Social modernization

Introduction

Socialmodernization

Concept

TheformationoftheclassicsocialmodernizationtheoryofsocialmodernizationProcess

Theterm"modern"hereisnotapureconceptoftimeorera,butreferstoasocialformdifferentfromthetraditionalmedievalsociety.Insociology,theso-calledmodernizationreferstotheprocessoftransitionfromatraditionalagriculturalsocietytoamodernindustrialsociety.Itisbasedonsocialdifferentiation,guidedbyscientificandtechnologicalprogress,industrializationandurbanizationasthemaincontent,andcoordinatedeconomicandsocialdevelopment.Theprocessofsocialchange.Asforthesocialformthatthemodernizedcountrywillenter,somescholarscallit"post-industrialsociety","informationsociety"(Bell),"knowledgesociety"(JiewuTaiichi),"risksociety"(Baker),etc.

Historicalprocess

Socialmodernizationisacontinuousprocess.Drivenbythedevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnology,withtheindustrialrevolutionandtheinformationrevolutionasthemainforms,socialmodernizationconstitutesacontinuoushistoricalprocess.Modernization,asaprocessratherthantheaccumulationofcertainindicators,isauniquedevelopmentprocesscomparedwiththedevelopmentofpre-modernsociety.Therefore,foranycountryorsocietyintheworld,thereisneitheranabsolutedistinctionbetween"tradition"and"modernity",andthereisnoonce-for-allmodernization.

Features

Asthetrendofworlddevelopment,socialmodernizationshowscommonfeaturesinthedevelopmentofdifferentregionsandcountries.Forexample,industrializationisindeedconcentratedinthedevelopmentprocessofthoseWesterncountriesthatstartedthisprocessfirst.Therefore,becauseWesterncountriesfirststartedthemodernizationprocessandachievedrelativelyhighresults,somescholarsintentionallyorunintentionallytookWesterndevelopedcountriesas"models"forsocialmodernizationinallothercountries.Theybelievethatallsocieties,nomatterhowdifferenttheirhistory,socialstatus,andstartingpointofdevelopmentare,willfollowthedevelopmentpathofWesternsocietiesandgothroughroughlythesameprocess.Forexample,theAmericaneconomistW.Rostowbelievesthattheeconomicdevelopmentofallcountriesintheworldmustgothroughthesixstageshesummedupindevelopedcountries,namelythetraditionalstage,thestageofpreparationfortake-off,thestageoftake-off,thestageofmaturity,thestageofmassconsumption,andthestageofpursuingqualityoflife.Therefore,thethirdworldcountriescanimitatethemethodsandstrategiesthatWesterncountrieshaveimplemented.Thisgoesagainsttheobjectivelawsofhistoricaldevelopmentandhistoricalreality

Attention

ButsocialmodernizationbynomeansmeansthatdevelopingcountriesmustdevelopinaccordancewiththemodernizationmodelofWesterncountriesordevelopedcountries.Followthemstepbystep.Duetothedifferencesinthesocialstructureofdifferentsocietiesinthepre-modernperiod,thedifferentstartingpointsofthemodernizationprocess,andtheconstraintsoftheinternalandexternalenvironments,itisactuallyimpossibletopromotethemodernizationofthesocietyinaccordancewithacertain"universalmodel".Themodernizationofanycountryisaproductoftheorganicintegrationofuniversalmodernizationfeatureswithitsownhistoricalconditionsandculturaltraditions.Itmustbemodernizedinaccordancewithitsownspecificandhistoricalinternalandexternalconditions.Developingcountriesshouldandmustlearnfromtheexperienceofdevelopedcountriesinthemodernizationprocess,butsuchlearningshouldnotbecomeamereimitation.

Content

Socialmodernizationin2003,thefrontierofworldsocialmodernization

Asadevelopmentprocessofgrowthandinnovation,socialmodernizationisthroughthedevelopmentofsocietyinmanyaspectsThechangeisachieved.Understandingthecharacteristicsofthesechangesorthesignsofsocialtransformationhelpsusfullygraspthisprocess.Specifically,thisprocessofsocialdevelopmentisrealizedthroughtheprocessofincreasingsocialdifferentiationandintegration,thedevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnology,industrialization,urbanization,andrationalization.

