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Resource: Ch. 16 of Society
Compose a 200- to 300-word response that follows APA format to the following questions. Cite 2 or more reference sources from relevant online websites:
· Define social change. What are the key features of social change? Provide four examples of social movements, current or past, and describe the key features of each movement.
· Define modernization. What are the key features of modernization? Provide four examples of modernization and describe the key features in each example.
For – Phyllis Young
Social Change: Modern
and Postmodern Societies16
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• Why do societies
change?
• How do social
movements both
encourage and resist
social change?
the Core Concepts
in Sociology video “Defining
Social Movements” on
mysoclab.com
• What do sociologists
say is good and bad
about today’s
society?
Watch
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It is difficult for most people today to imagine how different life was
a century ago. Not only was life much harder back then, but it was also
much shorter. Statistical records show that life expectancy was just
forty-six years for men and forty-eight years for women, compared to
about seventy-five and eighty years today, respectively (Xu et al., 2010).
Over the course of the past century, much has changed for the
better. Yet as this chapter explains, social change is not all positive.
Change has negative consequences too, causing unexpected new prob-
lems. Early sociologists had a mixed assessment of modernity, changes
brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Likewise, today’s sociol-
ogists point to both good and bad aspects of postmodernity, the trans-
formations caused by the Information Revolution and the postindus-
trial economy. One thing is clear: For better or worse, the rate of
change has never been faster than it is now.
What Is Social Change?
In earlier chapters, we examined relatively fixed or static social pat-
terns, including status and role, social stratification, and social insti-
tutions. We also looked at the dynamic forces that have shaped our way
478 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
Chapter Overview This chapter explores social change, explaining how modern societies differ from
earlier, traditional societies. The chapter discusses many causes of change, including
disasters and social movements.
The five-story red brick apartment building at 253 East Tenth Street in
New York has been standing for more than a century. In 1900, one of the
twenty small apartments in the building was occupied by thirty-nine-year-old Julius Streicher;
Christine Streicher, age thirty-three; and their four young children. The Streichers were immi-
grants, both having come in 1885 from their native Germany to New York, where they met
and married.
The Streichers probably considered themselves successful. Julius operated a small
clothing shop a few blocks from his apartment; Christine stayed at home, raised the children,
and did housework. Like most people in the country at that time, neither Julius nor Christine
had graduated from high school, and they worked for ten to twelve hours a day, six days a
week. Their income—average for that time—was about $35 a month, or about $425 per year.
(In today’s dollars, that would be slightly more than $11,000, which would put the family well below the poverty
line.) They spent almost half of their income for food; most of the rest went for rent.
Today, Dorothy Sabo resides at 253 East Tenth Street, living alone in the same apartment where the Streichers
spent much of their lives. Now eighty-seven, she is retired from a career teaching art at a nearby museum. In many
respects, Sabo’s life has been far easier than the life the Streichers knew. For one thing, when the Streichers lived
there, the building had no electricity (people used kerosene lamps and candles) and no running water (Christine
Streicher spent most of every Monday doing laundry using water she carried from a public fountain at the end of
the block). There were no telephones, no television, and of course no computers. Today, Dorothy Sabo takes such
conveniences for granted. Although she is hardly rich, her pension and Social Security amount to several times as
much (in constant dollars) as the Streichers earned.
Sabo has her own worries. She is concerned about the environment and often speaks out about global warm-
ing. But a century ago, if the Streichers and their neighbors were concerned about “the environment,” they proba-
bly would have meant the smell coming up from the street. At a time when motor vehicles were just beginning to
appear in New York City, carriages, trucks, and trolleys were all pulled by horses—thousands of them. These ani-
mals dumped 60,000 gallons of urine and 2.5 million pounds of manure on the streets each and every day—an
offensive mixture churned and splashed by countless wheels onto everything and everyone within a stone’s throw
of the streets (Simon & Cannon, 2001).
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of life, ranging from innovations in technology to the
growth of bureaucracy and the expansion of cities.
These are all dimensions of social change, the trans-
formation of culture and social institutions over time.
This complex process has four major characteristics:
1. Social change happens all the time. People used
to say that the only sure things in life were “death
and taxes.” Yet our thoughts about death have
changed dramatically as life expectancy in the
United States has nearly doubled in the past cen-
tury. And back in the Streichers’ day, people in
the United States paid little or no taxes on their
earnings; taxation increased dramatically over the
course of the twentieth century, along with the
size and scope of government. In short, just about
everything in life, even the “sure things,” is subject
to the twists and turns of change.
Still, some societies change faster than oth-
ers. As Chapter 2 (“Culture”) explained, hunt-
ing and gathering societies change quite slowly;
members of technologically complex societies,
by contrast, can witness significant change
within a single lifetime.
It is also true that in any society, some cultural elements
change faster than others. William Ogburn’s theory of cultural
lag (see Chapter 2) asserts that material culture (that is, things)
changes faster than nonmaterial culture (ideas and attitudes).
For example, genetic technology that allows scientists to alter
and perhaps even create life has developed more rapidly than
our ethical standards for deciding when and how to use the
technology.
2. Social change is sometimes intentional but often unplanned.
Industrial societies actively promote many kinds of change. Sci-
entists seek more efficient forms of energy, and advertisers try
to convince us that we cannot live without the latest electronic
gadget. Yet rarely can anyone envision all the consequences of
changes as they are set in motion.
Back in 1900, when the country still relied on horses for
transportation, people looked ahead to motor vehicles that
would take a single day to carry them distances that used to take
weeks or months. But no one could see how much the mobility
provided by automobiles would alter life in the United States,
scattering family members, threatening the environment, and
reshaping cities and suburbs. Nor could automotive pioneers
have predicted the more than 37,000 deaths that occur in car
accidents each year in the United States alone (National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration, 2009).
3. Social change is controversial. The history of the automobile
shows that social change brings both good and bad consequences.
Cars brought an end to the muck of urine and manure on city
streets, but they spewed carbon monoxide into the air. In the
same contradictory way, capitalists benefited from greater pro-
duction and profits made possible by the Industrial Revolution
at the same time that workers pushed back against the machines
that they feared would make their skills obsolete.
Today, as in the past, people disagree about how we ought
to live and what we should welcome as “progress.” We see this
disagreement every day in the changing patterns of social inter-
action between black people and white people, women and men,
and homosexuals and heterosexuals that are celebrated by some
people and opposed by others.
4. Some changes matter more than others. Some changes (such
as clothing fads) have only passing significance; others (like
the invention of computers) may change the world. Will the
Information Revolution turn out to be as important as the
Industrial Revolution? Like the automobile and television,
computers have both positive and negative effects, providing
new kinds of jobs while eliminating old ones, isolating people
in offices while linking people in global electronic networks,
offering vast amounts of information while threatening per-
sonal privacy.
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 479
These young men are performing in a hip-hop dance marathon in Hong Kong. Hip-hop
music, dress style, and dancing have become popular in Asia, a clear case of cultural
diffusion. Social change occurs as cultural patterns move from place to place, but people in
different societies don’t always attach the same meanings to these patterns. How might
Chinese youth understand hip-hop differently from the young African Americans in the United
States who originated it?
social change the transformation of culture and social institutions over time
What would you say have been the two or three most
important changes to our society that have occurred during
your lifetime? Explain your answer.
Seeing Sociology
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Causes of Social Change
Social change has many causes. In a world linked by sophisticated
communication and transportation technology, change in one place
often sets off change elsewhere.
Culture and Change
Chapter 2 (“Culture”) identified three important sources of cultural
change. First, invention produces new objects, ideas, and social pat-
terns. Rocket propulsion research, which began in the 1940s, has pro-
duced sophisticated spacecraft that can reach toward the stars. Today we
take such technology for granted; during the present century, a signif-
icant number of people may well have an opportunity to travel in space.
Second, discovery occurs when people take notice of existing ele-
ments of the world. For example, medical advances offer a growing
understanding of the human body. Beyond their direct effects on
human health, medical discoveries have extended life expectancy,
setting in motion the “graying” of U.S. society (see Chapter 3,“Social-
ization: From Infancy to Old Age”).
Third, diffusion creates change as products, people, and infor-
mation spread from one society to another. Ralph Linton (1937a)
recognized that many familiar aspects of our culture came from other
lands. For example, the cloth used to make our clothing was developed
in Asia, the clocks we see all around us were invented in Europe, and
the coins we carry in our pockets were devised in what is now Turkey.
In general, material things change more quickly than cultural
ideas. For example, breakthroughs such as the science of cloning
occur faster than our understanding of when—and even whether—
they are morally desirable.
Conflict and Change
Inequality and conflict within a society also produce change. Karl
Marx saw class conflict as the engine that drives societies from one his-
torical era to another. In industrial-capitalist societies, he maintained,
the struggle between capitalists and workers pushes society toward a
socialist system of production.
In the more than 125 years since Marx’s death, this model has
proved simplistic. Yet Marx correctly foresaw that social conflict aris-
ing from inequality (involving not just class but also race and gen-
der) would force changes in every society, including our own, to
improve the lives of working people.
Ideas and Change
Max Weber also contributed to our understanding of social change.
Although Weber acknowledged that conflict could bring about
change, he traced the roots of most social changes to ideas. For
example, people with charisma (Martin Luther King Jr. is an exam-
ple) can carry a message that changes the world.
Weber highlighted the importance of ideas by revealing how the
religious beliefs of early Protestants set the stage for the spread of
industrial capitalism (see Chapter 13, “Family and Religion”). The
fact that industrial capitalism developed primarily in areas of West-
ern Europe where the Protestant work ethic was strong proved to
Weber (1958, orig. 1904–05) the power of ideas to bring about change.
Demographic Change
Population patterns also play a part in social change. The typical U.S.
household was almost twice as large in 1900 (4.8 people) as it is today
480 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
ARIZONA
NEVADA
CALIFORNIA
OREGON
WASHINGTON
IDAHO
MONTANA
NORTH
DAKOTA MINNESOTA
SOUTH
DAKOTA
NEBRASKA
WYOMING
COLORADO
NEW
MEXICO
TEXAS
LOUISIANA
ARKANSAS
OKLAHOMA
KANSAS MISSOURI
IOWA
WISCONS
IN
MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS
INDIANA OHIO
KENTUCKY
TENNESSEE
MISSISSIPPI
ALABAMA
GEORGIA
SOUTH
CAROLINA
NORTH
CAROLINA
VIRGINIA
D.C.
WEST
VIRGINIA
DELAWARE
NEW JERSEY
MARYLAND
PENNSYLVANIA
NEW
YORK
CONNECTICUT
RHODE ISLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MAINE
VERMONT
NEW HAMPSHIRE
FLORIDA
UTAH
High: 17.9%
or more
Average: 10.5% to
17.8%
Low: Less than
10.4%
Proportion of Residents
Who Have Not Moved
in the Past Thirty Years
HAWAII
ALASKA
Martina Serfass, age 54, is a
nurse who lives near Decorah,
Iowa; most of the people in her
community have lived there
all their lives.
Serge Smith-Heiser, age 27,
lives in an apartment complex
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
and thinks of his city as a
place where people come and
go. He arrived two years ago
in search of a new job.
Seeing Ourselves
NATIONAL MAP 16–1
Who Stays Put? Residential Stability
across the United States
Overall, only about 15 percent of U.S. residents have not moved
during the past thirty years. Counties with a higher proportion of
“long-termers” typically have experienced less change over
recent decades: Many neighborhoods have been in place since
before World War II, and many of the same families live in them.
