Unit III Social Change

a. Causes and features of change

b. Liberalization and privatization, globalization
c. Urbanization, exurbanization and suburbanization
d. Modernization and post modernization
e. Changes introduced in society due to these processes
f. Development, planning and change
g. Social movements and change

Introduction
It is human nature that people long for stability, security through continuity. However, no
society remains static or stable. Society is constantly changing in its structure & function. This
change in the society is inevitable. It’s a continuous process. Some changes are willingly
accepted by the members of the society, some are not. Speed of change also varies from society
to society. Some societies experience speedy change, some take long period. Change is the
irrefutable law of nature. It may be or may not be visible however everything is changing at
varying paces. A look into the history of society reveals that all social institutions such as
family, religion, marriage, political, economic, social values and social attitudes have
undergone a drastic change over a period of time. The social life being lived by human being
at present during the dawn of 21st century was not so about hundred or more years back.

The concept of social change was introduced by Auguste Comte (1798-1857), a French
sociologist, known as founding father of sociology. Auguste Comte viewed society as passing
through three main epoch;
1. The theological & military epoch in which supernatural preoccupations dominate the culture
& military conquest slavery are the major social goals.
2. The metaphysical & juridical epoch which is a transitional epoch between the first and the
third.
3. The scientific & industrial epoch in which positivism displaces religious speculation &
peaceful economic production displaces war making as the dominant aim of social
organization.

Later on, the concept of social change was further refined and developed by Herbert Spencer.
In his principles of sociology, felt that in social life there was a change from simple to complex

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forms from the homogenous to the heterogeneous and that there was with society integration
of the ‘whole’ and a differentiation of the parts.

Eminent philosopher like Karl Marx and a number of other sociologists like Durkheim,
Weber, Herbert Spencer discussed about social change. Scholars like Aristotle, Plato, Hegel
and others have written at length on the various aspects of change during their times. Marx
explains societal change with his economic deterministic model and describes change of
society from primitive communism to socialism. German sociologist Max Weber’s analysis of
religious codes and its impact on economic development in his The Protestant Ethic and the
Spirit of Capitalism examines the major aspects of change. Another classical sociological
thinker, and one of the founders of the discipline, Emile Durkheim talks about evolutionary
change in his famous work The Division of Labour and observes that society passes from
mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity.

No human society is static and at the same time it is difficult to predict the forms and directions
of social change. The reason is that the factors which cause social change do not remain
uniform always. The population changes, expansion of science and technology, ideologies and
social values take on new forms, and as a result of that social structure, social system, and
social institutions change their functioning. The process of industrialization and urbanization
has changed the whole characteristics of social relationships. The term social change is used to
indicate the changes that take place in human interactions and interrelations. Society is a web
of relationships, so social change means a change in the system of social relationships.

Definitions
Change refers to any alteration or transformation in any object, situation or phenomena over a
certain period of time. Similarly, the Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology defines change as
a ‘succession of events which produce over time a modification or replacement of particular
patterns or units by other novel ones. Time is an important factor in the context of change.

According to T. B. Bottmore social change refers to change occurring in social structure or in

institution or in the relationship between the institutions.

According to Kinsley Davis social change is change which occurs in the social organization
i.e. its’s structure and function.

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For Anderson and Parker, social change involves alterations in the structure or functioning
of social forms or processes themselves.

MacIver and Page also opine that our direct concern as sociologist is with social relationships.
It is the change in these relationships which alone we shall regard as social change.

Mazumdar defined social change may be defined as anew fashion or mode, either modifying
or replacing the old, in the life of people, or in the operations of society.

Social change may be defined as the process in which is discernible significant alteration in the
structure and functioning of a particular social system. Thus, social change is a universal
phenomenon. It is a process that also implies continuity. Social change is thus inevitable and a
demand of time.

Different scholars debate over if change is a revolutionary process, or it happens gradually.

However, they settle with the fact that it is both an evolutionary and a revolutionary process.

