science, scientific method and critique · observable, verifiable, quantifiable facts ±...
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Science, Scientific Method and Critique
Science • Science is a systemized body of knowledge based upon sensory
observation of empirical data
• Science is a systematically acquired, organised body of certified knowledge which is based upon observable facts and methods to acquire such knowledge
• Science is characterized by - – Empiricism
• Observable, verifiable, quantifiable facts
– Objectivity • Free from preferences or prejudices and associations or disassociations of research
– Self Corrective • Science unlike cultural truth is open to rejection. it takes spatial and time bound
variations into considerations. Science has no finality
• Goals of science
– to explain why something happens
– to make generalizations
– to predict or specify what will happen in the future
• Elements of science
– Use of scientific method
– Reliability
– Validity
– Generalizations
– Predictions
• Reliability
– When a scale or test is used repeatedly for measurement and gives the same results,
then it is said to be reliable
– Consistency, accuracy and precision of a measurement procedure
– Results in stability, predictability
– Temporal reliability - the same result is obtained when the measurement is repeated at
a later time.
– Comparative reliability - same results are obtained when two different forms of a test
are used or the same test is applied by different researchers or the same test is applied
to two different samples
• Validity
– Validity refers to correctly measuring the concept we intend to measure
– It the extent to which a test measures what we actually wish to measure
– Criterion Validity
– Construct Validity
– Content Validity
• Generalization – Process whereby general laws are extracted on the basis of a
specific study to go beyond individual cases or studies and make statements that apply to a collectivity
• Prediction – Process by which one can anticipate, guess or prophecies about
the future on the basis of the study
• Scientific method – For acquiring empirical data and for processing them to law,
sciences relies on methods called scientific methods
Scientific Method • Perspective
– The set of assumptions with which we start
– Provides a broad view regarding the nature of reality out of which the subject matter is to be delineated
• Well defined subject matter – The domain in which the investigations has to be carried out
• Body of concept – Are abstractions
– These are ideas/notions of reality that exist in the mind
– In order to communicate our experience of reality we need these notions*
– Scientific concept vs. ordinary concept – precision and accuracy
– Mass, velocity etc. Vs. Democracy
• Procedure – Series of procedural steps for collection and analysis of data
Methodology for scientific enquiry • Hypothesis – is a tentative statement which formulates a definite relationship between 2 or more
variables (Aspects of reality)
• Hypothesis is deduced from assumptions (more general in nature)
• For hypothesis to be useful , it must be precise, unambiguous, testable
• Hypothesis should be precise enough to be falsifiable
• The concepts used by the hypothesis should be operationisable
• The concepts should be such that it is related to operationalised index
• Hypothesis tells what kind of data is to be collected
• Accordingly the appropriate technique* for data collections can be used
• Then data is processed according to the relation (check for validity and reliability)
• The hypothesis is tested
• If data supports hypothesis , the hypothesis is proved
• Repeated testing of hypothesis . Becomes generalization and theory
• If it is proved universally , it becomes a higher order generalization – law
Methodology for scientific enquiry Existing
Knowledge Hypothesis
Thesis
Data Collection
Data Processing Processing of
Hypothesis
Law
Theory
Modification
Critique of Scientific Methods • Possibility of biasness
– Bias can creep in by different ways. E.g. – the way questions are framed in a survey can push research into a particular direction
• Conflicting Paradigms
• Problem of understanding cause and effect – Scientific methods apply correlation. But causation cannot be directly inferred from correlation.
– Some correlations can be based on incomplete or unrepresentative data
• Subjective factors – Science cannot explain emotions like happiness, beauty etc. and limits itself to quantitative aspects.
– So it is not universally applicable.
• Epistemological anarchism – Austrian philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend
– science started as a liberating movement
– But over time it had become increasingly dogmatic and rigid, and therefore had become increasingly an ideology
– Idea of the operation of science by fixed, universal rules is unrealistic, pernicious, and detrimental to science itself
• Vulnerability of a theory – Scientific methods are based on existing scientific theories
– They are vulnerable like just another methods and are far from perfection
Positivism
Positivism
• Initially Popularized by August Comte
• Father of Sociology
• Argued that methods of positive sciences can be applied to study of social sciences
• Rather than “How things ought to be” we should study “the way society is”
• Affirmation of reality rather than negation of reality
• Meaning of Positivism
– Basing our knowledge of society on empirical observations
– Through repeated observations we try to arrive at generalizations
• Approach is based on 2 fundamental assumptions
– Human behavior in society can be known on basis of observation alone
– Human behavior in society follows certain patterns of regularity that can be discovered through repeated observation
Positivists apply the following in the scientific study of society
• Reductional Analysis
– Society is a structural unit made up of institutions and roles
– It is subject to continuity
• Causal Analysis
– Find correlation between different variables and establish causal analysis by building generalizations
• Value neutrality
– Value neutrality and objectivity are central to social research
• Factual
– Durkheim - Sociology should be established as a distinct discipline on the basis of social facts
Criticism
• Various critics have questioned these assumptions
• Initially questioned by followers of German Scholar Emmanuel Kant (Neo Kantians)
• They argue reality is dualistic (natural reality and social reality)
• Social reality is characterized by geist – spirit or consciousness
• Human behaviour is guided by meanings and motives. These meanings can change
• The patterns are not regular, recurrent as in physical objects
• So social reality can not be known from observation alone
• Laws like generalization not possible. Positivist approach not suitable
• Horkheimer
– Founder of non positivism and hermeneutics
– Social life is based in cultural and individual perception
– Truth is not always quantifiable. It is subject to change
• Peter Berger – Founder of phenomenology theory
– Reality consists of objects and events ("phenomena") as they are perceived or understood in the human consciousness, and not of anything independent of human consciousness
– It is made, dismantled, renewed
– Interpretative and understanding methods are better
• Weber – Social reality is qualitatively different from physical and natural reality
– Human behaviour is guided by meaning and motives
– So positive sciences method are inadequate
– Need to supplemented with additional methods like Verstehen, ideal types
• Giddens – Proposed theory of double hermeneutic
– Science goes for only single hermeneutic where data is studied and generalizations are made
– Sociology looks deeper, goes beneath the surface
– It goes for double hermeneutic
• Sociology and Values – Increasing number of sociologists argue that value free science of society is not possible
– Feminism, Marxism approaches are based out of values
• At present in sociology, the model building has not reached the same stage that has been attained in pure physical sciences
• But some sociologists have resorted to model building through simple models
• A.R. Radcliffe Brown, Claude Levi Strauss, Parsons
• Attempts are being made to build complex models using simulation studies
4 set of assumptions which social scientists apply to their
disciplines which determine the degree of science involved
• Reality to be investigated is external or internal to the individual
• If knowledge can be acquired or it is to be experienced
• Humans reacting mechanistically and deterministically to environment or there is free will
• Whether society can be studied as an objective reality or a personal, subjective reality
Is Sociology a Science ?
• Sociology employs the scientific method
• Sociological principles are verifiable and reliable
• Sociologists can make generalizations
• Sociology can make predictions
• Sociology is factual
• Sociology is empirical
• Sociology is cumulative
Limitations
Problem of experimentation
• Crucial to establish precise relationship between different variables
• Practical and Ethical limitations
• But inability to conduct experiments does not automatically disqualify e.g. astronomy
Lack of laboratory research
• Control over conditions, facility of repeating experiment, objective observation, apparatus.
• Since these conditions are not completely fulfilled in sociology research, it cannot be totally scientific
Problem of quantification
• Large part of social phenomena is qualitative in nature
• Not amenable to quantitative techniques
Problem of generalization
• Not successful in arriving at law-like generalization
• The Nature of subject matter – human behaviour –
doesn’t follow recurrent patterns
• Human behaviour can be unique and unrepeatable
• Difficult to establish causal relations without
experimentation
• Reliability and accuracy of sociological studies comes
under scrutiny
Problem of objectivity
• Frame of mind whereby personal prejudices and predilections do not contaminate collection and
analysis of data
• Objectivity very difficult. At best it can be minimized
Problem of terminology
• same words convey different meanings to different persons
• not developed an adequate set of scientific terms.
• But it is not epistemological failure
– Even matured sciences have faced similar
challenges
– Heisenberg uncertainty principle
• Robert Bierstedt in his book The Social Order
– Sociology is a social science, not a natural science.
– Sociology is a categorical or positive and not a normative science.
– Sociology is a pure or theoretical science and not an applied science.
– Sociology is an abstract science and not a concrete one.
– Sociology is a generalizing science and not a particularizing science.
– Sociology is both a rational and an empirical science.