As you look at the map, what can you say about these stable
areas? What accounts for the fact that most of these counties are
rural and at some distance from the coasts?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000).
Explore on mysoclab.com
residential stability in your
local community and in counties across
the United States on mysoclab.com
Explore
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(2.6 people). Women are having fewer children, and more people are
living alone. Change is also taking place as our population grows
older. As Chapter 3 (“Socialization: From Infancy to Old Age”)
explained, 13 percent of the U.S. population was over age sixty-five in
2008, three times the proportion back in 1900. By the year 2030, sen-
iors will account for 20 percent of the total (U.S. Census Bureau,
2009). Medical research and health care services already focus exten-
sively on the elderly, and life will change in countless other ways as
homes and household products are redesigned to meet the needs of
growing numbers of older consumers.
Migration within and between societies is another demographic
factor that promotes change. Between 1870 and 1930, tens of mil-
lions of immigrants entered the industrial cities in the United States.
Millions more from rural areas joined the rush. As a result, farm
communities declined, cities expanded, and by 1920 the United
States had for the first time become a mostly urban nation. Similar
changes are taking place today as people moving from the Snow-
belt to the Sunbelt mix with new immigrants from Latin America
and Asia.
Where in the United States have demographic changes been great-
est, and where have they been less pronounced? National Map 16–1
provides one answer, showing counties where the largest share of peo-
ple have lived in their present homes for thirty years or more.
Social Movements and Change
A final cause of social change lies in the efforts of people like us. Peo-
ple commonly band together to form a social movement, an organ-
ized activity that encourages or discourages social change. Our nation’s
history includes all kinds of social movements, from the colonial drive
for independence to today’s organizations supporting or opposing
abortion, gay rights, and the death penalty.
Social movements are about connecting people who share some
political goal. Computer technology, including smartphones and
social networking Internet sites, has made it possible for people to
connect as never before. Seeing Sociology in the News on page 482
takes a closer look at the power of networking sites such as Facebook
to support effective social movements.
Types of
Social Movements
Researchers classify social movements according to the type of
change they seek (Aberle, 1966; Cameron, 1966; Blumer, 1969). One
variable asks, Who is changed? Some movements target selected
people, and others try to change everyone. A second variable asks,
How much change? Some movements seek only limited change in
our lives; others pursue a radical transformation of society. Combin-
ing these variables results in four types of social movements, shown
in Figure 16–1.
Alterative social movements are the least threatening to the sta-
tus quo because they seek limited change in only part of the popu-
lation. Their aim is to help certain people alter their lives. Promise
Keepers is one example of an alterative social movement; it encour-
ages men to live more spiritual lives and be more supportive of their
families.
Redemptive social movements also target specific individuals,
but they seek more radical change. Their aim is to help certain peo-
ple redeem their lives. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous is an
organization that helps people with an alcohol addiction achieve a
sober life.
Reformative social movements aim for only limited change but
target everyone. The environmental movement seeks to interest
everyone in protecting the natural environment.
Revolutionary social movements are the most extreme of all,
working for major transformation of an entire society. Sometimes
pursuing specific goals, sometimes spinning utopian dreams, these
social movements, including both the left-wing Communist party
(pushing for government control of the entire economy) and right-
wing militia groups (seeking the destruction of “big government”)
seek to radically change our way of life.
Claims Making
In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began to
track a strange disease that was killing people, most of them homo-
sexual men. The disease came to be known as AIDS (acquired
immune deficiency syndrome). Although AIDS was clearly a
deadly disease, it was given little public or media attention. Only
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 481
Look at the various changes in the United States over the past
century. In each case, think about how the change affected
everyday social life.
Seeing Sociology
in Everyday Life
social movement an organized activity that encourages
or discourages social change
Limited Radical
Everyone
Specific
Individuals
How Much Change?
Who Is
Changed?
Alterative
Social
Movement
Redemptive
Social
Movement
Reformative
Social
Movement
Revolutionary
Social
Movement
FIGURE 16–1 Four Types of Social Movements
There are four types of social movements, reflecting who is changed
and how great the change is.
Source: Based on Aberle (1966).
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about five years later did the public begin to take notice of the ris-
ing number of deaths and start to think of AIDS as a serious social
threat.
The change in public thinking was the result of claims making,
the process of trying to convince the public and public officials of the
importance of joining a social movement to address a particular issue.
In other words, for a social movement to form, some issue has to be
defined as a problem that demands public attention. Usually, claims
making begins with a small number of people. In the case of AIDS,
the gay community in large cities (notably San Francisco and New
York) mobilized to convince people of the dangers posed by this
deadly disease. Over time, if the mass media give the issue attention
and public officials speak out on behalf of the problem, it is likely that
the social movement will gain strength.
Considerable public attention has now been given to AIDS, and
there is ongoing research aimed at finding a cure. The process of
claims making goes on all the time for dozens of issues. Today, for
example, a movement to ban the use of cell phones in automobiles
has pointed to the thousands of automobile accidents each year
related to the use of phones while driving; six states have now passed
laws banning the use of handheld phones, and debate continues in
others (McVeigh, Welch, & Bjarnason, 2003; Governors Highway Safety
Association, 2010; Macionis, 2010).
Explaining Social Movements
Sociologists have developed several explanations of social move-
ments. Deprivation theory holds that social movements arise among
people who feel deprived of something, such as income, safe work-
ing conditions, or political rights. Whether you feel deprived or not,
of course, depends on what you expect in life. Thus people band
together in response to relative deprivation, a perceived disadvan-
tage arising from some specific comparison. This concept helps explain
why movements for change surface in both good and bad times: It
is not people’s absolute standing that counts but how they perceive
482 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
Facebook Helps Spark Movements
BY DAVID UNZE
March 25, 2010
Austin Lee spent three years advocating for a skate
park in St. Cloud, Minnesota, before he turned to
Facebook.
The seventeen-year-old used to work the
phones to keep his friends and supporters
updated about his efforts. But when he took his
campaign to the social networking site, he says his
message really started to take off. The site’s value
as a grassroots organizing tool was never more
clear to Lee than when sixty of his 1,085 followers
confirmed within a day of getting an update from
him that they would be able to attend a key City
Council meeting on the project.
“Facebook, I think, made a huge impact,” he said.
The effort paid off. The council approved a
$500,000 skate plaza last month and council mem-
bers agreed the Facebook community played a role.
John Libert, vice president of the St. Cloud City
Council, said he’s never gotten more e-mails and
other communications about a single issue than
the skate plaza in his four years on the council.
“It was definitely effective. It did influence me,
to the extent that the number of people who were
out there supporting it” was so large, he said.
Facebook is becoming a core component for
social movements, from constituent outreach for
political campaigns to building support for
causes, says Andrew Noyes, manager of public
policy communications for Facebook.
A growing number of people are discovering
that Facebook, with its 350 million members, “is
about way more than simply connecting with
friends,” Noyes said.
The use of Facebook to rally political support
got a huge boost when President Obama relied on
it during his candidacy to get his message out,
Noyes said. Newly elected Senator Scott Brown, R-
Mass., embraced Facebook during his campaign,
Noyes said, an illustration of how the GOP is
waking up to the power of social media. . . .
Levi Russell, communications director for Tea
Party Express, the planned national bus tour that
will host rallies across the nation to promote fis-
cal conservativism and protest Obama adminis-
tration policies between March 27 and April 15,
says the group started its first Facebook page a lit-
tle less than a year ago, and has been growing by
the thousands.
“Facebook allows us to promote and organize
events in a whole new way,” he said.“While it is not
our primary communication tool, it is one of the
most targeted and flexible tools we use. Our sup-
porters are able to really take ownership of events
in their area by sharing, discussing, and inviting
their friends in a very visual and tangible format.”
College students looking to get support for
issues have also turned to Facebook.
Casey Allen Sears, a student at The College of
William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia,
helped start a Facebook group this month in
opposition to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuc-
cinelli’s letter about discrimination policies at
state public universities. Cuccinelli wrote that Vir-
ginia’s public universities could not adopt policies
that prohibit discrimination based on sexual ori-
entation “absent specific authorization from the
General Assembly.”
The Facebook group promoted a protest
against Cuccinelli’s assertion that public universi-
ties should back away from policies against dis-
crimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
“In the forty-eight hours from the creation of
the event, we had more than 700 people saying
they were attending,” Sears said. “It’s really easy to
organize a mass movement.” . . .
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
1. According to the article, why are Facebook
and other computer-based networking sys-
tems becoming a “core component for social
movements”?
2. Do you think the use of Facebook for political
purposes will make this country more demo-
cratic? Why or why not?
3. Have you ever used Facebook or a similar
networking site as part of an effort to organize
a political demonstration or other social
movement activity? Explain.
Adapted from “Facebook Helps Spark Movements” by David
Unze. Source: USA Today, a division of Gannett Co., Inc.
March 25, 2010. Reprinted with permission.
Seeing SOCIOLOGY in the
USA Today
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their situation in relation to the situations of others (J.
C. Davies, 1962; Merton, 1968).
Mass-society theory, a second explanation, argues
that social movements attract socially isolated people
who join a movement in order to gain a sense of identity
and purpose. From this point of view, social movements
have a personal as well as a political agenda (Melucci,
1989).
Resource mobilization theory, a third theoretical
scheme, links the success of any social movement to the
resources that are available to it, including money,
human labor, and the mass media. Because most social
movements begin small, they must look beyond them-
selves to mobilize the resources required for success (Val-
occhi, 1996; Zhao, 1998; Passy & Giugni, 2001; Packer,
2003).
Fourth, culture theory points out that social move-
ments depend not only on money and other material
resources but also on cultural symbols. People must
have a shared understanding of injustice in the world
before they will mobilize to bring about change. In
addition, specific symbols (such as photographs of the
World Trade Center towers engulfed in flames after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks) helped mobilize
people to support the U.S. military campaigns in
Afghanistan and Iraq (McAdam, McCarthy, & Zald,
1996; J. E. Williams, 2002).
Fifth, new social movements theory points out the distinctive
character of recent social movements in postindustrial societies.
Rather than being local matters, these movements are typically
national or international in scope, and most focus on quality-of-
life issues, such as the natural environment, world peace, or ani-
mal rights, rather than more traditional economic issues. This
broader scope of contemporary social movements results from
closer ties between governments and between ordinary people
around the world, who are now linked by the mass media and new
information technology (Kriesi, 1989; Pakulski, 1993; Jenkins &
Wallace, 1996).
Sixth and finally, political economy theory is a Marxist approach
that claims that social movements arise in opposition to the capital-
ist economic system, which fails to meet the needs of the majority of
people. Despite great economic productivity, U.S. society is in crisis,
with millions of people unable to find good jobs, living below the
poverty line, and surviving without health insurance. Social move-
ments arise as workers organize to demand higher wages, citizens
rally for a health policy that protects everyone, and people march in
opposition to spending billions to fund wars while ignoring basic
needs at home (Buechler, 2000).
Stages in Social Movements
Social movements typically unfold in four stages: emergence, coales-
cence, bureaucratization, and decline. The emergence of social move-
ments occurs as people begin to think that all is not well. Some, such
as the civil rights and women’s movements, are born of widespread
dissatisfaction. Others emerge as a small group tries to mobilize the
population, as when gay activists raised public concern about AIDS.
Coalescence takes place when a social movement defines itself
and develops a strategy for attracting new members and “going pub-
lic.” Leaders determine policies and decide on tactics, which may
include demonstrations or rallies to attract media attention.