Features of Social Change

The important features that emerge from the definitions of social change are:
1) Social change is the effect of certain causes.
2) Social change modifies social structure, social organization and social functioning.
3) It modifies the life-pattern of people.
4) Technological and cultural changes.
5) Social change is reflected through social attitudes, social values and ways of living.

Characteristics of Social Change

Following the meaning and definitional analysis of the concept, the characteristics of
social change can be discussed as given below;

1. Social change is universal: As discussed in the above section, social change is

inevitable. It is not only inevitable but also universal. It is found in every society. From
primitive society to the post-industrial one, change is found everywhere. No society or

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 culture remains static forever. Human beings changed themselves from nomads, food
gatherers to agriculturists and later modern, industrial beings.
2. Social change is continuous: Right from the time mother earth came into being to the
present times, society/life has been in a continuously changing mode. No society or
people can be stopped from the influences of change. It is a never-ending process.
3. Social change may produce chain reactions: Change in one aspect of a system may lead
to changes of varying degrees in other aspects of that system. As to Biesanz and Biesanz
(1964, 63), the change from hunting and food gathering to agriculture was a revolution
in technology that led eventually to the development of civilization by making large
and diversified societies possible. For example, improvement in literacy in the country
leads to economic independence of women which in turn brings changes in the whole
notion of family, marriage and husband-wife ties.
4. Social change may be planned or unplanned: Change may occur with or without proper
planning. People, government or any other agent may initiate change through plans or
programmes and may determine the degree and direction of change.
5. Social change is temporal and directional: Change can be directional. It happens in a
particular direction. In several instances, such direction is planned, predetermined and
is fixed ideally. Such changes are called as progress. However, change in general may
happen in any direction. Similarly, the rate or tempo of change varies from time to time
and place to place. Some changes may take months and years, while some may occur
rapidly. Social change is temporal in the sense that it involves the factor of time. It
denotes time sequence. It can be temporary or permanent. Time is an important
component in the process of change.
6. Social change is value-neutral: The concept of social change is not value laden or
judgemental. It does not advocate any good or desirable and bad or undesirable turn of
events. It is an objective term which is neither moral nor immoral. It is ethically neutral.

Causes and Factors of Social Change

For social change, not one cause may be effective. There may be many factors which set the
process in motion.
1. Physical Factors – Changes in the physical environment are not rapid, but the occasional
changes in the environment bring total changes in human social lives. For instance, like
earthquake, storms, heavy rainfall etc. These changes force people to migrate to new areas

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hence people have to change themselves according to that society. This brings out change in
culture, way of clothing, manners etc.

2. Biological/Demographic Factors - Biological factors too have some indirect influence upon
social change. Among the biological factors is the qualitative aspect of the population related
to heredity. The qualitative aspect of population is based upon powerful and great men and
their birth is dependent to a large extent upon heredity & mutation. Hence, biological factors
play a part in social change to that extent. In addition to this the biological principals of natural
selection & struggle for survival are constantly producing alterations in society.

Demographic factors that induce social change are fertility, mortality, migration, changing age
structure, sex ratio, age at marriage, patterns of marriage, child bearing age, life expectancy,
use of contraceptives, levels and types of morbidity. These factors have a far-reaching effect
on society with the pressure to produce changes in social and political institutions.

3. Technological Factors – Human beings are never satisfied. In the process of satisfying his
wants man devised new means and created new needs. To satisfy his new needs man invented
new techniques to use natural resources. This technological factor brought out severe changes
in the society. Technological factors have immense influence in social change. Technology
changes society by changing our environments to which we in turn adopt. This change is
usually in the material environment and the adjustment we make to the changes often modifies
customs and social institutions. In this way, the increase in new machines & methods due to
new discoveries has had a very great influence upon social institutions. In the modern age,
technological factors are among the predominant causes of social change.

4. Economic Factors – Karl Marx has given economic interpretation of social changes. With
the changes in the economic system, the entire society changes in its structure & functioning.
Economic conditions in countries do affect the health, mortality, marriages, divorce rate,
suicide, crime & emigration etc. It can also bring social unrest & revolution & war. Of course,
not all the social changes are necessarily caused by economic conditions. Changes
have also occurred due to educational moulding in people’s attitudes etc.