Facts, Value and Objectivity
Facts
• Facts are those aspects of reality which exist independent of the observers
• They are amenable to sensory observation by the observer
• All positive sciences begin with the premise that there respective field of study is constituted of objective facts
Example
• According to Durkheim Social facts are objective facts
• Not all facts about are social facts
• Social facts are those which exist outside the individual and they exercise constraints on the individual
• They are amenable to positive sciences methods
Criticism • The interactionist tradition does not agree with this
• Outwardly observable aspects only tell a part of the story
• For understanding social life , we need to take into consideration the subjective meanings and motives of the actors
• These subjective meanings are not amenable to sensory observations
• They can only be interpreted
• So all social facts are not objective facts
• So methods of positive science is not enough
• Needs to be supplemented by other methods
Value
• It refers to socially accepted standards of desirability
• They define what is important, what is worth striving for
• They channelize the activities of a member to socially desired objectives
• Internalization of values takes place through the process of socialization*
• Examples – Happiness, Health, Freedom etc.
Categorization
• End Values – They are the ultimate standards in terms of which all
other goals which guide social action should be evaluated
– Happiness, Success, Freedom
• Means Values – They act as a means for their own sake
– Hard work, punctuality, efficiency
• Talcott Parsons
– Values are basic standard which guide all action
– Societal integration depends upon value consensus among members
• Karl Marx
– Economic interests guide social action
– Values are seen to be legitimizing the pursuit of interests
• Primacy of interests or values ? – They are intimately related
– Values play an important part in shaping our interests
Objectivity
• It is a frame of mind so that prejudices, preferences or predilections of the social scientists do not contaminate the collection and analysis of data
• Scientific investigation should be free from prejudices of race, color, religion, sex, ideological biases
• Durkheim
– ‘Rules of sociological methods’ – all preconceived notions must
be abandoned, social facts should be treated as things
• Max Weber
– Sociology must be value free
• A.R.Radcliffe Brown
– Ethnocentric and Egocentric biases must be abandoned
• Malinowski
– Advocated ‘cultural relativism’
Why objectivity is difficult?
• Research is guided by certain viewpoint and viewpoint involves subjectivity
• Merton feels the very choice of the topic reflects the personal preference and ideological bias of researcher
• Subjectivity creeps in at the time of formulation of hypothesis
• Subjectivity creeps in at the course of research – collection of empirical data
• Subjectivity creeps in due to field limitations
Examples • Prof Schwab made a study of 4000 scientific papers
– Choice of topic was based on personal preferences as determined by personality factors and circumstances
• Ideological biases can be acquired during education and training – Robert Redfield studied Tepostalan village in Mexico and concluded that there exists total harmony between
groups
– Oscar Lewis studied it at almost the same time and concluded that it conflict ridden
• Collection of empirical data – Participant observation can result in nativisation which can lead to bias in favor of group
– In non participant observation the scientist can impose his/her values and prejudices .In India, prejudice against Dalits. Can impact studies
– In case of interviews , data can be influenced by the context of the interview, interaction of the participants, participant definition of the situation, rapport
• Field Limitations – A. Beteille study of Sripuram village
– Brahmins did not allow him to visit the locality of untouchables. He could not ask their point of view
How to minimize subjectivity ?
• Value preferences should be made clear
• Highly trained and skilled research workers
should be employed
• Various methods should be used and result
should be cross checked
• Field limitation should be clearly stated
Can sociology be a value free science ?
• All social behaviour is guided by values
• Social research is in itself a type of social behaviour
• So sociology can never be value free*
• Max Weber, when he stated that sociology should be value free, he meant sociologist much confine himself to value relevance
Value Neutrality
• Sociologists should exclude ideological or non scientific
assumptions from research
• Should not make evaluative judgments about empirical evidence
• Value judgment should be restricted to sociologists area of
competence
• Should remain indifferent to the moral implications of his research
• Should make his own values open and clear
• Should refrain from advocating particular values
Analysis • Gunnar Myrdal – ‘Chaos does not organize itself into cosmos’. Viewpoints
are required which form the basis of hypothesis, which enables scientists to collect data. Thus the sociologist must be value frank
• Value contamination takes place at different levels of collection of data – participant observation, interview method (double dose of subjectivity). Aim should be to minimize contamination (value frank, training)
• Total value neutrality might not be desirable – sociologists should not be mere spectators. Basic purpose of sociological knowledge is social welfare. So need to play a creative role. (Radical sociologists in US) . W.H. Audon – “giving lectures on navigation while the ship is drowning”
• Reforming Push – C.W.Mills, Alvin Gouldhar – Sociology must have commitment to some basic human values . Sociologists must be ready to defend these
Social Mobility
Social Mobility
• Social Mobility means change from one social position to another.
• Changes in the life-chances and lifestyles.
• Social mobility may not just be limited to class.
• Closely linked to the concept of stratification
• Mobility manifested at individual and at collective levels
Parsons
• Result of the process of differentiation and role filling
Marx
• High rate of mobility can weaken class solidarity
• Foresaw down mobility in capitalist
society
Frank Parkin and Dahrendorf
• Mobility acts as a safety valve
Ken Roberts
• Mobility is an indicator of meritocratic society
• How fair the society is
• Also indicates stability of class
architecture
Pitrim Sorokin
• Social Mobility , 1927
• Promotes efficiency and social order
• Vertical mobility – “stairs and elevators” , “blood streams in human body”
Davis and Moore
• Some Principles of stratification, 1945
• Rewards system in society
Traditional Society
• Stratification on ascriptive criteria
• Limited mobility
• Andre Beteille – mobility restricted
in closes , stratified system
• M N Srinivas - alternate methods
like Sanskritisation evolved
(impacts cultural aspects not
structural aspects)
Modern Society
• Mobility widespread
• Developed countries > developing and traditional societies
• Importance given to formal
qualifications
Open System and Closed System • Closed Society
– Very little vertical mobility is possible
• Open systems – Permit flow of statuses, powers and prestige both horizontally and vertically.
– Most open societies tend to be highly industrialized.
– Urbanization contributes to vertical social mobility (ascriptive criteria , anonymity )
– But in open societies people cannot move from one stratum to another without resistance.
• Blau and Duncan – most open societies have fairly high degree of vertical social mobility
– but the social distance travelled is not very long
• Every society has established criteria – which might be proper manners, family lineage, education, or racial affiliation etc., which
must satisfied before people can move to a higher social level.
Types of Mobility
Horizontal versus
Vertical Mobility
Intra-generational
and inter-
generational
mobility
Structural and
Individual Mobility
Absolute and
Relative mobility
Structural and
Circular mobility
Upward and
Downward
mobility
Horizontal versus Vertical Mobility • Horizontal social mobility means movement by individuals or groups from one
position to another in society which does not involve a shift into a higher or lower stratum.
• Examples – one citizenship to another, from one family to another, one factory to another in the same occupational status
• Anthony Giddens – great deal of mobility along the lateral direction in modem societies
– Uses the term lateral mobility
• Vertical Mobility – Enhancing or lowering the rank
Intra-generational and Inter-generational mobility
Structural and Individual Mobility
Absolute and Relative mobility
Sources and Causes of Mobility
• Pitrim Sorokin
– Demographic Factors
– Talent and ability
– Faulty distribution of individuals in social
positions
– Change of Social Environment
Pierre Bourdieu
• An Invitation to reflexive sociology, 1992
• 4 types of capital (placement in a social category)
– Economic
– Cultural
– Social
– Symbolic
• Can hinder social mobility as well
• David Glass (British society)
– Presence of upward and downward mobility
– Elite self recruitment
• Goldthorpe (British society)
– Largely depends on immediate ranks
– Absolute mobility is low
Lipset and Bendix
• Factors of social mobility in industrial societies.
– Changes in the number of available vacancies
– Different rates of fertility
– Changes in the rank accorded to occupations
– Changes in the number of inheritable status positions
– Changes in legal restrictions pertaining to potential
opportunities
• Goldthorpe
– Lack of convergence between the rates of mobility
of industrial societies
– Significance of other factors as well cultural
factors, education system
Factors
Industrialization and
Urbanization
•Lipset Zetterberg thesis
Education
•Duncan and Blau (Study in
US)
Cultural Factors
•Sorokin (race , ethnicity can
reduce mobility)
Political Factors
•Type of political regime
Environment
•Natura l disasters vs .