Changesinsocialstructure

Theprocessofhighdifferentiationandhighintegrationofsocialstructureisessentiallyachangeintheinstitutionalstructureofasociety.Theresultofsocialdifferentiationandsocialintegrationistheformationofaseriesofcorrespondingsystemstoregulatevarioussocialrelations.

Oneofthemostimportantsocialfoundationsforasocietytoenterthedevelopmentprocessofmodernizationisthedifferentiationofthesocialstructure.Moreover,oneofthemostimportantinternalfactorsforasocietytorealizethetransitiontomodernizationiswhetherthedifferentiationofthesocialstructurehasreachedaconsiderabledegree.

Rationalization

Rationalityreferstoadoptingananalyticalattitude,understandingtheobjectworldaccordingtoitstruecolors,andverifyingtheobjectworld.Specifically,itreferstopeople'schoiceofgoalsandrequiredmethods(tools)inordertoachievehigherefficiencywhendeterminingactiongoalsandtakingsocialactions.Thesetoolsandmethodshavehigherefficiencyandenablethegoalstobeachieved.Fasterandeasier.Forexample,economicdevelopmentisoneofthegoalsofsociety.Thetoolsandmeansincludecorrespondingproductiontools,productiontechnologies,productionorganizationforms,labormarkets,asoundfinancialsystem,andanappropriatelyeducatedpopulation.Theoppositeofreasonisignorance,habit,tradition,andevensuperstition.

Theconceptofrationalityisessentiallytheembodimentofasociety’sculturalvalues.Toalargeextent,modernizationcanbeseenastherationalizationofsocialandculturalvalues,ortheimprovementofrationalprinciples.Undertheguidanceofthisvalueconcept,peopletakecertainactions,whichleadstotheemergenceofcertainsocialdevelopmentresults.Inacertainsense,thedifferencesinthedegreeofsocialdevelopmentandtheroadtosocialmodernizationcanallbeexplainedbythedifferencesintherationalizationofdifferentsocieties.

Scienceandtechnology

Thehistoryofmorethan300yearsofindustrialcivilizationhasproventhatscienceandtechnologyarepowerfulsocialproductiveforces.Theindustrialrevolutionitselfistheresultofbreakthroughsinscienceandtechnology.Sincemankindinventedthesteamengine,technologicalprogresshasincreasinglybecomeadecisivefactorinindustrializationanditslevelofdevelopment.Theemergenceofnewtechnologiesismainlyrootedinthetransformationofscientificresearchresultsintotechnologicalinventions.Asweallknow,thefirsttechnologicalrevolutionmarkedbythedevelopmentofsteamengineandtoolmanufacturingtechnologyledtothefirstindustrialrevolutioninmoderntimes;thesecondtechnologicalrevolutionmarkedbyelectricpowerandcommunicationtechnologyledtothefirstaftertheendofthe19thcentury.Thesecondindustrialrevolution;andthethirdtechnologicalrevolutionmarkedbyatomicenergytechnology,electroniccomputertechnology,geneticengineeringtechnology,etc.,whichbeganinthe1940s,isbrewingmoresignificantbreakthroughs.

Scienceandtechnologyhavegreatlychangedpeople'ssocialrelations,interactiveformsandprocesses,socialorganizationforms,sociallifeinvariousfields,andpeople'sconcepts.Thedevelopmentofmoderntransportation,communicationandinformationtechnologyhastoalargeextentsurpassedthelimitationsoftheoriginalspatialstructureandfundamentallychangedpeople'straditionalsocialcommunicationmethods.WiththedevelopmentandpopularizationoftheInternet,outsidethetraditionalcommunitywherepeoplelivetogether,anewkindofcommunityisbeingformedanddeveloped.Withthehelpofmodernmediatechnology,aculturalphenomenon(suchasconsumption,values)canquicklytranscendnationalboundaries,spreadtoothercountriesandbeaccepted.Thedevelopmentofcomputertechnologyandthenetworkhascausedfundamentalchangesintheorganization,managementandworkmethodsoftheworkplace.