As it gains members and resources, a social movement may
undergo bureaucratization. As a movement becomes established, it
depends less on the charisma and talents of a few leaders and more
on a professional staff, which increases the chances for the move-
ment’s long-term survival.
Finally, social movements decline as resources dry up, the group
faces overwhelming opposition, or members achieve their goals and
lose interest. Some well-established organizations outlive their orig-
inal causes and move on to new crusades; others lose touch with the
idea of changing society and choose instead to become part of the
“system” (Piven & Cloward, 1977; F. D. Miller, 1983).
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 483
claims making the process of trying to convince the public and public
officials of the importance of joining a social movement to address a
particular issue
relative deprivation a perceived disadvantage arising from
some specific comparison
Review the discussion in Chapter 5 (“Groups and
Organizations”) on page 122 to see how we use reference
groups to decide whether we are being deprived or not.
Making the Grade
Political debate is a matter of claims making by various organizations. After the insurance
giant AIG was saved from collapse by a massive government bailout, executives took
millions of dollars in bonuses for themselves, claiming this served the interest of the
company. The action prompted one organization to visit the executives’ homes, denouncing
the bonuses as little more than greed and demanding that the money be returned.
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Disasters: Unexpected
Change
Sometimes change results from events that are both unexpected and
unwelcome. A disaster is an event, generally unexpected, that causes
extensive harm to people and damage to property. Disasters are of three
types. Floods, earthquakes, forest fires, and hurricanes (such as Hur-
ricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005) are exam-
ples of natural disasters (Erikson, 2005a). A second type is the
technological disaster, which is widely regarded as an accident but is
more accurately the result of our inability to control technology
(Erikson, 2005a). The nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant
in Ukraine in 1986 and the spilling of millions of gallons of oil in the
Gulf of Mexico in 2010 were technological disasters. A third type is the
intentional disaster, in which one or more organized groups deliber-
ately harm others. War, terrorist attacks, and the genocide that took
place in Yugoslavia (1992–95), Rwanda (2000), and the Darfur region
of Sudan (2003–10) are examples of intentional disasters.
The full scope of the harm caused by disasters may become evi-
dent only many years after the event. The Thinking Globally box
describes a technological disaster that is still affecting people and
their descendants more than half a century after it took place.
Kai Erikson (1976, 1994, 2005a) has investigated disasters of all
types and has reached three major conclusions about the social conse-
quences of disasters. First, we all know that disasters harm people and
destroy property, but what most people don’t realize is that disasters
also cause social damage by disrupting human community. When a
dam burst and sent a mountain of water down West Virginia’s Buffalo
Creek in 1972, it killed 125 people, destroyed 1,000 homes, and left
4,000 people homeless. After the waters had gone and help was stream-
ing into the area, the people were paralyzed not only by the loss of fam-
ily members and friends but also by the loss of their way of life. Even
four decades later, they have been unable to rebuild the community life
that they once knew. We can know when disasters start, Erikson points
out, but we cannot know when they will end.
Second, Erikson explains that the social damage is more serious
when an event involves some toxic substance, as is common with
technological disasters. As the case of radiation falling on Utrik Island
shows us, people feel “poisoned” when they have been exposed to
a dangerous substance that they fear and over which they have no
484 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
Sociologists classify disasters into three types. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which claimed several
hundred thousand lives, is an example of a natural disaster. The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an
example of a technological disaster. The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people and the
displacement of millions more from their homes in the Darfur region of Sudan since 2003 is an example of
an intentional disaster.
disaster an event, generally unexpected, that causes extensive
harm to people and damage to property
Many people, including fishermen, who lost their ability to work
in the wake of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico believed
that neither BP nor government officials did all they could to help
them. How can such a belief intensify the effects of a disaster?
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control. People in Ukraine felt much the same way after the 1986
explosion and radiation leak at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
Third, the social damage is most serious when the disaster is
caused by the actions of other people. This can happen through neg-
ligence or carelessness (as in technological disasters) or through will-
ful action (intentional disasters). Our belief that “other people will
do us no harm” is a foundation of social life, Erikson claims. But when
others act carelessly (as in the case of an oil spill) or intentionally in
ways that harm us (as in the case of genocide in Darfur), survivors
typically lose their trust in others to a degree that may never go away.
Modernity
A central concept in the study of social change is modernity, social
patterns resulting from industrialization. In everyday terms, modernity
(its Latin root means “lately”) refers to the present in relation to the
past. Sociologists use this catchall concept to describe the many social
patterns set in motion by the Industrial Revolution, which began in
Western Europe in the 1750s. Modernization, then, is the process of
social change begun by industrialization. The timeline inside the back
cover of this book highlights important events that mark the emergence
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 485
modernity social patterns resulting from industrialization
modernization the process of social change begun by industrialization
THINKING
GLOBALLY
A Never-Ending Atomic Disaster
It was just after dawn on March 1, 1954, and the
air was already warm on Utrik Island, a small bit
of coral and volcanic rock in the South Pacific
that is one of the Marshall Islands. The island
was home to 159 people, who lived by fishing
much as their ancestors had done for centuries.
The population knew only a little about the out-
side world—a missionary from the United States
taught the local children, and two dozen military
personnel lived at a small U.S. weather station
with an airstrip where a single plane touched
down each week.
At 6:45 A.M., the western sky suddenly lit up
brighter than anyone had ever seen, and sec-
onds later, a rumble like a massive earthquake
rolled across the island. Some of the Utrik peo-
ple thought the world was coming to an end.
Their world, at least as they had known it, had
changed forever.
About 160 miles to the west, on Bikini Island,
the United States military had just detonated an
atomic bomb, a huge device with 1,000 times
the power of the bomb used at the end of World
War II to destroy the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The enormous blast vaporized the island and
sent a massive cloud of dust and radiation into
the atmosphere. The military expected the winds
to take the cloud north into an open area of the
ocean, but the cloud blew east instead. By noon,
the radiation cloud had engulfed a Japanese
fishing boat ironically called the Lucky Dragon,
exposing the twenty-three people on board to a
dose of radiation that would eventually sicken or
kill them all. By the end of the afternoon, the
deadly cloud spilled across Utrik Island.
The cloud was made up of coral and rock dust,
all that was left of Bikini Island. The dust fell softly
on Utrik Island, and the children, who remembered
pictures of snow shown to them by their mission-
ary teacher, ran out to play in the white powder that
was piling up everywhere. No one realized that it
was contaminated with deadly radiation.
Three-and-one-half days later, the U.S. mili-
tary landed planes on Utrik Island and informed
all the people that they would have to leave
immediately, taking nothing with them. For three
months, the island people were held at another
military base, and then they were returned home.
Many of the people who were on the island
that fateful morning died young, typically from
cancer or other diseases associated with radiation
exposure. But even today, those who survived
consider themselves and their island poisoned by
the radiation, and they believe that the poison will
never go away. The radiation may or may not still
be in their bodies, but it has worked its way deep
into their culture. More than half a century after the
bomb exploded, people still talked about the
morning that “everything changed.” The damage
from this disaster turns out to be much more than
medical—it was a social transformation that left
the people with a deep belief that they are all sick,
that life will never be the same, and that the peo-
ple who live on the other side of the world could
have prevented the disaster but did not.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
1. In what sense is a disaster like this one
never really over?
2. In what ways did the atomic bomb test
change the culture of the Utrik people?
3. What does this account lead us to expect
about the long-term consequences of other
disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, which
damaged much of the Gulf Coast in 2005?
Source: Based on Erikson (2005a).
What social damage do you think was caused by the 1986
explosion and massive radiation leak at the Chernobyl nuclear
plant in Ukraine?
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of modernity. Table 16–1 provides a summary of change in the United
States over the course of the twentieth century.
Peter Berger (1977) identified four major characteristics of mod-
ernization:
1. The decline of small, traditional communities. Modernity
involves “the progressive weakening, if not destruction, of the . . .
relatively cohesive communities in which human beings have
found solidarity and meaning throughout most of history”
(1977:72). For thousands of years, in the camps of hunters and
gatherers and in the rural villages of Europe and North America,
people lived in small communities where life revolved around
family and neighborhood. Such traditional worlds gave each per-
son a well-defined place that, although limiting range of choice,
offered a strong sense of identity, belonging, and purpose.
Small, isolated communities still exist in the United States,
of course, but they are home to only a tiny percentage of our
nation’s people. These days, their isolation is only geographic:
Except among those who are extremely poor, cars, telephones,
television, and computers give rural families the pulse of the
larger society and connect them to the entire world.
2. The expansion of personal choice. People in traditional, prein-
dustrial societies view their lives as shaped by forces beyond human
control—gods, spirits, fate.As the power of tradition weakens, peo-
ple come to see their lives as an unending series of options, a process
Berger calls individualization. For instance, many people in the
United States choose a particular “lifestyle” (sometimes adopting
one after another), showing an openness to change. Indeed, it is a
common belief that people should take control of their lives.
3. Increasing social diversity. In preindustrial societies, strong fam-
ily ties and powerful religious beliefs enforce conformity and dis-
courage diversity and change. Modernization promotes a more
rational, scientific worldview as tradition loses its hold and people
gain more individual choice. The growth of cities, the expansion of
impersonal bureaucracy, and the social mix of people from various
backgrounds combine to encourage diverse beliefs and behavior.
4. Orientation toward the future and a growing awareness of
time. Premodern people focus on the past; people in modern
societies think more about the future. Modern people are not
only forward-looking but also optimistic that new inventions
and discoveries will improve their lives.
Modern people organize daily routines down to the very
minute. With the introduction of clocks in the late Middle Ages,
Europeans began to think not in terms of sunlight and seasons
but in terms of hours and minutes. Focused on personal gain,
modern people demand precise measurement of time and are
likely to agree that “time is money.” Berger points out that one
good indicator of a society’s degree of modernization is the share
of people who keep track of time by continually glancing at their
wristwatches (or nowadays, their cell phones).
Finally, recall that modernization touched off the development
of sociology itself. As Chapter 1 (“Sociology: Perspective, Theory,
and Method”) explained, the discipline originated in the wake of the
Industrial Revolution in Western Europe at a point when social
change was proceeding rapidly. Early European and U.S. sociologists
tried to analyze the rise of modern society and its consequences, both
good and bad, for human beings.
Ferdinand Tönnies: The Loss
of Community
The German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies produced a lasting account
of modernization in his theory of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (see
Chapter 15,“Population, Urbanization, and Environment”). Like Peter
Berger, whose work he influenced, Tönnies (1963, orig. 1887) viewed
modernization as the progressive loss of Gemeinschaft, or human
community. As Tönnies saw it, the Industrial Revolution weakened the
486 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
Table 16–1 The United States: A Century of Change
1900 2000
National population 76 million 281 million
Share living in cities 40% 80%
Life expectancy 46 years (men), 48 years (women) 74 years (men), 79 years (women)
Median age 22.9 years 35.3 years
Average household income $8,000 (in 2000 dollars) $40,000 (in 2000 dollars)
Share of income spent on food 43% 15%
Share of homes with flush toilets 10% 98%
Average number of cars 1 car for every 2,000 households 1.3 cars for every household
Divorce rate about 1 in 20 marriages about 8 in 20 marriages
Average gallons of petroleum products consumed 34 per person per year 1,100 per person per year
Be sure you understand the four traits of modernization
identified by Peter Berger.
Making the Grade
Look at the various changes in the United States over the past
century as summarized in the table below. In each case, think
about how the change affected everyday social life.
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social fabric of family and tradition by introducing a
businesslike emphasis on facts, efficiency, and money.
