CHAPTER XIV

Social Changes
 What is Social Change?
• Is the transformation of the major aspects
of culture and society– changes in beliefs,
values, customs, behavior, social
relations, material culture, stratification
and anything else of importance
• It is inevitable everywhere and at all times
• It took place far more slowly than it does
today (societies and cultures tend to be far
more stable)
(example)
TASADAY
• - tiny band of people during the 1970’s
• Was discovered in the Philippine rain forest
• They follow a way of life similar to stone age
people who lived hundred thousand years
ago
• They were almost untouched by social
change because the process of social
change was slow before the discovery
(another example)
 The artic transportation was traditionally
primitive, and fairly cheap. Centuries back, people
in that place struggled over long stretches of
snow-and-ice-bound land on foot, or in skis.
The snowmobile was invented in the late
1950’s. This machine became popular and the
Artic people who could afford to have one used
them to herd reindeers. The snowmobile was a
great blessing to the people who had to travel
long distances.
The snow mobile had far reaching
economic and social effects on northern regions.
It generated a large amount of productive activity.
 It had also tremendous social impact.
There was then a growing gap between the
“haves” and “have nots”. The use of
snowmobiles have made the poor even
poorer. The introduction of snowmobiles
forced all but the wealthiest reindeer-herders
out of business. Definitely, the poor families
couldn’t compete with machines. The result
was greater stratification by wealth.
The snowmobiles in short is typical of
many technological advances. It has
produced not only in the people who used
it but in their surroundings
as well.
 SOCIAL CHANGE in
general can be defined as the
alteration in patterns of social
organization over time.
To sum it up, change in
social organization has been
universal. Therefore, this has
become a subject in the study
of the sociologists.
SOURCES OF SOCIAL CHANGES

Factors which bring social

change:
1. Population
2. Physical
Environment
3. Technology
4. Culture
 1) POPULATION
We all know that human population is
directly proportional to nutrition and health.
Therefore, the human population increases when
nutrition and health are good.
Lately, the increase in population has
become a threat to the survival of a large part of
the world. This is remedied by improved medical
care, housing and nutrition that are now available.
In the past, food shortages in the ever-growing
populations led to disease, starvation and
malnutrition among children. Loss of either from
famine or war continues as many of the world’s
poorer nations try to hold mass starvation.
2) PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Natural
disasters such as
floods, hurricanes,
earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions
can radically change
social structures. The
volcanic eruptions in
poor nations make
them poorer. It
3) TECHNOLOGY
As we can see in the case of
the snowmobile in Artic
societies, an invention can
create profound social change.
Comparable changes have been
brought about by the
introduction of new farming
technology and improved
medical techniques such as the
use of anti-biotics, anesthesia,
etc.
 4) CULTURE
The change
in the
knowledge,
belief and
values of
culture can
also alter a
 THEORIES OF SOCIAL CHANGE
We can now conclude that social
change can occur for a number of different
reasons. Having known the “independent
variables” that cause social change, it is
now important to ask what really changes.
Several “dependent variables” are usually
studied by sociologists who analyze social
change.
The DEPENDENT VARIABLES:
1.The traits of people in the
social unit being studied