favorable conditions
Social Capital
•Used to monopolize
occupational positions
•Giddens and Bottomore
•Closure thesis
Occupation
•Source of inter generational
mobi lity
Social and Cultural
Values
•Liberal or conservative
Social Movements
•Col lective mobility
Law and Constitution
•Pos i tive Discrimination
Migration
•Type of migration
Physical features
•Sal ly Loverman
•Looks can be a source of mobi lity
Technology
•Industrialization
Subjective factors
•Individual and collective
aspirations
• Wilkinson and Pickett – The Spirit level: Why Greater Equality Makes society
stronger, 2009
– High social inequality – low social mobility
• Paul Krugman – The Great Gatsby Curve, 2012
– Denmark, Norway, Finland (Low inequality – greater mobility)
– Chile, Brazil (High Inequality – low mobility)
Consequences of Social Mobility • Dis-associative aspect of social stratification
– Breaks down the exclusiveness of social class
– Creates more uniform national culture
– US vs. European Society
• Pre occupation with vertical mobility – Can reinforce the class system
– Individual’s perspective – Emphasis on importance of class, hierarchy
– Greater economic and social equality rather than mobility
• More effective use of ability – Discovery of talent and its utilization
• Can impose strain on individual for success
• Weakening of kinship ties – suicide rates can go up
• Political safety valve
Sociological Theories of Power
• Nature of Power
• Sources of Power
• Distribution of Power
Marx on Power
For Marx, power means
coercion
Power is held by a
particular group at the
expense of the rest of the society
Source of power –
economic infrastructure
of the society and those who own the modes of
production
These interests are in
direct conflict with the
interests of others
Dominant class may
resort to naked force
But absence of obvious
coercion does not mean
absence of exploitation
Dominated are unaware
of their condition
(effective ideology)
Through institutions of
socialization real
character of class society is justified
Ensures social
inequality and
domination
Acceptance of power
structure in ensured
Only way to return
power to people -
revolution
• Example
– Range of legal status protect the rights of property
owners
– Right to disproportionate share of wealth
produced by their employees is protected
Weber on Power
Society is characterized by
mutual opposition of goals
Interests of one section is
opposite to the interest of others
So there is resistance. Power is the means of
overcoming the resistance
Power refers to the chances
of an individual or group to realize its will through
communal action even in the
face of resistance by others
Constant sum concept or
zero sum concept
Three bases of power –
tradition, charisma, legal rational
• “A” has power over “B” to the extent “A” can get “B” to do something that “B” would not otherwise do
Robert
Dahl
• A person is said to have power to the extent
he influences the behaviour of others in
accordance with his own intentions
Edward
Shils
Steven Lukes
• Power is being increasingly exercised by the mass media and TNC
• Power of an individual A over B - when A can affect B’s behaviour even against B’s interests either by coercing or preventing them or shaping B’s behaviour according to A’s needs and interests
• Talks about 3 dimensions of power
– Decision making – influencing the process of decision making
– Non Decision making – it is also a manifestation of power (e.g. prevention the decision being taken by deleting it from the agenda)
– Conditioning minds, shaping desires – influencing decision making so that no formal decision making is required. [e.g. by controlling mass media]
Talcott Parsons
Every society should have
value consensus (Most
society have value
consensus)
Power is the general ability of
a community to achieve
commonly shared goals, a
commitment to which has
been made through public
policy
Implies power is variable.
Power exists at the level of
society (as against
individual). No winning elites
or no losing masses.
Social positions are created
which are functionally more
important than others.
Power is exercised through
them.
When technology level of
community improves, ability
to achieve common goals
improve – power improves
Michael Mann
Tried to synthesize both the views (conflict and
consensus views)
According to Mann societies are constituted
of multiple overlapping and intersecting socio
spatial networks of power
Power distribution is complex. It is in the form
of different network exercising different amount of power
Power is the ability to pursue and attain goals
through mastery of the environment (Social and
Natural environment)
Power may be located either in individual or groups
•Distributional Power - When located in individual it is called distributional power
•Collective Power – Power yielded by one group over another group
Power can be exercised either as extensive power or as
intensive power
•Extensive – Ability to organize large number of people spread over far flung territories to engage in minimally stable co-operation
•Intensive – Ability to organize tightly and command a high level of mobilization or commitment from the participants
Authoritative or Diffused
•Authoritative - Involves conscious and deliberate commands (Rights and Duties)
•Diffused – Exercised in a spontaneous manner without issuing any command
Different Sources of Power
Economic Power
• Power comes from control
of productive resources
Political Power
• Holding a state office and
control over political
organization
Military Power
• Control over means of
violence
• How much violence you
can unleash on your enemy
Ideological Power
• Control over ideas
• And make people act
according to it
Giddens
Broad conception of
power
• Variable sum concept of
power
• Power is the
transformative capacity
of human agency
Narrow sum definition
• Power is the capacity to
effect result when the
outcome depends on the
agencies of others i.e.
when one can do things
through other people
French and Raven
Legitimate
• belief that a person in power
has the formal right to make demands and to expect others
to be compliant and obedient to his or her demands
Reward
• ability of a person to favorably
compensate another person for compliance of rules, targets etc.
Expert
• Rests on person’s high level of skill and knowledge
Referent Power
• results of a person’s attributes which result into perceived attractiveness
Coercive power
• Belief that a person can punish
others for non compliance Later added a dimension – information power
Gene Sharp
• From dictatorship to democracy: A
conceptual framework for
liberation, 1994
• Power structures rely on
obedience of their subjects
Tim Gee
• Counter Power: Making Change
Happen, 2011
• Power is also possessed by the
oppressed
• It is in the form of counter power
• Manifest – comes into being in
social movements
Elite Theory
Few people at the top who
excel
Developed as a reaction to
Marxism
Rejected the Marxian idea
that a classless society could
be realized after class
struggle (too large and
amorphous to exercise
power)
Elite theory – It is only the
minority who rules
Even if there is a proletarian
revolution , one elite will
replace the other
Organizational Power
Present in the
writings of Weber
and Marx
Weber – Power is
exercised by
communal action
Marx – Class for
itself is very crucial
for exercise of
power
Power seen in
terms of
organization
Unorganized
masses (Class in
itself) do not wield
power
Basis of Organisation Power
Organisation means
plurality (more the
number, more the
resources at disposal)
Facilitates division of
labour (multipronged
strategy, coordinated
exercise)
Quality of leadership
Ability to forge
alliances (and defeat
countervailing
organisations)
Power of unorganised masses
Weber
• Party is the basis of power
• Associative type of organizational structure built around a common interest (Class, status, ethnicity etc.)
• If individuals act singly – might act as cross purposes, reduce each other’s chances
• Organizational structure helps in channelizing energies towards a common goal
Marx
• Class in itself will not be successful
• Only when it is class for itself , it will be able to fight for its own interest and capture power
• Thus unorganised masses are powerless
• Modern industrial societies – decomposition of capital , possibility of formation of class for itself disappeared
• But under special circumstances, masses can come together to share their sense of deprivation
• Leadership, ideology, organisational structure can come into being
• Mass movements may develop
• Masses may acquire power
• E.g. Dravidan Movement, Mahar Movement
Manifestations of unorganised power
Passive non-cooperation
Through the power of mass market
May acquire short lived power through illegitimate means
Exercise power through elections in democratic countries
Power Elite
Elite Theory
• Few people at the top who excel
• Developed as a reaction to Marxism
• Rejected the Marxian idea that a classless
society could be realized after class struggle
(too large and amorphous to exercise power)
Classical Elite Theory
• Propounded by two Italian sociologists , Vilfredo Pareto and Gaetano Mosca
• Both Pareto and Mosca felt that personal qualities are the basis of power
• Rejected Communism as utopia and Marxism as an ideological bias
• Later day thinkers argued about the hierarchical organization of social institutions which allows minorities to monopolize power
Pareto • Mind and Society , 1935
• Ruling minority and ruled majority
• Emphasis on psychological characteristics
• There are two main types of governing elite – “Lions” and “Foxes”
• Concept borrowed from Niccolo Machiavelli
• Lions – Can take direct and incisive action
– Tend to rule by force
• Foxes – Are cunning, have the capacity for diplomatic manipulation
– Wheeling and dealing
Circulation of Elite
Masses - lack of rational capacities. So they are dominated. Unlikely to
be revolutionary
Elites tend to be decadant
Decay in quality and vigor
Each elite lacks the quality of its counterpart
But both the qualities are important to maintain power
Lion elite lacks imagination and
cunningness necessary
to maintain its rule, will have to admit foxes
Over a period of time foxes infiltrate the entire
elite and transform its
character
Foxes lack the capability to take forceful , decisive
action
An organized minority of lions committed to
restoration of strong
government develops
It overthrows the elite of foxes
History is a never ending cycle of circulation of
elite
Elite rule not by coercion but by ideology/formula
Make their rule appear legitimate (Divine origin
theory)
Modern democracies are also a form of elite
domination
Mosca
The Ruling Class,1939 Rule by minority is
inevitable
History divided into 2 classes – ruling class and
the class that is ruled
Ruling minority is superior because it possesses certain
qualities
Material, intellectual, moral superiorities
Content can vary with societies (courage ,
bravery , skills, capacity to acquire wealth etc.)
