Socio 2

JAMIAMILLIA ISLAMIA

Name-Arbaz khan Rollno.-74 Subject-Sociology SubmittedtoRasheedsir

Introduction:

Changeistheinternallaw.Historyandsciencebearampletestimonytothefactthat

changeisthelawoflife.Stagnationisdeath.Theytellusstoriesofman’sriseand

growthfromthePaleolithicagetotheNeolithicage,thentotheStoneAgeandnext tothecopperageetc.Onthestageoftheworld,scenesfollowscenes,actsfollowacts,and dramafollowsdrama.Nothingstandsstill.

Thewheeloftimemovesonandon.Theolddiesandtheyoungstepsintotheworld.

Weringouttheoldandringinthenew.Achildchangesintoaboy,aboyintoayouth andthenintoaman.Thebudchangesintoaflower.Thedawnturnsintomorning,mornin gintonoon,noonintoafternoonandafternoonintonight.

Itissaid,“Todayisnotyesterday,weourselveschange.Nochangeispermanent,itis

subjecttochange.Thisisobservedinallsparesofactivity.Changeindeedispainful,

yetneedful”.Flowingwateriswholesome,andstagnantwaterispoisonous.Only

whenitflowsthroughandalterswithchanges,itisabletorefreshandrecreate.

Changeisanever-presentphenomenon.Itisthelawofnature.Societyisnotatalla

staticphenomenon,butitisadynamicentity.Itisanongoingprocess.Thesocial

structureissubjecttoincessantchanges.Individualsmaystriveforstability,yetthe

factremainsthatsocietyisaneverychangingphenomenon;growing,decaying,rene wingandaccommodatingitselftochangingconditions.

Thehumancompositionofsocietieschangesovertime,technologiesexpand,

ideologiesandvaluestakeonnewcomponents;institutionalfunctionsandstructures undergoreshaping.Hence,nosocietyremainscompletestatic.Incessantchangeabilityisver yinherentnatureofhumansociety.

Asocialstructureisanexusofpresentrelationships.Itexistsbecausesocialbeings

seektomaintainit.Itcontinuestoexistbecausemendemanditscontinuance.Butthe existingsocialstructureisinfluencedbymanyfactorsandforcesthatinevitablycauseittoch ange.Societyisthussubjecttocontinuouschange.

Thechangeofmanandsocietyhasbeenthecentralandquitedominantconcernof

sociologyrightfromthetimewhenitemergedasbranchoflearning.Theconcernfor socialchangeisofgreatimportancenotonlyinstudyingpastchangesbutalsoininvestig ating‘future’ developments.

MeaningofSocialChange

Changeimpliesallvariationsinhumansocieties.Whenchangesoccurinthemodesof livingofindividualsandsocialrelationgetsinfluenced,suchchangesarecalledsocialchanges. Socialchangereferstothemodificationswhichtakeplaceinlifepatternofpeople.Itoccursb ecauseallsocietiesareinaconstantstateofdisequilibrium.

Theword‘change’ denotesadifferenceinanythingobservedoversomeperiodof time.Hence,socialchangewouldmeanobservabledifferencesinanysocialphen omenaoveranyperiodoftime.

Socialchangeisthechangeinsocietyandsocietyisawebofsocialrelationships.

Hence,socialchangeisachangeinsocialrelationships.Socialrelationshipsaresocial

processes,socialpatternsandsocialinteractions.Theseincludethemutualactivities

andrelationsofthevariouspartsofthesociety.Thus,theterm‘socialchange’ isused todescribevariationsofanyaspectofsocialprocesses,socialpatterns,socialintera ctionorsocialorganization.

Socialchangemaybedefinedaschangesinthesocialorganization,thatis,thestructu reandfunctionsofthesociety.

Wheneveronefindsthatalargenumberofpersonsareengagedinactivitiesthat differfromthosewhichtheirimmediateforefatherswereengagedinsometimebefor e,onefindsasocialchange.

Wheneverhumanbehaviourisintheprocessofmodification,onefindsthatsocial

changeisoccurring.Humansocietyisconstitutedofhumanbeings.Socialchange meanshumanchange,sincemenarehumanbeings.Tochangesociety,assaysDavis,istocha ngeman.

Theoristsofsocialchangeagreethatinmostconcretesenseoftheword‘change’,

everysocialsystemischangingallthetime.Thecompositionofthepopulation

changesthroughthelifecycleandthustheoccupationorroleschanges;themembers

ofsocietyundergophysiologicalchanges;thecontinuinginteractionsamongmember modifyattitudesandexpectations;newknowledgeisconstanlybeinggainedandtrans mitted.

DefiningChange:

Thequestiontowhatsocialchangeactuallymeansisperhapsthemostdifficultone

withinthescientificstudyofchange.Itinvolvestheoftenneglectedqueryofwhat‘kind’ a nddegreeofchangeinwhatistobeconsideredsocialchange.

