By: Alireza Hejazi

It is very hard to determine which theory of social change can serve the best description of social change or the way we view the world. Each one explains part of the total process of change and that is why Bishop (2003) is wondering to choose between positive extrapalist, negative extrapalist, or transformationalist, finding all of them as true!

At first stage, I preferred the theory of progress. This theory states that there isn’t a universal underpinning of progress for change, which I concurred with. Meanwhile, Joseph Coates (1990) is professionally optimistic—walking a thin line between applied and normative thinking. I think that social theory is intriguing, especially because the Social Change quiz illuminated the fact that I dabble in several theories about social change.

Societies are systems of people and social change, therefore, is the changing of a system. In this case, the system is made up of autonomous individuals, but upon aggregation, there are patterns and principles at work. On a broader range, social change is the flipside of social stability (Blizzard and Bishop,2001). Understanding social change, therefore, requires understanding the variety of theories that explain why and how social change occurs.

Behaviorists say that all human behavior is conditioned by our environment and that our feeling of rationality is an illusion. If you accept rationality of human behavior, then you can use a theory of change based on rational expectations. If you don’t, you cannot use that theory. Such a belief is a critical assumption, one that is necessary for the validity of the theory. The assumptions you are prepared to accept often determine the theories you are willing to use.

Going through a range of well-known theories on social change (ibid): progress, development, technology, cycle, conflict, power, evolution, and complexity: I can summarize my theory of social change as following:

In my point of view, progress development motivates human action and improves the human condition. Meanwhile, human ingenuity, confronting and solving problems, encourages progress over the long run. I can imagine that the most significant change over the next 20 years will be the growth of human consciousness. And probably long-wave theorists will be those who know the most about what is going to happen in the future. My overall expectation for the future is that a more humane world will emerge. People can have a great deal control over the future through their own personal development. To create a better future I recommend understanding current conditions and proposing novel solutions fit for those conditions.    

 

References:

Bishop, Peter (2003). Portfolio Essays, LMSF602Reading, Unit 6, pp. 3-4.

Blizzard, K. and Bishop, P. (2001). Introduction to Social Change, LMSF604, pp. 1-2.

Coates, Joseph F. (1990). There’s Much to Celebrate, Technology Forecasting & Social Change, Vol. 38, pp. 307-311.