Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

1. Making Society Better
Social, Cultural, and Political Change
What is Social Change?
Social change is the “transformation of culture and social institutions over time”
(Macionis 2012: 565).
Characteristics of Social Change (Ibid.)
The process of social change has four major characteristics:
1. Social change happens all the time. Everything in our social world are subject to
change, although some societies change faster than others. As Macionis points
out, hunting and gathering societies change quite slowly, whereas members of
today’s high-income societies experience significant change within a single
lifetime. Some elements of culture also change faster than others. Macionis thus
cites William Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag, which states that material culture
(things) usually changes faster than nonmaterial culture (ideas and attitudes). For
instance, advances in genetic technology have developed more rapidly than
ethical standards on the use of the technology.
2. Social change is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned. Today’s high-
income societies generate many kinds of change. Yet, it would be impossible to
envision all the consequences of the changes that are set in motion. For example,
telephones (invented in 1876) have taken on different forms and uses over time.
3. Social change is controversial. Social change brings both good and bad
consequences, and thus could be welcomed by some and opposed by others. Karl
Marx and Max Weber have chronicled the transformations brought about by the
Industrial Revolution. The capitalists welcomed the Industrial Revolution because
new technology meant increased productivity and profits. However, workers
opposed it as they suffered alienation and the dehumanization brought about by
newer techniques and social relations of production.
4. Some changes matter more than others. Some changes such as fashion fads only
have passing significance, while others such as major medical discoveries and
inventions may change the world.
Causes of Social Change
Social change has many causes.
A. Culture and Change
There are three important sources of cultural change (Macionis 2012: 565– 566).
First is invention, or the creation of something new by usually by putting things
together. Inventions can range from the seemingly complex technological objects

2. such as the spacecraft or even the lightbulb to the seemingly simple such as
kitchen gadgets (like can openers).
Second is discovery, or finding something that has existed but previously not
known. Chapter 2 provides various examples of the discovery of material and fossil
remains of prehistoric societies that changed our understanding of biophysical and
cultural evolution.
Third is diffusion, or the spread of cultural attributes from one culture to another
through contact between different cultural groups. Change happens as products,
people, and information spread from one society to another. An example of cultural
change is the wide variety of cuisine from other lands that is made available to us.
Fast-food courts and restaurants in major Philippine cities offer food from around
the country and the world that is usually not part of a person’s everyday meal.
Filipino overseas workers have also been known to introduce balut and other
Filipino foods to their host societies. Another example is the evolving ideals of
beauty as people come in greater contact with others.
B. Conflict and Change
Inequality and conflict in a society also produce change. Karl Marx foresaw that
“social conflict arising from inequality (involving not just class but also race and
gender) would force changes in every society to improve the lives of working
people” (Macionis 2012: 566). In the Philippines, the rising inequalities and human
rights violations during the Martial Law period caused mass uprisings that
culminated in the 1986 People Power Revolt. The Philippines was considered to
be the first in the world to have challenged authoritarian rule through a non-violent
process.
C. Ideas and Change
Weber, like Marx, also saw that conflict could bring about change. However, he
traced the roots of most social change to ideas (Macionis 2012: 566). For example,
charismatic people such as Mahatma Gandhi or Jose Rizal had political ideas that
change society.
D. Demographic Change
Population patterns such as population growth, shifts in the composition of a
population, or migration also play a part in social change (Macionis 2012: 566). An
increasing population may encourage the development of new products and
services, but it can also have ecological and social implications such the
conversion of more agricultural land to residential subdivisions. In other societies,
lower fertility rates (women are having fewer children), an aging population, and
the influx of migrants from other societies are changing many aspects of social life.
Modernity
A central concept in the study of social change is modernity. Modernity refers to social
patterns resulting from industrialization. These social patterns were set in motion by the

3. Industrial Revolution, which began in Western Europe in the 1750s (Macionis 2012: 566).
Related to the discussion of modernity is modernization, or the process of social change
begun by industrialization (Ibid).
For Emile Durkheim, modernization is defined by an increasing division of labor. The
division of labor refers to the degree to which tasks or responsibilities are specialized.
Durkheim defines a society according to type of solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is
based on shared activities and beliefs while organic solidarity is characterized by
specialization makes people interdependent. As societies become industrialized,
mechanical solidarity is gradually replaced by organic solidarity. (Macionis 2012: 569).
For Weber, modernity meant replacing a traditional worldview with a rational way of
thinking characterized by goal-oriented calculation and efficiency. He focused on the
dehumanizing effects of modern rational organization, especially the bureaucracy which
is the ultimate form of rationalization (Macionis 2012: 569–570).
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 (Macionis 2012: 569–570)
George Ritzer introduces the concept of McDonaldization of Society while Randolf
David explores the Philippine experience of modernity.
New Challenges to Human Adaptation and Social Change
1. Global warming and climate change: Discuss Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of the
commons.
2. Transnational migration and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs): Discuss F. Landa
Jocano’s “Culture Shock” and Rhacel Parreñas’s, “Mothering from a Distance”.
Responding to Social, Political, And Cultural Change
1. Inclusive citizenship and participatory governance
2. New forms of media and social networking
3. Social movements (e.g., environmentalism, feminism, religious fundamentalism)