Global Social Change

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Chapter 22

• Global Social Change

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Chapter Outline

• The Nature of Social Change
• Two Forces of Social Change War and
  Modernization
• Social Change in Everyday Life
• Models of Change

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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

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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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Two Forces of Social Change

1. War
2. Modernization

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War

• The greatest and the most violent force of social
  change.
• Major ecological effects of war are casualties
  and conquest.
• War changes a societys culture
• A culture that has been at war is often marked
  by shame and guilt.
• War increases contacts among different cultures.

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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 Husseins loyalists resorted
  to tactics of asymmetrical warfare.

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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
  Husseins forces ordered the marshes drained in
  an effort to destroy the Marsh Arabs
  5,000-year-old way of life.

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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.

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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?

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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
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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
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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.

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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.

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Social Change in Everyday Life

• Changing definition of womens 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.

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Worldwide Patterns of Environmental Stress
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Evolutionary Models Of Change
Model Description
Unilinear Social 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.
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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 societys culture, which alternates between ideational and sensate.
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Conflict Models Of Change
Model Description
Karl Marx Social 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.
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Quick Quiz
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• 1. Which is true relative to social change?
• Social change always entails positive change.
• Social change and social improvement are
  synonymous.
• Social change is an ongoing process, occurring in
  all societies.
• Macro-level social changes are most always
  immediately apparent in everyday behavior,
  particularly in the ways people relate to each
  other.

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Answer c

• The following is true relative to social change
• Social change is an ongoing process, occurring in
  all societies.

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• 2. Which is false concerning the consequences of
  war?
• Modern war entails the loss of life among
  civilians, as well as the military.
• It can lead to many demographic changes in
  addition to increasing mortality rates.
• War was far deadlier when it was fought with
  lances, arrows, and battle axes, rather than with
  missiles and "smart bombs."
• War has changed women's lives dramatically as
  well, even though they have not traditionally
  participated as combatants.

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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."

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

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Answer a

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

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• 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.
• cyclical
• conflict
• evolutionary
• functionalist

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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.