French anti monarchist mvmt beginning in the 1700s & continuing through the 1800s, the Russian Rev, the Communist Rev in China, & Fidel Castro's socialist mvmt in Cuba all succeeded in completely destroying the existing power structure & replacing it w/ a new idealized social order | |||||
Almost all 20th C revs occurred in developing societies such as Mexico, Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam, Cuba, & Nicaragua, not in industrial nations (Moore, 1965) | |||||
The revolutions that have had the biggest impact for the world in this century were the Russian Rev of 1917, Chinese Rev of 1949, & while the Cuban Rev was less important, it has had a greater impact because of the Cold War & geo-politics |
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Rev Mvmts | ||||
- The Forms of Rev | |||||
- The Socio Historical Development of Revolution | |||||
- The US Rev, 1776 | |||||
- The French Rev, 1789 | |||||
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- The Russian Rev, 1917 | ||||
- The Indian Rev, 1947 | |||||
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- The Chinese Rev, 1949 | ||||
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- The Cuban Rev, 1959 | ||||
- The Czech Republic Rev | |||||
- The European & Arab Revolutions Compared | |||||
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The Explanations of the Development of Social Mvmts & Revolutions | ||||
The Consequences of Rev |
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THERE ARE MANY THEORIES WHICH DESCRIBE FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIKELIHOOD OF REV, INCLUDING: WIDESPREAD DISCONTENT, LOSS OF LEGITIMACY, RISING EXPECTATIONS, REV IDEOLOGY, LACK OF ALTERNATIVE MEANS, & MORE |
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Widespread discontent may contribute as a cause, to rev when large numbers of people become dissatisfied, often over the distribution of scare resources |
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A subset of the widespread discontent theory is that too large of a gap btwn one class & another, ie extreme stratification, may lead to discontent |
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Loss of legitimacy occurs when people no longer view their government as having the right or authority to rule |
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The theory of rising expectations, which is closely linked to the relative deprivation theory of social movements, argues that as a conditions improve a little, people expect them to improve more & become disillusioned & dissatisfied when they do not |
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The theory of rising expectations is often used to explain why the French had a rev in 1789 despite the fact that conditions were harsher in Germany |
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Rev is thought to be more likely when the spread of revolutionary ideology that challenges the social, political, & economic system is possible |
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Rev is more likely when alternative means for change are blocked |
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One reason for the Iranian Rev of 1979 was that the repressive govt of the Shah, who was an American puppet, allowed little expression of dissent |
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None of these conditions usually lead to rev; rev are relatively rare |
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REVS ARE OFTEN THE RESULT OF MASSES OF PEOPLE SEEKING REV CHANGE WHO ARE LEAD BY EDUCATED, AFFLUENT, & CHARISMATIC INDIVIDUALS |
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Revs are often lead by relatively educated & affluent people & often draw support from these grps |
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Revs most often occur in lesser developed societies in the early stages of industrialization, usually under a feudal sys or monarchy |
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REVS HAVE HAD A VARIETY OF OUTCOMES FROM ESTB DEMOCRACY TO ESTB AUTHORITARIANISM, WHICH EITHER TYPE OF POLITICAL SYS MAY BE MATED TO ANY TYPE OF ECON SYS FROM CAPITALISM TO SOCIALISM |
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Revs in Russia, China, & Cuba, socialist systems resulted in social systems | |||||
Revs in France, the US & the Philippines, resulted in capitalist systems | |||||
Revs in Iran & Egypt resulted in authoritarian systems around Islam, but Egypt had a counter rev resulting in an Islamic democracy | |||||
The revs in eastern Europe involved the rejection of authoritarian socialist systems when Romania, Poland, East Germany & the Soviet Union became more democratic |
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BECAUSE OF THE EXTENT OF MILITARISM IN MODERN SOCIETIES TODAY, IT IS NEARLY ESSENTIAL FOR THE MILITARY TO NOT OPPRESS AN UPRISING IF IT IS TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL REVOLUTION |
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Military breakdown is the unwillingness of the military to put down an uprising |
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Military breakdown is a key factor in the success of any attempt as rev |
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Most modern societies have sufficient military power to put down revs if they choose to & if the military cooperates |
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When revs succeed in modern societies, we often see the military refusing to act or even joining the rebels |
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If the military does not act to put down a rev, it has a good chance of succeeding & may even do so /w a minimum of bloodshed |
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Successful 'people power' rev have occurred in the Philippines in 1986, the Soviet Union in 1991, some of the Arab Spring revs in 2010, & more |
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In 1989 the Tianamen Square uprising in China ended w/ a bloody assault by govt troops on protesters in Beijing |
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In Tianamen Square some of the army units refused to attack demonstrators, but the regime was able to maintain the loyalty of enough of the army to put down the rebels |
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SOME REVS CAUSE SOC CHANGE; SOME DO NOT
SOME REVS REPLACE ONE GOVT W/ ONE THAT IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT; EG, FROM AUTOCRATIC TO DEMOCRATIC SOME REVS REPLACE ONE GOVT W/ ONE THAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME; EG, ONE KING REPLACES ANOTHER |
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Some revs are attempts to change the nature of a govt & sometimes to change an entire society, its econ system, its ideology, & the dist of wealth |
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Rebellions are attempts to change specific officeholders or policies |
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Although revs & rebellions are sometimes an expression of broad dissatisfaction, they often do not seek to change the structure of the govt or the society as a whole, & thus are limited forms of soc change |
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Examples of the limited form of social change via revolutions can be seen in the nearly continual occurrence of rev & war in the European Middle Ages |
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Many of the wars & revs during the Euro Mid Ages merely brought in a new King often of the same religion, who maintained the Kingdom much as it had been here |
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Some of the wars & revs during the Euro Mid Ages brought more extensive social change as when the people were forced to convert to a new religion, or a new form of social organization was implemented in the Kingdom as was the case w/ Charlemagne in France |
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On the side of revs actually resulting in broad soc change include the American Rev of 1776, the French Rev of 1789, the Russian Rev of 1917, the Chinese Rev of 1949, the Cuban Rev of 1959, the Iranian Rev of 1979, the Euro Spring Revs of 1989, & probably the Arab Spring Revs beginning in 2011 |
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The Am, Fr, Russian, Chinese, Cuban, Iranian, Euro Spring & Arab Spring Revs all changed not only the govts, but the govt type of system, as well as changing most the major social structures & relationships in these societies |
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The Russian, Chinese, Cuban Revs resulted in some form of socialism while the Iranian Rev resulted in an Islamic republic |
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The Russian, Chinese, Cuban, & Iranian Revs resulted in govts that are more centralized & more authoritarian than the ones they replaced |
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The Euro Spring Revs of 1989 (& later) resulted in establishing democracy in place of dictatorship & to make mkt forces, rather than central govt planning, as key forces in driving the econ |
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WAR IS VIOLENT ARMED CONFLICT, BTWN PEOPLE, &, OR NATIONS | |||||
According to Macionis, war is the organized & armed conflict among the people of 2 or more nations, directed by their govts |
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War is the organized armed conflict btwn grps of people or states | |||||
War is a general conflict or active hostility or contention often carried on by force of arms, as btwn nations or states or btwn parties w/in a state | |||||
For Clausewitz, war is the continuation of politics by other means | |||||
War is not found elsewhere in the animal kingdom | |||||
Since the dawn of history, but not so during the previous hunter gatherer stage of human existence, people have not always been able to resolve all of their conflicts w/o having to resort ot violence |
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Since recorded hist began, man, most war has been waged mostly by men, has been involved in hostility for different aims including power, territory, wealth, ideological domination, security, independence, & more |
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Until modern times, most wars were fought w/ limited means for limited aims, but modern weapons of mass destruction & total warfare can eliminate whole populations & endanger the survival of human race | |||||
WAR IS A FREQUENT EVENT: SOME LEVEL OF WAR HAS OCCURRED NEARLY EVERY YEAR ON EVERY CONTINENT FOR CENTURIES | |||||
See Also: A List of Wars |
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One of the most critical issue that the world has faced is war |
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War is not exclusive to these past 10 yrs; however, war has been redefined during this time |
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From 2001 to 2013, every continent (except Antarctica) in this world was at war or was participating in some sort of armed conflict |
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At any moment during the 20th C, nations somewhere in the world were engaged in some type of armed conflict |
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The US specifically was involved in many major conflicts since the Revolutionary War, & if you count such operations as killing Osama bin Laden, that number rises to thousands of conflicts: Rev, 1812, Civil, Cuban, Mexico, WW 1, WW 2, Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq |
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In the past 10 yrs, nearly 1.3 million US men & women have lost their lives b/c of these wars |
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Wars are a constant occurrence in this world |
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MANY FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIKELIHOOD OF WAR INCLUDING:
A. PERCEIVED THREATS B. SOCIAL PROBLEMS C. POLITICAL OBJECTIVES D. MORAL OBJECTIVES E. ABSENCE OF ALTERNATIVES, & MORE |
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Quincy Wright (1987) cites five factors that promote war including perceived threats, social problems, political objectives, moral objectives, and the absence of alternatives |
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See Also: Causes of War | |||||
NEW PRACTICES IN WAR HAVE RECENTLY DEVELOPED IN RELATION TO TERRORISM: AN EMPHASIS ON SPECIAL FORCES BY NATIONS, & AN EMPHASIS ON SMALL, SENSATIONAL ATTACKS BY NATIONALLY UNAFFILIATED CELLULAR ORGS | |||||
Our current war, 'The Global War on Terrorism' is a different war | |||||