and time
Small, cohesive, conspiratorial , political
formula
Democracy is merely another form of elite
rule
Decisions in democracy reflect the concerns of
the elite
The masses are passive, apathetic and unconcerned
Democracy may be a government of the
people, even for the people but never by the
people
R. Michels
Distribution of power takes place according to iron law
of oligarchy
Majority cannot rule because
• Unorganised character
• Size of the society
• Increased technical complexity in decision making
So minority rule is indispensible. One they
come to power they perpetuate their rule
True democracy is a myth
Power Elite – C. Wright Mills
New version of elite theory (analysis of American Society)
Doesn’t believe elite rule is inevitable
He sees it as a recent development in US and condemns it
Doesn’t believe members of elite have superior qualities or
psychological qualities
According to him elite comprises of those
who hold command posts in institutions
So institutions and not individuals wield the
power
Those at the top monopolize the power
Certain institutions are pivotal in societies - major
corporations, military, federal government
Elite comprises of those who hold command posts in these
institutions – Power Elite
Coincidence of economic, political and military power
Interests and activities of the elite are sufficiently similar
and inter connected
They form a cohesive group (similarity in background
strengthens it)
Members largely drawn from upper strata, mostly
Protestant, native born Americans, similar education backgrounds, mix socially in
high pressing clubs
There is a frequent inter change of personnel among
the elites
American society is dominated by elite
Decisions like entering into second world war, dropping
of atomic bomb made by power elite
Floyd Hunter
• Study of distribution of power in Atlantic
• Made a list of 175 leaders who held formal positions in politics, business, civic organizations
• Panel of 14 judges representing religious, business, professional interest
• Chose 10 leaders
• Half were upper class businessmen
•Power elite are recruited from same social class
•Are educated in similar prestigious colleges
•Have s imilar orientation
•Comparative s tudy of Elites in Britain, Canada, Australia, United States R.K.Merton
•Appl ied Elite theory for communist society
•USSR – pol itical, economic, military power concentrated in hands of unified elite
•Absolute , unbounded power
•Mass has no defence against the elite Raymond Aron
•Rul ing elite i s primarily concerned with self-aggrandisement
•Corrupt, opportunistic, and delusional men, armed with ideologies of hatred, whose primary motivations
were brutal nation-building and self-aggrandisement Milovan Djilas
•Defended the Soviet System
•Principal aim had been industrialization and economic development of USSR
•Centra lized s tate control was a means not an end
•Gorbachevs ’s time – deliberate attempts to loosen hold of power elites, greater freedom for masses David Lane
Conclusion
• Power concentrated in the hands of a self-conscious, cohesive, homogenous minority
• Exercise power over an amorphous majority
• Domination can be through monopoly over means of violence, monopoly of means of subsistence, hegemonic control over formulation of social values, control of middlemen with specific authority in limited areas, command positions in key institutions
Criticism of Elite Thesis
Robert Dahl (Who Governs,
1961) – power is dispersed in society
Mills theory was based on his
observations of American society only
Specialization has further
diffused power in the society
Classical elite theory is
simplistic. Ignores differences between
different types of ruling
system like democracies, feudal societies etc.
Pareto and Mosca do not
provide a method for measuring the superior
qualities
T.B. Bottomore ‘Elite Circulation may not always
be there’
Altruistic motives can also be
there (not just power) Public opinion also matters
Westergaard and Resler –
Power does not lie with those who make the
decisions, it is visible through
consequences
Notion of superior
psychological and moral qualities of the leaders has
been questioned
These were seen as
legitimizing the rule of Hitler and Mussolini
Pluralist Thesis
Rose against the elite
theories
Tried to defend modern institutions like
democracy
But is doesn’t reject the elite, it recognises elites
in the democratic
framework
Elite theorists –
democracy and elitism incompatible
Pluralists – both are
compatible
Instead of concentration
of power, there is
dispersion of power in
modern democracies
Elite Pluralism
Industrialization – DOL – Social Differentiation
– Diversified occupations
Bargain and compromise
Different groups field their representatives
Presence of multiple elites create elite
pluralism
Government acts like a broker and mediates
Government becomes a business of
compromise – Raymond Aron
Conditions for Pluralism
Disposal of power among a plurality of
individuals and groups
Competitive struggle for
power between groups
Mutual accommodation
among different groups
– bargaining and
negotiations
Compulsion to win mass
support (elections)
Decision making
influenced by the need
to accommodate the interests of a large number of groups
Robert Dahl
There are multiple
centers of power
None of it is completely
sovereign in decision making
“Who Governs” , 1961 –
shows that power is distributed pluralistically
Dahl selected three
distinct areas – urban development, public
schools, political
nominations
In each issue area he
studied a number of decisions
He picked three
categories of leaders – political notables, social
notables, economic
notables
He concluded the
structure of decision making was pluralistic
(elite pluaralism)
Leaders influential in one
sector are not influential in other
Leaders exerting
influence in different issue are not drawn from
a single homogenous
stratum of society
•The power structure,1967
•Multiple influence hypothesis
•Economic and political elite don’t work hand in glove (Mills*) Arnold M Rose
•Policy seems to be made by the elite
•But in a democracy that are multiple pulls and pressures which finally decide the policy
•People make their aspirations felt at regular intervals which keep the elite in check Karl Mannheim
•An economic theory of democracy, 1957
•Trade Unions, Associations etc. defend the interest of their members and workers
•Compares it with the role of producers and consumers in market Anthony Downs
Criticism
Locates power in concrete decisions or in activities
impacting decision making.
But power is also exercised in reinforcing social and
political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of political
process
They ignore the results and consequences (power is
manifested in its consequences)
It fails to differentiate the unimportant issues
Case studies from india
M.N Srinivas
• Study of Rampura village in Karnataka
• Dominant caste model
• Those who are ritually higher up in the
hierarchy might not be highly powerful
• Village councils were dominated by Okkaliggas
and not the Madhav Brahmins
Yogendra Singh
• Studied 6 villages in UP
• Land owning caste wielded real power
• But with changes like rural development, green
revolution etc. distribution of power is changing
• Shift from Elite model to pluralist model is taking
place in India
Nation, State, Citizenship
Nation - Definition • Group which regards itself as a political community.
• Can become a basis for organizing state Politically
• Group of people believed to be bound together by a
common language, religion, history , tradition etc.
• But generally there is cultural heterogeneity Culturally
• Shared love and loyalty Psychologically
• Economic integration Economically
Weber – community of
sentiments
Heywood – complex
phenomena shaped by a
collection of political,
cultural , psychological
and economic factors
Dichotomy •Von Herder – nation is characterized by “folks geist”
•People have been sharing culture, physical geography , climate, life style , habits , language etc. for a very long time
•So nation are kind of natural organic entities
Cultural
Dimension
•Nations are politically unified
•Based on political aspirations of people
•There may or may not be cultural homogenous
Political
Dimension
•Cultural homogeneity is manufactured artifact
•Today’s World – nation are more relevant political entities
•Germany – origin of cultural nationalism, France - origin of political nationalism Eric Hobsbawm
•Nation and Nationalist ideology is a device through which ruling class overcomes the threat of a social revolution Marxist view
Nationalism
• Sense of (pride , belonging) being a part of a
single political community
• Ideology based on a belief that a community
of people with common characteristics such
as language, religion, ethnicity etc constitute a
separate, distinctive political community
•Nations and Nationalism, 1983
•Nation, nationalism , nation-state are modern concepts – late 18th century
Ernest Gellner
•Cultural Representations and Changing Ethnic Identities in a global age, 2002
•Pre Industrialisation human habitations isolated
•Role of Communication media
•“other” is pre condition for the rise of nationalism
Pilkington
•Ethnic Origin of Nations,1986
•Not necessarily a modern phenomenon
•Modern nations emerged from ethnic communities
•Unification of Germany, Italy
•Jews have been cohesive unit since 2000 years
Anthony Smith
•Imagined Communities, 1983
•Imagined feeling - nationalism
•Abstract idea - nation
Benedict Anderson
Hans Kohn
• Idea of nationalism, 1945
• Western nationalism – emerged as justification for already united
political structures , also helped in
growth of imperialism and
colonialism
• Eastern nationalism – aimed at
justifying the creation of new
nation-states
Liah Greenfield
• Civic Nationalism – citizenship,
defined in political and legal terms,
can be acquired or lost
• Ethnic Nationalism – inherited
nationalism
•Nationalism likely to lose its existence
•Classes will pay a dominant role in future
•Class dynamics will overshadow national identities Marxists
•Nationalism will lose relevance because of globalization Liberalists
•Nation is an organization of people with a mechanical purpose, founded on greed, jealousy,
suspicion, desire for power
•Replaces l iving bonds of society with mechanical organization
•Takes away freedom of individuals
•Exclusionist and jingoistic
Tagore
Manifestations of Nationalism
(Heywood)
Liberal Nationalism
•Product of
modernization
•Rights of individual
and rights of
collective
•Democracy is an
attempt at
reconciliation
Cultural Nationalism
•Primacy to national
sovereignty
•Might suppress
individual freedom
•May involve
negative attitude
towards emigrants
•High emphasis on
military power
Economic
Nationalism
•Aggressive,
militaristic
nationalism
•Seeks territorial
aggrandizement
•Colonialisation,
imperialism
Anti Colonial
Nationalism
•Pre dominant in
third world
countries
•Opposition to
colonialism
Role of Nation
• Nations are consciously and deliberately
created in modern societies
• They are important modernizing force (e.g.
