Social Change

and Development
Perspective

Module 3 — Structural-Functionalist Theory

Structural Functionalist Theory is a theory created by Emile Durkheim.

This theory sees our society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet

the biological and social needs of the individuals in our society.

- This theory states that our society is made up of a bunch of moving parts.

- Looks at society from a macro level.

Manifest Functions
- refers to the intended function of social policies, processes, or actions that are

consciously and deliberately designed to be beneficial in their effect on society.

- these are things that are put intentionally to keep society moving forward.

Latent Functions

- Unanticipated and unintended consequences of an action or social structure;

unknown or unacknowledged reasons something is done unintentional

consequences from manifest functions.

There are two kinds of latent functions:

Positive and Negative latent functions

Institution

- Are groups of people or structures that meet the needs of the society.

Social Fact

- a thing originating in the institutions or culture of a society which affects the

behavior or attitudes of an individual member of that society.

- these objects have persuasive effects over individuals, yet they can’t be influenced

by individuals.

Conclusion:

Structural Functionalist Theory really focuses on having a kind of order, just as the

various organs of the body work together to keep the body functioning, the various

1
parts of society work together to keep society functioning. But one of the biggest

problems that this theory has is change.

Module 4 — Rostow’s Modernization Theory

W.W. Rostow and the Stages of Economic Growth

One of the key thinkers in 20th-century Development Studies was W.W. Rostow, an
American economist and government official. Prior to Rostow, approaches to
development had been based on the assumption that "modernization" was
characterized by the Western world (wealthier, more powerful countries at the time),
which were able to advance from the initial stages of underdevelopment.
Accordingly, other countries should model themselves after the West, aspiring to a
"modern" state of capitalism and liberal democracy. Using these ideas, Rostow
penned his classic "Stages of Economic Growth" in 1960, which presented five steps
through which all countries must pass to become developed: 1) traditional society, 2)
preconditions to take-off, 3) take-off, 4) drive to maturity and 5) age of high mass
consumption. The model asserted that all countries exist somewhere on this linear
spectrum, and climb upward through each stage in the development process:

● Traditional Society: This stage is characterized by a subsistent, agricultural-

based economy with intensive labor and low levels of trading, and a

2
 population that does not have a scientific perspective on the world and
technology.
● Preconditions to Take-off: Here, a society begins to develop manufacturing
and a more national/international—as opposed to regional—outlook.
● Take-off: Rostow describes this stage as a short period of intensive growth,
in which industrialization begins to occur, and workers and institutions
become concentrated around a new industry.
● Drive to Maturity: This stage takes place over a long period of time, as
standards of living rise, the use of technology increases, and the national
economy grows and diversifies.
● Age of High Mass Consumption: At the time of writing, Rostow believed
that Western countries, most notably the United States, occupied this last
"developed" stage. Here, a country's economy flourishes in a capitalist
system, characterized by mass production and consumerism.

Rostow's Model in Context

Rostow's Stages of Growth model is one of the most influential development theories
of the 20th century. It was, however, also grounded in the historical and political
context in which he wrote. "Stages of Economic Growth" was published in 1960, at
the height of the Cold War, and with the subtitle "A Non-Communist Manifesto," it
was overtly political. Rostow was fiercely anti-communist and right-wing; he modeled
his theory after western capitalist countries, which had industrialized and urbanized.

Rostow’s Modernization Theory of Development

The paper will attempt to outline the five stages identified by Walt Rostow needed for
a country to reach a modernized state and what role education plays at every stage
and then will give a conclusion. Firstly it will define the key concepts such as
education and modernization theory.

Definition of terms

According to Kelly (1999:2) education is defined as “an organized and sustained

communication process designed to bring about learning”.