European and North American societies gradually
became rootless and impersonal as people came to
associate with one another mostly on the basis of self-
interest—the state Tönnies termed Gesellschaft.
Early in the twentieth century, at least some parts
of the United States could be described using Tönnies’s
concept of Gemeinschaft. Families that had lived for many
generations in small villages and towns were bound
together into a hardworking and slowly changing way of
life. Telephones (invented in 1876) were rare; not until
1915 could one place a coast-to-coast call (see the time-
line inside the back cover of this book). Living without
television (introduced commercially in 1933 and not
widespread until after 1950), families entertained them-
selves, often gathering with friends in the evening to share
stories, sorrows, or song. Lacking rapid transportation
(Henry Ford’s assembly line began in 1908, but cars
became common only after World War II), many people
knew little of the world beyond their hometown.
Inevitable tensions and conflicts divided these
communities of the past. But according to Tönnies, the traditional
spirit of Gemeinschaft meant that people were “essentially united in
spite of all separating factors” (1963:65, orig. 1887).
Modernity turns society inside out so that, as Tönnies put it, peo-
ple are “essentially separated in spite of uniting factors” (1963:65, orig.
1887). This is the world of Gesellschaft, where, especially in large cities,
most people live among strangers and ignore the people they pass on
the street. Trust is hard to come by in a mobile and anonymous soci-
ety in which people put their personal needs ahead of group loyalty and
a majority of adults believe “you can’t be too careful” in dealing with
people (NORC, 2009:1811). No wonder researchers conclude that even
as we have become more affluent, the social health of modern societies
has declined (D. G. Myers, 2000).
CRITICAL REVIEW Tönnies’s theory of Gemeinschaft
and Gesellschaft is the most widely cited model of modernization.
The theory’s strength lies in its synthesis of various dimensions
of change: growing population, the rise of cities, and increasingly
impersonal interaction. But modern life, though often impersonal,
still has some degree of Gemeinschaft. Even in a world of
strangers, modern friendships can be strong and lasting. In addi-
tion, some analysts think that Tönnies favored—perhaps even
romanticized—traditional societies while overlooking bonds of
family and friendship that continue to flourish in modern societies.
CHECK YOUR LEARNING As types of social organi-
zation, how do Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft differ?
Read on mysoclab.com
Emile Durkheim: The Division of Labor
The French sociologist Emile Durkheim shared Tönnies’s interest in
the important social changes that resulted from the Industrial Revo-
lution. For Durkheim (1964a, orig. 1893), modernization was marked
by an increasing division of labor, or specialized economic activity.
Every member of a traditional society performs more or less the same
activities; modern societies function by having people perform highly
specific jobs.
Durkheim explained that preindustrial societies are held together
by mechanical solidarity, or shared moral sentiments (see Chapter 15).
Members of such societies view everyone as basically alike, doing the
same work and belonging together. Durkheim’s concept of mechan-
ical solidarity is virtually the same as Tönnies’s Gemeinschaft.
With modernization, the division of labor (job specialization)
becomes more and more pronounced. To Durkheim, this change
means less mechanical solidarity but more of another kind of tie:
organic solidarity, mutual dependency between people engaged in
specialized work. Put simply, modern societies are held together not
by likeness but by difference: All of us must depend on others to
meet most of our needs. Organic solidarity corresponds to Tönnies’s
concept of Gesellschaft.
Despite obvious similarities in their thinking, Durkheim and
Tönnies viewed modernity somewhat differently. To Tönnies, mod-
ern Gesellschaft amounted to the loss of social solidarity because peo-
ple lose the “natural” and “organic” bonds of the rural village, leaving
only the “artificial” and “mechanical” ties of the big city. Durkheim
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 487
George Tooker’s 1950 painting The Subway depicts a common problem of modern life:
Weakening social ties and eroding traditions create a generic humanity in which everyone is
alike yet each person is an anxious stranger in the midst of others.
Source: George Tooker, The Subway, 1950, egg tempera on gesso panel, 18 1/8 × 36 1/8 inches, Whitney Museum of
American Art, New York. Purchased with funds from the Juliana Force Purchase Award, 50.23. Photograph © Whitney
Museum of American Art
“Bowling Alone: America’s
Declining Social Capital” by Robert D. Putnam
on mysoclab.com
Read
Durkheim’s concepts match up with those of Tönnies, but
be sure to get it right: Mechanical solidarity corresponds
to Gemeinschaft, and organic solidarity is the same as
Gesellschaft.
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had a different view of modernity, even reversing Tönnies’s language
to bring home the point. Durkheim labeled modern society
“organic,” arguing that modern society is no less natural than any
other, and he described traditional societies as “mechanical” because
they are so regimented. Durkheim viewed modernization not so
much as a loss of community as a change from community based
on bonds of likeness (kinship and neighborhood) to community
based on economic interdependence (the division of labor).
Durkheim’s view of modernity is thus both more complex and more
positive than Tönnies’s view.
CRITICAL REVIEW Durkheim’s work, which resembles
that of Tönnies, is a highly influential analysis of modernity. Of
the two, Durkheim was more optimistic; still, he feared that mod-
ern societies might become so diverse that they would collapse
into anomie, a condition in which society provides little moral
guidance to individuals. Living with weak moral norms, modern
people can become egocentric, placing their own needs above
those of others and finding little purpose in life.
The suicide rate, which Durkheim considered a good index
of anomie, did in fact increase in the United States over the
course of the twentieth century, and the vast majority of adults
report that they see moral questions not in clear terms of right
and wrong but as confusing “shades of gray” (NORC, 2009:478).
Yet shared norms and values seem strong enough to give most
people a sense of meaning and purpose. Whatever the hazards
of anomie, most people value the personal freedom modern
society gives us.
CHECK YOUR LEARNING Define mechanical solidar-
ity and organic solidarity. In his view of the modern world, what
makes Durkheim more optimistic than Tönnies?
Max Weber: Rationalization
For Max Weber, modernity meant replacing a traditional worldview
with a rational way of thinking. In preindustrial societies, tradition
acts as a constant brake on social change. To traditional people,“truth”
is roughly the same as “what has always been” (1978:36, orig. 1921).
To modern people, however, “truth” is the result of rational calcula-
tion. Because they value efficiency and have little reverence for the
past, modern people adopt social patterns that allow them to achieve
their goals.
Echoing Tönnies’s and Durkheim’s claim that industrialization
weakens tradition, Weber characterized modern society as “disen-
chanted.” The unquestioned truths of an earlier time had been chal-
lenged by rational thinking. In short, said Weber, modern society
turns away from the gods just as it turns away from the past.
Throughout his life, Weber studied various modern “types”—the
scientist, the capitalist, the bureaucrat—all of whom share the for-
ward-looking, rational, and detached worldview that he believed was
coming to dominate humanity. Go to mysoclab.com
CRITICAL REVIEW Compared with Tönnies and espe-
cially Durkheim, Weber was very critical of modern society. He
knew that science could produce technological and organiza-
tional wonders, yet he worried that science was carrying us away
488 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
In traditional societies, such as Amish communities in the United States, everyone does much the same work. These
societies are held together by strong moral beliefs. Modern societies, illustrated by urban areas in this country, are
held together by a system of production in which people perform specialized work and rely on one another.
division of labor (p. 487) specialized economic activity
anomie a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals
Go to the Multimedia Library at mysoclab.com to hear
author John Macionis discuss “What Is Distinctive
about the Modern World?”
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from more basic questions about the meaning and purpose of
human existence. Weber feared that rationalization, especially in
bureaucracies, would erode the human spirit with endless rules
and regulations.
CHECK YOUR LEARNING What did Weber mean by
describing the modern world as “disenchanted”? In what ways
are scientists, capitalists, and bureaucrats all “disenchanted”?
Some of Weber’s critics think that the alienation Weber attrib-
uted to bureaucracy actually stemmed from social inequality. This
issue leads us to the ideas of Karl Marx.
Karl Marx: Capitalism
For Karl Marx, modern society was synonymous with capitalism; he
saw the Industrial Revolution primarily as a capitalist revolution.
Marx traced the emergence of the bourgeoisie in medieval Europe to
the expansion of commerce. The bourgeoisie gradually displaced the
feudal aristocracy as the Industrial Revolution gave it control of a
powerful new productive system.
Marx agreed that modernity weakened small communities (as
described by Tönnies), increased the division of labor (as noted by
Durkheim), and encouraged a rational worldview (as Weber
claimed). But he saw these simply as conditions necessary for capi-
talism to flourish. According to Marx, capitalism draws population
away from farms and small towns into an ever-expanding market
system centered in the cities; specialization is needed for efficient
factories; and rationality is illustrated by the capitalists’ endless pur-
suit of profit.
Earlier chapters have painted Marx as a spirited critic of cap-
italist society, but his vision of modernity also includes a good
bit of optimism. Unlike Weber, who viewed modern society as
an “iron cage” of bureaucracy from which there was no escape,
Marx believed that social conflict in capitalist societies would sow
the seeds of revolutionary change, leading to an egalitarian social-
ism. Such a society, as he saw it, would harness the wonders of
industrial technology to enrich people’s lives and rid the world of
social classes, the source of conflict and so much suffering.
Although Marx’s evaluation of modern capitalist society was highly
negative, he imagined a future of human freedom, creativity, and
community.
CRITICAL REVIEW Marx’s theory of modernization is a
complex theory of capitalism. But he underestimated the domi-
nance of bureaucracy in shaping modern societies. In socialist
societies, in particular, the stifling effects of bureaucracy have
turned out to be as bad as, or even worse than, the dehumaniz-
ing aspects of capitalism. The upheavals in Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union in the 1990s revealed the depth of pop-
ular opposition to oppressive state bureaucracies.
CHECK YOUR LEARNING Of the four theorists just
discussed—Tönnies, Durkheim, Weber, and Marx—who comes
across as the most optimistic about modern society? Who was
the most pessimistic? Explain your choices.
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 489
OUT
IN
Max Weber maintained that the distinctive character of modern society was its rational worldview. Virtually
all of Weber’s work on modernity centered on types of people he considered typical of their age: the
scientist, the capitalist, and the bureaucrat. Each is rational to the core: The scientist is committed to the
orderly discovery of truth, the capitalist to the orderly pursuit of profit, and the bureaucrat to orderly
conformity to a system of rules.
Be sure you see what, from Weber’s point of view, the
scientist, the capitalist, and the bureaucrat (all pictured
below) have in common.
Making the Grade
Marx claimed capitalism was the foundation of modern
society; Weber claimed that capitalism (along with
science and bureaucracy) rests on a more basic
foundation—rationality.
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Structural-Functional Analysis:
Modernity as Mass Society
November 11, on Interstate 275. From the car
window, we see BP and Sunoco gas stations, a Kmart and
a Walmart, an AmeriSuites hotel, a Bob Evans, a Chi-
Chi’s Mexican restaurant, and a McDonald’s. This road
happens to circle Cincinnati, Ohio. But it could be in Boston,
Saint Louis, Denver, San Diego, or almost anywhere else in the
United States.
The rise of modernity is a complex process involving many
dimensions of change, described in earlier chapters and reviewed
here in the Summing Up table. How can we make sense of so many
changes going on at once? Sociologists have two broad explanations
of modern society, one guided by the structural-functional approach
and the other based on social-conflict theory.