Industrial capitalism and modern nation state)
Re-integrative mechanism
Used for maintaining law and order. Vehicle of legitimacy
Development in science and technology
Manipulation of information through literacy
C. Tilley – modern centralist militarist state requires a certain level of cultural homogeneity for a professional
bureaucracy and army
Economic development
Critical View of Nation
Marxist View
• Nation and Nationalist ideology is a device through which ruling
class overcomes the threat of a social revolution
Kedomie
• Nationalism is a type of tribalism
• Helps the uprooted and dislocated population to adapt to a modern culture
• Way of coping with modernity
• Sense of return to warm community
Contemporary Trends
• Globalization
• Post nationalism
• Cosmopolitanism
Greater integration between nation at the social
and economic level may lead to dissolution on
nations and would lead to universal citizenship
State
Most of mankind lived without a state, but at present most important and highest level of human collectivity
“status” . Niccolo Machiavelli used the term ‘state’ in political science in its modern sense
Locke and Hobbes- State is an agency for human welfare (secures life , property etc)
“Social contract”
“neutral arbitrator”
State is a political apparatus, authority is backed by some form of law
Monopoly over violence
Citizens cannot fulfill all the needs themselves
State
• Association which successfully claims monopoly of legitimate
coercion within a well defined territory
• Generally acts in public interest
• State has a defined territory
Max Weber
• Population
• Territory
• Sovereignty
• Government
Physical and
metaphysical
elements
Views about nature of state Liberal democratic
•The best government governs the least (Jeremy Bentham)
Social Democratic
•Moderate intervention
•Ensure social justice and equal opportunity
•Not equality of rewards
Totalitarian state
•No constitutional limit on state power
•Controls all aspects of social life
•Fascist and communist states
Some perspectives
•Weber - State has monopoly over legitimate use of force
•Bertrand Russell – ‘a repository of collective force of its citizens’ Coercive authority
•Marx - Committee for the management of the whole affair of the bourgeoisie
•Formed to protect private property and promote own interest
•State appears autonomous from bourgeoisie but is furthers its interest
Instrument of
exploitation
•Functionalists - State integrates its inhabitants
•Philosophers like Aristotle – gave precedence to state over individual Integration
•Harold Laski
•Nation is emotional manifestation of a society
•State results from desire for political unity
•State performs positive and negative tasks (welfare, security)
A way of organizing
collective life of society
•Saul Newman – The Politics of Post Anarchism, 2010
•State is instrument of exploitation and repression
•Reject the concept of state altogether
Anarchists
•Modern states face legitimization crisis
•Have to balance the realities of the market with the goals of enlightenment
•Democracy is one means to reconcile Habermas
•State is patriarchal in nature (K Millett) Feminist
•Neo liberal Era
•Roll back of state
•Financial crisis – recognition of need to state to regulate economic activity
•Market too imperfect to ensure social justice
Contemporary
Trends
Nation without states
Well defined ethnic community, who lack an independent political community
Separatist movements in Chechnya, Kashmir, Scotland etc.
Cultural differences are accepted and certain amount of autonomy for community development
is provided – Scotland and Wales in Britain
Even higher degree of autonomy – power to take major decisions – Quebec , Canada
Sometime force and propaganda is used to deny recognition to minority – Palestine, Tibet, Kurds
(Syria, Iraq)
Citizenship
Relationship between the individual and the state in which the two are bound together by reciprocal rights and duties
Citizenship is the most fundamental right from which other rights are derived.
It also confers duties
Citizenship - Evolution
Ancient Greek city states – only limited citizenship
Women , slaves, non owners of property were excluded
Concept developed in the wake of modern industrial capitalist societies
Relation between state and people is redefined
Precondition for rise of citizenship – collective feeling of being part of a single national identity
Previously people were subjects – passive
Duties but no institutional rights, no demands, no expectations from the state
Democracy and French revolution – people came to be addressed as citizens
T.H. Marshall (Class, citizenship and Social Development, 1973)
Civic Rights
•Result of rise of concept of property ownership
•equality before law, personal liberty, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of conscience, freedom of access, freedom to own property and make contracts, right to make associations, right to dissent
Political Rights
•When free speech developed, everyone treated as
equal (UAF)
•Right to participate in elections, right to hold office
Social Rights
•Right to economic and social welfare
•Unemployment allowance
•Universal free education, health coverage
Defines citizenship in terms of membership of a community
which brings in three types of duties and rights
Traced the evolution of the concept of citizenship
Nature of citizenship reveals the extent of social development
Capitalism(leads to gross inequality) is antithetical to
citizenship(treats everyone equally)
Feminist thinkers- Women’s acquisition of rights not in the order as stated by Marshall
•Citizenship is myth
•No equality in capitalist society
•True equality only i f FOP is collectively owned Marxists
•A brief history of ci tizenship, 2004
•Citizenship is a democratizing force
•Everybody possesses it in the same manner Derek Heater
•Ecologism: Towards Ecological Ci tizenship, 1998
•Concept of ecological ci tizenship – obligations towards non human animals and future generations Mark Smith
•West – ci tizenship awarded in phased manner – demand from below
•East - awarded suddenly – people fail to appreciate rights and duties Ramchandra Guha
•Paradoxes in India
•Caste discrimination, sexual discrimination, poverty Gail Omvedt
•Handbook of citizenship s tudies, 2002
•Representative democracy narrows down the scope Bryan Turner
•Gender rights, sexual rights and freedom
•Global ci tizenship Contemporary trends
Protest, Agitation, Social Movement,
Collective Action and Revolution
Collective Action
• Actions by a group of people with specific goal or objective
• Cooperation, conflict, competition, accommodation
• Can be organised/unorganised, institutionalized/non institutionalized
• Structure can be defined as per organization, ideology, goals, leadership
• Protests, agitations, revolutions, social movements etc are different forms of collective action
Types of collective action • Herbert Blumer – Critiques of research in the social sciences 1939
• The crowd – (panic, craze, hostile outburst) (compact or diffused) (6 types)
• The public – Formed on the basis of single issue (crowd on the basis of emotion) (multiple issue based)
• The mass – Not defined by form of interaction , but by the efforts of those who use a particular mass media
• The social Movement – Active social movements, expressive social movements
Protest
• Refers to an expression of dissent, disapproval, opposition or objection to a law, policy, social practice or an event etc.
• When it becomes collected it is known as protest movement
• Are formed of collective opposition to some aspect of status quo
• They form a continuum
• May initially be sectional but can enter into coalitions
Features
• Can be at individual/collective level, manifest/latent level, may involve action/inaction
• Opposition (dissent) is central to protest (pre supposes a prior event)
• Mode of protest can vary – black cloth, street theatres, songs, poetry, ahimsa, satyagraha to even violent measures (Naxalites, Jihadis, etc.)
Methods adopted
• Degree of frustration – Mild to Extreme
• Prospect of success – Gandhiji (Pragmatic
Idealism)
• Political acumen
Factors Influencing Protest
Relative Deprivations
Attitude of Authority – Repressive attitudes – Protests are less likely
How deep-seated the grievance is ?
Psychological character of the participants (Eric Hoffer)
Types of protest movement (W. Gamson, 53 between 1830-1930)
Pre-empted
• Where the action is taken before the protest
Co-opted
• Leaders become collaborators with the establishment
Successful
• All demands are met (20)
Collapsed failures
• Met with repression and hence failed (22)
Impact
• If successful – grievance is redressed , popular
awareness is realized. (failure can also lead to
awareness)
• If repression is at early stage – very little
impact
Future of protest movements
• Rise in inequality
• Issue spun across several countries
• But ability of government to unleash violence
Agitation Social Process which
involves intense activity undertaken by an
individual or group, in order to fulfill a purpose
Marxists – Agitation is first act after
polarization. It can lead to revolution
Purpose is central to agitation.
Dissatisfaction is also central to agitation
Can be civil or political in nature. At present, agitation has become
more civil than political
Can be organised or unorganised, generally
non institutional
Frequency of protests depends on structure of
the society, culture , political system
Can be due to actual or relative deprivation
Agitation can also aim to acquire power
It is generally spontaneous and
ephemeral
• Both protests and agitations can become
institutionalized and become social
movements
Social Movement
• A sustained collective action, aimed at bringing or resisting social change outside the sphere of established institutions
• Two features distinguish it from other collective actions – Sustained Action
– Spontaneity
• “Social Movements” by Charles Tilly – Social Movements are major vehicle for ordinary people’s participation in public politics
Collective mobilization
Oriented towards change
Sustained over a period of time
Prerequisites
Flexible organisation
Characteristics of Social Movement (MSA Rao)
Life Cycle of a Social Movement (Zald Ash & H Blumer)
Unrest Stage Excitement stage Formalization Stage Institutionalization
Stage Dissolution
Life cycle - 2
Emergence
Coalesce – sense of coherence in
terms of membership, goals, ideals
Bureaucratization – establishment of rules, procedures
etc.
