Page 230 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Sukanya Das, Lovely Professional University
Unit 10: Social Change

Unit 10: Social Change Notes

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
10.1 Concept and Meaning of Social Change
10.2 Goals of Social Change
10.3 Approaches of Social Change
10.4 Nature of Social Change
10.5 Hinderances to Social Change
10.6 Forms of Social Change
10.7 Summary
10.8 Key-Words
10.9 Review Questions
10.10 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit students will be able to:
• Understand the meaning and concept of social change.
• Discuss the nature of social change.
• Explain hinderances and forms of social change.
Introduction

Social change is the change in established patterns of social relations, or change in social values, or
change in structures and subsystems operating in society. Social change may be partial or total, though
mostly it is partial. Just as change in the examination system is partial change in the educational
system, similarly enacting a law which prescribes punishment for refusing entry to untouchables in
Hindu temples, or a law which legally permits divorce in the society, or a law which does not permit
marriage below the specific age, might be called partial changes in a society. Nationalization of banks,
coal mines, etc. are the examples of partial change in the economic system of society because this co-
exists with private property ownership in other spheres. The difficulty is in recognizing total change
in the society or in a social system. If we say that not something but everything has changed in the
society, it may be termed as total change, but it never happens. Similarly, a few aspects of family
system, or marriage system or banking system or caste system, or factory system, etc. may change
but we never find a total change in any of these social systems. No social system ever changes in toto.
Social change is always or mostly partial.
Percy Cohen has said that one might also distinguish between minor changes and major or
fundamental changes in a society. Change in the core or strategic features of a society or a social
system may be defined as a major change. If we take the example of prison as a social system, its
important features are: giving training to prisoners, arranging food, recreation and medical facilities
for the inmates, giving punishment to criminals for violating the prison norms, permitting of fenders
to maintain social contacts with their family and friends, making security arrangements to prevent
escape from the prison, and so forth. Now suppose the entire security force is withdrawn and prisoners
are given freedom to go to market at their will during the day time but spend nights compulsorily in
the jail, it will be an example of change in that feature of the prison system which will affect other
features too. As future and as the basic strategy for the restructuring of rural society and for expanding

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 225