5. Cultural Factors – The main cause of social change is the cultural factors. Changes in the
culture are accompanied by social change. Changes & variations in culture inevitably influence

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social relationships. Culture gives speed & direction to social change and determines the limits
beyond which social changes cannot occur. Max Weber has proved this hypothesis by a
comparative study of religious & economic institution.

6. Environmental Factors – The geographers have emphasized the impact of geographical

environment upon human society Huntington has gone so far as to assert that an alteration in
the climate is the sole cause of the evolution & devolution of civilizations and cultures Even if
these claims of the geographers are to be discarded, it cannot be denied that floods, earthquakes,
excessive rain, drought, change of season etc. have significant effect upon social relationships
and these are modified by such natural occurrences.

7.Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) Factors

Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications
equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data. The term is commonly used as a
synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information
distribution technologies such as television and telephones. Several industries are associated
with information technology, such as computer hardware, software, electronics, semi-
conductors, the Internet, telecom equipment, e-commerce and computer services.

Mass media can be said to be diversified media technologies that are intended to reach a large
audience by mass communication. The technology through which this communication takes
place varies. Broadcast media, such as radio, recorded music, films and television, transmit
their information electronically. Print media uses a physical object, such as a newspaper, book,
pamphlet or comic, to distribute their information. Outdoor media is a form of mass media that
comprises billboards, signs or placards placed inside and outside of commercial buildings,
sports stadiums, shops and buses. The digital media comprises both the Internet and mobile
mass communication. Internet media provides many mass media services, such as email,
websites, blogs and Internet based radio and television.

7. Psychological Factors – Most sociologists regard psychological factors as important

elements in social change. The cause of social change is the psychology of man himself. Man
is by nature a lover of change. He is always trying to discover new things in every sphere in
life & is always anxious for novel experience. As a result of this tendency, the mores, traditions,
customs etc. of every human society are perpetually undergoing change. The form of social

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relationships is constantly changing in the process of interactions between the tendencies of
moving towards the new while preserving the old. New customs and methods replace the old
traditional customs while old traditions that demand change with time adapts to changing
traditions.

Resistance to Change
Acceptance and resistance to social change are two sides of a coin. In modern industrial
societies, there is a diversity of social norms and social values which permit the new generation
to choose different ways of life or to reorganize the existing social practices which in various
ways oppose the social and cultural values of older generation. There is always inter-generation
gap. There is historical evidence of resistance to social change from time to time either by
individual, groups or both. Generally, resistance to change can be expected when persons or
groups of people have different perceptions of the outcome. It is easier for people to use old
form, than to get adapted to new ones. People resist social change due to illiteracy, ignorance,
economic cost, vested interest, habit, custom & tradition, lack of proper knowledge, vested
interest, suspicious, desire for stability inertia, lack of awareness and fear of new things. People
resist social change fearing that it may go against time-honoured values and traditions. Inter-
racial, inter-country and inter-religious caste marriages are opposed as this goes against
established social values and traditions. Some of the important examples of resistance to social
changes can be cited from present day developed world, American’s slavery system took a long
and devastating war to get abolished. Racial equality is being resisted even today. In England,
the introduction of woman suffrage was opposed for a very long time. In India, sati pratha,
child marriage, preference for female child, women education, human rights and democratic
ways of functioning are being resisted even today. The development of modern capitalist
economy based on liberalization, privatization and globalization brought into existence some
social waves and social movements which hit the traditional Indian social and cultural life.

Conclusion
All societies change continuously. The world in which we live the physical environment,
people and culture undergo changes. Society is not static. It is dynamic in the sense that
alterations of various forms and dimensions are continuously taking place in it. Every moment
of our life, we encounter some change or the other. There are changes of style fashion, of
technology, of market conditions, of systems, of education, of forms of government, of likes
and dislikes and of individual and group preferences and so on. Thus, social change is change

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in the social relationship. This implies that it refers to changes in the social structure and social
relationships of the society.