The first explanation, guided by the structural-functional
approach and drawing on the ideas of Tönnies, Durkheim, and
Weber, understands modernity as the emergence of a mass society
(Kornhauser, 1959; Nisbet, 1969; Berger, Berger, & Kellner, 1974;
Pearson, 1993). A mass society is a society in which prosperity and
bureaucracy have weakened traditional social ties. A mass society is
productive; on average, people have more income than ever. At the
same time, it is marked by weak kinship and impersonal neighbor-
hoods, leaving individuals to feel socially isolated. Although many
people have material plenty, they are spiritually weak and often expe-
rience moral uncertainty about how to live.
The Mass Scale of Modern Life
Mass-society theory argues, first, that the scale of modern life has
greatly increased. Before the Industrial Revolution, Europe and North
America formed a mosaic of rural villages and small towns. In these
local communities, which inspired Tönnies’s concept of Gemeinschaft,
people lived out their lives surrounded by kin and guided by a shared
heritage. Gossip was an informal yet highly effective way of ensuring
conformity to community standards. Such small communities toler-
ated little social diversity—the state of mechanical solidarity described
by Durkheim.
For example, before 1690, English law demanded that everyone
participate regularly in the Christian ritual of Holy Communion
(Laslett, 1984). On the North American continent, only Rhode Island
among the New England colonies tolerated any religious dissent.
Because social differences were repressed in favor of conformity to
established norms, subcultures and countercultures were few, and
change proceeded slowly.
Increasing population, the growth of cities, and specialized eco-
nomic activity driven by the Industrial Revolution gradually altered
this pattern. People came to know one another by their jobs (for
example, as “the doctor” or “the bank clerk”) rather than by their kin-
ship group or hometown. People looked on most others simply as
strangers. The face-to-face communication of the village was eventu-
ally replaced by the impersonal mass media: newspapers, radio, tele-
vision, and computer networks. Large organizations steadily assumed
more and more responsibility for the daily needs that had once been
fulfilled by family, friends, and neighbors; public education drew more
and more people to schools; police, lawyers, and courts supervised a
formal criminal justice system. Even charity became the work of face-
less bureaucrats working for various social welfare agencies.
Geographic mobility, mass communication, and exposure to
diverse ways of life all weaken traditional values. People become more
tolerant of social diversity, defending individual rights and freedom
of choice. Treating people differently because of their race, sex, or
religion comes to be defined as backward and unjust. In the process,
minorities at the margins of society gain greater power and broader
participation in public life. The election of Barack Obama—an
African American—to the highest office in the United States is surely
one indicator that ours is now a modern society (West, 2008).
The mass media give rise to a national culture that washes over the
traditional differences that used to set off one region from another. As
one analyst put it, “Even in Baton Rouge, La., the local kids don’t say
‘y’all’ anymore; they say ‘you guys’ just like on TV” (Gibbs, 2000:42).
Mass-society theorists fear that the transformation of people of various
backgrounds into a generic mass may end up dehumanizing everyone.
The Ever-Expanding
State
In the small-scale preindustrial societies of Europe, government
amounted to little more than a local noble. A royal family formally
reigned over an entire nation, but in the absence of swift transporta-
tion and efficient communication, even absolute monarchs had far
less power than today’s political leaders.
As technological innovation allowed government to expand, the
centralized state grew in size and importance. At the time of independ-
ence, the U.S. government was a tiny organization, its primary function
being national defense. Since then, government has assumed responsi-
bility for more and more areas of social life: schooling, regulating wages
and working conditions, establishing standards for products of all sorts,
and providing financial assistance to the elderly, the ill, and the unem-
ployed. To pay for such programs, taxes have soared: Today’s average
worker in the United States labors more than four months each year
just to pay for the broad array of services the government provides.
In a mass society, power resides in large bureaucracies, leaving
people in local communities with little control over their lives. For
490 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
mass society a society in which prosperity and bureaucracy have weakened
traditional social ties
class society (p. 492) a capitalist society with pronounced social stratification
Identify five examples of “mass culture” that are the same
throughout the United States. Name five more that differ from
region to region.
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example, state officials mandate that local schools must meet educa-
tional standards, local products must be government-certified, and
every citizen must maintain extensive tax records. Although such
regulations may protect people and enhance social equality, they also
force us to deal more and more with nameless officials in distant and
often unresponsive bureaucracies, and they undermine the autonomy
of families and local communities.
CRITICAL REVIEW The growing scale of modern life cer-
tainly has positive aspects, but only at the cost of our cultural her-
itage. Modern societies increase individual rights, have greater
tolerance of social differences, and raise living standards (Ingle-
hart & Baker, 2000). But they are prone to what Weber feared
most—excessive bureaucracy—as well as to Tönnies’s self-
centeredness and Durkheim’s anomie. The size, complexity, and
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 491
SUMMING UP
Traditional and Modern Societies: The Big Picture
Elements of Society Traditional Societies Modern Societies
Cultural Patterns
Values
Norms
Time orientation
Technology
Homogeneous; sacred character; few subcultures and countercultures
Great moral significance; little tolerance of diversity
Present linked to past
Preindustrial; human and animal energy
Heterogeneous; secular character; many subcultures and countercultures
Variable moral significance; high tolerance of diversity
Present linked to future
Industrial; advanced energy sources
Social Structure
Status and role
Relationships
Communication
Social control
Social stratification
Gender patterns
Settlement patterns
Few statuses, most ascribed; few specialized roles
Typically primary; little anonymity or privacy
Face to face
Informal gossip
Rigid patterns of social inequality; little mobility
Pronounced patriarchy; women’s lives centered on the home
Small-scale; population typically small and widely dispersed in rural
villages and small towns
Many statuses, some ascribed and some achieved; many specialized roles
Typically secondary; much anonymity and privacy
Face-to-face communication supplemented by mass media
Formal police and legal system
Fluid patterns of social inequality; high mobility
Declining patriarchy; increasing share of women work in the paid labor force
Large-scale; population typically large and concentrated in cities
Social Institutions
Economy
State
Family
Religion
Education
Health
Based on agriculture; much manufacturing in the home; little white-
collar work
Small-scale government; little state intervention in society
Extended family as the primary means of socialization and economic
production
Religion guides worldview; little religious pluralism
Formal schooling limited to elites
High birth and death rates; short life expectancy because of low stan-
dard of living and simple medical technology
Based on industrial mass production; factories become centers of production;
increasing white-collar work
Large-scale government; much state intervention in society
Nuclear family still has some socialization functions but is more a unit of
consumption than of production
Religion weakens with the rise of science; extensive religious pluralism
Basic schooling becomes universal, with growing share of people receiving
advanced education
Low birth and death rates; longer life expectancy because of higher standard
of living and sophisticated medical technology
Social Change Slow; change evident over many generations Rapid; change evident within a single generation
This table is a good summary of trends that define our
modern society. It also reviews much of what you have
studied in earlier chapters.
Making the Grade
As you read about mass society theory, keep
in mind the theories of Tönnies, Durkheim,
and Weber on which it is based.
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tolerance of diversity of modern societies all but doom traditional
values and families, leaving individuals isolated, powerless, and
materialistic. As Chapter 12 (“Economics and Politics”) noted, voter
apathy is a serious problem in the United States. But should we be
surprised that individuals in vast, impersonal societies such as ours
end up thinking that no one person can make much of a difference?
Critics sometimes say that mass-society theory romanticizes
the past. They remind us that many people in the small towns of
our past were eager to set out for a better standard of living in
cities. This approach also ignores problems of social inequality.
Critics say mass-society theory attracts social and economic
conservatives who defend conventional morality and are indif-
ferent to the historical inequality of women and other minorities.
CHECK YOUR LEARNING In your own words, state
the mass-society analysis of modernity.
Social-Conflict Analysis:
Modernity as Class Society
The second explanation of modernity derives mostly from the ideas
of Karl Marx. From a social-conflict perspective, modernity takes the
form of a class society, a capitalist society with pronounced social strat-
ification. While agreeing that modern societies have expanded to a
mass scale, this approach views the heart of modernization as an
expanding capitalist economy, marked by inequality (Habermas, 1970;
Harrington, 1984; Buechler, 2000).
Capitalism
Class-society theory follows Marx in claiming that the increasing
scale of social life in modern times has resulted from the growth
and greed unleashed by capitalism. Because a capitalist economy
pursues ever-greater profits, both production and consumption
steadily increase.
According to Marx, capitalism rests on “naked self-interest”
(Marx & Engels, 1972:337, orig. 1848). This self-centeredness weak-
ens the social ties that once united small communities. Capitalism
also treats people as commodities: a source of labor and a market
for capitalist products.
Capitalism supports science not just as the key to greater produc-
tivity but also as an ideology that justifies the status quo. Modern
societies encourage people to view human well-being as a technical
puzzle that can be solved by engineers and other scientific experts
rather than through the pursuit of social justice. For example, a cap-
italist culture seeks to improve health through advances in scientific
medicine rather than by eliminating poverty, despite the fact that
poverty is a core cause of poor health.
Businesses also raise the banner of scientific logic, trying to
increase profits through greater efficiency. As Chapter
12 (“Economics and Politics”) explained, capitalist cor-
porations have reached enormous size and control
unimaginable wealth as a result of global expansion.
From the class-society point of view, the expanding
scale of life is less a function of Gesellschaft than the
inevitable and destructive consequence of capitalism.
Persistent Inequality
Modernity has gradually worn away some of the rigid
categories that divided preindustrial societies. But class-
society theory maintains that elites persist in the form
of capitalist millionaires instead of nobles born to
wealth and power. In the United States, we may have
no hereditary monarchy, but the richest 5 percent of
the population controls about 60 percent of all privately
held property (Keister, 2005; Wolff, 2009).
What of the state? Mass-society theorists argue
that the state works to increase equality and fight social
problems. Marx disagreed; he doubted that the state
could accomplish more than minor reforms because,
as he saw it, real power lies in the hands of the capital-
ists who control the economy. Other class-society
492 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
Social-conflict theory sees modernity not as an impersonal mass society but as an unequal
class society in which some categories of people are second-class citizens. This Arizona
family, like many Native Americans, lives on a reservation, where poverty is widespread and
many trailer homes do not have electricity or running water.
Mass-society theory is critical of the expansion of the modern state,
claiming that large bureaucracies encourage dehumanization.
Class-society theory takes a more positive view of the expanding
state, claiming that it helps reduce social inequality.
Making the Grade
Mass society theory claims the problem with
modern society is that it has become too big
and impersonal; class society theory claims
the problem with modern society is that it is
too unequal.
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theorists add that to the extent that working people and minorities do
enjoy greater political rights and a higher standard of living today,
these changes were the result of political struggle, not government
goodwill. Despite our pretensions of democracy, they conclude, most
people are powerless in the face of wealthy elites.
CRITICAL REVIEW Class-society theory dismisses
Durkheim’s argument that people in modern societies suffer from
anomie, claiming instead that most people deal with alienation
and powerlessness. Not surprisingly, the class-society interpre-
tation of modernity enjoys widespread support among liberals
and radicals who favor greater equality and seek extensive reg-
ulation (or abolition) of the capitalist marketplace.
A basic criticism of class-society theory is that it overlooks
the increasing prosperity of modern societies and the fact that
discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, and gender is
now illegal and is widely regarded as a social problem. In addi-
tion, most people in the United States do not want an egalitar-
ian society; they prefer a system of unequal rewards that reflects
personal differences in talent and effort.
Based on socialism’s failure to generate a high overall stan-
dard of living, few observers think that a centralized economy
would cure the ills of modernity. Many other problems in the
United States—including unemployment, industrial pollution,
and unresponsive government—are also found in socialist
nations.
CHECK YOUR LEARNING In your own words, state
the class-society analysis of modernity. What are several criti-
cisms of it?