Many of the traditional causes of war explain this conflict, but it is different in that it is modern limited war by extra national grps, ie grps that hold allegiance to no nation state . | |||||
The Global War on Terrorism is a war which does not fit the quintessential definition of war | |||||
Terrorism breaks from the pattern of traditional modern war | |||||
Terrorism has no clear line of demarcation; its lines are blurred | |||||
The enemy is not obvious, yet we are engaged in a deadly war w/ it | |||||
This war has had a detrimental effect on all nations involved & the whole world | |||||
People in the US are today less oblivious as to what is occurring around the globe, b/c the nation was attacked | |||||
TODAY 'FAILED STATES' & 'ROGUE REGIME' ARE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENTS FOR VIOLENT FRINGE GRPS TO USE AS A BASE OF OPERATIONS TO MAKE WAR ON OTHER NATIONS | |||||
Failed states are those nations whose govt is so weak that they can neither maintain law & order, nor prevent militias from forming w/in their borders | |||||
Rogue nations are those nations who generally do not abide by UN conventions on war, human rights, etc & so are often ostracized via sanctions by the developed nations, & are therefore mostly isolated socially, economically, & politically from the global community | |||||
Failed states & rogue nations exist on every continent & while exactly who is labeled failed or rogue is highly controversial, some examples include: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, N Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, & others | |||||
In relation to the war in Afghanistan (2001- ), the people there have been living in a constant armed conflict for the better part of three decades | |||||
So war has brought our awareness of others up, & has redefined our understanding who is waging, ie who is friend, foe, innocent, ally, or neutral | |||||
The war in Afghanistan, like the war in Iraq, this time is not w/ one particular nation or people, rather it is w/ a subculture of people from across the region | |||||
WAR FOSTERS THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY | |||||
Some of the greatest technologies that we use today were intended for use in combat | |||||
The technology used in the current day tablets (Ipad, Kindle, etc.) were being used years ago by the military | |||||
THE EFFECTS OF WAR IMPACT ALL SPHERES OF LIFE, INCLUDING:
A. POPULATION LEVELS B. THE ENV C. THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF SOCIETIES, CULTURES, PEOPLES D. RELIGIOUS ALIGNMENT E. ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY F. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT, & MORE |
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Some of the greatest testaments to the human spirit and strength are shown during war | |||||
War's inhumanity can be seen in it's death & destruction while war's humanity can be seen in people's unbreakable bond for those he/she loves, the compassion found in those who are trying to save others, & the bonds of war that can been seen in the veterans of today's wars & wars of the past | |||||
The effects of war can last for centuries as they result in large migrations & the redrawing of national boundaries | |||||
After WW1, the bounders of the nations today known as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan & more were redrawn & are seen as a large reason for many mid eastern conflicts today | |||||
After WW2, a nation of a scattered people migrated to form Israel which today is home to the Jewish people, and | |||||
The immediate area of Israel it is still in a continual state of violence b/c this migration & the establishment of the state of Israel displace Palestine & the Palestinian people | |||||
WAR IS ONE OF THE MAJOR AGENTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE AS SEEN IN
ITS:
A. FREQUENCY B. RESPONSE TO SOCIAL/POLITICAL CONFLICT C. SIMULTANEOUS CREATION & USE OF FAILED & ROGUE NATIONS D. FOSTERING THE DEV OF TECH E. EFFECTS ON POP, ENV, SOC FABRIC, RELIGION, ECON, POL, & MORE |
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WAR IS ONE OF THE MAJOR AGENTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE AS SEEN IN
ITS:
A. FREQUENCY B. RESPONSE TO SOCIAL/POLITICAL CONFLICT C. SIMULTANEOUS CREATION & USE OF FAILED & ROGUE NATIONS D. FOSTERING THE DEV OF TECH E. EFFECTS ON POP, ENV, SOC FABRIC, RELIGION, ECON, POL, & MORE |
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Wars have many societal level effects, including: the redefinition of political boundaries, new tech discoveries & inventions, new forms of govt, the redistribution of wealth, the relocation of millions of people, the end of entire societies, & much more | |||||
BOTH WAR & REV CAUSE SOC CHANGE, BUT EITHER MAY ALSO LEAVE A SOCIETY UNIMPACTED, DEPENDING ON CIRCUMSTANCES | |||||
War is often assoc w/ rev b/c of the presence of armies & violence, but the two are different |
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Revs are internal conflicts, whereas war is an organized conflict btwn 2 or more societies over a significant amt of time |
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Civil war is an armed conflict among different factions w/in the same nation |
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Like rev, civil war is a major internal conflict that can lead to major soc change much as when the US Civil War led to the abolition of slavery & the expansion of an industrial econ |
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HUMANITY WAS MOSTLY PEACEFUL UNTIL COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES BECAME PARAMOUNT: WE HAVE NOT LEARNED TO SHARE |
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Hunter gatherer societies were essentially peaceful until levels of human pop increased significantly enough to create some land pressure in some areas |
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In late hunter gatherer society, where pop levels created some land pressure, there were some wars, but these were small, limited, & rare compared to today's wars |
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Since the development of ag society, humans have been more or less in constant warfare |
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For nearly all of the last 9000 years wars have occurred somewhere every year |
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THE IMPACTS OF WARS MAY LAST FOR MILLENNIA |
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The changes that result from war are often, but not always, dramatic & far reaching |
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The effects of some wars reverberate through history for centuries as for example: the Euro kingdoms & mid eastern kingdoms wars of the Mid Ages, the Mongol Invasions of the 1200s, the British wars of imperialism of the 1700s & 1800s, WW1, WW2, & many more |
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DIFFERENCES IN DEV IN MOD SOCIETIES TODAY IS DUE TO DEV ADV FROM THE ENV ORIGINATING IN ANCIENT SOCIETY & THE MID AGES |
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Guns, Germs, & Steel: (1997) is transdisciplinary in that the theories posited utilize theories of the diffusion of technology, ie guns & steel, & epidemiology in the form of native people's lack of resistance to W Euro diseases, esp the measles |
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Diamond is a professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
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In 1998, the book won the Pulitzer Prize for general non fiction and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book |
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A documentary based on the book, and produced by the National Geographic Society, was broadcast on PBS in July 2005 |
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Guns, Germs & Steel explains why Eurasian civilizations, including No Africa, survived & conquered others, arguing that Eurasian hegemony is not due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, moral or inherent genetic superiority |
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The gaps in power & tech btwn human societies originate in env differences, which are amplified by various positive feedback loops |
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When cultural or genetic differences have favored Eurasians, for example, written language or the development among Eurasians of resistance to endemic diseases, Diamond asserts that these advantages occurred b/c of the influence of geography on societies & cultures, & were not inherent in the Eurasian genomes |
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THE SOC & PHYS TECH WHICH PEOPLE DEV FOR AG, ALSO MADE CONQUEST, GENOCIDE, & EPIDEMICS POSSIBLE |
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The development of agriculture in Eurasia gave societies the soc struc & tech necessary to wage conquest & genocide |
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Living in villages, towns, & cities, ag, conquest, & genocide all made epidemics more common |
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ENVL / GEOG ADVANTAGES OF WILD CROPS & ANIMALS, LARGE LAND MASS, FEW BARRIERS, SIMILAR CLIMATE ALLOWED EURASIANS TO DEV BEFORE OTHER REGIONS | |||||
The ingredients for the dev of ag, & it's complementary unintended consequences of conquest, genocide, & epidemics arose 1st in Eurasia not b/c Eurasians were superior in any way to people of other continents, but b/c of a unique combination of naturally occurring advantages |
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The naturally occurring advantages in Eurasia included more suitable wild crops & animals to domesticate, a large land mass w/ fewer barriers to the spread of people, crops, & tech, & an east west axis which meant that climate was similar across the region |
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At the beginning of Euro's worldwide expansion circa 1500 AD, cultures on different continents show large differences in pol & tech dev |
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Much of Euro, Asia, & No Africa already had metal equipped societies, some on the verge of industrialization | |||||
AREAS AROUND THE GLOBE, OTHER THAN EURASIA SUBSISTED MOSTLY W/ HUNTER GATHERER, STONE AGE TECH | |||||
In the 1500s, the Am empires had stone tools & parts of sub Saharan Africa had small states w/ iron tools | |||||
Societies in Australia, the Pacific archipelago, some of sub Saharan Africa, & the Americas lived in tribes using either farming or hunter gatherer tech | |||||
Inequalities in the mod world stem from the same differences in ability that can be demonstrated when differences in ed & experience are taken into acct | |||||
A developmental argument could be made that 'primitive' people must be more intelligent, on average, that 'civilized' people b/c it takes more intelligence to live 'in the jungle' than in society | |||||
Euros live in densely populated societies where death is most commonly caused by old age & disease, not murder or war | |||||
In hunter gatherer societies death is most common from accident, lack of food, murder, or warfare, which are less likely to happen to a more intelligent person | |||||
Diamond states that 'hist followed different courses for different peoples b/c of differences among peoples' envs, not b/c of differences among peoples themselves' |
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SOCIAL CHANGE OCCURS AT DIFFERENT RATES |
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Fads & fashions change in a few weeks |
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Changes in econ & political conditions may change over a period of months, or stay stable for decades, or even centuries during the mid ages |
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Changes in marriage & divorce patterns may occur w/in a generation or even faster if influenced by econ conditions, war, epidemics, migrations, & so on |
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MICRO CHANGES, ARE USUALLY SMALL, RAPID CHANGES, BUT MAY OCCASIONALLY
BE LARGE;
MACRO CHANGES ARE USUALLY LARGE, SLOW CHANGES, BUT MAY OCCASIONALLY BE RAPID |
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Micro changes occur very quickly & involve small or individual alterations |
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Micro changes can be seen by casual observers as in the rapid rise & fall in popularity of a presidential candidate or a fashion |
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Slower changes are not easily seen & may not be noticed at all by the general public |
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Slower changes may not be seen by scientists unless a study is focused on the area of change in a society |