The term modernization theory refers to a theory which states that development in
developing worlds can be attained through following the processes of development
that are used by currently developed nations(Rostow,1960).It is a social economic
theory which is sometimes known as the development theory. It usually highlights
the positive role played by those countries that redeveloped in modernizing and

3
facilitating sustainable development in those countries that are less developed and it
often contrasted to dependency theory. This means that for development to occur in
underdeveloped countries there is need for developed countries to provide aid to
developing countries to enable them to learn from their own progress. It looks at the
state to be the central actor in bringing about modernization in societies that are
backward.

Traditional society stage

The first stage is known as the traditional Society which is associated with the
country that has not yet developed but the majority of the people are engaged in
subsistence agriculture and more investments are channeled in services or activities
such as military and religion. It is important to understand that this stage of
development is concerned with societies that have a pre scientific understanding of
gadgets (Hollis, 1979).This means that the society that the people in such a society
are in a condition of fatalism and denies that people could change their living
condition because their minds are magical, mystical and non historical in the sense
that they will not be able to dig to find out how to change or improve their wellbeing.
They believe that things such as goods come into being by divine forces rather than
the intervention of man or ingenuity. It does not mean that the economy’s production
level of such a society is static but is increased due to the surplus cultivation of the
land in order to increase agriculture production (Rostow, 1960).It is also important to
understand that the states as well as the farmers in traditional society are aware of
the various irrigation methods and the expansions in order to improve agricultural
output levels. This means that in traditional society consists of some technological
innovations but only exists in ad hoc basis that is for a particular purpose (Todaro
and Smith, 2003).There have always been a barrier in traditional society which could
not be crossed or overcome and this was due to lack of knowledge or application
and constant development of modern science and technology.

Second stage: Economic Growth

The second stage of development or economic growth is called the pre condition for
takeoff whose economy undergoes a process of change for building up of conditions
for growth and takes off. Rostow (1960) asserts that the changes in this stage of
society and the economy are fundamental in nature in the socio-political structure
and production technique. It is characterized by the massive development of mining
industries, increase in capital use in agriculture, necessity of external funding and
some growth in savings and investments. It also consists of certain dimensions that
are associated with this transition from traditional society through the conditions to
the take off phase. For example there is a shift from agrarian to industrial or
manufacturing society, trade and other commercial activities are broadened to reach
not only local markets but also international markets and there is no wasteful of
resources attained by the landowners is used to develop industries, infrastructure
and preparation of self sustained growth or development(Hollis and Robinson,1986).

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Third stage: Take off

The third stage is called the take off stage of development which is sometimes called
the economic take off. It is characterized by dynamic economic growth which is due
to sharp stimulus of economic, political or technological nature. The main focus of
this stage is the aspect of self sustained growth. It is also referred to as an interval
when the old blocks and resistance to steady growth have been removed (Rostow,
1953).It is important to understand that this stage occurs whenever the sector-led
growth becomes common and society is driven more by economic processes than
traditions. The growth or economic progress becomes a normal trend or situation in
these societies because those factors that were affecting or limiting growth are
removed. There is an increase in industrialization, further growth in savings and
investments and there is a decline in the number of employees in agriculture and
there is an increase in entrepreneurship (Hollis and Robinson, 1986).

Fourth stage: Drive to maturity

The fourth stage after the take off stage is the drive to maturity which is concerned
with the extension of modern technology over other sectors of the economy or
society. Drive to maturity refers to the period when a country has effectively applied
the range of modern technology to the bulk of its resources (Rostow,1953).In this
stage growth becomes self-sustaining in the sense that wealth generation activities
enable further investment in value-adding industry and development. It is important
to understand that during this stage the economy finds its place in the international
economy and those goods that were imported begin to be produced locally and new
requirements for import are developed (Todaro and Smith, 2003).It is generally an
improvement on the take off whose economy focused relatively on narrow complex
of industry and technology and the economy of the maturity stage extends its range
into a more refined and technologically often more complex processes.