No sociological analysis is complete without reference to social change. It is a change in the

institutional and normative structure of society. Social evolution, social progress, social
development, changes in physical environment, technological developments, innovations,
changes in economic and political institutions are all having bearing on social change. Social
change is inherent in all the physical and social environmental changes.

(f) Development, Planning and Change

Conceptualising of Social Progress and Development

Social progress is a relative term in the sense that, to some people, changes in daily living,
social functions, social relationships, attitudes and values may mean progress and to others,
social change may seem to be an erosion of established social values and social practices. Social
progress refers to forces which make human life socially and biologically better. Human beings
are continuously making efforts to control the external environment and generate forces which
make their life better.

Some important definitions of social progress are-

For MacIver and Page imply not merely direction, but direction towards some final goal,
some destination determined ideally not simply by some objective considerations at work.

Burgess - Any change or adaptation to an existent environment that makes it easier for a person
or group of persons or other organized form of life to live, may be said to represent progress.

Lumley - Progress is change but it is change in a desired or approved direction, not any
direction.

Ogburn - Progress is a movement towards an objective, thought to be desirable by the general

group, for the visible future.

Hobhouse - Social progress is the growth of social life in respect of those qualities to which
human beings can attach or can rationally attach values.

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Mazumdar - Social progress is a movement based on following parameters:
1) Enhancement of the dignity of man
2) Respect for each human personality
3) Ever-increasing freedom for spiritual quest and for investigation of truth
4) Freedom for creativity and for aesthetic enjoyment of the works of nature as well as of man
5) A social order that promotes the first four values
6) Promotes life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness with justice and equity to all.

The above given statements of social progress highlights the following features:
1) Social progress is a movement towards ideally determined objectives
2) Social progress is a movement of adaptation for existing environment that makes life easier
3) Social progress is not just a movement in any direction
4) Social progress is a movement that creates a social order based on spirituality, dignity of
human beings, liberty, happy life full of moral values
5) Social progress is limitless and social change is inherent in it

Development in knowledge, inventions and use of various technologies and gadgets initiates
modified standards of living, social relationships, social functioning, attitudes and values. It
was sociologists that had made a distinction between evolution, social evolution and social
progress. Social evolution is one aspect of evolution and social progress is a further associate
of social evolution.

Development also refers to improvement in the quality of life and advancement in one’s state
of condition. It may refer to the improvements in one’s well-being, living standards and socio-
economic opportunities. However, the term ‘development’ is multifaceted due to which lots of
confusions and disagreements have taken place with regard to its meaning and definition.
Nevertheless, influenced by the scholars like Amartya Sen, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) created a Human Development Index (HDI) that combines indicators like
health, life expectancy, literacy, political participation and access to resources (UNDP 2001,
14). Noted economist Amartya Sen argues that development can be seen as a process of
expanding real freedoms that people enjoy. This contrasts with the narrow view of development
that identifies it with growth or Gross National Product (GNP) or personal income or
industrialization or technological advancement or social modernization. Sen argues that growth

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of GNP and personal income can be important means that can expand individual freedom.
However, freedom depends also on other determinants like proper arrangements for schooling
or education, proper healthcare system, civil and political rights, and so on. Sen Says,
‘Development requires the removal of poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities
as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or
over activity or repressive state’ (Sen 20003).

The concept of social development is further improvement of social progress. The concept of
social development is based on long history but recent emphasis on it, is mainly due to
following three factors
1) Decolonization process which started during twentieth century and got accelerated after the
end of Second World War
2) Growing concern with developed countries
3) The desire of people and of newly established governments to achieve the objective of
welfare state.

Therefore, the goals of social development are-

1) To create a society where living conditions of the people are better. They do not suffer from
hunger and they are not denied basic necessities of life.
2) To remove regional imbalances and rural-urban disparities. To create infrastructure where
basic needs of the people are met at all levels, including those who constitute the poorest and
deprived sections of society. These views were also endorsed by the General Assembly and the
World Summit for Social Development (1995) of United Nations.

