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Sociology of Change and Development
Notes
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Parivartan and Vikas ka Samaj Shastra book
Parivartan and Vikas ka Samaj Shastra book
1.3 Forms of Social Change
In a society, social change explains the forthcoming diversity in various periods of time, but it is not
definite that occurrence of change in society is happening in which country, under which law, or based
on which principle. Social change has been defined by sociologists, such as MacIver and Page, Herbert
Spencer, Hobhouse and Sorokin etc. They have cited many sociological concepts in which procedure,
movement, advancement, development, evolution, adaptation, revolution, progress etc are prominent.
Out of these, some of the following are as follows:
Forms of Social Change
Process Evolution Progress Development Adaptation Revolution Growth
1. Process: Process implies continuity of change. Process can either be in direct or indirect and rise
or fall, in any direction. This is a certain order of the occurrence of change due to which one state
changes to other. MacIver has said that process is necessarily a state of continuous change of activity
of present powers. For example, when we say that today society is in state of technological process,
then our point is that primitive values, traditions etc are continuously changing and these primitive
values, traditions are getting absorbed in modernisation.
2. Evolution: The concept of evolution was first given by Darwin. He said that anything that is directed
from simplicity to complexity is evolution. The process of the direction from simplicity to complexity
occurs in some certain steps. In the form of evolution, social change was first of all defi ned by Herbert
Spencer in which he applied Darwin’s principle on society. In view of Herbert, “Evolution is an
integration of matter and concomitant dissipation of motion during which the matter passes from
an indefinite incoherent homogeneity to a definite coherent heterogeneity and during which the
retained motion undergoes a parallel transformation.” Spencer discussed the four levels of social
evolution, that is, barbaric state, pastoral state, farming state and industrialization state. According
to MacIver and Page, evolutionary is a state of change in which various states are observed of the
matter that is changing, which determines the actuality of that matter. In other words, according
to MacIver, every substance that is evolutionary has the possibility of undergoing evolution that is
expressed in future.
A state can be said to undergo evolution when change occurs in defi nite direction continuously
and it also occurs in its composition and qualities. In evolution of a substance, change occurs in its
internal qualities.
3. Progress: The meaning of evolution is taken from the occurrence of change only, but the changes
that occur due to evolution do not always imply that they help in the development of society. In
contrast to this, progress is related to the change that happens. For progress, those changes are
considered which are meant for the development of society. In other words, progress is related
to that change which is in accordance with the aims and goals of society. The change which
happens for the betterment of the society is called progress. It is often planned; the society which
considers the particular change to be good for it is progress for that society. Usually, progress is
related to the society’s values and principles. The principles that a society considers appropriate
for it and the changes happening in this direction is termed as progress for the society. This is
usually related to the morality. It is also possible that a society that considers few values and
principles appropriate for it results in its progress, whereas the same values and principles may
result into declension for some other society that does not consider the values and principles
appropriate for it. In this way, progress is levelled. The concept of progress is diverse. Also, it is
possible to measure progress. Progress cannot be universalised for all societies because progress
is related to value, principle and morality, which might be different for different societies. On the
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