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Many of college students' parents are divorced, so high divorce rates do not seem to be a social change | |||||
Divorce rates have increased since the 1950s b/c of the decline of patriarchy, the rise of feminism, increases in women's income, decreased social sanctions, & more |
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Divorce rates for new marriages are not as great as many people think b/c many divorces are the result of 'the backlog' of divorces from the earlier era when divorce was not acceptable |
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Macro changes are the slowest & can be the hardest to see |
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Macro changes are noticed in moments when the change is spectacular as when decades of social discontent finally culminated in a rev as happened in the shifts in direction of the Soviet Union, ending w/ the 1991 coup attempt & the social rev that followed |
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MICRO & MACRO CHANGES OFTEN ARE INDEPENDENT, BUT THEY MAY HAVE AN INTERACTION IN COMPLEX FORMS | |||||
Micro & macro changes occur at the same time, each shaping the other | |||||
Most micro changes are of little consequence to slower changes | |||||
Sometimes micro changes build to macro change as is the case w/ the gradual increase of the number & % of women working outside the home | |||||
Generally macro changes are so slow that the larger social structure provides a more or less stable context for micro changes |
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WHILE SOME PLACES & ERAS IN HIST HAVE SEEN GREAT STABILITY, TODAY WE ARE EXPERIENCING RAPID SOC CHANGE ACROSS THE GLOBE BY ALL MEASURES |
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Modernization, the transition from rural, traditional, ag societies to urban industrial, rationalistic societies, has brought both a degree of soc change & a rate of soc change unprecedented in human history |
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Rapid soc changes in the last 300 yrs include: (Deane, 1969) |
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1. the widespread application of science, starting during the ind rev & continuing to today, to the processes of production for the mkt, ie technology |
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2. the specialization of the econ activity, starting during the ind rev & continuing to today, directed to production for the mkt |
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3. the mvmt of pops, starting during the ind rev & continuing to today, from rural to urban communities |
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4. shifts in production, starting during the ind rev & continuing to today, to corp or public enterprises & away from the family |
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5. the mvmt of labor, starting during the ind rev & continuing to today, from raw materials, ie primary production, to mfr, ie secondary prod, to services, ie tertiary prod |
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6. the use of capital resources, starting during the ind rev & continuing to today, as a substitute for human labor |
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7. a 600% increase in global pop |
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8. a decline in birth rates & an even faster decline in death rates |
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9. an increase in the size & number of cities |
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10. changing econ roles for women, children, & the family |
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11. a major rise in literacy rates |
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12. a vast increase in per capita production & consumption of goods | |||||
13. sharp decreases in the cost & time for transport of bulk goods | |||||
14. the appearance of new econ & pol ideologies including capitalism, socialism, & representative democracy | |||||
15. the technical capability to destroy the human race ... & many more, too numerous to list | |||||
While many changes have occurred in the last 300 yrs, or less, it is informative to compare them to the relatively few changes of the 1000 yrs of the Mid Ages, or the 1000 yrs before that of ancient societies from Egypt to Rome, to the 5000 yrs before that of primitive ag societies | |||||
The transition from traditional society to modernity has been the most dramatic soc change in history | |||||
Habermas notes that the transition from traditional society to modernity is not complete | |||||
See Also: Habermas | |||||
Habermas notes that the majority of the nations of the world are traditional society structures, w/ hi tech aspects | |||||
Habermas notes that the modern nations still have many traditional aspects & that conservative forces w/in these nations promote traditional policies while other interests conflict w/ them, struggling to implement modernist policies | |||||
ONE REASON FOR ESCALATING SOC CHG IS THE FEEDBACK EFFECT BTWN SOCIETY & THE ENV: AS SOC CHANGES THE ENV, IT FORCES PEOPLE TO CHANGE | |||||
In the 2000s, for the 1st time in history, more people migrated due to env causes than due to war | |||||
Historically, war & econ dev had always vied for being the major cause of migration, but in the 2000s, env reasons topped the list for several yrs | |||||
Some soc scientists expect that In the future, env changes, nat disasters, crop losses, deforestation, lack of water, & more may be the major impetus for migration, war, & econ dev combined |
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THE NATURE OF BOTH WORK & SOC LIFE TODAY IS EXPERIENCING AN INCREASE IN TEMPO OR PACE OF SOC CHANGE |
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The transition from industrial society to a post industrial society is characterized by |
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a. globalization, a transition from local to world wide econ exchange & competition |
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b. a shift from an ind or mfr econ base to an info & services based econ |
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c. a renewed skepticism about worldviews based on science & rationalism & the emergence of a viewpoint sometimes called post modernism |
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Firms like Microsoft, Apple, & Google as well as restaurant & entertainment companies have experienced growth, whereas mfrs of cars & airplanes have 'downsized' |
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College graduates today will be more likely to work for a firm who provides info, services, or entertainment than for one that mfrs a product |
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If your firm does mfr a product, there is a good chance that it will be one that provides info, services, & / or entertainment |
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The amt of info & the rate of exchange has exploded |
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AS LIFE BECOMES MORE RATIONALIZED, & SUBJECT TO CAPITALISM AS ONE FORM OF RATIONALIZATION, SOC CHANGE HAS SPED UP |
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Post modernism is a critical re examination of the rationalist, scientific orient worldview that predominated during the ind era |
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The rationalist, scientific oriented worldview predominated in the industrial era |
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The rationalist pt of view created dramatic improvements in the standard of living, but it offered less in the form of meaningful philosophy of life than traditional religion |
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The rationalism of the industrial era offered little in the ay of solutions to social problem such as racism, poverty, gender inequality, mental disorders, & so on |
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Since then rationalism has allowed for the development of the social sciences | |||||
Rationalism offered a continuing speed up of social change but so far has failed to offer comprehensive solutions to social problems | |||||
Some believe that the problems of poverty & inequality are getting worse, but this is not necessarily so | |||||
Society's faith in science, technology, & 'progress' is now often questioned even as the pace of social change continues to quicken | |||||
TECH & THE INFO REV HAVE RESULTED IN AN INCREASED PACE OF SOC CHANGE | |||||
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We are in the middle, or perhaps the beginning, of the rapid change fomented by the info rev & so it is difficult to see the consequences, but one clear unintended consequence in the 'information divide' | ||||
The concept info div connotes that some people simply do not have the technology or the skills to make use of the info rev & so are left out of a major part of society; they are: 'on the other side of the divide,' so to speak | |||||
A consequence of the info rev is it changes the way we do everything from education (on line courses), to work (tele commuting & more), to socializing (from texting to Facebook), to buying (online shopping) to the military (cyber war), to religion (tele churches), & much more | |||||
A consequence of the info rev is that there is significantly less privacy from the fact that we have all entered personal info into numerous websites to the fact that govts & corps can collect more info about ourselves than even we know ourselves, eg Google knows every single thing I have bought online, but my records are not that good |
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RAPID SOC CHANGE PROVIDES A TACTICAL LIFE ADVANTAGE TO YOUNG PEOPLE, THUS SOCIETIES THAT HAVE RAPID SOC CHANGE ARE 'YOUTH CULTURES' |
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Rapid social change gives a distinct advantage to
young people over older people
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In an era of rapid change, older people must constantly
learn new things & “unlearn” old ones
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Older people also find that they have less old knowledge
that is of value to young people b/c the old knowledge has become outdated
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Rapid social change is one reason for the decreasing
respect for the elderly
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Living a long time used to mean you are esp capable
& experience was highly valued, but this is less true today
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Young people are primarily interested in learning
current info that can be used in present day situations
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But knowledge today has a shorter ‘shelf life’ in
that it becomes obsolete more rapidly than it did in the past
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Many people now long for simpler times; they romanticize
‘the good old days’
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But the good old days were typically not all that
good; people lived shorter lives & were sicker, there was greater discrimination,
religious dissenters, child labor, physical & emotional abuse of child,
& more
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IN EVERY CULTURE W/ RAPID SOC CHANGE, MANY ARE NOSTALGIC FOR THE PAST; 'NOSTALGICS' WILL ATTEMPT TO IMPLEMENT / RETURN TO ECON & SOC POLICIES FROM THE PAST |
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The longing for simpler times is one source of religious fundamentalism in nations ranging from the Muslim Iran to the Christian US |
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In the 70s, the Shah of Iran's rapid modernization produced anomie, ie normlessness & thus when this 'puppet' of the US was overthrown, Iran became more fundamentalist than before the West installed this puppet |
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The many changes that occurred in the US during any new era in the US has also caused periodic anomie, disturbing people's sense of security by undermining previous norms |
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A longing for the good old days can be seen w/: | |||||
- the end of the 'cowboy West' & beginning of urbanization in the late 1800s as followed by a longing for & romanticization of the West | |||||
- the rejection of the liberalization of social freedoms of the 'roaring 20s' as followed w/ Prohibition, | |||||
- the rejection of the new freedoms of the 50s as followed by the McCarthy era | |||||
- the rejection of the freedoms of the 60s / 70s as followed by Reaganism, culminating in the Tea Party Mvmt | |||||
RAPID SOC CHANGE CREATES ANOMIE, A FEELING OF NORMLESSNESS, B/C THE OLD SET OF NORMS IS BEING ELIMINATED, & IT TAKES A LONGER AMT OF TIME TO DEVELOP THE NEW NORMS | |||||