Success, failure, cooptation, repression,
mainstreaming
Decline
Theories about Social Movement
Social Unrest Theory
Relative Deprivation
Theory
Structural Strain Theory
Resource Mobilization
Theory
Revitalization Theory
Theory of Historicity
Status Inconsistency
Theory
Psychological Factors
Social Unrest Theory
Associated with Chicago School (Herbert Blumer)
Social Movements can be
• Active – outwardly directed aiming to transform the society
• Expressive – inwardly directed to change the people who are involved
Talked about the life cycle of social movement
Relative Deprivation Theory
Samuel Stoufer
• Developed in US in the aftermath of World War – II
• Aim was to study the morale of US army during the war
• Found that the reserve troops had a poor morale, the battlefield troops had a high morale
• State of negative emotions and objective conditions of existence are not symmetrically selected
• Psychological state is not related to absolute deprivation
• E.g. worst time of bad government is when it initiates reforms
Merton
• Relative deprivation is related to the
reference group whose perspective is adopted by the actor
• Reference group can
be individual/collectivity, real/imagined
Harold Kelley
• Two types of reference group –
Normative (emulation) and perspective (self
evaluation)
Marx
• Pauperization
• Capitalist society talks of equal society but in reality it doesn’t happen
• In feudal society , no such problem. It is a system based on
inequality
David F Aberle
• State of negative discrepancy between legitimate expectation and reality
Runciman
• Feeling of RD develops when A wants Y since B has Y
• B is the reference group for A
• A feels it is legitimate and feasible to have Y
• Factor for RD – Education, Economic growth, Egalitarian theory, Aftermath of war
T.R. Gurr
• RD depends on 2 variables – legitimate expectations and perceived capability
• Expectations increase , capability is constant – Aspirational Deprivation
• Expectation is constant, capability decreases – Decrimental deprivation
• Expectations increase , capability decreases – Progressive deprivation
• RD explains why protests develop
• Does not explain when it develops
• RD can be there for years, but protests might
not have developed
• RD is necessary but not a sufficient condition
Structural Strain Theory
(Neil J Smelser) • When the prevailing value system and the
normative structure do not meet the
aspirations of the people, the society faces a
strain.
• New Value system is sought to replace the
existing value system
Different Stages
Structural Conduciveness (Rigidity,
mobilization of resources etc)
Structural Strain (Equilibrium,
Malintegration, Maladjustment, Contradiction)
Generalizing belief/ Ideology (which
articulates grievances, defines, justifies)
Coordinated group/organization
Precipitating Event Operation (failure) of
social control
Resource Mobilization Theory (Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution,1979)
Social Unrest is always
present in the society
To be effective it needs
to muster resources like
leadership,
organizational capacity, communication facilities
Has to use them within
existing political
opportunity structure
Not limited to existing
resources. Can create
resources
Fails to explain how
Black Rights Movement,
Arab Spring Movement
took place despite resource crunch
Revitalization Theory (A.C. Wallace)
• Social Movements can be revitalizing in nature (as opposed to theories that social movement arise out of negative conditions)
• Social movements can develop out of a deliberate, conscious, organized effort on the part of the members of the society to construct a more satisfying culture for themselves
• Positive Movements
• Can be divided into 4 stages
– Cultural stability – people are happy , satisfied
– Changes – give rise to individual stress
– Collective perception – cultural distortion, disillusionment
– Revitalization
Theory of Historicity
• Allain Touraine – “The voice and the Eye: An analysis of social movements, 1981”
• Cause of movement is rooted in historicity of a
place and people where it started
• Movement should be understood in terms of
its specific historicity
Status Inconsistency Theory
• Broom and Lenski
• Objective discrepancy between people’s ranking and status dimension generates
tensions leading to cognitive dissonance,
discontent, protest
• Education, income, occupation
Psychological Factors
• Eric Hoffer (“The True Believer”) • What kind of people attracted to movements
– Socially maladjusted bored with life
– Would be creative who do not get chance to be
creative
– Downwardly mobile
Types of Social Movements
• Liberal
• Marxist
• Fundamentalist
• Gandhian etc.
Ideology
• Peaceful
• Violent Methods
• Value Orientation
• Power Orientation
• Participation Orientation
Orientation (Turner and
Killian)
• Migratory
• Expressive
• Reformative
• Revolutionary
• Reactionary
• Utopian
Horton and Hunt
Types of Social Movements
N.J.Smelsor
•Norm Oriented Movements
•Value Oriented Movements
M.S.A. Rao
•Reform Movements
•Transformative Movements
•Revolutionary Movements
D. Aberle
•Reformative
•Transformative
•Redemptive
•Alternative
Focus of the movement
• In which section - Women, farmer , student movements
Scale and Spatial spread
•All India, Regional, Local
Issue of interest
•Women liberation, equality etc.
Leadership
• Clarifies issues, shapes movements
• Provides guidance , direction
• Prevents it from becoming unruly
• Reflects the view of the people
• Articulates the view of the people
• Leads according to his understanding of situation, and incorporates ideas of participants
Role of Ideology
C. Geertz
• A system of interacting symbols – ideology
• Acts as a bridge between source analysis and consequence analysis
MSA Rao
• Interprets the environment and projects self image
• Codifies and organizes the beliefs, myths, outlooks, values
• Defines aspirations and interests
• Directs responses to specific social situation
• Establishes identity in relation to other groups
• Draws boundary based on group ideology
• Identifies reference groups and their monopolies
Different Kinds of Ideology
Marxist Ideology
• Groups experiencing relative deprivation likely to adopt this
Millenarian Ideology
• When opposition is too powerful
• One needs to provoke Gods to come to one’s rescue
• Belief that at a certain time in future an extraordinary occurrence will happen
Withdrawal and Reorganisation theme
• Existing dominant ideology is reinterpreted in a favorable way
Rejection of an ideology and adoption
of a new one
• Mahar Movement
New Social Movements
• Coined by French Sociologist – Alain Touraine
• New issues, New organizations, New social constituencies, New methods
• 1960s – Students movements
• 1970s – Feminist Movements
• 1980s – Anti-nuclear movements
• 1990s – Gay right movements
Habermas
• New Social Movements, 1981
• New politics – quality of life,
individual self realisation, human
rights
• Old politics – economic, political ,
military security
Frank Parkin
• Middle Class Radicalism, 1968
• Key actors are different
• Likely to come from the new middle class rather than lower classes
Goals
• Focus not on materialistic qualities but on liberal ideals like human rights
• Focus on social changes in identity,
lifestyle, culture rather than public policy
• Broader agenda
Feature
• More social and cultural than political
• Don’t seek to take over state. Work at cultural level to bring social change
Organisation forms and means
• Informal , loosely organised social
network of supporters
• Paul Byrne – relatively disorganized
or polycephalous
Methodologies
• Different and varied
• Political lobbying to sit-ins to
alternative festivals
• Non violent , symbolic direct action
• Moral high ground, mass media
Revolution • James M Jasper – “Revolution is a social movement that seeks, as
minimum, to overthrow the government or state”
• Broadest sense – radical change (Green Revolution, Knowledge revolution etc.)
• Rapid, fundamental transformation of society’s social, economic and political structures which are mutually reinforcing
• How are they different from revolt, uprising, rebellion etc. – the long lasting impact, irresistibility , irrevocability
• Associated with positive, desirable human values (equality , liberation)
• Can be revivalist, reformist but not conservatory
• Maybe viewed differently depending on the context
Types (Theda Skocpol)
Social Revolutions – Comprehensive change
Political Revolutions – Mass political Participation
Revolution from Above – Political
Elites
Anti Colonial Revolution
Failed Revolution
Causes of Revolution
Unequal property relations and awareness of exploitation
(Marx). Will happen in industrially advanced countries.
Lenin – party is required for cultivating class consciousness
Mobilization of peasant (Mao). Challenges the notion that
peasants are backward looking and incapable of mobilization
Leo Trotsky
• Uneven development and uneasy mixture of traditional mode of
production
• Weak and defunct state apparatus
• Action of other states (Afghanistan,
Russia)
N.J. Smelsor
• Structural Strain Theory (maladjustment between sub system)
T.R. Gurr
• Situation of Progressive deprivation
Causes of revolution in 3rd World
countries
Ideology Uneven economic growth
Downturn in the economy
John Foran’s 36 3rd World revolutions
• Dependency model of development
• Repressive and exclusionary states
• Political culture of revolution
• Break down of ties with the first
World
Consequence of Revolution
Transformation of traditional and feudal
societies into industrial capitalist societies
Rapid improvement of welfare measures
Science and technology might not
develop equally rapidly
Revolution are usually anti democratic in
nature – can lead to totalitarian regimes
In long term leadership has to become
moderate to survive
Future of Revolution
Less based on mass insurrections
Religious fundamentalism is
on the rise
Sectional differences are
emphasized
Increasing ability of the state to
suppress dissent
Anti colonialist and Marxist strategy
are defunct
Lineage and Descent
Kinship • A particular type of social relation
• Social relations based upon social recognition of biological ties
• Biological ties can be through sexuality or descent
• Sexuality – Mates to each other
– Affinity – bonds of sexuality socially recognised
• Descent – May share a common gene pool
– Consanguinity – bonds of descent socially recognised
• If biological ties are there but no social recognition ?
• Trobrianders and adopted child ?
Biological ties
• Direct – Persons connected through direct descent are called
lineals (father-son, grandfather – grand daughter etc.)