Mostanalystsofsocialchangedealwiththisquestionimplicitlysomewhereintheir

theoreticalsystemorinthecontextofthelatter’sapplicationtosomeempiricalcase. Forthepresentpurposeitshouldsufficetoexaminedefinitionsthatarefrequentlyusedto conceptualisechange.

AccordingtoJones“Socialchangeisatermusedtodescribevariationsin,or modificationsofanyaspectofsocialprocesses,socialpatterns,socialinteractionorsocial organization”.

AsKingsleyDavissays,“BySocialchangeismeantonlysuchalternationsasoccurinsocialor ganization–thatis,thestructureandfunctionsofsociety”.

AccordingtoMaclverandPage,“Socialchangereferstoaprocessresponsivetomany

typesofchanges;tochangesthemaninmadeconditionoflife;tochangesinthe attitudesandbeliefsofmen,andtothechangesthatgobeyondthehumancontroltothebiolo gicalandthephysicalnatureofthings”.

MorrisGinsbergdefines,“Bysocialchange,Iunderstandachangeinsocialstructure, e.g.,thesizeofthesociety,thecompositionorthebalanceofitspartsorthetypeofitsorgani zation”. P.Fairchilddefinessocialchangeas“variationsormodificationsinanyaspectsofsocial process,patternorform.

Byanalyzingallthedefinitionsmentionedabove,wereachattheconclusionthatthe

twotypeofchangesshouldbetreatedastwofactsofthesamesocialphenomenon.

Twotypeofchangesaree.g.(i)changesinthestructureofsociety,(ii)changesinthe

valuesandsocialnormswhichbindthepeopletogetherandhelptomaintainsocial order.Thesetwotypeofchangesshouldnot,however,betreatedseparatelybecauseachan geinoneautomaticallyinduceschangesintheother.

Forexample,achangeintheattitudeofthepeoplemaybringaboutchangesinthe

socialstructure.Towardsthecloseofthe19century,therewasatendencyinthe

countriesofWesternEuropeforfamiliestogrowsmallerinsize.Thereisageneral

agreementthatthishasbeenbroughtaboutmainlybyvoluntaryrestrictionofbirths”.

Inthiscase,achangeintheattitudeofthepeopleismainlyresponsibleforchangein

thesocialstructure.Ontheotherhand,achangeinthesocialstructuremaybring

aboutattitudinalchangeamongthemembersofthesociety.Transformationofrural societyintoindustrialsocietyisnotsimplyachangeinthestructureofsociety.Forexampl e,industrialisationhasdestroyeddomesticsystemofproduction.

Thedestructionofdomesticsystemofproductionhasbroughtwomenfromhometo

factoryandoffice.Theemploymentofwomengavethemanewindependentoutlook.

Theattitudeofindependenceinsteadofdependenceuponmenhasbecomethetrait ofwomen’spersonally.Hence,thesetwotypeofchangesshouldnotbetreatedsepara telybutbothofthemshouldbestudiedtogether.

Theproblemofsocialchangeisoneofthecentralfociofsociologicalinquiry.Itisso complexandsosignificantinthelifeofindividualandofsocietythatwehavetoexploret he‘why’ and‘how’ ofsocialchangeinallitsramifications.

CharacteristicsofSocialChange:

Thefactofsocialchangehasfascinatedthekeenestmindsandstillposessomeofthe

greatunsolvedproblemsinsocialsciences.Thephenomenonofsocialchangeisnot

simplebutcomplex.Itisdifficulttounderstandthisinitsentirety.Theunsolved

problemsarealwayspressurisingustofindanappropriateanswer.Tounderstand socialchangewell,wehavetoanalysethenatureofsocialchangewhichareasfollows :

1.SocialChangeisSocial:

Societyisa“webofsocialrelationships” andhencesocialchangeobviouslymeansa changeinthesystemofsocialrelationships.Socialrelationshipsareunderstoodinterms ofsocialprocessesandsocialinteractionsandsocialorganizations.

Thus,thetermsocialchangeisusedtodescribevariationinsocialinteractions,

processesandsocialorganizations.Onlythatchangecanbecalledsocialchange whoseinfluencecanbefeltinacommunityform.Thechangesthathavesignificanceforallo rconsiderablesegmentofpopulationcanbeconsideredassocialchange.

2.SocialChangeisUniversal:

Changeistheuniversallawofnature.Thesocialstructure,socialorganizationand socialinstitutionsarealldynamic.Socialchangeoccursinallsocietiesandatalltimes.No soci etyremainscompletelystatic.

Eachsociety,nomatterhowtraditionalandconservative,isconstantlyundergoing

change.Justasman’slifecannotremainstatic,sodoessocietyofallplacesandtimes.

Hereadjustmenttakeplaceandhereconflictbreaksdownadjustment.Herethereis revolutionandhereconsent.Heremendesireforachievingnewgoals,andheretheyreturnt ooldones.

3.SocialChangeoccursasanEssentiallaw:

Changeisthelawofnature.Socialchangeisalsonatural.Changeisanunavoidable

andunchangeablelawofnature.Bynaturewedesirechange.Ourneedskeepon

changingtosatisfyourdesireforchangeandtosatisfytheseneeds,socialchange

becomesanecessity.Thetruthisthatweareanxiouslywaitingforachange. AccordingtoGreen,“Theenthusiasticresponseofchangehasbecomealmostwayoflife.