Rapid social change also increases the general level of anomie, ie a feeling of normlessness, in society | |||||
Things change so fast that people do not know what to do or how to behave | |||||
Rapid changes in the roles of men & women have led to anomie, which in turn has contributed to increased divorce rates | |||||
As more women work outside the home, the household div of labor is changing & this change is a source os stress for couples | |||||
We learn how to behave as a couple largely by observing our our parents, but for many of us, our parents had a different type of union than we do, or will have | |||||
As a society, people have not learned how to be a couple in a dual career relationship | |||||
Contrary to the arguments of those who long for a simpler past, it is not that the new system is 'bad,' but that we do no understand it, yet, & have not developed a workable set of norms to guide our behavior | |||||
The speed of change is a source of social problems not b/c of the change per se, ie changes often bring greater freedoms for some or many grps, but that we have not developed customs & norms around the new social relationships |
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SOC CHANGE OCCURS WHEN RANDOM & / OR SYSTEMIC FACTORS COMBINE IN COMPLEX & UNANTICIPATED WAYS TO CREATE NEW SOC RELATIONS |
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Social change comes from many sources & usually the result of several factors combining in a unique context to create the energy for & the possibility of change |
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One source of change is random or unique factors such as climate, weather, or the presence of specific grps |
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A source of soc chg is systematic factors as seen when a society w/ a relatively uniform & open culture, a stable & flexible govt, enough free & available resources, & a diverse social org of society results in econ development which changes the very structure of society, as in the case of the Industrial Rev, or the Info Rev |
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So, on the whole, social change is usually a combination of systematic factors along w/ some random or unique factors |
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THE MOST PROMINENT THEORIES OF SOC CHANGE INCLUDE THOSE OF HEGEL & MARX, KUHN, HERACLITUS, & TAOISM | |||||
There are many theories of social change which generally include elements such as structural aspects of change like population shifts, cultural or societal aspects of change, processes & mechanisms of social change, & directions of change |
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HEGEL & MARX VIEWED SOC CHANGE AS THE RESULT OF A CLASH, & THEN RESOLUTION OF CONTRADICTIONS | |||||
The classic Hegelian dialectic model of change is based on the interaction of opposing forces, which is know as a dialectic relationship |
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See Also: The Dialectic | |||||
See Also: Hegel | |||||
For Hegel change starts from a point of momentary stasis, ie the thesis |
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The thesis counters an antithesis which is the result of contradictions in the current sys, or organized opposition forces |
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The clash of the thesis & antithesis 1st yields conflict, then it subsequently results in a new synthesis |
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Hegel posited that soc chg came about as a clash of ideology, ie world systems or ways of understanding, which then changed the world |
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Marx embraced a dialectic system that was similar to Hegel's, but Marx saw change as occurring from the clash of material forces such as feudal & economic systems, as embodied in class struggles in each system | |||||
See Also: Marx | |||||
Marxism presents a dialectical & materialist concept of history wherein humankind's history is a fundamental struggle btwn social classes | |||||
KUHN BELIEVES THAT CHANGE COMES WHEN OLD UNDERSTANDINGS / KNOWLEDGE ARE DISPLACED BY NEW UNDERSTANDINGS / KNOWLEDGE B/C THE SCIENTIFIC LOGIC OF THE NEW WAY BECOMES COMPELLING | |||||
The philosopher of science, Thomas Kuhn argues in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that people are unlikely to jettison an unworkable paradigm, despite many indications that the paradigm is not functioning properly, until a better paradigm can be presented | |||||
Societal, or as Kuhn studied, scientific revolutions, occur when new contradictory info overwhelms old ways of thinking & thus causes a 'revolution' in thinking | |||||
Kuhn examined the Copernican Revolution wherein people abandoned the idea of an Earth centric universe in favor of the Sun centered solar system | |||||
While common sense observations make it appear as if heavenly bodies generally rotate around the Earth, precise scientific observation indicated several events that could not be explained by this system such as the phases of the Moon & retrograde planetary motion, where planets appear to switch directions in the night sky | |||||
HERACLITUS SAW CHANGE AS CONSTANT & INEVITABLE | |||||
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus used the metaphor of a river to speak of change in that we never see the same river twice b/c the river is always changing / flowing | |||||
Heraclitus suggests that, in order for the river to remain the river, change must constantly be taking place | |||||
One may think of the Heraclitan model as parallel to that of a living organism, which, in order to remain alive, must constantly be changing | |||||
Heraclitus thus sees change as constant & developmental & does not directly address how & why there are periods of stability & change | |||||
A contemporary application of this approach is shown in the soc change theory SEED SCALE which builds off of the complexity theory sub field of emergence. | |||||
TAOISTS SEE CHANGE AS NATURAL, BRINGING THE WORLD INTO HARMONY | |||||
Similar to Heraclitus, Taoists see change as natural, harmonious & steady, albeit imperceptible | |||||
Taoists uses the metaphor of water as the ideal metaphor of change in that water, although soft & yielding, will eventually wear away stone | |||||
Society is like a river, though it has continuity, you never actually see or experience the same river twice b/c the water is always flowing / new | |||||
Change as the result of flexibility is slow, steady, & smooth | |||||
Change as the result of inflexibility is rapid, intermittent, & races | |||||
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SOC CHANGE TODAY IS SEEN AS THE COMPLEX INTERPLAY OF FACTORS WHICH RESULTS IN UNIQUE UNANTICIPATED OUTCOMES |
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Factors which may contribute to soc change include:
the physical env, contact & diffusion of culture, technology, the media, internal conflict, revs, war, planned change, & more |
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The Physical Env & Soc Change | ||||
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Contact & Diffusion | ||||
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Technology & Soc Change | ||||
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Mass Media & Soc Change | ||||
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Internal Conflict & Soc Change | ||||
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Revolutions & Soc Change | ||||
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War & Soc Change | ||||
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Planned Change, & more |
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EQUILIBRIUM THEORY & OTHER FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES FOCUS ON SOC STABILITY & SEE CHANGE AS OCCURING AS A RESULT OF EXTERNAL FORCES |
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Functionalist theories of soc change emphasize stability, the need for change to be gradual, & the benefits of modernizaton |
|
||||
One functionalist theory of soc change is equilibrium theory |
|
||||
Equilibrium is a state of balance in society, in which the components of society, institutions, classes, political parties, familiers, funcdtion together effectively |
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||||
Equilibrium theory holds that societies tend toward balance b/c one they have developed & evolved to the pt where their various parts work effectively in harmony, they have no reason to change so long as the social env w/in which they funcditon remains basically the same |
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||||
When socieites do change, it is in respone to some alternation in their soc env b/c either exopgenous changes such as contact w/ anotehr society or a change in the climate, or a change in tech |
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SOCIETIES STAY IN EQUILIBRIUM B/C THAT IS THE OPTIMUM FORM GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF MODERN SOCIETY WHERE EFFICIENCY DEMANDS THAT THE STRUCTURES OF SOCIETY MUST WORK IN UNISON |
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||||
Functionalist theories usually focus on how a soceity restores equilibrium after a disturbance |
|
||||
Functionalists believe that equilibrium is necessary b/c of the interdependency of the parts of society such as the family & work life, or ed & work |
|
||||
When society is in equilibrium, each part of society performs its function & works in harmony w/ other parts |
|
||||
Most functionalist theories view change as something that usually comes from the outside, ie exogenous change |
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||||
If the exogenous change is severe, the society might be destroyed unliess it is able to adapt & produce new equilibrium | |||||
MERTON & NEO FUNCTIONALIST RECOGNIZE DYSFUNCTIONS AS AN INTERNAL SOURCE OF SOC CHANGE | |||||
Merton made a major change in functionalist theory when he introducted the concept of dysfunctions | |||||
A dysfunction is a social relationship or structure, including roles, positions, status's, classes, etc, that is in some way damaging or porblematic to the social system | |||||
For Merton & other neo functionalists, dysfunctions are internal or endogenous causes of tension in a society & so may be a cause of soc change | |||||
For Merton & other neo functionalists soc change can be internal or endogenous |
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CONFLICT THEORY FOCUSES ON CONFLICT IN SOCIETY, ESP AMONG CLASSES, BUT ALSO AMONG THE GENDERS, RACES, OTHER GRPS SUCH AS NATIONALITIES, & MORE |
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Conflict theories study the role of conflict |
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Marx's original theory postulated the central conflict in society is btwn classes, & today that would be primarily btwn the upper class & the middle class |
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Marx recounted in his theory of historical materialism how class conflicts in ancient times, & then the middle ages led to our class sys today | |||||
In ancient times the conflict btwn slaves & slave owners transformed into the peasant / aristocrat conflict of the mid ages b/c this feudal sys of production was more efficient than the slave sys | |||||
The modern cap sys of wkr / owner developed out of the feudal peasant / aristocrat sys b/c mod cap is more efficient than the feudal sys | |||||
Marx explores the material conditions which resulted in the development of these 3 econ sys & how weaknesses, aka contradictions in one lead to the next sys | |||||
See Also: Historical Materialism | |||||
Most conflict theories use some parts of Marx's theory & add other elements | |||||
Social scientists today examine the role of conflict in producing change btwn individuals, grps, classes, institutions, genders, races, religions, nationalities, & more |
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Conflict theories emphasize inequality as a source of social change, & argue that even rapid changes can be beneficial |
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CONFLICT AMONG CLASSES & OTHER GROUPINGS IS SEEN AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF SOCIAL CHANGE |
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Conflict theories see change as normal |
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Any type of conflict or competition can lead to change |
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Stability is seen as a temporary balance btwn competing grps, or as a product of false consciousness on the part of subordinate grps |
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See Also: False Consciousness | |||||