The Summing Up table compares views of modern society
offered by mass-society theory and class-society theory. Mass-soci-
ety theory focuses on the increasing impersonality of social life and
the growth of government; class-society theory stresses the expansion
of capitalism and the persistence of inequality.
Modernity and the Individual
Both mass- and class-society theories look at the broad patterns of
change since the Industrial Revolution. From these macro-level
approaches, we can also draw micro-level insights into how moder-
nity shapes individual lives.
Mass Society: Problems of Identity
Modernity freed individuals from the small, tightly knit communities
of the past. Most members of modern societies have the privacy and
freedom to express their individuality. However, mass-society theory
suggests that so much social diversity, widespread isolation, and rapid
social change make it difficult for many people to establish any coher-
ent identity at all (Wheelis, 1958; Berger, Berger, & Kellner, 1974).
Chapter 3 (“Socialization: From Infancy to Old Age”) explained
that people’s personalities are mostly a product of their social expe-
riences. The small, homogeneous, and slowly changing societies of
the past provided a firm, if narrow, foundation for building a per-
sonal identity. Even today, Amish and Mennonite communities that
flourish in the United States teach young men and women “correct”
ways to think and behave. Not everyone born into an Amish commu-
nity can tolerate such rigid demands for conformity, but most mem-
bers establish a well-integrated and satisfying personal identity
(Kraybill & Olshan, 1994; Kraybill & Hurd, 2006).
Mass societies are quite another story. Socially diverse and rap-
idly changing, they offer only shifting sands on which to build a per-
sonal identity. Left to make many life decisions on their own,
people—especially those with greater wealth—face a confusing range
of options. The freedom to choose has little value without standards
to guide the selection process; in a tolerant mass society, people may
find little reason to choose one path over another. As a result, many
people shuttle from one identity to another, changing their lifestyles,
relationships, and even religions in search of an elusive “true self.”
Given the widespread relativism of modern societies, people without
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 493
SUMMING UP
Two Interpretations of Modernity
Mass Society Class Society
Process of
modernization
Industrialization; growth of bureaucracy Rise of capitalism
Effects of
modernization
Increasing scale of life; rise of the state and other formal organizations Expansion of the capitalist economy; persistence of social inequality
Both mass- and class-society theories are critical of
modernity: the first because of what is lost (traditional social
ties), the second because of what remains (persistent social
inequality).
Making the Grade
Have you ever felt difficulty deciding “who you are”? Do you
try to be a different person in different settings? If you
answer “yes” to such questions, how might you link such
experiences to modernity?
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a moral compass lack the security and certainty once provided by
tradition.
To David Riesman (1970, orig. 1950), modernization brings
changes in social character, personality patterns common to members
of a particular society. Preindustrial societies promote what Riesman
calls tradition-directedness, rigid conformity to time-honored ways of
living. Members of such societies model their lives on those of their
ancestors, so that “living the good life” amounts to “doing what peo-
ple have always done.”
Tradition-directedness corresponds to Tönnies’s Gemeinschaft
and Durkheim’s mechanical solidarity. Culturally conservative, tra-
dition-directed people think and act alike. Unlike the conformity
often found in modern societies, the uniformity of tradition-direct-
edness is not an effort to imitate a popular celebrity or follow the
latest trend. Instead, people are alike because they all draw on the same
solid cultural foundation. Amish women and men exemplify tradi-
tion-directedness; in the Amish culture, tradition ties everyone to
ancestors and descendants in an unbroken chain of righteous living.
Members of diverse and rapidly changing societies define a tra-
dition-directed personality as deviant because it seems so rigid. Mod-
ern people prize personal flexibility, the capacity to adapt, and
sensitivity to others. Riesman calls this type of social character other-
directedness, openness to the latest trends and fashions, often expressed
by imitating others. Because their socialization occurs in societies that
are continuously in flux, other-directed people develop fluid identi-
ties marked by superficiality, inconsistency, and change. They try on
different “selves” almost like new clothing, seek out role models, and
engage in varied performances as they move from setting to setting
(Goffman, 1959). In a traditional society, such “shiftiness” marks a
person as untrustworthy, but in a changing, modern society, the
chameleonlike ability to fit in almost virtually anywhere is very useful.
In societies that value the up-to-date rather than the traditional,
people look to others for approval, using members of their own
generation rather than elders as role models. Peer pressure can be
irresistible to people without strong standards to guide them. Our
society urges people to be true to themselves, but when social sur-
roundings change so rapidly, how can people develop the self to
which they should be true? This problem lies at the root of the iden-
tity crisis so widespread in industrial societies today. “Who am I?” is
a nagging question that many of us struggle to answer. In truth, this
problem is not so much us as the inherently unstable mass society in
which we live.
Class Society: Problems
of Powerlessness
Class-society theory paints a different picture of modernity’s effects on
individuals. This approach maintains that persistent inequality under-
mines modern society’s promise of individual freedom. For some peo-
ple, modernity serves up great privilege, but for many others, every-
day life means coping with economic uncertainty and a gnawing sense
of powerlessness (K. S. Newman, 1993; Ehrenreich, 2001).
For racial and ethnic minorities, the problem of relative disad-
vantage looms even larger. Similarly, although women participate
more broadly in modern societies, they continue to run up against
traditional barriers of sexism. This approach rejects mass-society
theory’s claim that people suffer from too much freedom; accord-
ing to class-society theory, our society still denies a majority of peo-
ple full participation in social life.
As Chapter 9 (“Global Stratification”) explained, the expanding
scope of world capitalism has placed more of Earth’s population
under the influence of multinational corporations. As a result, 80
percent of the world’s income is concentrated in high-income
nations, where just 23 percent of its people live. Is it any wonder,
class-society theorists ask, that people in poor nations seek greater
power to shape their own lives?
The problem of widespread powerlessness led Herbert Marcuse
(1964) to challenge Max Weber’s claim that modern society is rational.
Marcuse condemned modern society as irrational for failing to meet
the needs of so many people. Although modern capitalist societies
produce unparalleled wealth, poverty remains the daily plight of more
than 1 billion people. Marcuse added that technological advances fur-
ther reduce people’s control over their own lives. The advent of high
technology has generally conferred a great deal of power on a core of
specialists—not the majority of people—who now dominate discus-
sion of when to go to war, what our energy policy should be, and how
people should pay for health care. Countering the popular view that
technology solves the world’s problems, Marcuse believed that science
causes them. In sum, class-society theory asserts that people suffer
because modern societies have concentrated both wealth and power
in the hands of a privileged few.
Modernity and Progress
In modern societies, most people expect and applaud social change.
We link modernity to the idea of progress (from the Latin, meaning
“moving forward”), a state of continual improvement. We equate sta-
bility with stagnation.
Given our bias in favor of change, members of our society tend
to regard traditional cultures as backward. But change, particularly
toward material affluence, is a mixed blessing. As the Thinking
Globally box on page 496 shows, social change is too complex sim-
ply to equate with progress.
Even getting rich has both advantages and disadvantages, as the
cases of the Kaiapo and Gullah show. Historically, among people in
494 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
social character personality patterns common to members
of a particular society
tradition-directedness rigid conformity
to time-honored ways of living
other-directedness openness to the
latest trends and fashions, often
expressed by imitating others
Riesman’s tradition-directedness corresponds to Tönnies’s
Gemeinschaft and Durkheim’s mechanical solidarity. Other-
directedness is linked to Gesellschaft and organic solidarity.
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the United States, a rising standard of living has made lives longer and
more comfortable. At the same time, many people wonder whether
today’s routines are too stressful, with families often having little
time to relax or to spend time together. Perhaps this is why, in the
United States, measures of happiness have declined (D. G. Myers,
2000; Inglehart, Welzel, & Foa, 2009).
Science, too, has its pluses and minuses. People in the United
States are more confident than people living in most other indus-
trial societies that science improves our everyday lives (Inglehart &
Welzel, 2010). But surveys also show that many adults in the United
States feel that science “makes our way of life change too fast”
(NORC, 2009:1329).
New technology has always sparked controversy. Just over a cen-
tury ago, the introduction of automobiles and telephones allowed
more rapid transportation and more efficient communication,
improving people’s lives. At the same time, such technology also
weakened traditional attachments to hometowns and even to families.
Today, people might wonder whether computer technology will do
the same thing: giving us access to people around the world but
shielding us from the community right outside our doors; providing
more information than ever before but in the process threatening
personal privacy. In short, we all realize that social change comes
faster all the time, but we may disagree about whether a particular
change is good or bad for society.
Modernity: Global Variation
October 1 , Kobe, Japan. Riding the computer-
controlled monorail high above the streets of Kobe or
the 200-mile-per-hour bullet train to Tokyo, we see
Japan as the society of the future, in love with high
technology. Yet the Japanese remain strikingly traditional in
other respects: Few corporate executives and almost no politi-
cians are women, young people still show seniors great respect,
and public orderliness contrasts with the relative chaos of
many U.S. cities.
Japan is a nation both traditional and modern. This contradiction
reminds us that although it is useful to contrast traditional and modern
social patterns, the old and the new often coexist in unexpected ways. In
the People’s Republic of China, ancient Confucian principles are mixed
with contemporary socialist thinking. In Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a love
of the latest modern technology is mixed with respect for the ancient
principles of Islam. Likewise, in Mexico and much of Latin America,
people observe centuries-old Christian rituals even as they struggle to
move ahead economically. In short, although we may think of tradition
and modernity as opposites, combinations of traditional and modern
are far from unusual, and they are found throughout the world.
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 495
Mass-society theory relates feelings of anxiety and lack of meaning in the modern world to rapid social change
that washes away tradition. This notion of modern emptiness is captured in the photo at the left. Class-society
theory, by contrast, ties such feelings to social inequality, by which some categories of people are made into
second-class citizens (or not made citizens at all), an idea expressed in the photo at the right.
In a sense, mass-society theory claims that modern people
have too much freedom and choice; class-society theory
claims that we have too little.
Making the Grade In 1970, Alvin Toffler coined the phrase “future shock” to
describe the effect of social change that comes so rapidly that it
overwhelms us. Do you think the pace of change has become
overwhelming? Does our world need more change, or do we
have too much already? Explain your answers.
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Postmodernity
If modernity was the product of the Industrial Revolution, could the
Information Revolution be creating a postmodern era? A number of
scholars think so, and they use the term postmodernity to refer to
social patterns characteristic of postindustrial societies.
Precisely what postmodernism is remains a matter of debate.
The term has been used for decades in literary, philosophical, and
even architectural circles. It has moved into sociology on a wave of
social criticism that has been building since the spread of left-leaning
politics in the 1960s. Although there are many variations of post-
modern thinking, all share the following five themes (Hall & Neitz,
1993; Inglehart, 1997; Rudel & Gerson, 1999):
1. In important respects, modernity has failed. The promise of
modernity was a life free from want. As postmodernist critics see
it, however, the twentieth century was unsuccessful in solving
social problems such as poverty because many people still lack
financial security.
2. The bright light of“progress”is fading. Modern people look to the
future expecting their lives to improve in significant ways. Members
(and even leaders) of a postmodern society are less confident about
what the future holds. The strong optimism that carried society into
the modern era more than a century ago has given way to widespread
pessimism, especially in recent years due to the weak economy.
3. Science no longer holds the answers. The defining trait of the
modern era was a scientific outlook and a confident belief that
technology would make life better. But postmodern critics argue
that science has failed to solve many old problems (such as poor
health) and has even created new problems (such as air and water
pollution and declining natural resources).