Fifth stage: High mass consumption

The fifth and final stage is called the age of high mass consumption where the
leading sectors in the society shift towards durable consumer goods and services.
The consumers focus on durable goods and hardly remember the subsistence
activities of other stages. Preston (1988)asserts that this stage is concerned with the
high output levels, mass consumption of consumer durables and increase in
employment in the service sectors. It is characterized by an increase in per capita
income, changes in the structure of the working force including those working in the
offices or factories and an increase in the desire to benefit from the consumption
fruits of amature economy. Gustav (1964) adds that due to the economic changes
the society ceases to accept further extension of modern technology as an overriding
objective but increases allocation to other social activities. Education plays an
important role in the five stages of economic growth propounded by Walt Rostow in
order to bring about desired development. For example, in the Traditional society
education is vital as it helps people to acquire better ways and methods of farming in

5
order to enhance agricultural activities. This is possible because traditional society is
associated with massive subsistence farming activities. Through education the
people who live in a traditional society are able to acquire different methods of
irrigation ad measures that can be taken in order to sustain the life of human beings
and life of crops or vegetation and also to be able to have the knowledge of family
planning in order to regulate the size of population (Rostow, 1960).

Module 5 — Dependency Theory

Dependency Theory is recognized as a nation's economic growth in relation to

external influences; political, economic, and cultural impacts on national
development plans. A historical circumstance that determines the world economy's
placed in such a way that it benefits some nations over others and restricts the
opportunities of dependent nations. In essence, dependence theory seeks to explain
why several countries in the globe are now undeveloped by looking at patterns of
international connections and suggesting that imbalance is an inherent element of
such exchanges.

The following are the premises of dependency theory:

6
Poor countries supply natural resources, inexpensive labor, a home for old
technology, and markets for wealthy countries, because without it those would not be
able to maintain their current quality of living. By a variety of measures, wealthy
countries purposefully perpetuate a state of dependency. Economic, controlled
media, politics, banking and finance, education, culture, and sport may all have a
role in this effect.

Dependency Theory
Core Countries:
Nations – great, major, and advanced power.

Peripheral Countries:
Nations – less developed and weaker.

Raul Prebisch, the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin
America, created Dependency Theory in the late 1950s.
This policy was difficult to implement because of three concerns.
The first is that the poorer countries' domestic marketplaces were too small to
support the economies of scale that the wealthier nations exploited to keep their
prices cheap.

The second problem was whether or not it was conceivable or acceptable for
developing countries to shift away from being primary product producers.

The next point to consider was the degree to which developing countries genuinely
controlled their main products, especially in terms of exporting them.

Others were driven to look at the link between rich and poor countries in a more
creative and historical sense as a result of these impediments to the industrial
development agenda.

7
Therefore, the dependency hypothesis explained why and how the world has
become so poor. Since these obstruct the growth of a nation in the manner as
described by classical economic theory.

Module 6 — Dialectical and Historical Materialism

Dialectical Materialism

· In simplified form, Dialectical Materialism states that ideas and thoughts of

humans change in a dialectical process due to the movement and
existence of the matter.

· Dialectical Materialism is not only a philosophy but also a complete way of

thinking to explain the reality.

History and Philosophers

· Idealistic Dialectics ( Hegel )

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 · Historical Materialism ( K. Marx )

· Dialectical Materialism ( F. Engels , K. Marx )

Dialectics is the science of the general and abstract laws of the development of
nature, society and thought.

· In Dialectical Materialism, the laws of dialectics developed with a materialist

point of view.

Materialism is a realist philosophy of science, which holds that the world is material;
all phenomena in the universe consist of " matter in motion " according to natural
laws.

· Materialism asserts the primacy of the material world: matter precedes

thought. Thought is a reflection of the material world.

Engels’ Law of Dialects

· The Law of Unity and Conflict of opposes

· All things in reality are composed of the opposite sides and also they always
have a conflict due to the opposition.