False consciousness denotes the condition where a person, grp, class, etc has a belief or belief system that goes against their own interest; ie they believe something that hurts them & usually benefits someone else |
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CONFLICT THEORIES SEE INTERNAL CONFLICT AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF CHANGE, BUT CONFLICT MAY ALSO ORIGINATE FROM OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM, & THIS IS OFTEN A CONFLICT BTWN ELITES OF TWO OR MORE SOCIETIES |
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Conflict theories emphasize the social origins of change |
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For conflict theories, social change may originate b/c of internal, endogenous forces, esp the conflict among classes & grps |
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Conflict theorists would agree w/ functionalists that social change may also originate from external, exogenous forces, but would add that this too may be class conflict, esp when two sets of elites clash |
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MOST EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES HOLD THAT SOCIAL CHANGE OCCURS IN A PARTICULAR DIRECTION, THAT IS, TOWARDS PROGRESS |
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Most evolutionary theories hold that social change occurs in the particular direction of progress, though regression is possible & has occurred |
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Lewis Henry Morgan'a theory on the evolution of society stages including savagery, barbarism, & civilization |
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Spencer attempts to apply Darwin's theory of biological evol to societies |
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Marx's sequence of primitive communism, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, & communism & how class conflict moved these systems from one stage to another is at the center of his evolutionary theory which he called historical materialism |
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CONTEMPORARY EVOL THEORIES HOLD THAT THE DIRECTION TO PROGRESS IS WIDELY VARIED, MAY REGRESS, OR MAY BE NON EXISTENT |
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The early theories of soc evol were more unilinear, in that they see the stages as a simple, one line progression through which every society must pass |
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These theories generally see the end pt of evol as an ideal form that resembles their own society, or in Marx's case, a predicted society, the classless communist society |
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Later theories often embrace the generality of a general direction, though some do not, & they also offer more detail & examine the amt of variance among societies | |||||
Theories from Nietzsche to Foucault, post modernists & others, hold either soc evol does not exist or that their is no progress, viewing 'progress' as a human construct | |||||
THE GENERAL THEORY OF SOC EVOL IS FROM HUNTER GATHERER SOCIETY, TO AG SOCIETY, TO IND SOCIETY, & SOME ADD POST IND SOCIETY |
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Sociologists & anthropologists have embraced theories w/ a focus on socio cultural evolution: the study of how hunting & gathering societies changed into other types of societies |
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Over the last 10 K to 15 K yrs, there is a general pattern of hunting & gathering, w/ the mvmt to ag in the last 5 K yrs, or so |
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From 50 to 10 K yrs ago, all humans lived in hunting & gathering societies |
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Around 9 K yrs ago in Mesopotamia, some humans took up ag & began to live in permanent villages |
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As the ability to produce a surplus increased, ag became more common |
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Mesopotamia is considered to be one of the 'cradles of civilization' b/c ag developed in several locations | |||||
The 'dawn of civilization' is considered to be about 5 K yrs ago b/c ag was well estb in several cradles of civilization & was spreading out from there, & the some hunter gatherer civilizations still exist today |
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About 200 yrs ago humans because to use machines to produce goods, beginning the industrial era |
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The development of technology was central to the development of the industrial era |
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This general outline of the socio cultural evolutionists follows general outline 1st examined by Morgan, Spencer, Marx, & others |
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WHILE FEW SOC SCIENTISTS OFFER A CENTRAL PLACE FOR TECH IN SOC EVOL, THEY DO RECOGNIZE IT IS ONE IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF SOC EVOL |
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Each stage of socio cultural evolution was made possible by an advance or set of advances in tech |
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These are not simple technology driven systems of development b/c tech is seen as making change possible, but it does not tell us whether a transition will occur; that is the result of a number of social, cultural, & technological factors | |||||
And no theory to date is sophisticated enough to determine when change will occur, or whether it will be a gradual or rapid change |
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- Project: Social Evolution & a Marxist Socio Historical Analysis |
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INTRODUCTION | |||||
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The qualities of many theories of social evolution is that change is natural, directional, immanent, continuous, & derived from uniform causes |
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THE MANY THEORIES OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION GENERALLY EMBRACE THE CONCEPT OF PROGRESS / DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOME COMMON ANALYSES OF HISTL ERAs INCLUDING: PRIMITIVE, ANCIENT, MID AGES, & MODERN | |||||
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There are at least NINE theories of social evolutions that continue to influence modern social theories, including Marx & Marxism |
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Hegel (1770 - 1831) held that the development of "reason/ freedom" was a primary feature of history | ||||
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Hegel traced the social evolution of reason from the ancient Orient to Prussia |
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Saint Simon (1760 - 1825) &Comte (1798 - 1857) held that social evolution followed what they call the Law of Three Stages: the theological, the metaphysical, & the positive | ||||
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Tocqueville (1805 - 1859) examined the spirit of equality from aristocracy to democracy | ||||
Marx & Engels (1818 - 1883) embrace the Enlightenment principle of social evolution, & dev their theory of historical materialism | |||||
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Spencer (1820 - 1903) examined the development of military society to complex industrialism | ||||
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Morgan was an anthropologist who studied social development, the development of patriarchy through the states of savagery, barbarism, & civilization | ||||
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Durkheim (1858 - 1917) examined the development of traditional society into modern society & the development of mechanical to organic solidarity in these forms of society | ||||
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Edward Burnett Tylor | ||||
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Robert Nisbet wrote on social evolution in Social Change & History (1969) |
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Nisbet held that all social evolution models are based on the metaphor of growth, analogy of growth/change in society as compared to growth/change of individuals |
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Post modernists & others tried to explain the social theorists' trend to evolutionism |
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METAPHOR OF PROGRESS / SOCIAL EVOLUTION DID NOT OCCUR UNTIL THE MODERNIST ERA | |||||
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Remember that the idea of progress is a modern metaphor which developed only in the 1700s as a tenet of the Enlightenment |
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See Also: The Enlightenment | |||||
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Previous to the modern idea of progress had been the Greco Roman idea of life or society taking place in cycles |
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Nisbet holds that the succession of differences in time is a persisting social entity |
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From Nisbet's definition that change is a constant, there is no change; but most theorists liken this position to a play on words wherein when we stand in a stream, we are never in the same stream twice | ||||
For most social scientists, it is possible to embrace both conceptions of soc evol in that many things stay constant & many things stay the same & it is only our perspective, or even when we have the insight power to take multiple perspectives, that defines what we see | |||||
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Modern physics agrees that time can be calculated in two manners including
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a. w/ a clock b. as change in other 3 dimensions; that is, we know time has passed when things are different |
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HISTORY TYPICALLY "REPORTS" EVENTS;
SOCIO HISTL ANALYSIS SEEKS ROOT / DEEP / STRUCTURAL / ETC CAUSES |
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History is written by evolutionists who examine different societies from different historical periods | |||||
Thus, we do not have a theory, but a series of stills or snapshots out of history | |||||
Thus social evolutionists have not proven their theory but only given expression to the dominant intellectual & cultural ideas of their time | |||||
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Nisbet's art of war example |
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MARX A SOCIAL EVOLUTIONIST IN THAT THE DEV OF CLASS SYSTEMS IS BASED ON DEV OF MODE OF PRODUCTION WHICH IS BASED ON SOCIAL RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION WHICH DEVs TO OVERCOME CONTRADICTIONS / WEAKNESSES OF PAST ERA | |||||
The historical materialist development of Marx depicts several stages, including | |||||
- the prehistorical era of tribal communalism | |||||
- the era of antiquity w/ the classes of masters & slaves, w/ some free peasants | |||||
- the feudal era w/ the classes of nobles & serfs, w/ some peasants, & slaves | |||||
- the capitalism era w/ the classes of owners & workers, & some slaves, serfs & tenants | |||||
- the socialist & capitalist eras w/ no classes | |||||
Marx & Engels saw the development of the four modes of production, but it is clear that they are not strict evolutionists | |||||
Mx & E noted that the Asiatic system was stable until invaded by the West | |||||
Mx & E also posited at least two major lines of social development one in the east & one in the west | |||||
Fr Mx & E, ancient society broke down as a result of internal contradictions & changed in response to the specific retinue lifestyle of Europeans | |||||
Fr Mx & E, feudalism fostered the birth of a limited mkt econ | |||||
The mkt econ, technology & the effects of warfare transforming feudalism into capitalism & thus cap developed out of breakdown of feudalism | |||||
HISTORICAL MATERIALISM COMBINES CONTEXT OF THE PAST W/ NEW SOC REL OF PRODUCTION WHICH DEV AS THE SYNTHESIS TO CONTRADICTIONS / ANTI THESIS OF THE PAST ERA | |||||
Marx felt his analyses were site historical specific and could not be applied to the Russian rural community which was still under feudalism. | |||||
Marx did not believe in any social evolutionism nor any other suprahistorical doctrine | |||||
Mx discussed the political struggles as primary in The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte | |||||
Mx explained the coup d etat of Louis Napoleon in contrast to Hugo who portrayed the coup as a one man feat | |||||
Mx notes that the class struggle in France created circumstances & relationships that made Napoleon's rise possible | |||||
