Forces of social change
Forces of Social Change
Catalysts of Social Change
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- Leadership * A charismatic leader that people will follow can promote change –ex. Mandella, Martin Luther King * Those with social, economic or spiritual power can promote change. Celebrities, business owners or otherwise socially powerful, can motivate people to action.
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- A Population Ready for Change * Undesirable conditions, such as economic depression, social discontent, oppression, injustice or inequality \n (though the opposite can be true) * Presented with new ideas and learning (exogenous / endogenous) * Education * Embracing new technologies / discoveries
\ Impediments of Social Change
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- Traditional Cultural Values * Ideals and values passed from generation to generation in the home, school and society at large * Religious beliefs maintain norms and values
- Little Cultural Interaction * Low exposure to other cultures, practices and ideals * Reduces exogenous influences
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- Those in Power Maintaining the Status Quo * Workers staying employed at low wages/power, leaders staying in power, religious leaders as intermediaries between God and man * “The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer”
- Little Education/Innovation/Emerging Technologies * Limited learning and exposure to practices and ideals * Looking at things the same way * “In the box thinking”
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- The Expense of Change * Economic change and investment required * Social change may require new institutions, systems and order * A fundamental shift in ideologies may be hard to accept * Absence of research does not promote change * It’s often easier to do nothing
\ Adapting to Change (Blockbuster and Netflix example)
\ \ \ Adapting to Change: Emile Durkheim and Anomie
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- Emile Durkheim * Anomie
-Social condition in which there is a disintegration or disappearance of norms/values that were previously common to the society
–to be left behind in the wake of social change
- Ease of communicating by digital means and accessing services online: * Teens vs. the Elderly * Literate vs. illiterate
- Those who are left behind become alienated from society
\ Conformity vs Deviance
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- Conformity * To follow or adhere to social norms * Subjective validity = believing your ideas/attitudes are “right” based on your judgment and similarity to the ideas/attitudes of others * Normative influence = the social pressure/influence to follow norms
- Influences in conformity: * Parents, friends, school, law, behaviours of other people
- Deviance * To ignore or go against social norms * Deviant behaviour influences society and can reinforce or change norms * Challenges traditional norms/values * Can be constructive or destructive
- Influences in deviance: * Friends, education, behaviours of other people, other cultures/ideas, differing perspectives
\ Conformity, Deviance and Social Change
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- Social exclusion or alienation creates a social group all it’s own. * Think of the workers (proletariat) and the factory owners (bourgeoisie)
- These groups can create social change or accept their alienated position in society * Alienated teens falling into negative/self-destructive behaviours * Alienated teens/young adults revolting in Egypt due to high youth unemployment rates
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- Conformity generally helps to discourage social change * The nail that sticks out gets hammered down \n –Japanese Proverb * Asch’s conformity experiment * The desire to fit in outweighs the desire to not conform
- When was a time that you went along with the crowd?
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