Thedevelopmentofmodernscienceandtechnology,whilebringingwealthtomankindandimprovingthequalityoflife,hasalsopresentedhugechallengestohumansocietyandevenbroughtdisasters.Forexample,thedevelopmentofmodernbiologicalgeneticengineeringhaschallengedtheoriginalmoralconceptsandfamilyandmarriagerelationships,andthedevelopmentofcloningtechnologyhasbroughtissuesrelatedtothesurvivalandbasicvalues​​ofhumansocietytothefrontofmankind.Theimpactofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnologyonnatureandsocietyhasmadeorhasmadethecontrolofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnologyamajorpracticalissue.

Economicdevelopment

Economicdevelopmentfirstmeansthetransformationofeconomicstructure.Asamaincontentofmodernization-industrialization-referstothetransformationfromhumanenergytonon-humanenergy.Thatistochangefrombeingmainlyagricultureandhandicrafttoindustry.Industrialproductionhasbecomethemainforceforthedevelopmentofthenationaleconomy.Thelevelofindustrializationofacountrycanbemeasuredbytheproportionofindustrialproductionintheentirenationaleconomy.Forexample,intheeconomicstructureofdevelopedcapitalistcountries,theagriculturalGDPin1980onlyaccountedfor4%ofthetotalGDP,andtheagriculturallaborforceaccountedforonly6%ofthetotallaborforce;whiletheagriculturaloutputvalueoflow-incomecountriesaccountedfordomesticoutput.36%ofthetotalproductionvalue,andthelaborforceaccountsfor71%ofthetotallaborforce.Thetypeofsectorwheremostproductionandlaborareconcentratedindicatesthelevelofoveralleconomicdevelopment.Ifyoufocusonagriculture,itshowsthatpeoplearestillstrugglingtosatisfytheneedforfood,clothing,andclothing.Thenewtechnologicalrevolutionthatemergedinthe1940shasbroughtnewchangestothemoderneconomicstructure.Incountriesthathaveachievedindustrialization,thedevelopmentoftheserviceindustryorthetertiaryindustryhasgraduallysurpassedindustry,occupyingamajorpositioninthenationaleconomy.Theriseofthetertiaryindustryshowsthatknowledgeandintelligencehavebecomemoreandmorecriticalfactorsinthedevelopmentofthenationaleconomy,andeconomicdevelopmentisincreasinglydependentontechnologicalprogress.

Urbanization

Theprocessofurbanizationreferstotheincreaseintheurbanpopulation,theexpansionoftheurbanscale,themigrationofruralpopulationtothecity,andtheincreaseinruralurbancharacteristicsinacountryorsociety.process.Thelevelofurbanizationinacountryisindicatedbytheratiooftheurbanpopulationtothetotalpopulation.

Thedevelopmentofasociety’surbanizationdependsonseveralconditions.Thefirstisthelevelofeconomicdevelopmentoftheentiresociety.AccordingtoWorldBankstatisticsin1990,acountry’seconomicdevelopmentlevelispositivelycorrelatedwithurbanization.Therefore,onlywhentheoveralleconomicdevelopmentofacountryimproves,canitsurbanizationlevelincrease.Althoughthepopulationoflargecitiesinsomecountrieshasincreaseddramatically,ontheonehand,thelevelofurbanizationintheentirecountryisrelativelylow,andontheotherhand,thequalityofdevelopmentoftheselargecitiesisrelativelylow.However,therelationshipbetweenthelevelofurbanizationandtherateofeconomicgrowthisnotalwayssoclose,andsometimesthereareoftenslowereconomicgrowthratesandrapidurbanpopulationgrowth.Thesecondisthesocialandculturalconditions.Thedevelopmentlevelofurbanizationdependstoalargeextentonthesocialsystemandsocialstructurebackground.Thefirstisthepowerofthecitytoexistanddevelopintheentiresociety.CitiesinWesternEuropedevelopedwiththedevelopmentofcommerceinthestruggleagainstfeudallords.Forfeudallords,ithasaconsiderabledegreeofautonomy.Althoughinthefeudalera,thedevelopmentlevelofcitiesinWesternEuropewasnotashighasthatinEasternsocieties,thesecitieshavebecomethegrowthpointsofEuropeansocialmodernizationandhavedevelopedrapidlywitheconomicdevelopment.InmanyEasternsocieties,citiesonlyexistascentersofpoliticalandmilitaryrule,andthereisnoindependentandautonomousurbansociety.Althoughitreachedarelativelyhighlevelofurbanizationinacertainperiodoftime,itfellintoalong-termstagnationinthefuture.Thesecondistheroleofsomesocialsystems.Sometimes,theexistenceofacertainsocialsystemwillalsohaveanimpactonthecountry’surbanizationoutsideoftheeconomiccontext.Forexample,mycountry'shouseholdregistrationsystemandcommoditygrainsystemareoneofthemainreasonsforthelowlevelofurbanizationinChina.