The Law of Unity and Conflict of Opposes

· Example 1: Infinity and Finitary

Engels’ Law of Dialects

· The Law of Passage of the Quantitative Changes into Qualitative Changes

· This law proposes that for the description of something, if the quality of a
thing is increasing its quantity must decrease and vice versa.

9
The Law of the passage of Quantitative Changes into Qualitative Changes ·

Example 1: Football Team and Players

Engels’ Law of Dialects·

The Law of Negation of the Negation

· This law is the fundamental of dialectic change.

· Things in reality develop in a way that they negate twice. ( i.e. They lose
their existence twice to get a developed form of the one at the
beginning )

· Example 1: Seed - Plant ( Negation in NATURE )

· Example 2 : Production ( Negation in ECONOMICS )

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Historical materialism

Karl Marx (1818–1883) was born in Trier, Germany to Jewish parents (who later
converted to Christianity in the face of anti-Jewish laws of the time). Attending
private schools in his childhood, Marx later studied law and eventually received a
Ph.D. in philosophy in 1841. As a student, he was heavily influenced by the
philosophy of Georg Hegel and his successors, but later critiqued what he saw as
the idealism of Hegel and developed his own theory of historical materialism.

Marx moved to England in 1849, and spent the remainder of his life researching,
writing, and being involved in politics and activism until his death in 1883. Much of
Marx’s later writings revolved less around philosophy and more on economics,
particularly his two-volume magnum opus, Capital. In Capital, Marx developed one of
the most sustained analyses of modern capitalism, and his work on the relationships
between the social lives of human beings and the capitalist economy has made him
one of the most influential social theorists in history.

When Marx died in London in 1883, his friend Engels read the eulogy. In it, he
provided perhaps the clearest articulation of Marx’s theory of historical materialism:

“Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature, so Marx

discovered the law of development of human history: the simple fact—hitherto
concealed by the overgrowth of ideology—that mankind must first of all eat, drink,
have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.;
that therefore the production of the immediate material means of subsistence and
consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people or
during a given epoch form the foundation upon which the state institutions, the legal
conceptions, art, and even the ideas on religion, of the people have been evolved,
and in light of which they must, therefore, be explained, instead of vice versa, as
hitherto been the case.”

How Marx Matters Today

There is sometimes a tendency to discount Marx because some of the predictions he

made about the next stage of capitalism (and communism) did not come to pass.
True enough, Marx was a brilliant social theorist, but he wasn’t a prophet. But many
of Marx’s most fundamental insights into the nature of modern capitalism still help us
understand the capitalist system we live in today. His argument that capitalism is
prone to regular crises rings true in relation to events like the recent global economic
meltdown. While we almost certainly will continue to live in a capitalist as opposed to
a communist economic world, it is an economic system that increasingly relies on the

11
intervention and support of political institutions like the state (bailouts, anyone?) to
keep it afloat, much as Marx predicted. And, of course, you only have to turn on your
television, flip through a fashion magazine, or take a stroll through New York’s Times
Square to recognize how strongly we continue to fetishize commodities. It is Marx’s
still unparalleled insights into the nature of capitalism that continue to make him one
of the most important social theorists of our time.

Historical Materialism

Central to Marx’s thought is his theory of historical materialism, which argued that
human societies and their cultural institutions (like religion, law, morality, etc.) were
the outgrowth of collective economic activity. Marx’s theory was heavily influenced
by Hegel’s dialectical method. But while Marx agreed with Hegel’s basic dialectical
thesis of social change, he disagreed with the notion that abstract ideas were the
engine. Rather, Marx turned Hegel on his head and argued that it was material,
economic forces—or our relationship to the natural, biological, and physical world—
that drove the dialectic of change. More specifically, the engine of history rests in the
internal contradictions in the system of material production. For Marx, each
economic system or “mode of production” in human history contained within it a
contradiction that eventually led to its demise and replacement by another, more
advanced stage of economic and social life. The contradictions inherent in feudalism,
such as the necessity for states ruled by monarchs to trade with other states, thus
creating a merchant class, eventually led to the advance of capitalism. Yet Marx saw
that capitalism, too, had its own contradictions, particularly in the overproduction of
goods. As technology advances (i.e. bigger and faster machines) and the
exploitation of workers continues, too many goods are bound to be made. The
problem, according to Marx, is that overproduction produces a crisis for capitalism,
crises that he felt would eventually prove fatal and lead to the development of
communism.