A sociologists interested in the effects of a new

rail line on a small town might study shifts in the
ethnic balance, occupation and income of the
residents. The link to a nearby large city might
attract the commuters who could afford the price
of a new home and daily transport to the city. If
so, the makeup of the town’s population could be
expected to change.
2) C hanges in th e ra tes of ce rta in
ki nds of b ehavior
Social scientists studying
the effects of the snowmobile
in the Artic dwellers noted
changes in the amount of
interaction and in the amount
of hunting and herding that
took place.
 3)Changes in social
structure or in patterns of
interaction among
individuals
Shifts in the quality
of relations among the
institutionalized are
frequently the focus of
research. Among the Artic
peoples, we noted changes
in the economy and a shift
in power for those who had
 4) Changes in cultural
patterns
New bodies of knowledge and new
beliefs, values, and forms of expression can
change the other variables which can also be
changed by shifts in them. In many Southern
American countries, for example, oppression
can change the other variables. Thus,
tensions in the social structure of these
nations have contributed to a change in the
culture of the poor– in the form of an
increase in the influence of the socialist
world views and values.
 MARX
AND SOCIAL
CHANGE
 change, theorists have place
differing amounts of stress on
these dimensions. Karl Marx, for
instance, focused his analysis on
social structure.
Marx believed in the relationship of
classes, defined in economic terms
which brought about other
institutional and cultural changes.
Moreover, in contrast to
functionalist thinkers, he affirmed
the existence of conflict and
change in society. CHANGE, not
equilibrium, was the natural state
 Writing in the mid-
nineteenth century, Marx
saw the social impact of
technology where ever he
looked. All around him, the
industrial revolution– with its
new methods of mining,
making twill weave textiles,
traveling and
communicating– had turned
rural nations into urban ones
and had created new social
classes.
 According to Marx(1933), the capitalist systems
are made of 2 groups. The capitalist own the
means of production where all jobs, service
originate. They decide where, when, and how
things will be done. The workers are the other
major group. Their economic choices are much
more limited than those of the capitalists. They can
either sell their labor or withhold it. In the 19th
century England, however withholding labor
meant severe poverty or starvation, since there
were no government programs to help those who
did not work.
The most important cause of social change noted
by Karl Marx was competition among capitalists.
Factory owner, for example, tried to produce
goods as cheaply as possible and sold them at a
lower price. This set up a cycle. Each time a new
invention, machine, or process cut production
costs, competing companies began to use it so
that they would not lose money. Soon, they were
all producing the item at the same price. The
drive to increase profits ad to attract more
buyers, who were always looking for lower costs,
led to further inventions—and so the cycle began
again.
 Thus, capitalism, as
Marx saw it, requires
constant refinement
and expansion of
production processes.
This is done by
breaking down each
task as well as by using
machinery to produce
goods in huge volumes.
Marx believed that one
chief source of economic
growth under capitalism
was the use of
machinery to do the
work formerly done by
people. Machines
worked faster than
people, produced more
item per hour, and wore
out more slowly. As a
result, they were paying
This brings on to the heart
of Marx’s theory of surplus
value. The difference in
value between raw materials
and finished manufactured
items comes from the
processing whether its done
by hand or by machine, adds
value to the finished
product.
 19th century capitalists used many
techniques, some of which created
harsh working conditions. The capitalist’
goal was to get workers to work longer
hours to produce more goods with the
same amount of money, or capital
investment. To achieve this goal, the
capitalist overcrowded the factories,
lengthened the work day, speed up the
machinery, and hired women and
children at the lowest wages. The
effects of these and other conditions
were seen in the industrial districts of
 Marx foresaw disastrous effects if these trends
continued. As industry become more efficient and
productive, fewer workers would be needed. Workers
would then be forced to compete for the dwindling no.
of jobs. This would lead to what Marx called the Law
of Accumulation. Capital would be concentrated in the
hands of a few people and there would be an army of
unemployed workers; skills would be useless. Smaller
capitalists would go out of business, since they would
be unable to compete with larger corporations. As
more capital accumulated, the owners of small
business as well as other people would “have nothing
else to do than o stretch out their arms alongside the
arms of the workers”.
 Marx believed that in
this way, capitalism
would cause its own
downfall. Technological
change, along with the
need for more capital for
expansion and more
profits, would create
sharp divisions between
social classes. The class
warfare would finally
destroy the capitalist
 He correctly pointed out
some of the central forces
of change in the capitalist
system. These forces are
still present in our modern
societies. However, he
underestimated the capacity
of capitalism to regulate
itself and remedy its
harsher aspects.
 Factors Limiting Social
Change:

1. In varying degrees,
all people value
consistency, and
tend to accept only
those innovations
that are compatible
with established
norms, values and
beliefs
• For example, the
Moslem women
2. The attitude toward change
in culture or the innovators in
their own culture influence
acceptance or rejection
• McDonald chicken and hamburgers are
becoming the favorites of some Filipinos
because they were introduced by the
Americans and because of the so-called
colonial mentality.
3. An innovation may or
may not fill a gap in
another culture.
Filipinos show little
interest in potatoes
because they already
have rice, a starchy
food.
 4. The rationality and
desirability of a change maybe
obvious, but the inconvenience
and irritation of the shift block
change.
• The color coding and the odd-even
scheme introduced by the
transportation agency may have
certain advantages but resistance is
felt from several sectors because of
the inconvenience they can bring
about.