– They are always from different generations
• Shared – Persons connected through shared descent are called
collateral
– Can be of different generations
– brother-sister, uncle-nephew
Direct Shared
Sexuality Husband-Wife Co-husbands, co-
wives
Affinity
Descent Father-Son, Father
– daughter, grand
father - grandson
Brother-sister,
Brother -brother
Consanguinity
Lineal (direct
descent)
• The way biological ties are given a social recognition , defines the character of the group
• Direct sexuality is regulated by institutions like marriage
• Marriage is an institution by which groups and individuals acquire certain rights in each other.
• The rights fall under 2 categories – kinship and domestic rights
• If rights are direct , it gives rise to an arrangement called monogamy (one spouse in one gender) – Straight life – marital life can not be dissolved , marriage right exercised only once
– Serial monogamy – marriage more or less contractual
• If right is shared , the marriage is called polygamy – Polyandry
• Adelphic or Fraternal Polyandry – Khas (UK), Todas (Nilgiris)
• Non fraternal Polyandry – Nayyars , Marquesas islands
– Polygyny
• Traditional India – Polygyny for men
– Straight life monogamy for women
• Preferential marriages – Levirate – Woman marrying husband’s brother on husband’s death
– Surrorate – Husband marrying wife’s sister on wife’s death
– Cross-cousin marriages
Descent
• Biological Descent means inheritance of gene pool
• Social descent
– When the descent principle is socially recognised
– Becomes the basis for transmission of property, group membership, offices and social identity
• Transmission of genes vs. transmission social attributes
• Depending upon social recognition of descent, different types of descent groups may emerge
Types
Unilineal Descent
•When one line of descent is recognised
•Patrilineal – If that one line is male line (
only sons inherit property, surname etc.) , relatives in the patrilineal line - agnate
•Matrilineal – if that one line is female line
- e.g. Nayyars , Bunts , Rare, Matrilineal puzzle
Double Unilineal or Bilineal or Double Descent
•Both lines are recognised but asymmetrically
•Yako, Nigeria – moveable property from one side, immovable from other side
Ambilateral or Ambilineal Descent
•Choice is left to the individual
•One son joins mother’s side business , another son joins father’s side business
•Samoan Islands
Parallel Descent
•Sons inherit from father
•Daughters inherit from mother
Cross/Alternative Descent
•Girls from father
•Boys from mothers
Bilateral Descent
•Emerging trend
•Both lines recognised equally and
symmetrically
Robin Fox
The women have
children
The men impregnate the women
The men usually exercise control
Primary kins do not mate with
each other
(incest
taboo)
• Depending on descent principle there emerged different descent groups in unilineal descent – Phratory
– Clans
– Lineages
• Phratory and clan trace their descent from a common mythical ancestor (animate/inanimate/human/non human)
• Lineages have a real ancestor
Lineages
• A number of families which are linked by a common ancestor , whose identity is known , form a group called lineage
Clan
• A number of lineages linked together with a common ancestor whose identity is not known is called clan
• E.g. Gotra
Phratory
• A number of clans having a common mythical ancestor
• Endogamous group
• E.g. Caste
Descent Groups Functions
Cultural Function
•perform certain rituals on occasions like birth, marriage
Exogamous
•Strong sense of shared identity. Insider vs. outsider
Property Management
•Have built in authority structure
•Normally exercised by senior males
Role Sharing
•Individual’s economic rights and responsibilities defined by his/her position
Jural Units
•In many societies descent groups decide their own disputes
War groups
•Evans Pritchard – kinship groups convert into war groups
Rules of inheritance
•In line with the reckoning of descent in most societies
Clan and Phratory
• Too Large
• Not much functional in day to day life
• Participation in common worship
• Regulations of marriage [within clan
marriage restricted]
Lineage
• Functional unit
• Land allocated to lineages in simple societies
• Political work
• Social security to groups
• At present – market economics , welfare
state, geographical mobility
• Political significance
Kindred
• Loose knit group which consists of kins
from both the sides
• Participate in
functions like marriages, mourning
etc.
• At present lineage
getting replaced by kindred
Patriarchy and Sexual Division of
Labour
Patriarchy
Literally means -
the rule of father
Used to describe the social systems
between male heads of household
Exercise of control
and domination by
men over women
Sex and Gender
One Group of Sociologists
• Rooted in biological
differences
• Results of adaptation (suitability , desirable ,
functional)
Feminists
• Difference is socially created
• Exploitative and dysfunctional
• Much more enduring than any other form
• Needs to be altered
Sylvia Walby
• A system of social structures
and practices in which men
dominate and oppress women
– Theorizing Patriarchy, 1990
• Private and Public Patriarchy
Culture
•sex specific roles, commodification,
identity
Household
•unpaid labour
Sexuality
•more l imitations to sexual freedom,
marriage
Violence
•form of over powering women
Paid Work
•his torically discriminated in jobs
State
•state has had a patriarchal view
Kate Millett – Sexual Politics (Factors of Patriarchy)
Ideological Biological Sociological Class
Subordination
Economic and educational
Force Myth and Religion
Psychological
A Oakley
• Historical factors behind patriarchy
• Emphasizes role of industrialization and Victorian ideology in domestication of women and their relegation to housewives roles
Family
• Authority
structures
• Inheritance
Rights
• Rituals
• Division of Labour
Society
• Gender
Discrimination
• Division of
Labour
• Physical and sexual violence
Shulamith Firestone “Dialectics of Sex”
Sexual oppression is the most fundamental form of oppression
Criticizes Marx for overlooking into the exploitative aspects of biological reproduction
Mothering role makes women dependent on men
Human infants dependent on parents for long
Out of dependence develops unequal power distribution
Inequality has reduced due to development of birth control technology , but true equality only if gender based identity and mothering role is abolished.
Radical feminist view – liberating from womanhood
Patriarchy and Matriarchy • Patriarchal structure implies coincidence of the below factors -
– when descent is patrilineal
– when inheritance of major property is from father to son
– when residence is patrilocal
– when authority is concentrated in the hands of senior males.
• No society has features which are exact reverse of these.
• Even in matrilineal, matrilocal systems major property is usually controlled by males
• The term 'matriarchy', though found in literature might be a misnomer
• No conclusive evidence to support that matriarchy was universal in early stage in development of kinship systems.
Sexual Division of Labour
• Process of dividing work between people on
the basis of their sex
• Has been in existence since time immemorial
Biological Approach
J A Gray and A W H Buffery
• Fundamental Biological Differences (genitals, brains etc.)
• So social differences
• Girl child – left hemisphere – linguistic skills
• Boy child – right hemisphere – spatial visual skills
• Difference in hormones and genes
• Testosterone – Aggression – difference in behaviour
Robin Fox and Lionel Tiger
Sexual DOL – result of adaptation to
social environment
Man since 3 million years
Tools usage since 3000-4000 years
Modern man since 40000 years
All along had been a hunter – sexual DOL
Women – base camp , pregnancy, lateral
vision Men – Tunnel vision Evolved differently
The Imperial Animal,
1972 - Human Biogrammar – type
of genetic program
Women programmed
differently
Production vs. reproduction/care
Result of biological adaptation
Parsons
• Sexual DOL and complementary
personalities are functional
• Women are more emotional
• Important for primary socialization, adult
personality stabilization
Murdoch
• Survey of 225 societies world over
• Sexual DOL all over
• Gender roles emerge because they are
practical
• Physical strength of
men
• Women bear children
John Bowlby
• Juvenile delinquency study
• Those deprived of intimate relation with
mother - more tendency to commit
violence
Socio Cultural Approach
Ann Oakley
• Used same data as Murdoch
• Found societies where sole responsibility of lumbering is with females
• African tribes where women go for hunting, Israeli army
• Women in construction sector in India
• Women can take up physically strenuous work
• Upbringing causes the difference
• Pre industrial phase – equal space for both men and women
• Industrial phase – “housewife” role
• Exclusively for women, dependent on men, unpaid work, privatized, isolated
Bruno Bettelheim
• Study of Kibbutz
• Mother-child relation not essential for effective socialization
Jessie Bernard (The future of
marriage,1976)
• Men and women have different experiences in marriage
• Married men (vs. single men) more likely to have successful careers
• Wives (vs. single women) more likely to suffer from depression
Hoschild
• The Second Shift, 1989
• Employed women face harassment in 2 shifts
W Yeung
• Women’s shift to paid employment increasing
• But not much significant shift of men in domestic work
Cordelia Fine
• Delusions of Gender,2010
• Men and women not programmed naturally with different interests and capabilities
• Cultural and societal beliefs contribute to the difference
• Gender is recycled
Uma Chakravorty
• Brahminical traditions
• Glorification of obedient women
• Gender discrimination is veiled
• Motherhood is considered the primary role
Veena Das
• Devi Dasi dichotomy
Changes
• Role of economy
• Women taking up so called masculine jobs
• Hold of religion is weakening
• Role of family is also changing
• Laws
• Goran Therbon - Patriarchal power declines in
2 stages:
– WW-1, Russian Revolution - promoted equality
– Sexual revolutions of mid 70s - International
women year-1975, second wave of feminism and
legislative powers to women in many countries
and larger public role
Sociological Theories of Social Change
• Linear Theories of Social change
– Society gradually moves to an even higher state of civilization
– Advances in a linear fashion and in the direction of improvement
• Cyclical Theories of Social Change
– Society goes through certain cycles
– Looking to the cyclic changes of days and nights and of climates
• Structural Functionalist Theories
Linear Theories
Comte
• Law of three stages –Theological,
Metaphysical, Positivistic
• Intellectual Development
• Organic and Critical periods
• Social Statics and Social Dynamics
Spencer
• Social Darwinist
• Survival of the fittest
• Differentiation and Integration
• Stages of evolution – simple, compound, doubly compound and trebly compound
• Military , Industrial ,
Tylor
• Phases – animism, polytheism and
monotheism
• In terms of cultural growth
Morgan
• Stages – Primitive, Barbaric and Civilized
Ferdinand Tonnies
• Existence of two types of will – Essential will and arbitrary will
• Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
• Linear evolution
• Size ? Homogenous or heterogeneous ? Type of interaction ? Stratification ? Order ? Role of
Religion ?