Commodity Fetishism

While Marx himself argued that the inherent exchange value of a commodity was
only equal to the labor that produced it, he recognized that we often treat and
experience commodities as if they were worth much, much more. This habit of
imagining commodities as having human or even superhuman qualities is what he
called commodity fetishism. Commodity fetishism takes many forms, but one of the
most common ways we fetishize commodities is by identifying ourselves with the
things we own—our mobile phones, footwear, automobiles, etc. Marx thought it
perverse that the things that people produce end up defining them as persons, that
what people owned ended up, in no small measure, owning them. Marx was highly

12
critical of this tendency to treat our own creations as “magical” objects that then
define and have power over us.

Alienation

Marx also thought that commodities and capitalism led to widespread alienation. He
is well known in social theory for his argument that capitalism systematically
alienates us in four distinct but related ways: it alienates us from the products of our
labor, the labor process itself, our fellow human beings, and even from our own
human nature or “species-being.” TMarx wrote that what makes us human is our
ability to creatively manipulate and produce our surroundings, and therefore our
humanity is reflected back to us in the things we produce . Marx argues that if we are
locked into a system where someone else owns the commodities we produce, and
when we lust after those commodities as if they had nothing to do with our own
labor, then we have become alienated from our sense of our own species-being.

Module 7 — Neoliberalism

Neo - a combining form meaning “new,” “recent,” “revived,” and or “modified”

Liberalism - a political or social philosophy advocating the freedom of the

individual, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic institutions to
assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human endeavor, and
governmental guarantees.

Structural Adjustment is another name for neo-liberalism.

Definition of Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a policy model that encompasses both politics and economics and
seeks to transfer the control of economic factors from the public sector to the private
sector. Many neoliberalism policies enhance the workings of free market capitalism
and attempt to place limits on government spending, government regulation, and
public ownership.

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Neoliberalism, or neo-liberalism, is a term used to describe the 20th-century
resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism. A
significant factor in the rise of conservative and libertarian organizations, political
parties, and think tanks, and predominantly advocated by them, it is generally
associated with policies of economic liberalization, including privatization,
deregulation, globalization, free trade, austerity and reductions in government
spending in order to increase the role of the private sector in the economy and
society; however, the defining features of neoliberalism in both thought and practice
have been the subject of substantial scholarly debate.

Brief History of Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism emerged among European liberal scholars in the 1930s as they

attempted to revive and renew central ideas from classical liberalism as they saw
these ideas diminish in popularity, overtaken by a desire to control markets, following
the Great Depression and manifested in policies designed to counter the volatility of
free markets, and mitigate their negative social consequences. One impetus for the
formulation of policies to mitigate free-market volatility was a desire to avoid
repeating the economic failures of the early 1930s, failures sometimes attributed
principally to the economic policy of classical liberalism. In policymaking,
neoliberalism often refers to what was part of a paradigm shift that followed the
alleged failure of the Keynesian consensus in economics to address the stagflation
of the 1970s. The term is rarely used by proponents of free-market policies. Some
scholars have described the term as meaning different things to different people as
neoliberalism has "mutated" into geopolitically distinct hybrids as it traveled around
the world.] Neoliberalism shares many attributes with other concepts that have
contested meanings, including representative democracy.

