CHAPTER 22

Global Social Change

Chapter Outline

The Nature of Social Change Two Forces of Social Change: War and

Modernization Social Change in Everyday Life Models of Change

The Nature of Social Change

Social change refers to variations over time: in the ecological ordering of populations and

communities in patterns of roles and social interactions in the structure and functioning of institutions in the cultures of societies

Levels of Social Change

Macro-level social change produces major social forces that shape change throughout a society.

At the middle level, change is experienced in communities, economic organizations, and governing bodies.

At the micro level of social life, social change is experienced through new patterns of interaction.

Examples of Effects of Social Change

Macro- Level Change Population growth

Tribal (Ebrié)Creates new markets for Ebrié real estate; adds newcomers to

villages.

Metropolitan (U.S.)

Causes new conflicts and need for social control in increasingly

congested regions.

Examples of Effects of Social Change

Middle- Level Change

Urbanization

Tribal (Ebrié)Surrounds villages with new neighborhoods and nontribal

strangers.

Metropolitan (U.S.)

Enmeshes most residents in metropolitan regions, where

community boundaries are blurred and diversity becomes an issue.

Examples of Effects of Social Change

Micro- Level Change

Rising Material Expectations

Tribal (Ebrié)Leads village women to rebel

against polygyny.

Metropolitan (U.S.)

Pushes more women into the labor force, creating the need for child

care.

Two Forces of Social Change

1. War

2. Modernization

War

The greatest and the most violent force of social change.

Major ecological effects of war are casualties and conquest.

War changes a society’s culture: A culture that has been at war is often marked by

shame and guilt. War increases contacts among different cultures.

War

American Marines pulled down this statue of Saddam Hussein after the conquest of Baghdad.

Fear of his henchmen remained high among Iraqis for many months as Hussein’s loyalists resorted to tactics of asymmetrical warfare.

The Marsh Arabs In one of the worst

examples of the ecological effects of warfare against a civilian population, in the aftermath of the 1991 Iraq war, Saddam Hussein’s forces ordered the marshes drained in an effort to destroy the Marsh Arabs’ 5,000-year-old way of life.

The Marsh Arabs

By the time of the 2003 war, an estimated 20,000 of the original 500,000 inhabitants of the marshes remained.

The marshes are now being rebuilt with help from the United States and the United Nations.

Thinking Critically

Where do you stand on the issue of how the United States spends its taxpayers’ funds? Do you believe there is a need for “fortress

America,” no matter what the cost? Are you worried about the effects the “war on

terror” is having on social institutions? If so, what changes are of particular concern to

you?

Long-Term Budgetary Costs of the War in Iraq

Total budgetary cost $1.3 trillion

Interest payments on debt $386 billion

Combat and support operations

Future spending 271 billion

Spent to date 251 billion

Long-Term Budgetary Costs of the War in Iraq

Increased military spending higher pay, recruitment, research and development, and maintenance

139 billion

Disability payments to veterans 122 billion

Healthcare costs for veterans 92 billion

Demobilization costs 8 billion

Modernization

Associated with the following changes: From simple techniques toward the application of

scientific knowledge. From subsistence farming toward the commercial

production of agricultural goods. From the use of human and animal power toward the

use of power-driven machines. From farms and villages toward urban concentrations.

Postmodernism According to

postmodernist theories, styles of dress and grooming and preferences for particular lifestyles and tastes in music will become more diverse.

At the same time, there will be less consensus on what the norms of society should be.

Social Change in Everyday Life

Changing definition of women’s roles affects the ways families rear children and share household and occupational pursuits.

Blacks and Hispanics are severely affected by the economic structure of society.

Citizens of the U.S. and Canada will increasingly be faced with the need to end practices that contribute to pollution.

Worldwide Patterns of Environmental Stress

Evolutionary Models Of Change

Model Description

UnilinearSocial change is natural, constant, and continuous. Change is necessary.

Multilinear

Large-scale change in a society does not represent progress. Each society must be studied separately to discover the evolutionary stages unique to it.

Cyclical Models Of Change

Model Description

Oswald Spengler

Societies pass through stages like the life stages of humans and eventually decline.

Arnold Toynbee

Societies grow and decline as they respond to challenges posed by physical and social environments.

Pitirim Sorokin

Social change originates in a society’s culture, which alternates between “ideational” and “sensate.”

Conflict Models Of Change

Model Description

Karl MarxSocial change results from conflict between social classes, which are defined by how people make their living or gain their wealth.

Ralf Dahrendorf

Social change results from conflicts among many different kinds of groups and in every social institution.

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which is true relative to social change?a. Social change always entails positive change.

b. Social change and social improvement are synonymous.

c. Social change is an ongoing process, occurring in all societies.

d. Macro-level social changes are most always immediately apparent in everyday behavior, particularly in the ways people relate to each other.

Answer: c

The following is true relative to social change: Social change is an ongoing process,

occurring in all societies.

2. Which is false concerning the consequences of war?

a. Modern war entails the loss of life among civilians, as well as the military.

b. It can lead to many demographic changes in addition to increasing mortality rates.

c. War was far deadlier when it was fought with lances, arrows, and battle axes, rather than with missiles and "smart bombs."

d. War has changed women's lives dramatically as well, even though they have not traditionally participated as combatants.

Answer: c

The following is false concerning the consequences of war: War was far deadlier when it was fought with

lances, arrows, and battle axes, rather than with missiles and "smart bombs."

3. The ________ model of social change is least likely to assume that societies are well-integrated, smoothly operating collectivities.

a. conflict

b. cyclical

c. evolutionary

d. functionalist

Answer: a

The conflict model of social change is least likely to assume that societies are well-integrated, smoothly operating collectivities.

4. Models reflecting the ________ perspective assume that social institutions within societies are highly interrelated, and that there is a tendency for societies to seek a type of steady-state or equilibrium.

a. cyclical

b. conflict

c. evolutionary

d. functionalist

Answer: d

Models reflecting the functionalist perspective assume that social institutions within societies are highly interrelated, and that there is a tendency for societies to seek a type of steady-state or equilibrium.