The important highlights of the Summit were:

1) To leave no section of the population outside the scope of social development
2) To effect structural change which favours social development and activate all sectors of the
population to participation in the social development process
3) To aim at social equity
4) To give high priority to the development of the human resources, including vocational and
technical training.

It may be made clear that in order to achieve social development the economic development is
necessary which means increase in production leading to high rate of growth as measured

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through Gross National Product. Keeping in view the comprehensiveness of social
development M.S. Gore has rightly said that social development means social, cultural,
economic, political and environment development.

Nature of Development
Development is a process that makes the human society a better place to live in. It brings social
well-being.
(i)Development is a revolutionary process. In many cases, it involves sudden and rapid change
of the social structure.
(ii)Development is a complex and multi-dimensional process. It involves a lot of economic,
behavioural and institutional rearrangements. It involves equity, socioeconomic and political
participation, and so on.
(iii) Development is a systematic process. Change in one aspect brings chain reaction and
corresponding changes in other aspects also.
(iv) Development is a lengthy process. The process of development needs substantial level of
efforts over a long period of time.
(v) Development is an irreversible process. It always moves forward. Although some aspects
of the process might have some occasional downfalls, the whole process of development is
irreversible.
(vi) Development is a universal process. Developmental ideas and know-how are diffused from
centre of origin to other parts of the world. There are transformations of ideas and techniques
between nations world over.
(vii) Development is directional. It is a process that moves in a direction. In that sense,
development is also called an evolutionary process. As stated by Spencer, it can be from simple
to complex. As stated by Marx, it can be from class-less primitive communism to capitalistic
mode of production and finally to socialism. As discussed by Durkheim, it can be from
mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity, etc.
(viii) Development is a value-loaded concept. Qualitatively, it talks about improvement of
something over some other. It talks about improvement in lifestyle, infrastructure, education,
health system, and so on. Quantitatively, it always advocates for more (of anything) in number.
So, it is a process that involves value judgement.

Change and Development

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Development is a form of change. However, there are differences between the two. Change is
a value-neutral concept, while development is value-loaded one. Change is ethically neutral
and suggests alterations or modifications in the structure and functioning of the society over a
period of time. Development, on the other hand, advocates change for good. It is a process of
desired change. Although development leads to change, all forms of change do not indicate
development. Those changes which are planned are termed as development. A change to be
defined as development must occur continuously in a desired direction. These desired goals are
set looking at the values, norms and needs of any society.

Any change in society must get absorbed in the system and must be felt by the people to make
it more effective. Such change can then be regarded as development. Advancement in
education and modern means of transport and communication has resulted in high female
literacy in the modern societies. This has led to women joining in various jobs in both
government and non-government establishments, changing the family relationship as a whole.
Such a move leads to a situation like role conflict where the modern women are confused
whether to perform the role of a traditional family woman, a mother, a daughter, a wife or to
play the role of a teacher, an administrator or an engineer. Such a phenomenon is an example
of social change. However, such change can be regarded as development only when proper
institutional arrangements and social adjustments are made so that a working woman does not
face the situation like role conflict and manages both her roles well. Such institutional
arrangements and social adjustments will then be called as development

Indicators of Development
Literacy
Health
Income
Democratic participation
Scientific and technological advancement
Strong cultural civilization etc.

Referencess
Abraham M.F.(1990), Modern Sociological Theory, An Introduction, New Delhi Oxford
University Press.

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Bottomore, T.B. (1995), Sociology, A Guide to Problems and Literature, Blackie & Sons
(India) Ltd., Bombay.
Davis, Kingsley (1980), Human Society, The Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi.
Gillin and Gillin (1950), Cultural Sociology, The Macmillan Company, New York.
Ginsberg, Morris (1949), Studies in Sociology, Methuen, London.
Srinivas M.N. (1966), Social Change in Modern India, Hyderabad, Orient Longman.

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