Chapter 6

What is Social Change?
Social change is the

“transformation of culture
and social institutions over
time”.
Characteristics of social change
The process of social change has
four major characteristics:
1. Social change happens all the time.
2. Social change is sometimes
intentional but is often unplanned.
3. Social change is controversial.
4. Some changes matter more than
others.
Social change happens all the time.
Everything in our social world are
subject to change, although some
societies change faster than others. As
Macionis points out, hunting and gathering
societies change quite slowly, whereas
members of today’s high-income societies
experience significant change within a
single lifetime.
Some elements of culture also change
faster than others. Macionis thus cites
William Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag,
which states that material culture (things)
usually changes faster than nonmaterial
culture (ideas and attitudes). For instance,
advances in genetic technology have
developed more rapidly than ethical
standards on the use of the technology.
Social change is sometimes
intentional but is often unplanned.
Today’s high-income societies
generate many kinds of change. Yet, it
would be impossible to envision all the
consequences of the changes that are set
in motion. For example, telephones
(invented in 1876) have taken on different
forms and uses over time.
Social change is controversial.
Social change brings both good
and bad consequences, and thus could
be welcomed by some and opposed by
others. Karl Marx and Max Weber have
chronicled the transformations brought
about by the Industrial Revolution.
The capitalists welcomed the
Industrial Revolution because new
technology meant increased productivity
and profits. However, workers opposed it
as they suffered alienation and the
dehumanization brought about by newer
techniques and social relations of
production.
Some changes matter more than
others.
Some changes such as fashion
fads only have passing significance,
while others such as major medical
discoveries and inventions may
change the world.
CAUSES OF
SOCIAL
CHANGE
Social change has many
causes.
A. Culture and change
B. Conflict and change
C. Ideas and change
D. Demographic change
A. Culture and change
There are three important
sources of cultural change.
1. Invention
2. Discovery
3. Diffusion
First is invention, or the creation of
something new by usually by putting
things together. Inventions can range
from the seemingly complex
technological objects such as the
spacecraft or even the lightbulb to the
seemingly simple such as kitchen
gadgets (like can openers).
Second is discovery, or finding
something that has existed but previously
not known. Chapter 2 provides various
examples of the discovery of material
and fossil remains of prehistoric societies
that changed our understanding of
biophysical and cultural evolution.
Third is diffusion, or the spread of
cultural attributes from one culture to
another through contact between
different cultural groups. Change
happens as products, people, and
information spread from one society to
another.
B. Conflict and change
Inequality and conflict in a society
also produce change. Karl Marx foresaw
that “social conflict arising from inequality
(involving not just class but also race and
gender) would force changes in every
society to improve the lives of working
people”.
In the Philippines, the rising inequalities
and human rights violations during the
Martial Law period caused mass
uprisings that culminated in the 1986
People Power Revolt. The Philippines
was considered to be the first in the world
to have challenged authoritarian rule
through a non-violent process.
C. Ideas and change
Weber, like Marx, also saw that
conflict could bring about change.
However, he traced the roots of most
social change to ideas (Macionis 2012:
566). For example, charismatic people
such as Mahatma Gandhi or Jose Rizal
had political ideas that change society.
D. Demographic change
Population patterns such as
population growth, shifts in the
composition of a population, or
migration also play a part in social
change.
An increasing population may encourage the
development of new products and services,
but it can also have ecological and social
implications such the conversion of more
agricultural land to residential subdivisions. In
other societies, lower fertility rates (women are
having fewer children), an aging population,
and the influx of migrants from other societies
are changing many aspects of social life.
Modernity
A central concept in the study
of social change is modernity.
Modernity refers to social patterns
resulting from industrialization.
These social patterns were set in
motion by the Industrial Revolution,
which began in Western Europe in
the 1750s. Related to the discussion
of modernity is modernization, or
the process of social change begun
by industrialization.
For Emile Durkheim,
modernization is defined by an
increasing division of labor. The
division of labor refers to the
degree to which tasks or
responsibilities are specialized.
Durkheim defines a society according
to type of solidarity. Mechanical solidarity
is based on shared activities and beliefs
while organic solidarity is
characterized by specialization makes
people interdependent. As societies
become industrialized, mechanical
solidarity is gradually replaced by organic
solidarity.
For Weber, modernity meant replacing a
traditional worldview with a rational way
of thinking characterized by goal-
oriented calculation and efficiency. He
focused on the dehumanizing effects of
modern rational organization, especially
the bureaucracy which is the ultimate
form of rationalization.
Marx saw modernity as the
triumph of capitalism over
feudalism. Capitalism creates social
conflict, which Marx claimed would
bring about revolutionary change
leading to an egalitarian socialist
society.
New challenges to human
adaptation and social change
1. Global warming and climate
change
2. Transnational migration and
Overseas Filipino Workers
(OFWs)
Responding to social, political, and
cultural change
1. Inclusive citizenship and participatory
governance
2. New forms of media and social networking
3. Social movements (e.g.,
environmentalism, feminism, religious
fundamentalism)
THE END

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What is Social Change?

Social change is the

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