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Social Structure and Social Change

Notes the world. In western Europe, societies developed from feudal states, in eastern Europe from more
autocratic states, in the United States, Canada and Australia through the processes of colonization
and immigration, in Latin America from oligarchic conquest-colonial societies, in Japan from a
centralized feudal state, in China from the breakdown of the most continuous imperial system, in
most Asian and African societies from within colonial frameworks, in some societies (specially in
Asia) from more centralized monarchical societies, and in some from tribal structures and traditions.
Eisenstadt submits that the different starting points of the process of modernization of these socieites
have greatly influenced the specific contours of their development and the problems encountered in
the course of it.
The ambiguity and diffuseness of the concept of modernization has resulted in identifying
modernization with different forms/ types of social change, like westernization, industrialization,
progress, development, and so forth. Besides this, emphasis has come to be led on particular aspects
as the essential cores of modernization. It is, therefore, essential that the term ‘modernization’ may be
defined precisely and objectively.
The Concept
Modernization is not a philosophy or a movement with a clearly articulated value-system. It is a
process of change (Gore, 1982: 7). Earlier, the term ‘modernization’ was used to refer only to “change
in economy and its related effect on social values and social practices”. It was described as a process
that changed the society from primarily agricultural to primarily industrial economy. As a consequence
of this change in economy, the society simultaneously underwent changes in values, beliefs and
norms (Gore, Ibid: 7). Today, the term ‘modernization’ is given a broader meaning. It is described as
“social change involving the elements of science and technology.” It involves change based on
rationality. According to Alatas (1972: 22), modernization is a process by which modern scientific
knowledge is introduced in the society with the ultimate purpose of achieving a better and more
satisfactory life in the broadest sense of the term, as accepted by the society concerned. In this definition,
the phrase ‘modern scientific knowledge’ involves: (i) the recourse to experimentation to assess the
validity of suggested explanations, (ii) the assumption of laws explainable in terms of a rational and
experimental approach as distinct from religious dogma and philosophical explanation, (iii) the
employment of definite methods in ascertaining the validity of facts, (iv) the use of concepts and
signs, and (v) the search for truth for its own sake.
According to Eisenstadt (1969: 2), modernization refers to both (a) structural aspects of social
organization, and (b) socio-demographic aspects of societies. Karl Deutsch (American Political Science
Review, September 1961: 494-95) has coined the term ‘social mobilization’ to denote most of the socio-
demographic aspects of modernization. He has defined social mobilization as “the process in which
major clusters of old social, economic and psychological commitments are eroded and broken and
people become available for new patterns of socialization and behaviour”.
Rustow and Ward (1964) have maintained that the basic process in modernization is the application
of modern science to human affairs. According to Pye (1969: 329) modernization is the development
of an inquiring and inventive attitude of mind, individual and social, that lies behind the use of
techniques and machines and inspires new forms of social relations. Scholars like Toynbee (1962: 24)
feel that there is no difference between modernization and westernization. He writes that the agreeable
word ‘modern’ is a substitute for the less agreeable word ‘western’. The motive for using the word
‘modern’ instead of ’western’ for the introduction of science and democracy is merely to save face,
because it goes against the grain to admit that one’s own ancestral way of life is not adequate to the
situation in which one now finds oneself. But such views have been described as totally biased and
unjustified.
Modernization is also not to be confused with industrialization. Industrialization refers to changes in
methods of production, and economic and social organization resulting from the introduction of
power-driven machinery and the consequent rise of the factory system. According to Theodorson
(1969: 201), it (industrialization) is characterized by: (i) the replacement of hand production centered
in a craftsman’s home or small shop by machine production centered in factories, (ii) by the production
of standardized goods with interchangeable parts, (iii) by the rise of a class of factory workers who

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