Social Movements

Social Movements Social Movements: Long-term conscious effort to promote or prevent social change May develop around any issue of public concern Factors that distinguish social movements from other forms of collective behavior are that social movements: Are long-lasting Possess a highly structured organization with formally recognized leaders Make a deliberate attempt to institute or block societal change

Types of Social Movements Reactionary: Main goal is to reverse current social trends (turn back the clock) Members are suspicious of and hostile toward social change Ex: Ku Klux Klan Conservative: Attempt to protect what they see as society’s prevailing values from change that they consider to be a threat to those values Ex: Religious Right seeks to uphold traditional family and social values Revisionary: Goal is to improve, or revise, some part of society through social change Usually use legal channels to seek change Ex: Women’s suffrage Revolutionary: Goal is a total and radical change of the existing social structure Ultimate aim is to overthrow existing government and replace it Ex: American Revolution

Stages in the Life Cycle of Social Movements Agitation Small group of people attempts to stir up public awareness of the issue, often with the intention of gaining widespread support for the social movement Legitimation Social movement becomes more respectable as it gains increasing acceptance among the population Leaders are now seen as legitimate spokespeople of a just cause (and not radicals) Movement will often begin to attract media attention Bureaucratization Movement has developed a ranked structure of authority, official policies, and efficient strategies for the future Institutionalization Movement has become an established part of society

Life Cycle Example: Labor Union Movement Agitation Low pay and harsh conditions led many workers to seek support for unions Legitimation After years of violent confrontations and resistance, labor unions finally received official governmental recognition Bureaucratization Over the years, labor unions grew in size and number. Today they are firmly established and powerful organizations Institutionalization Labor unions are now so well established in society that they resist attempts to change their operating procedures

Explaining Social Movements Relative Deprivation Theory: People join social movements because they feel deprived relative to other people or groups with whom they identify Social movements arise when large numbers of people feel economically or socially deprived of what they think they deserve Through movements, people seek to gain access to things they lack but others have Often used to explain revolutionary social movements

Explaining Social Movements Resource-Mobilization Theory : States that even the most ill-treated group with the most just cause will not be able to bring about change without resources Resources necessary to generate a social movement include a body of supporters, financial resources, and access to the media Body of supporters must include talented people who have the time and skills necessary to work toward change Social movements must also be able to mobilize financial resources Media coverage is the surest way to bring the movement to the attention of the most people possible Has been criticizing for minimizing the importance of deprivation and dissatisfaction (both of which are necessary for the creation of social movements)

Social Change and Modernization

Social Change Since sociology grew out of the social turmoil of the 1700s and 1800s, it is not surprising that sociologists devote much attention to the study of social change Social Change: Alterations in various aspects of a society over time Sociologists have suggested theories to explain the process of social change Most significant theories are: Cyclical Theory Evolutionary Theory Equilibrium Theory Conflict Theory

Cyclical Theory Cyclical Theory of Social Change: Views change from a historical perspective Societies arise, go through various stages of development, and then decline. Social change is a result of the natural tendency for societies to pass through stages of development They view change as part of a continuing process In some theories, societies are seen as passing through stages of development that mirror human life cycle Societies are born, grow to maturity, decline in old age, and eventually die Other theories hold that societies develop to a certain point and then reverse their development and will advance again in the future Oswald Spengler and Pitrim Sorokin are the most notable theorists

Evolutionary Theory Evolutionary Theory of Social Change: Views change as a process that moves in one direction, toward increasing complexity As members of society attempt to adapt to social and physical conditions in their environment, they push society forward in development Each new adaptation serves as the basis for future adaptations and change is seen as an additive process

Equilibrium Theory Equilibrium Theory of Social Change: A change in one part of the system produces changes in all of the other parts of the system This occurs because a social system attempts to maintain stability When stability is disrupted by change in one part of the system, the other parts adjust to the degree needed to bring the system back into balance (equilibrium) Although order has been restored, the new system is different from the old system which is social change Critics argue that the emphasis on social order makes it difficult for equilibrium theory to explain widespread social change within or between societies

Conflict Theory Conflict Theory of Social Change: Change results from conflicts between groups with opposing interests. In most cases, conflicts arise from disputes over access to power and wealth Social change is inevitable and therefore societies are in a constant state of change or potential change

Modernization

The Process of Modernization Modernization: Process by which a society’s social institutions become increasingly complex as the society moves toward industrialization Social scientists divide countries into 2 groups More Developed: US, Canada, Japan, Australia Less Developed: Nations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia More developed countries have modernized more rapidly that less-developed nations and 2 theories help to explain why: Modernization Theory World-System Theory

Modernization Theory Modernization Theory: The more-developed nations modernized because they were the first to industrialize Modernized countries serve as a model and a source for technology and information for those undergoing modernization It is believed that modernization will produce the same social changes in less-developed nations that it produced in more- developed nations To help speed up the process, many industrialized nations established assistance programs, but they had little effect Critics argue that the theory was doomed to failure because it did not take into account that less-developed nations face conditions that are different from those faced by more- developed nations such as: Population differences Economic dependence on the West Antimodernization sentiments that view modernization as a threat to values

World-System Theory World-System Theory: Views modernization in terms of the world economy World system comprises of 3 types of nations Core Nations: Most powerful developed nations that form the center of the world economy and control most of the world’s resources US, Canada, Japan Semiperipheral Nations: Between core and peripheral; they may be industrialized but may not play a central role in the world economy Smaller Western European countries (Spain, Portugal) and newly developed Asian countries (South Korea, Taiwan) Peripheral Nations: Control few productive resources and depend on the core nations for goods and to buy their main products Poor countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia Lack of economic growth in peripheral nations is a problem because it slows economic growth

Consequences of Modernization Positive Negative An increase in a country’s standard of living Longer life expectancies, lower birthrates, higher rates of literacy, decrease in economic and social inequality, and more personal comforts Growth of industry and expansion of technology Often accompanied by the arrival of electricity and communication technology Establishment of education institutions Family and religion lose some of their traditional authority Government takes a larger role in directing people’s lives Social relationships are likely to be weakened causing feelings of social isolation Conflicting norms and role expectations Soil, water, and air pollution