For Mx, Proudhon committed the opposite error & interpreted the coup as if it had been inevitable | |||||
Marx's method was to guide the exploration of the complex of connections between the econ & all other facets of society | |||||
The fact that Mx saw many different paths of societal development, that he recognized that his analyses were site historical specific, & that he did not believe in any supra histl / inevitable evolution / development for humankind was embodied in his concept of historical materialism | |||||
Histl mat holds that societies do change, but they change based on real / material conditions in the sense that particular conditions will create a particular society | |||||
Hist mat is not soc evol in that no specific development or end can be prediction, but it is soc evol in that society is always changing & must always change to a new form |
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AS SOCIETIES EVOLVE, THEY DEMONSTRATE ADAPTATION & A MVMT FROM HOMOGENEITY TO HETEROGENEITY |
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Two ideas inherent in the examination of soc evolution from the beginning have been those of adaptation & the movement from homogeneity to heterogeneity |
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Adaptation is adjustment to env conditions |
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Enhanced adaptation means better or more effective coping w/ such conditions |
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Technology has been a mechanism of adaptation that has had evolutionary significance |
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Adaptation is adjustment to both the physical env as well as to the env of surrounding societies |
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Some societies are more adapted, more effective at waging war than others, or more adapted at agriculture, etc |
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SOCIETIES GENERALLY PROGRESS, WHERE ONE MEASURE OF PROGRESS IS MORE EFFECTIVE ADAPTATION TO BOTH THE PHYSICAL & SOC ENVS |
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It is often posited in both the physical & social sciences that a society may go from a 'stage' of, for example, hunting & fishing to agriculture |
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As a society moves from one stage to another there is better coping w/ the physical & soc env in that the adaptations for the new stage 'yields' more than it did before |
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IN SOCIAL EVOLUTION, THERE IS BOTH PHYSICAL & IDEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT; NEW UNDERSTANDINGS COMBINE W/ NEW TECH & NEW SOCIAL RELATIONS |
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As societies evolve, there is a cognitive factor, an ideology, a factor of knowledge involved in technology, or the shift in stages |
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The cognitive factor in social change, social evolution, goes beyond 'simple technical knowledge' in that it also involves the meaning or interpretation given to the new knowledge & technology, & even the stage |
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Frazier argued there is a shift in the history of humankind from an Age of Magic to an Age of Religion, & finally to an Age of Science |
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Frazier's line of thought parallels the work of several classic sociologists from Comte to Spencer | |||||
Comte held that society is evolving from to the metaphysical to ... | |||||
Frazier sees magic as a pseudo science that rests on illusion about the world of reality | |||||
Some argue that the primary significance of magic is that it is a manipulative effort at control of the env & one's life, which in the end is the same meaning often attributed to science | |||||
BOTH RELIGION & SCIENCE CREATE MEANING IN SOCIETY & THE NATURE OF THAT MEANING IMPACTS THE NATURE OF THE IDEOLOGY ACCOMPANYING SOCIAL EVOLUTION | |||||
Religion involves practice as well as belief, but belief clearly comes first | |||||
The cognitive element in science is important in that the meaning created by the religion is a central feature of that religion | |||||
The cognitive element in the scientific stage is also central to it in that 1st, knowledge itself is cognitive, & 2nd, the meaning one attributes to science is important in its acceptance & application | |||||
An example of the cognitive element in science can be seen the efforts to control the meaning in such fields as evolution, climate change, & more | |||||
Some prefer not to link science to magic & religion but instead place it in a schema of stages w/ philosophy, technological thought, math, or history | |||||
There have always been elements of science in both magic & religion | |||||
SOCIAL SCIENTISTS CONSIDER BOTH THE ADAPTATION TO THE PHYSICAL ENV & THE ADAPTATION TO THE SOCIAL ENV, OF WHICH ONE IMPORTANT ASPECT IS THE MORAL STANDING OF THE ENV | |||||
On the question of social evolution & adaptation, the question becomes whether the 'advancement' from pre magical era, to the magical era, to the religious era, to the scientific era yield an increase in adaptation | |||||
While some theorists from the Nietscheans to the post modernists might deny any noteworthy advancement in human society, many theorists do see social evolution, even advancement in each of these stages which lead to increased adaptation | |||||
Magic, religion, & science all, at the very least, engaged humankind in the env under the cognitive assumption that what they did mattered, that what they did would improve their life & adaptation to the env | |||||
Many would argue that we have increased adaptation or adaptiveness, but this is not to say that there are no problems of adaptation |
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CYCLICAL THEORIES BELIEVE THAT SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT OCCURS IN CYCLES OF GROWTH & DECLINE |
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It is noteworthy that historical civilizations rise & fall or change in cycles |
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Some soc scientists see these cycles as endless; others see them as a life cycle |
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Oswald Spengler drew an analogy btwn cultures & the human life cycle: youth, maturity, old age, & death |
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In 1918 Spengler wrote the book: The Decline of the West |
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SOME THEORISTS HELD THAT CYCLES OCCUR AS SOCIETIES FACE CHALLENGES IN THEIR PHYS & / OR SOC ENV |
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Arnold Toynbee argued that all civilizations rise & fall, but he saw the cycles in terms of challenges & responses to the env |
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Toynbee argued that if the challenge was not too severe, & if the response was sufficiently creative, then the civilization would continue |
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To the extent that each society built upon the accomplishments of earlier societies, a higher stage of development could be attained in each cycle |
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If a society's response to its challenges was not creative, it could die |
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SOME THEORISTS HELD THAT CYCLES OCCUR AS SOCIETIES VIEW THE ENV THROUGH EITHER IDEALISTIC OR MATERIAL IDEOLOGIES |
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Pitrim Sorokin argued that civilizations oscillated btwn 2 forms: ideational culture & sensate culture |
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Ideational culture emphasized faith as the key to knowledge & encourage spirituality |
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Sensate culture emphasized empirical evidence as the path to knowledge & encouraged a practical & hedonistic way of life |
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Sorokin held that societies shifted from one form to the other based on an unclear inner logic of the relationship btwn idealism & materialism | |||||
MANY CYCLICAL THEORIES FOCUSED ON THE CYCLES OF PRE MODERN SOCIETIES THAT EXPERIENCED CYCLES MORE THAN PROGRESS | |||||
Many cyclical theories are based on pre industrial, pre modern societies when there was not much what we recognize as progress | |||||
One can argue that the many wars among European nations in the middle ages & the even greater numbers of wars over the millennia in China do represent cycles & show little progress | |||||
Through most of written history, change was slow, & empires expanded, contracted, were conquered, or were replaced | |||||
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Modernization, urbanization, & industrialization brought changes that altered the world forever & this is where we get our notion of progress |
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Even in modern societies there may be cycles w/ respect to culture, values, & beliefs | |||||
In the US, the 20s, 50s, & 80s were characterized as periods of materialism & conservatism while the 30s, 60s, & 90s were periods of idealism rebellion & soc change |
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SOC CHANGE CAN OCCUR AS A RESULT OF DELIBERATE SOCIAL POLICY BY GOVTS, CORPS, ORGS, POWERFUL PEOPLE, & MORE |
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SOC CHANGE MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF DELIBERATE GOVT POLICY |
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Planning soc change is perhaps the most challenging of human endeavors |
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Sometimes the intended changes bring about unforeseen & unwanted changes |
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The Chinese govt sought to control pop growth by restricting couples to one child & while the policy is effective it has had several unintended consequences |
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One unintended consequence of the Chinese one child policy is that children are spoiled & families must spend all their resources to help the one child succeed |
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One unintended consequence of the Chinese one child policy is that b/c China is so patriarchal, many couples have committed infanticide on girl babies, & thus there is a high % of boys compared to girls |
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Other examples of govt orchestrated soc change include labor laws, civil rts laws, gender equity laws, privacy laws, Social Security, Obamacare, & more |
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SOC CHANGE MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF DELIBERATE CORPORATE POLICY |
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Western corps have embraced the practice of offering fringe benefits as part of a pay package |
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Corps make policies that impact the env & thus people |
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Corps decide where development is to occur or not occur |
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Corps have fostered a culture of consumerism |
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SOC CHANGE MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF DELIBERATE ORG/SOC MVMT / NGO POLICY |
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Other orgs that have fomented social change include religions, charities, social movements, non governmental orgs, think tanks, & more | |||||
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, & many other religions often change a society as they gain adherents, & often stabilize a society in the fact of other forces of soc change | |||||
Charities such as the United Way & Red Cross have defined the who, what, where, why, & how we come to the aid of others | |||||
The NRA has helped create a culture that supports gun use for sports & self defense | |||||
The NAACP helped create a melting pot society where diversity on many levels is embraced | |||||
NGOs such as the Peace Corp or Doctors w/o Borders have a lasting, significant impact on many societies, including the people that send/support such orgs | |||||
Think tanks from the Heritage Foundation to Plowshares influence public opinion & the larger social & political conversation in society | |||||
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SOC CHANGE MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF DELIBERATE POLICY AS FORMED BY POWERFUL PEOPLE | ||||
Obviously billionaires can impact world history | |||||
The Coke Brothers are one of the leading forces behind the new wing of the Republican Party, the Tea Party | |||||