Postmodernist thinkers discredit science, claiming that it
implies a singular truth. On the contrary, they maintain, there
496 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
THINKING
GLOBALLY
Does “Modernity” Mean “Progress”?
The Kaiapo of the Amazon and the Gullah of Georgia
The firelight flickers in the gathering darkness.
Chief Kanhonk sits, as he has done at the end of
the day for many years, ready to begin an
evening of animated talk and storytelling
(Simons, 2007). This is the hour when the
Kaiapo, a small society in Brazil’s lush Amazon
region, celebrate their heritage. Because the
Kaiapo are a traditional people with no written
language, the elders rely on evenings by the fire
to pass along their culture to their children and
grandchildren. In the past, evenings like this
have been filled with tales of brave
Kaiapo warriors fighting off Portuguese
traders in pursuit of slaves and gold.
But as the minutes pass, just a few
older villagers assemble for the evening
ritual. “It is the Big Ghost,” one man
grumbles, explaining the poor turnout.
The “Big Ghost” has indeed descended
on them; its bluish glow spills from win-
dows throughout the village. The Kaiapo
children—and many adults as well—are
watching sitcoms on television. Buying a
television and a satellite dish several
years ago has had consequences far
greater than anyone imagined. In the
end, what their enemies failed to do with guns,
the Kaiapo may well do to themselves with
prime-time programming.
The Kaiapo are among the 230,000 native
peoples who inhabit Brazil. They stand out
because of their striking body paint and ornate
ceremonial dress. During the 1980s, they
became rich from gold mining and harvesting
mahogany trees. Now they must decide if their
newfound fortune is a blessing or a curse.
To some, affluence means the opportunity
to learn about the outside world through travel
and television. Others, like Chief Kanhonk, are
not so sure. Sitting by the fire, he thinks
aloud, “I have been saying that people must
buy useful things like knives and fishing
hooks. Television does not fill the stomach. It
only shows our children and grandchildren
white people’s things.” Bebtopup, the oldest
priest, nods in agreement: “The night is the
time the old people teach the young people.
Television has stolen the night”
(Simons, 2007:522).
Far to the north, half an hour by ferry
from the coast of Georgia, lies the
swampy island community of Hog Ham-
mock. The seventy African American
residents of the island today trace their
ancestry back to the first slaves who
settled here in 1802.
Walking past the brightly painted
houses that stand among yellow pine
trees draped with Spanish moss, a visi-
tor can easily feel transported back in
time. The local people, known as Gullahs
(or in some places, Geechees), speak a
The importance of a global perspective is seeing that
“tradition” and “modernity” are not simply opposites but are
often found in unexpected combinations in societies around
the world.
Making the Grade
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is no one truth. This means that objective reality does not exist;
rather, many realities result from social construction.
4. Cultural debates are intensifying. Many people have all the
material things they really need, which allows ideas to take
on more importance. In this sense, postmodernity is also a
postmaterialist era in which issues such as social justice, the envi-
ronment, and animal rights command more and more public
attention.
5. Social institutions are changing. Just as industrialization
brought sweeping transformation to social institutions, the
rise of postindustrial society is remaking society all over again.
For example, the Industrial Revolution placed material things
at the center of productive life; the Information Revolution
emphasizes ideas. Similarly, the postmodern family no longer
conforms to any one pattern; on the contrary, individuals are
choosing among many family forms.
CRITICAL REVIEW Analysts who claim that the United
States and other high-income nations are entering a postmodern
era criticize modernity for failing to meet human needs. In defense
of modernity, there have been marked increases in longevity and
living standards over the past century. Even if we were to accept
postmodernist views that science is bankrupt and progress is a
sham, what are the alternatives?
CHECK YOUR LEARNING In your own words, state
the defining characteristics of a postmodern society.
Looking Ahead: Modernization
and Our Global Future
Imagine the entire world’s population reduced to a single village of 1,000
people.About 230 residents of this “global village”are from high-income
countries. Another 196 people are so poor that their lives are at risk.
Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 497
creole, a mixture of English and West African
languages. They fish, living much the same as
they have for hundreds of years.
But the future of this way of life is now in
doubt. Few young people who are raised in Hog
Hammock can find work; beyond fishing and
making traditional crafts, there are simply no
jobs to do. “We have been here nine generations
and we are still here,” says one local. Then,
referring to the nineteen children who now live
on the island, she adds, “It’s not that they don’t
want to be here; it’s that there’s nothing here for
them—they need to have jobs” (Curry, 2001:41).
Just as important, with people on the main-
land looking for waterside homes for vacations
or year-round living, the island is now becoming
prime real estate. Not long ago, one larger
house went up for sale and the community was
shocked to learn of an asking price over $1 mil-
lion. The locals know only too well that higher
property values will mean high taxes that few
can afford to pay. In short, Hog Hammock is
likely to become another Hilton Head, once a
Gullah community on the South Carolina coast
that is now home to well-to-do people from the
mainland.
The odds are that before long, the people of
Hog Hammock will be selling their homes and
moving inland. But few people are happy at the
thought of selling out, even for a good price. On
the contrary, moving away will mean the end of
their cultural heritage.
The stories of the Kaiapo and the people
of Hog Hammock show us that change is not
a simple path toward “progress.” These peo-
ple may be moving toward modernity, but this
process will have both positive and negative
consequences. In the end, both groups of
people may enjoy a higher standard of living
with better shelter, more clothing, and new
technology. But their newfound affluence will
come at the price of their traditions. The
drama of these people is now being played out
around the world as more and more traditional
cultures are being lured away from their her-
itage by the affluence and materialism of rich
societies.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
1. Why is social change both a winning and a
losing proposition for traditional people?
2. Do the changes described here improve the
lives of the Kaiapo? What about the Gullah
community?
3. Do traditional people have any choice
about becoming modern? Explain your
view.
Just as the Industrial Revolution marks the onset of
modernity, the new postindustrial economy (or Information
Revolution) marks the onset of postmodernity.
Making the Grade
An important sociological insight is that social change always
has both positive and negative consequences, so it is
simplistic to equate change with “progress.”
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The tragic plight of the world’s poor shows that some desperately
needed change has not yet occurred. Chapter 9 (“Global Stratifica-
tion”) presented two competing views of why 1 billion people around
the world are so poor. Modernization theory claims that in the past, the
entire world was poor and that technological change, especially the
Industrial Revolution, enhanced human productivity and raised liv-
ing standards in many nations. From this point of view, the solution
to global poverty is to promote technological development and mar-
ket economies around the world.
For reasons suggested earlier, however, global modernization
may be difficult. Recall that David Riesman portrayed preindustrial
people as tradition-directed and likely to resist change. So modern-
ization theorists claim that rich nations should help poor countries
grow economically. Industrial nations can speed development by
exporting technology to poor regions, welcoming students from these
countries, and providing foreign aid to stimulate economic growth.
The review of modernization theory in Chapter 9 points to some
success for these policies in Latin America and more dramatic results
in the small Asian countries of Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore
and in Hong Kong (part of the People’s Republic of China). But
jump-starting development in the poorest countries of the world
poses greater challenges. Even where dramatic change has occurred,
modernization involves a trade-off. Traditional people, such as
Brazil’s Kaiapo, may gain wealth through economic development,
but only at the cost of losing their traditional identity and values as
they are drawn into a global “McCulture,” which is based on West-
ern materialism, pop music, trendy clothes, and fast food. One Brazil-
ian anthropologist expressed optimism about the future of the
Kaiapo: “At least they quickly understood the consequences of watch-
ing television. . . . Now [they] can make a choice” (Simons, 2007:523).
But not everyone thinks that modernization is really an option.
According to a second approach to global stratification, dependency
498 CHAPTER 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
SEEING SOCIOLOGY
IN EVERYDAY LIFE
on. The attack continued for more than thirty
minutes until Genovese lay dead in her doorway.
The police never identified her killer, and the fol-
low-up investigation revealed a stunning fact:
Not one of the dozens of neighbors who wit-
nessed the attack on Kitty Genovese went to her
aid or even called the police.
Decades after this tragic event, we still
confront the question of what we owe others.
As members of a modern society,
we prize our individual rights and
personal privacy, but we some-
times withdraw from public respon-
sibility and turn a cold shoulder to
people in need. When a cry for
help is met by indifference, have
we pushed our modern idea of
personal freedom too far? In a
society of expanding individual
rights, can we keep a sense of
human community?
These questions highlight the
tension between traditional and
modern social systems, which is
evident in the writings of all the
sociologists discussed in this chap-
ter. Tönnies, Durkheim, and others
concluded that in some respects,
traditional community and modern
individualism don’t mix. That is,
society can unite its members as a
Personal Freedom and Social Responsibility:
Can We Have It Both Ways?
SAMUEL: I feel that being free is the most impor-
tant thing. Let me do what I want!
SANJI: But if everyone felt that way, what would
the world be like?
DOREEN: Isn’t there a way to be true to our-
selves and also take account of
other people?
One issue we all have to work out is
making personal decisions that
take proper account of other peo-
ple. But what, exactly, do we owe
others? To see the problem, con-
sider an event that took place in
New York in 1964.
Shortly after midnight on a crisp
March evening, Kitty Genovese
drove into the parking lot of her
apartment complex. She turned off
the engine, locked the car doors,
and headed across the blacktop
toward the entrance to her building.
Out of nowhere, a man holding a
knife lunged at her, and as she
screamed in terror and pain, he
stabbed her repeatedly. Windows
opened above as curious neighbors
looked down to see what was going
In today’s world, people can find new ways to express age-old virtues such
as extending a helping hand to their neighbors in need. In the wake of
Hurricane Katrina, thousands of college students from across the country
converged on New Orleans to help repair the damage to the stricken city.
Are there opportunities for you to get involved in your own community?
Do you think there is too much of a “me first” attitude in
today’s world? Explain your view.
Seeing Sociology
in Everyday Life
Does the balance between individual freedom and personal
responsibility differ for men and women? If so, how, and why?
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Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies CHAPTER 16 499
theory, today’s poor societies have little ability to modernize, even if
they want to. From this point of view, the major barrier to economic
development is not traditionalism but global domination by rich
capitalist societies.
Dependency theory asserts that rich nations achieved their mod-
ernization at the expense of poor ones, by taking their valuable nat-
ural resources and exploiting their human labor. Even today, the
world’s poorest countries remain locked in a disadvantageous eco-
nomic relationship with rich nations, dependent on wealthy coun-
tries to buy their raw materials and in return provide them with
whatever manufactured products they can afford. According to this
view, continuing ties with rich societies will only perpetuate current
patterns of global inequality.
Whichever approach you find more convincing, keep in mind
that change in the United States is no longer separate from change
in the rest of the world. At the beginning of the twentieth century,
most people in today’s high-income countries lived in relatively small
settlements with limited awareness of the larger world. Today, the
world has become one huge village because the lives of all people are
increasingly interconnected.
The twentieth century witnessed unprecedented human achieve-
ment. Yet solutions to many problems of human existence—including
finding meaning in life, resolving conflicts between societies, and
eliminating poverty—have eluded us. The Seeing Sociology in Every-
day Life box examines one dilemma: balancing individual freedom
and personal responsibility. To this list of pressing matters new con-
cerns have been added, such as controlling population growth and
establishing an environmentally sustainable society. In the coming
years, we must be prepared to tackle such problems with imagination,
compassion, and determination. Our growing understanding of
human society gives us reason to be hopeful that we can get the job
done.
says little about conservative goals, such as
strengthening religious beliefs and supporting
traditional families.