4.SocialChangeisContinuous:

Societyisanever-changingphenomenon.Itisundergoingendlesschanges.Itisan

“ongoingprocess”.Thesechangescannotbestopped.Societyissubjecttocontinuous change.Hereitgrowsanddecays,thereitfindsrenewal,accommodatesitselftovariou schangingconditions.

Societyisasystemofsocialrelationship.Butthesesocialrelationshipsarenever

permanent.Theyaresubjecttochange.Societycannotbepreservedinamuseumto saveitfromtheravagesoftime.Fromthedawnofhistory,downtothisday,societyhasbeeni nflux.

Socialchangemanifestsitselfindifferentstagesofhumanhistory.Inancienttimes

whenlifewasconfinedtocaves(StoneAge),thesocialsystemwasdifferentfromthat ofthecomputeragetoday.Thereisnofixityinhumanrelationships.Circumstancesbringa boutmanyachangeinthebehaviourpatterns.

5.SocialChangeInvolvesNo-ValueJudgement:

Socialchangedoesnotattachanyvaluejudgement.Itisneithermoralnorimmoral,it

isamoral.Thequestionof“whatoughttobe” isbeyondthenatureofsocialchange.

Thestudyofsocialchangeinvolvesno-valuejudgement.Itisethicallyneutral.A

correctdecisiononwhatisempiricallytrueisnotthesameascorrectdecisiononwhatou ghttobe.

6.SocialChangeisBoundbyTimeFactors:

Socialchangeistemporal.Ithappensthroughtime,becausesocietyexistsonlyasa

time-sequences.Weknowitsmeaningfullyonlybyunderstandingitthroughtime factors.Forexample,thecastesystemwhichwasapillarofstabilityintraditionalIndians ociety,isnowundergoingconsiderablechangesinthemodernIndia.

TherewaslessindustrialisationinIndiaduring50s.Butin90s,Indiahasbecomemore

industrialized.Thus,thespeedofsocialchangediffersfromagetoage.Thereasonis thatthefactorswhichcausesocialchangedonotremainuniformwiththechangesintime.

7.RateandTempoofSocialChangeisUneven:

Thoughsocialchangeisamustforeachandeverysociety,therate,tempo,speedand

extentofchangeisnotuniform.Itdiffersfromsocietytosociety.Insomesocieties,its

speedisrapid;inanotheritmaybeslow.Andinsomeothersocietiesitoccursso

slowlythatitmaynotbenoticedbythosewholiveinthem.Forexample,inthe modern,industrialurbansocietythespeedandextentofchangeisfasterthantraditi onal,agriculturalandruralsociety.

8.DefinitePredictionofSocialChangeisImpossible:

Itisverymuchdifficulttomakeoutanypredictionontheexactformsofsocial

change.AthousandyearsagoinAsia,EuropeandLatinAmericathefaceofsociety wasvastlydifferentfromthatwhatexiststoday.Butwhatthesocietywillbeinthousa ndyearsfromnow,noonecantell.

Butachangetherewillbe.Forexample,industrialisationandurbanisationhas

broughtaboutaseriesofinterrelatedchangesinourfamilyandmarriagesystem.But

wecannotpredicttheexactformswhichsocialrelationshipswillassumeinfuture.Similar ly,whatshallbeourideas,attitudesandvalueinfuture,itisunpredictable.

9.SocialChangeShowsChain-ReactionSequences:

Societyisadynamicsystemofinterrelatedparts.Changesinoneaspectoflifemay

induceaseriesofchangesinotheraspects.Forexample,withtheemancipationof

women,educatedyoungwomenfindthetraditionaltypeoffamilyandmarriagenot

quitefittotheirliking.

Theyfinditdifficulttolivewiththeirparents-in-law,obeyingthemother-in-lawat

everypoint.Theydesireseparatehomes.Thestabilityofmarriagescannolongerbe

takenforgranted.Thechangingvaluesofwomenforcementochangetheirvalues also.Therefore,societyisasystemofinterrelatedparts.Changeinitsoneaspectmayleadtoa seriesofchangesinotheraspectsofthesociety.

10.SocialChangetakesplaceduetoMulti-NumberofFactors:

Socialchangeistheconsequenceofanumberoffactors.Aspecialfactormaytriggera

changebutitisalwaysassociatedwithotherfactorsthatmakethetriggeringpossible.

Socialchangecannotbeexplainedintermsofoneortwofactorsonlyandthat

variousfactorsactuallycombineandbecomethe’cause’ ofthechange.M.Ginsberg

observes:“Acauseisanassemblageoffactorswhich,ininteractionwitheachother,

undergoachange”.Thereisnosinglemasterkeybywhichwecanunlockallthedoors leadingtosocialchange.Asamatteroffact,socialchangeistheconsequenceofanumber offactors.