Bill Gates founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which is funding, & more importantly managing, many initiatives such as the global eradication of polio | |||||
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Airlines, is also funding space exploration by developing a commercial, public transportation system to take people to space | |||||
Oprah Winfrey funds & manages the Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, the Rebuilding the Gulf Coast Project & much more | |||||
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is the first female to be part of Annual 40 most powerful CEOs Under 40 List & she has sparked a new conversation of the role of women in business |
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ECON DEVELOPMENT IS THE GROWTH OF THE ECON & USUALLY INCLUDES A GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF JOBS, WAGES, GENERAL PROSPERITY, & THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE | ||||
Economic development is the transformation of the nature & composition of the economy & usually implies increases in prosperity |
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Ec dev is the process whereby simple, low income national economies are transformed into modern industrial economies | |||
ECON GROWTH IMPLIES THAT QUAL ECON GROWTH ACCOMPANIES ECON DEV AS IN PEOPLE MOVING UP IN THE CLASS STRUCTURE | ||||
Economic growth is not the same as economic development since the former implies quantitative growth only while the latter implies quantitative growth, but more importantly qualitative growth |
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Ec growth implies qualitative growth, a movement up the hierarchy of economic types of agriculture econ, extractive econ, industrial econ, high tech econ, & service econ | ||||
For many social activist the term econ dev is nearly synonymous w/ exploitation in that ec dev allows corps to move into an area & avoid many of the rules & reg of the indilzed nations including labor laws, envl laws, safety laws, etc. | ||||
ECON DEV IMPACTS ARE BOTH POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; FROM ED & WEALTH TO URBAN SPRAWL & ENVL DEGRADATION | ||||
For social critics, ec dev retains all or most of the negative impacts that the indlized nations experienced in their own indl rev | ||||
All participants in the ec dev debate are concerned w/ making the ec dev process less exploitative & more friendly to corps, labor, the env, etc. | ||||
At present there is no clear distinction in the language to differentiate btwn "good" & "bad" ec dev, i.e. there are no labels for different types of ec dev other than to state it is green ec dev, or labor friendly ec dev, etc. | ||||
The issue of econ dev is important because through govt policies & the policies of econ dev agencies, many other issues & policies are impacted | ||||
Econ dev pol impacts envl pol, military pol, trade pol, human rights pol, etc. | ||||
Econ dev pol often impacts the very tone the debate around other issues & thus is often defining what is important on issues, the nature of scientific studies done, & the very ground rules for what is "knowledge" & what is not by setting the parameters of the discussion | ||||
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A SOCIO HIST ANALYSIS OF ECON DEV INCLUDES COLONIALISM, THEN NEO COLONIALISM, THEN NEO LIBERALISM, & NATION BUILDING | |||
The history of economic development is that in the early 1900s, European colonialism ended |
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Ec dev was not recognized as a social process until after WW II | ||||
Former colonies & other countries had low living standards compared to the developed countries | ||||
The colonies came to be known as developing countries | ||||
As the concept of econ development emerges, the concepts of developing & undeveloped countries emerges |
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MEASURING ECON DEV IS PRIMARILY DONE VIA GDP, WHICH INCLUDES THE VALUES OF A NATION'S EXPORTS | ||||
Economists usually rank countries as developed, developing or undeveloped based on per capital income criterion |
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Another intl econ ranking system, which parallels the developed, developing, undeveloped system, labels nations as core, semi peripheral, & peripheral | ||||
There are several problems w/ using the developed, developing, undeveloped system to measure ec dev including currency comparisons & quality of life issues |
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The current measure of ec dev may result in the classification of oil rich nations w/ hi per capita income as dev, when in fact other than the oil ind, they are undeveloped | ||||
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The current measure of ec dev does not effectively acct for currency exchange rates & variations in the cost of living: comparing dollars to denars & cost of living |
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The current measure of ec dev does not take into acct quality of life factors such as food, shelter, health, retirement, etc. | ||||
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GDP, GNP, PPP HELP US UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF ECONOMIES | |||
GDP, GNP, PPP are THREE methods of measuring income | ||||
Gross domestic product ( GDP ) is the amount of income that a given nation creates both nationally & internationally | ||||
GDP is the most frequently used measure of income | ||||
Gross national product ( GNP ) is the amount of income that is produced in each nation, thus the international production in another nation is not counted | ||||
GNP was the measure on income used until globalization became so widespread that GDP became a clearer measure | ||||
Purchasing power parity ( PPP ) is a measure that equalizes the measure of income based on the purchasing power of income for necessities | ||||
Using PPP as a measure of income means that, for example, that $55 K provides a mid class living in the US while $45 K provides a mid class living in Australia | ||||
PPP is considered to be the clearest measure of income across nations | ||||
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Other means of measuring development include:
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Examples of comparing economic development | ||||
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The gap between rich & poor is over $20,000 and growing
Core: PPP GDP: $ 15,000 to $ 20,000 per yr. Periphery: PPP GDP: $ 750 to $ 7,000 |
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India per capita income est at $270 in
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Brazil est at $1,640, Italy est at $6,520 |
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An analysis of the ec dev of Italy, i.e. Italy's living standard, is raises the question of whether 24 times greater than India's, or just how they relate to one another | ||||
The living standard gap btwn Italy & India could be biased, i.e. it could be too hi or too lo | ||||
An analysis of the comparative ec dev of Italy & India leaves no doubt that the Italian living standard is significantly higher than that of Brazil, which in turn was higher than India's by a wide margin | ||||
ECON DEV CONCEPTS DEMONSTRATE THE GROWTH OF DIFFERENT SECTORS OF THE ECON & THE FACT THAT ECONS MUST HAVE PARTICULAR CAPACITY LIKE ED IN PLACE BEFORE OTHER ASPECTS CAN MANIFEST | ||||
There are FOUR types of economic activities: Primary Activities, Secondary Activities, Tertiary Activities, Quaternary Activities | ||||
Geographical path dependence analyzes the relationship btwn the present activities & the past activities of that place | ||||
There are always different pathways to development according to the circumstances of the variations in factors involved | ||||
What is the Geographic Path Dependence of the coalfields? | ||||
FIVE CHANGES IN SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN EC DEV INCLUDE THE BASE, EC SYS, TECH, CONDITIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE | ||||
Economic Development causes changes in FIVE a society's social structure including the | ||||
a. structure of a region's economic type of base: ag, raw material extraction, industrial, info/ high tech, services | ||||
b. form of economic organization (e.g., barter, pure capitalism, state capitalism, socialism) | ||||
c. availability & use of tech | ||||
d. basic living conditions | ||||
e. physical framework or infrastructure | ||||
UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT IS WHERE AN ECON STRAYS FROM ECON PATH DEVELOPMENT | ||||
Uneven development is a problem that has plagued nations & their economies: e.g., a nation must have the infrastructure of roads, power, etc. to support an industrial base | ||||
GENDER & DEVELOPMENT: IN PERIPHERAL NATIONS, WOMEN EXCEL AT STARTING SMALL BUSINESSES WHILE PATRIARCHAL MEN DO NOT | ||||
An analysis of gender & development demonstrates that in no country are women better off than men | ||||
In the core women have 85 to 95 % of the wealth of men | ||||
In the periphery, women have less than 5 % of the wealth of men | ||||
Developers have found that women invest in new sectors of the econ, whereas men are more likely to invest in tradl areas | ||||
Women must go to new sectors to gain an econ foothold | ||||
REGIONAL PATTERNS IN DEVELOPMENT DEMONSTRATE REGIONAL EC DEV SYNERGY | ||||
Regional patterns in development are a form of uneven development | ||||
Regional patterns in development are explained by the unique interaction of factors affecting development & scarce resources, history of neglect, aka the history of exploitation, lack of investment, concentration of low skilled people, etc. | ||||
Explain how each of these has occurred in the Appalachians | ||||
In reality, many pathways exist to development | ||||
The same factors that effect econ development itself, also effect which pathway is followed | ||||
Regions are interdependent & Econ Development is based on geographic, physical & social factors | ||||
THE STANDARD PATHWAY TO DEVELOPMENT INCLUDES HG, AG, EXTRACTION, IND, INFO / HI TECH, SERVICE | ||||
The 'standard pathway to development' typically includes the SIX phases
of:
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Most core countries followed the standard pathway to it's end | ||||
Most semi peripheral countries are struggling in extraction or industry econ systems | ||||
Most peripheral countries are struggling in H-G, agricultural, & extraction type of econ systems | ||||
We cannot yet foresee what the next type of economy will be for the core countries | ||||
We now understand that the pathway to development for semi peripheral & peripheral countries will not be the same path taken by the core countries | ||||
Thus economists, social scientists, politician, business people, etc. are all attempting to discover the best pathway for each type of nation to take |
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SOME CONFLICT THEORISTS BELIEVE THAT WHILE THE CORE NATIONS PURPORT TO BE HELPING 2ND & 3RD WORLD NATIONS, THEY ARE IN EFFECT CREATING DEPENDENT STATES, A NEW NONE MILITARISTIC FORM OF COLONIALIZATION |
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Some conflict theories argue that 1st world nations have developed at the expense of less developed nations & have even pushed some of these nations backward |
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Frank (1969) called the process of exploitation of the 3rd world by the 1st world the development of underdevelopment |
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The generally accepted name for any theories addressing how & why 3rd world nations remain in low levels of development is dependency theory |
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Dep th claims that the activities of the ind nations keep 3rd wrld nations in a dependent positions rather than enabling them to develop |
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Some dep th argue that the 'help' provided by the 1st world to the 3rd world is either disguised benefits for the 1st world's intl corps or political blackmail used to force rd world nations to support 1st world goals, initially cold war goals, & today the war on drugs or the war on terrorism |
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One of the major dependency theories is world systems theory, 1st developed by Immanuel Wallerstein |
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See Also: Wallerstein |
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See Also: World Systems Theory |
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- Project: How Has a Soc Mvmt Affected Your Life? |
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- Project: The Types & Importance of Social Movements |