Neoliberalism in the Philippine Context

In the Philippines, neoliberalism first came in the form of the structural adjustment
program imposed by the World Bank in the early 1980’s, in the latter’s effort to
strengthen the economy’s capacity to service its massive external debt. Structural
adjustment helped trigger the economic crisis of the early 1980’s, its contractionary
effects being magnified by the onset of the global recession.[1] The crisis was the
country’s worst since the Second World War, but the role of neoliberal economics in
precipitating it was shrouded by its coinciding with the deep political crisis triggered
by the Aquino assassination in August 1983. To most Filipinos, Marcos was the
cause of both crises.

Policy Pillars of Neoliberalism

14
Naomi Klein states that the three policy pillars of neoliberalism are:

1. Privatization of the public sphere

2. Deregulation of the corporate sector
3. The lowering of income and corporate taxes, paid for with cuts to public
spending

Effects of Neoliberalism to Social Change & Development

In the last three decades many societies have experienced political, economic and
cultural change that have transformed our communities.

● Neoliberal on Conservation
● Neoliberal on access to Education
● Neoliberal on the Workforce (Contractualization)
● Neoliberal on access to healthcare for people with disabilities

The common denominator of these institutions is their lack of transparency and

democratic accountability. This is the essence of neoliberalism. It claims that the
economy should dictate its rules to society, not the other way around. Democracy is
an encumbrance, neo-liberalism is designed for winners, not for voters who
necessarily encompass the categories of both winners and losers.

Criticisms of Neoliberalism

Free Market Approach to Public Services Is Misguided

One common criticism of neoliberalism is that advocating for a free market approach
in areas such as health and education is misguided because these services are
public services. Public services are not subject to the same profit motivation as other
industries. More importantly, adopting a free market approach in the areas of health
and education can lead to an increase in inequality and the underfunding of
resources (health and education) that are necessary for the long-term health and
viability of an economy.

Monopolies

The adoption of neoliberal policies in the Western world has been concurrent with a
rise in inequality in both wealth and income. While skilled workers may be in a

15
position to command higher wages, low-skilled workers are more likely to see
stagnant wages. Policies associated with neoliberalism tend to encourage the
presence of monopolies, which increase the profits of corporations at the expense of
any benefits to consumers.

Increased Financial Instability

Contrary to what proponents of neoliberalism typically claim, capital deregulation has

not necessarily helped economic development. Rather, capital deregulation has led
to an increase in financial instability including wider economic shocks that, at times,
have sent shockwaves around the world.

In fact, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report into neoliberalism reveals that
an increase in capital flows has been a factor in the increased risk of adverse
economic cycles.

Inequality

Neoliberal policies have been proven to increase inequality. And this inequality can
hinder the long-term growth prospects of an economy. On one end of the spectrum,
those who earn a low income have limited spending power. At the same time, those
who become richer have a higher propensity to save; in this scenario, wealth doesn't
trickle down in the way that proponents of neoliberalism claim that it will.

Globalization

Finally, neoliberalism's emphasis on economic efficiency has encouraged

globalization, which opponents see as depriving sovereign nations of the right to self-
determination. Neoliberalism's naysayers also say that its call to replace
government-owned corporations with private ones can reduce efficiency: While
privatization may increase productivity, they assert, the improvement may not be
sustainable because of the world’s limited geographical space. In addition, those
opposed to neoliberalism add that it is anti-democratic, can lead to exploitation and
social injustice, and may criminalize poverty.

References:

https://www.thoughtco.com/rostows-stages-of-growth-development-model-
1434564#:~:text=Rostow's%20theory%20can%20be%20classified,a%20country
%20as%20a%20whole.&text=Rostow%20assumes%20that%20all%20countries,
%2C%20natural%20resources%2C%20or%20location

https://www.academia.edu/3596310/
Rostows_theory_of_modernization_development

16
(London: Routledge, 2008), pp. 58-64
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/depend.htm

Dictionary.com l Thesaurus.com Website

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/neo
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/liberalism
Implications of neoliberalism for Social Work | Sage Pub Website Spolander et.al
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0020872814524964
Will Kenton et.al (2020) Investopedia
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/neoliberalism.asp

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