Etzioni responds that the criticism coming
from both sides suggests he has found a mod-
erate, sensible answer to a serious problem.
But the debate may also indicate that in a
society as diverse as the United States, peo-
ple who are so quick to assert their rights are
not so ready to agree on their responsibilities.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
1. Have you ever failed to come to the aid of
someone in need or danger? Why did you
not take action?
2. Half a century ago, President John F.
Kennedy stated, “Ask not what your
country can do for you; ask what you
can do for your country.” Do you think
people today support this idea? Why or
why not?
3. Are you willing to serve on a jury? Do you
mind paying your fair share of taxes?
Would you be willing to perform a year of
national service after you graduate from
college? Explain your answers.
moral community only by limiting their range of
personal choices about how to live. In short,
although we value both community and free-
dom, we can’t have it both ways.
The famed sociologist Amitai Etzioni (1993,
1996, 2003) has tried to strike a middle ground.
The communitarian movement rests on the sim-
ple idea that with rights must come responsibili-
ties. Put another way, our pursuit of self-interest
must be balanced by a commitment to the larger
community.
Etzioni claims that modern people have
become too concerned about individual rights.
We expect the system to work for us, but we are
reluctant to support the system. For example,
we believe that people accused of a crime
deserve their day in court, but fewer and fewer
of us are willing to perform jury duty; similarly,
we are quick to accept government services but
reluctant to support these services with our
taxes.
The communitarians advance four propos-
als toward balancing individual rights with pub-
lic responsibilities. First, our society should
stop the expanding “culture of rights” by which
we put our own interests ahead of social
responsibility. The Constitution, which is
quoted so often when discussing individual
rights, does not guarantee us the right to do
whatever we want. Second, we must remember
that we cannot take from society without giving
something back. Third, the well-being of every-
one may require limiting our individual rights;
for example, pilots and bus drivers who are
responsible for public safety may be asked to
take drug tests. Fourth, no one can ignore key
responsibilities such as obeying the law and
responding to a cry for help from someone like
Kitty Genovese.
The communitarian movement appeals to
many people who believe in both personal free-
dom and social responsibility. But Etzioni’s pro-
posals have drawn criticism from both sides of
the political spectrum. To those on the left,
problems ranging from voter apathy to street
crime cannot be solved by some vague idea of
“social responsibility.” As they see it, what is
needed is expanded government programs to
protect people and lessen inequality.
Conservatives, on the political right, see dif-
ferent problems in Etzioni’s proposals (Pearson,
1995). As they see it, the communitarian move-
ment favors liberal goals, such as confronting
prejudice and protecting the environment, but
Think of people you admire. Do you admire them for their
personal achievement, social responsibility, or a combination of
the two?
Seeing Sociology
in Everyday Life
After reading the box below, think of ways your campus
encourages a sense of community and social responsibility.
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Chapter 16 Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies
HINT Although sociologists analyze tradition and modernity as conceptual opposites,
every society combines these elements in various ways. People may debate the virtues
of traditional and modern life, but the two patterns are found almost everywhere. Techno-
logical change always has social consequences—for example, the use of cell phones
changes people’s social networks and economic opportunities; similarly, the spread of
McDonald’s changes not only what people eat but where and with whom they share meals.
Is tradition the opposite of modernity?
Conceptually, this may be true. But as this chapter explains, traditional and modern social
patterns combine in all sorts of interesting ways in our everyday lives. Look at the photographs
below, and identify elements of tradition and modernity. Do they seem to go together, or are
they in conflict? Why?
These young girls live in the city of
Istanbul in Turkey, a country that has
long debated the merits of traditional
and modern life. What sets off
traditional and modern ways of
dressing? Do you think such
differences are likely to affect
patterns of friendship?
Would the same be true
in the United States?
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1. How do tradition and modernity combine in your life? Point
to several ways in which you are traditional and several
ways in which you are thoroughly modern.
2. Ask people in your class or friendship group to make five
predictions about U.S. society in the year 2050, when
today’s twenty-year-olds will be senior citizens. Compare
notes. On what issues is there agreement?
3. Do you think the rate of social change has been increasing?
Do some research about modes of travel—including walk-
ing, riding animals, bicycles, trains, cars, airplanes, and
rockets. At what point in history did each of these ways of
moving come into being? What pattern do you see?
Applying SOCIOLOGY in Everyday Life
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, these
young men are shopping for the
latest in cell phones. Does such
modern technology threaten a
society’s traditions?
When the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in the city
of Kiev in Ukraine, many people stopped by to taste a
hamburger and see what “fast food” was all about. As
large corporations expand their operations around the
world, do they tip the balance away from tradition in
favor of modernity? How?
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Causes of Social Change
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Making the Grade
What Is Social Change?
social change (p. 479) the transformation of culture
and social institutions over time
SOCIAL CHANGE is the transformation of culture and social institutions over time. Every society changes all the
time, sometimes faster, sometimes more slowly. Social change often generates controversy.
pp. 478–79
social movement (p. 481) an organized activity that
encourages or discourages social change
claims making (p. 482) the process of trying to
convince the public and public officials of the
importance of joining a social movement to address a
particular issue
relative deprivation (p. 482) a perceived
disadvantage arising from some specific comparison
disaster (p. 484) an event, generally unexpected,
that causes extensive harm to people and damage to
property.
CULTURE
• Invention produces new objects, ideas, and social
patterns.
• Discovery occurs when people take notice of
existing elements of the world.
• Diffusion creates change as products, people, and
information spread from one society to another.
SOCIAL CONFLICT
• Karl Marx claimed that class conflict between
capitalists and workers pushes society toward a
socialist system of production.
• Social conflict arising from class, race, and
gender inequality has resulted in social changes
that have improved the lives of working people.
p. 480p. 480
IDEAS
Max Weber traced the roots of most social changes
to ideas:
• The fact that industrial capitalism developed first
in areas of Western Europe where the Protestant
work ethic was strong demonstrates the power
of ideas to bring about change.
DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS
Population patterns play a part in social change:
• The aging of U.S. society has resulted in changes
to family life and the development of consumer
products to meet the needs of the elderly.
• Migration within and between societies promotes
change.
pp. 480–81p. 480
TYPES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
• Alterative social movements seek limited change in specific individuals (example:
Promise Keepers).
• Redemptive social movements seek radical change in specific individuals
(example: Alcoholics Anonymous).
• Reformative social movements seek limited change in the whole society
(example: the environmental movement).
• Revolutionary social movements seek radical change in the whole society
(example: the Communist party).
EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
• Deprivation theory: Social movements arise among people who feel deprived of
something, such as income, safe working conditions, or political rights.
• Mass-society theory: Social movements attract socially isolated people who join a
movement in order to gain a sense of identity and purpose.
• Resource mobilization theory: Success of a social movement is linked to available
resources, including money, labor, and the mass media.
• Culture theory: Social movements depend not only on money and resources but
also on cultural symbols that motivate people.
• New social movements theory: Social movements in postindustrial societies are
typically international in scope and focus on quality-of-life issues.
pp. 482–83
p. 481
Social Movements
Disasters cause unexpected social change:
• natural disasters (example: Hurricane Katrina)
• technological disasters (example: nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant)
• intentional disasters (example: Darfur genocide)
Disasters
What Is Modernity?
modernity (p. 485) social patterns resulting from
industrialization
modernization (p. 485) the process of social change
begun by industrialization
division of labor (p. 487) specialized economic activity
anomie (p. 488) Durkheim’s term for a condition in
which society provides little moral guidance to
individuals
MODERNITY refers to the social consequences of industrialization, which include the decline of traditional
communities, the expansion of personal choice, increasing social diversity, and a focus on the future.
• Ferdinand Tönnies described modernization as the transition from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft, characterized
by the loss of traditional community and the rise of individualism.
• Emile Durkheim saw modernization as a society’s expanding division of labor. Mechanical solidarity, based on
shared activities and beliefs, is gradually replaced by organic solidarity, in which specialization makes people
interdependent.
• Max Weber saw modernity as the decline of a traditional worldview and the rise of rationality. Weber feared
the dehumanizing effects of rational organization.
• Karl Marx saw modernity as the triumph of capitalism over feudalism. Capitalism creates social conflict, which
Marx claimed would bring about revolutionary change leading to an egalitarian socialist society.
pp. 485–89
502
Watch on mysoclab.com
Explore on mysoclab.com
Read on mysoclab.com
pp. 484–85
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Modernity and the Individual
Both mass-society theory and class-society theory are macro-level approaches; from them, however, we can also
draw micro-level insights into how modernity shapes individual lives.
MASS SOCIETY: PROBLEMS OF IDENTITY
• Mass-society theory suggests that the great social diversity, widespread isolation,
and rapid social change of modern societies make it difficult for individuals to
establish a stable social identity.
David Riesman described the changes in social character that modernity causes:
• Preindustrial societies exhibit tradition-directedness: Everyone in society draws
on the same solid cultural foundation, and people model their lives on those of
their ancestors.
• Modern societies exhibit other-directedness: Because their socialization occurs
in societies that are continuously in flux, other-directed people develop fluid
identities marked by superficiality, inconsistency, and change.
CLASS SOCIETY: PROBLEMS OF POWERLESSNESS
• Class-society theory claims that the problem facing most people today is
economic uncertainty and powerlessness.
• Herbert Marcuse claimed that modern society is irrational because it fails to meet
the needs of so many people.
• Marcuse also believed that technological advances further reduce people’s control
over their own lives.
• People suffer because modern societies have concentrated both wealth and
power in the hands of a privileged few.
p. 493
pp. 493–94
p. 494
social character (p. 494) personality patterns
common to members of a particular society
tradition-directedness (p. 494) rigid conformity to
time-honored ways of living
other-directedness (p. 494) openness to the latest
trends and fashions, often expressed by imitating
others
Modernity and Progress
Social change is too complex and controversial simply to be equated with progress:
• A rising standard of living has made lives longer and materially more comfortable;
at the same time, many people are stressed and have little time to relax with their
families; measures of happiness have declined in recent decades.
• Science and technology have brought many conveniences to our everyday lives,
yet many people are concerned that life is changing too fast; the introduction of
automobiles and advanced communication technology have weakened traditional
attachments to hometowns and even to families.
pp. 494–95
Theoretical Analysis of Modernity
mass society (p. 490) a society in which prosperity
and bureaucracy have weakened traditional social
ties
class society (p. 492) a capitalist society with
pronounced social stratification
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL THEORY:
MODERNITY AS MASS SOCIETY
• According to mass-society theory, modernity
increases the scale of life, enlarging the role of
government and other formal organizations in
carrying out tasks previously performed by
families in local communities.
• Cultural diversity and rapid social change make it
difficult for people in modern societies to develop
stable identities and to find meaning in their lives.
See the Summing Up tables on pages 491 and 493.
SOCIAL-CONFLICT THEORY:
MODERNITY AS CLASS SOCIETY
• According to class-society theory, modernity
involves the rise of capitalism into a global
economic system resulting in persistent social
inequality.
• By concentrating wealth in the hands of a few,
modern capitalist societies generate widespread
feelings of alienation and powerlessness.
pp. 492–93
pp. 490–92
Modernity: Global Variation
Although we often think of tradition and modernity as opposites, traditional and
modern elements coexist in most societies.
p. 495
Postmodernity
postmodernity (p. 496) social patterns characteristic
of postindustrial societies
POSTMODERNITY refers to the cultural traits of postindustrial societies. Postmodern criticism of society centers
on the failure of modernity, and specifically science, to fulfill its promise of prosperity and well-being.
pp. 496–97
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