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SOC MVMTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN & CONTINUE TO IMPORTANT CHANGE AGENTS | |||||
Soc mvmts can influence history, the way individuals live, societies live, & even world events |
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Soc mvmts that become large orgs, or institutions are the instrument through which people, groups, orgs, nations influence other people, groups, orgs, nations |
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Soc mvmts have even destroyed societies |
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The Prohibition Mvmt got alcohol totally outlawed in the US from 1920 to 1933 |
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The Nazi mvmt in Germany began as a workers' soc mvmt & led to the destruction of much of Europe |
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MADD led the fight against drunk driving & has impacted much of the US adult entertainment industry, the alcohol industry, the police, & all of the drinking public |
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WHILE MANY SOC MVMTS HAVE TAKEN DECADES, EVEN CENTURIES TO COME TO FRUITION, THEY INCREASE THE PACE OF SOC CHANGE, ESP WHEN COMPARED TO EVOLUTIONARY, IE DEVELOPMENTAL SOC CHANGE | |||||
When a soc mvmt sweeps through society, it tends to influence the judgment & perceptions of many people |
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W/o soc mvmts, change would be much more gradual & more in the control of the elites |
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Prior to the modern era, most soc change occurred only at the behest of the elites as seen in the history of feudal Europe, ancient China, & Rome where change came in the the form of new leaders, leaving life much the same for the masses |
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Soc mvmts have increased the ability of the people to foment change in their own society by several factors |
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THE RISE OF SOC MVMTS WAS SIMULTANEOUS W/ THE RISE OF MODERN DEMOCRACY & SO THE FRAMERS OF DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION ESTB THE RTS OF ASSEMBLY & FREE SPEECH AS FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RTS | |||||
The importance of soc mvmts is recognized in the US Constitution in the Bill of Rights in the right of assembly, the right to free speech, the right to a free press, & more; & these rights have been modeled by many other model democracies |
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While all people have the right to vote in a democratic society, elected officials do not always do what people want them to |
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The labor, civil rights & other mvmts show that public authorities can be mean spirited, shortsighted, or just plain stupid |
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Gov Wallace lied to Pres Eisenhower about his true intentions on desegregation & he ordered the state Nat Guard to block school doors |
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Soc mvmts make it possible for citizens to change policies created by dictators, elected officials, elites & others in power | ||||
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Before the advent of soc mvmts, the masses of people had proportionally little power | ||||
See Also: The History of Soc Mvmts | |||||
SOC MVMTS, SOC ORGANIZATION, SOC CHANGE, ASSEMBLY, FREE SPEECH, ETC, ALL CAN BE FOR GOOD OR ILL | |||||
Not all soc mvmts create "positive change" for the positiveness or negativeness of a given change must always be determined in light of the predominant norms of society; never-the-less, some changes lead toward greater freedom & democracy, such as the civil rights movement, some lead towards less as w/ the Nazi mvmt, & the positiveness of some are still in debate today as in the labor mvmt, the feminist mvmt, & the env mvmt | |||||
Some mvmts are trying to better society while others are trying to exclude others from opportunities or liberties & some just want to change things back to the way they believe they used to be | |||||
The importance of soc mvmts is in many ways similar to the importance of orgs & bureaucracy in that all of these social entities allow individuals to have a voice, exert power, & change history, demonstrating the synergy of collective behavior | |||||
An old proverb holds that 10 sticks bundled together are stronger than 100 sticks that are not | |||||
In soc mvmts, grps, orgs, bureaucracy we see that the whole is greater than the sum of its part | |||||
See Also: The Importance of Orgs in Society | |||||
THE SOC CHANGE OF SOME SOC MVMTS BECOMES INSTITUTIONALIZED IN SOCIETY, IE THEY BECOME A ROUTINE PART OF SOCIETY AS WE SEE IN LABOR UNIONS, CIVIL RTS, & WOMEN'S RTS | |||||
Soc mvmts are important because as seen in the history of soc mvmts, soc mvmts are nascent societal institutions, i.e. soc institutions such as the media, ed, rec, religion, etc. all begin as soc mvmts & then become accepted parts of society, & eventually become routinized & institutionalized | |||||
Soc mvmts are important because they allow people on the bottom of the stratification system to collectively exert more power & influence in society than their status & class positions would normally allow | |||||
Soc mvmts are important simply because they are a tool for social change | |||||
SOC MVMTS ARE SEEN BY MANY AS BEING AS MUCH OF A CHANGE AGENT AS THE EXEC, LEG, OR JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF GOVT | |||||
Soc mvmts are an effective balance to the power of govt; they are a conduit through which power, info etc. can be channeled to govt so that a public debate can occur on the merits of the proposed change | |||||
If the media is the "fourth estate" of a democracy, i.e. the fourth branch of governance, then soc mvmts are a "fifth estate" in that it would impossible for society to effectively function if soc mvmts were suppressed | |||||
The fourth estate is a name often given to the newspaper / media profession | |||||
Among the members of the fourth estate are those who gather, write, & edit the news for the press | |||||
Some people use the term to refer to journalists in all news media | |||||
The phrase fourth estate is believed to have first been used in writing by Thomas Babington Macaulay | |||||
In 1828, he wrote in an essay that "the gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm" | |||||
Macaulay was adding a term to those already used for the three estates, or classes, of the English realm | |||||
These were lords spiritual, lords temporal, & commons | |||||
The three estates later came to stand for govt, while reference to a fourth estate described any other influential body in English political life, such as the army or the press | |||||
Soc mvmts serve as "watch dogs" on the govt & the media, each focusing on its own area of expertise | |||||
Soc mvmts are valuable sources of info & constituents for both the govt & media |
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There are THREE perspectives from which to view orgl social change including the nominalists, the realists, & the pragmatists |
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A. NOMINALISTS SEE REALITY AS CONSTRUCTED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL COGNITION |
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For the nominalists, the world is an artificial creation formed in people's minds | |||||
If we were total nominalist, we would believe that all things were possible at all times | |||||
B. REALISTS SEE THE WORLD AS EXTERNAL TO THE INDIVIDUAL |
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For the realist, the world is a real world made of hard tangible, relatively immutable structures | |||||
Total realists believe nothing can change | |||||
We usually act according to some compromise btwn the nominalist & realist positions | |||||
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C. SOCIAL CHANGE AGENTS ARE PRAGMATISTS, USING PRAXIS AS A TOOL FOR CHANGE |
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Praxis is theoretically guided action | |||||
As pragmatists, using praxis, things can change, but we must deal w/ historical forces (reified relationships), power, people, etc. |
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Orgs are the source of both:
- social stability in society - social change in society |
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ORGS ARE OFTEN STABILIZING AGENTS IN THAT THEY MAKE EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN THE ENV & THEIR POSITION IN IT | |||||
Examples of orgs as stabilizing agents include: the family, religious orgs, the ed system, the workplace, & others |
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Orgs by their very nature are not change agents, but "conservative" in that they often promote the status quo |
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When orgs promote stability they also stifle change |
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Change occurs indirectly when orgs in these social structures
change unintentionally, or when their env changes
Examples? |
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ORGL CONSERVATION CONNOTES THAT SOME ORGS ARE CONSERVATIVE TO BEGIN W/ WHILE OTHERS BECOME SO AS THEY SEEK LONG TERM SURVIVAL |
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Org's intent is stability | |||||
The Civil Service & the Am auto mfrs are noted for their orgl conservatism & lack of risk taking |
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In the education system, Janowitz (1969) notes that ed maintains it's org / process despite changing demographics & ed needs | |||||
SOME ORGS FUNCTION AS SOCIAL CHANGE AGENTS |
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While orgs are inherently conservative social agents, nearly all social change comes through orgs | |||||
A cause is not enough for social change; must have an org |
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Change that direct result of org activity is called intentional activity or change |
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Changes may be an indirect result of org action, which in an unintentional activity or change |
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A (un)favorable outcome for an org can lead to changes in society |
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ORGS HAVE CREATED INTENTIONAL SOCIAL CHANGE MANY TIMES IN HISTORY | |||||
Often orgs' goal is social change as seen in
- the US revolution - the abolitionist mvmt & the Civil War - the suffrage mvmt - WW2: military & govt - the Civil Rights mvmt - the Vietnam War peace movement - the env movement - the TVA: - the Bolsheviks - McDonalds - the financial sector - higher ed |
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- Supplement: TVA Website |
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See Also: Orgl Co-optation & the Orgl Env | |||||
Social forecasting is the process of predicting the occurrence & effects of particular social changes | |||||
Orgs must generate/reap support from society at large | |||||
Social Forecasting: major area in sociology today: | |||||
Predict any social change, & there is $$ in it! | |||||
Bus, politicians, social activists, etc. cannot determine when an idea's time has come | |||||
ORGS TEND TO BECOME MORE CONSERVATIVE OVER TIME | |||||
Almost all "radical" orgs or social change orgs become more conservative as they mature: | |||||
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Lipset documented the conservative movement of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) | ||||
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Bolsheviks became "The Communist Party" in Russia & thus in many ways became more conservative |
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Bill Gates & Steven Jobs became Microsoft & Apple which are innovative orgs, but are more conservative than their original forms |
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There have been many intentional or unintentional effects of organizations: |
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Changes in orgs affect society | |||||
One of the unintentional changes in society is the change in the membership patterns in orgs as a result of women going to wk or wider stock ownership | |||||
One of the unintentional changes in society is the change in the patterns of wk such as longer hours for full time jobs, & sub 40 hr weeks for part time workers | |||||
Transforming wk to reward independent thinking, initiative, etc. has an impact on personalities, attitudes, values |
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The End
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