Hegel
• Dialectics
• History is formed through dialectic process
• Idea X Opposite idea
• Thesis, anti thesis and synthesis
Marx
• Materialism
• Class struggle is the driving force behind social
change
• Revolution – Communist Society
Criticism
• Values bias
• Lack of objectivity
• Arm chair theories
W G Ogburn
• Exists when two or more social variables which were in some form of agreement or mutual adjustment became disassociated and maladjusted by differential rates of change
• Criticism
– Which aspects lag behind
– Now non material changes might be faster
Cyclical Theories
• Oswald Spengler
– Birth, Maturity, Decay, death
– E.g. Roman and British Empire
• Arnold J Toynbee
– Growth, Arrest and Decline of civilizations
Pareto
• Theory of circulation of Elites
• Rome
• Society as a system in equilibrium and also
consisting of parts
• Change in one part leads to change in other
parts
Pitrim Sorokin
• Social and Cultural Dynamics, 1938
• Classification according to “Cultural Mentality”
• Ideational (Spiritual)
• Sensate (Material)
• Idealistic (Synthesis of two)
• Social Change follow a cyclic pattern (like a pendulum)
• Perceived by mind vs. Perceived by senses
• Abstract , religious ideas vs. hedonistic, sensual, materialistic pleasure
Criticism
• Abstract
• Speculative
• How to test them empirically
• Prejudices
Structure Functionalistic View
• Systems view of change
– Restorative
• Evolutionary view of social change
– Evolution of society from simple to compound ones
– Evolutionary universal
– With evolution -> problem to integration -> generalization of values
Feminist Perspective
• Centrality of gender
• Social reality viewed differently by different
genders
Jean Baudrillard
• Opposes Marxist idea that society dominated
by economic structure
• Increasingly controlled by mass media
Michael Foucault
• Increasing surveillance and discipline in
society
Agents of Social Change
• Population (Demography)
• Technology
• Religious factor
• Conflict (Structural Strain, deprivation, cultural revitalisation)
• Economic factors
• Ideology
• Political factors (Charismatic Leader, type of political regime)
• Social Movements
• Cultural factors (Cultural Contact and Acculturation)
• Common Purpose (3rd World countries)
• Chance Happenings
• Ecological factors
Demography
• Importance given by classical evolutionists
and neo-evolutionists
• Change in birth rates, death rates and
migration
• Change due to demographic transition of
society
Technology
• L. H. Morgan, Karl Marx, Engels, Gordon
Childe
• Ogburn “cultural lag” – role of technology in
social change
Religious factor
• Can act as an agent of change
• Can resist change
• Weber – Protestant Ethics and
industrialization
Conflict
• Social change caused by conflict and tension
• Marx
• Neil J Smelsor – Structural Strain
• Merton – Relative Deprivation
• Social division based on class, caste, gender, ethnicity etc. have been the major drivers for change
Economic Factors
• Karl Marx – Importance given to economic
infrastructure
• Globalisation, Information age etc.
• Discovery of oil in middle East
Ideology
• New ideas and changes in existing ideas
• Weber –Rationalisation of religious ideas
Political Factors
• Ruling class determines political atmosphere
• Distribution of power
• Gradual changes
Social Movements
• Change in values, norms, institutions, culture,
traditions
Cultural Factors
• Diffusionists
• Invention, discovery , diffusion
• Cultural contact and acculturation
Common Purpose
• Emergence of Common Purpose
• Role of state
• Deliberate Social change
Chance Happenings
• Outbreak of Plague in England
• 1st outbreak in 14th century – Half population
died
• Federalism broke down
• Helped in emergence of industrialism
Ecological factors
• Emerging as a new factor of social change
• Global warming
Education and Social Change
Education
The process of cultivation of distinct qualities and traits through explicit instructions or through implicit inhibition as part of growing up amidst family, kin and peer groups
Education is a formal process of communication between several generations whereby older generation transmits values, ideas, skills to the younger generation
Francis J Brown - Education is a process which brings about changes in the behavior of society. It is a process which enables every individual to effectively participate in the
activities of society and to make positive contribution to the progress of society
Literacy
• Delimited to the skills of reading, writing and
arithmetic - the so-called three R's.
• Expectations
– better able to secure a livelihood
– raise productivity
– safeguard their own and their nation's interests more
competently than their non-literate counterparts.
• Education is characterized by the moral,
intellectual, and spiritual development of a
person.
Functions of education Socialization into new
attitudes and values – inculcates social values like
empathy and rational
investigation (e.g. sati, child marriage ban)
Redefines social groups –
raises expectations Up-gradation of skills
Equality of opportunity –
more open society, more avenues for social mobility,
bargaining powers
Broadens mental horizons –
promotes liberal ideas, banish social evils, blind
customs, minimizes
discrimination.
Encourages openness to
change
Education also prepares
society for change by creating
awareness/expectation for
change
Inculcates attitude for
deferred gratification - postponement of goals
Economic Role – Close
linkage with economic system . Industrial revolution
- Mass education, Technical
education
Social Mobility – Avenues for
social Mobility (occupational mobility, inter and intra
generational mobility)
Evaluation of Change
Creates condition for change
Greater Awareness –
Leads to protest for justice (Dalit Protest,
Feminist Protest)
Increase in
expectation – demand stimulus
Increase in skills –
caters to supply
Facilitates
democratization of society – Political
Modernization
Education creates
more equal, rational attitude to relations – social mobility
Secularization of
mindset
Durkheim
• Agent of transmission of social norms
• Respecting rules – learn
to be part of larger group
• Skill development which
helps in sustaining DOL
• Transmits both general and specific values
Parsons
• Schools are society in miniature
• Role allocation
• Child judged on universalistic standards
• Value of achievement and value of equal opportunity
• Differential educational achievements and
differential rewards
• Social control, character building , human
resource development, economic development
Feminist Perspective
• McRobbie and Sue Lee
• Reproduces feminine roles in girls
• Reinforces gender stereotypes
Paul Willis
• Boys use derogatory
language (not checked
in schools)
• Produces aggressive masculinity
Althusser (Marxist)
• Ideology and
Ideological state
apparatus, 1972
• Education reinforces dominant ideology
• It is appropriated by ruling class to pursue its own ideas and interests
• Hinders Social change
Bowles and Gintis
• Schooling in Capitalist
America,1976
• Education is a giant myth making machine
• Curriculum serves the interest of the dominant groups
Ivan Illich
• Deschooling
Society,1971
• Education promotes existing social relations
• Grade advancement ~ education, Diploma ~ competence
• Suffocate creativity and deskill individuals*
• Passive consumption
•Education, Opportunity and Social Inequality,1974
•Not sufficient to ensure social mobility
•Inequality perpetuated
•Commercialization of education
•Working class suited education
Raymond
Boudon
•Helps in reproduction of cultural capital
•Impacts acquisition of other capital
•Unequal societies – unequal educational attainments
•Immediately a fter revolution vs. Gradually
Pierre Bourdieu
•Working class kids get working class jobs
•Differential education – differential reproduction of cultural values Paul Willis
•Education reduced to means of economic development
•Should have been a l iberalising, humanising, democratic force Sally Tomilson
Education and Social Mobility
DV Glass study
• Self recruitment highest among professionals and high administrative
occupation categories, Social mobility
short ranged, proportion of sons with same occupation as fathers was one
third
Oxford study after 27 years
• Absolute mobility increased and long ranged as well but relative mobility
was still low, inequality persisted
P. Saunders Study
• Higher social mobility in industrial society, but dependent on class
position
P. Boudon
• Cultural capital leads to higher financial capital thus leading to
higher mobility
Rogoff Study in US
• Most likely job of a son was the job occupied by his father.
• Education not an ultimate equaliser
• If hierarchy is already there it will not equalise