HumanModernization

Themodernizationofasocietyisnotonlythedevelopmentofstructure,culture,economy,scienceandtechnology,andurbanization.Societyismadeupofcountlessmembersofsociety.Withoutindividuals,therewouldbenosociety.Inanysocietyandsocialchanges,peopleareabasicfactor.Therefore,intheprocessofasocietymovingtowardsmodernization,withoutthemodernizationofpeople,themodernsystemcannotfunctionwell.Asocietycanonlybesaidtobemodernizedwhenitspeoplearemodernized,orthatonlythosewhoworkinmodernscienceandtechnology,economy,andvariousorganizationshaveobtainedmodernityconsistentwiththemodernizationoftheentiresociety.Itisatrulymodernsociety.Modernsystemsandmodernpeoplearethetwobasicaspectsofasocialmodernization.

Globalization

Inrecentyears,therehasbeenalotofdiscussionaboutglobalizationinacademia,anditisregardedasthemostimportantdevelopmenttrendandthemostimportantmodernityfeatureintheworldtoday.Foratime,modernizationconceptsandtheoriesarelikelytobereplacedbyglobalizationconceptsandtheories.Whatis"globalization"?Whatareitscharacteristics?Whatisitsrelationshipwithmodernity,andwhatimpactdoesithaveonthedailylifeofindividuals,thestructureofsociety,thesystemofthecountry,andtheorderoftheworld?Theseareallissuesthatsociologymustfacesquarely.

Regardingthedefinitionofglobalization,McLuhanvividlydescribeditasthe"globalvillage"era,Wallersteincalledtheformationanddevelopmentofthe"worldsystem",andGiddenssummarizeditas"Time-spaceextension","interactionacrossdistances".Here,werefertotheabovestatementtodefineglobalizationasvariousindividuals,groups,communities,countries,marketsandinternationalorganizations(includingcompanies,nation-statesystems,andnon-governmentalorganizations)throughadvancedhigh-techandcross-temporal"De-localizationmechanismistheprocessofstrengtheningtiesonaglobalscale.Itcanalsobemoresimplydefinedasthedevelopmentofanetworkofinterdependentrelationshipsworldwide.

Developmentprocess

Socialmodernizationisaholisticandrevolutionaryprocessofchange.Itcontrastswithtraditionalsocietywithvariouscharacteristicsofmodernsociety,andoftenbringssociallifeThedrasticchanges.Socialmodernizationisalong-termcontinuoushistoricalprocess.Asocietyneedslong-termpreparationandaccumulationtoenterthemodernizationprocess.Evenafterenteringthemodernizationprocessandreachingacertainlevelofmodernization,itmustcontinuetopromotemodernization.Socialmodernizationisalsoaprocessofcoordinateddevelopment.Itisnotaseparatedevelopmentofacertainfactorinthesocialsystem,butshouldincludeallaspectsofsociallife,especiallyeconomicgrowth,institutionalchanges,andchangesinvalues.Thewaysandmethodsofsocialmodernizationarediverse.CountriesinWesternEuropeandNorthAmericahavesuccessfullyenteredthemodernizationprocessfirstandhavereachedahighlevel,butthemodernizationprocessofothercountriesisnotequaltotheprocessof"Westernization".Thesocialmodernizationprocessofanycountryistheproductoftheorganiccombinationofuniversalcharacteristicsandthecountry'shistoryandculture.ItshouldnotandcannotbecompletelycopiedfromthemodernizationmodelofWesterncountries.Exceptforthefirstbatchofcountriesthatcarriedoutmodernization,mostofthecountriesthatlaterenteredthemodernizationprocessgenerallyhadapurposefulandplannedprocess,whichwastheresultofthespreadofmodernization.Afterenteringthemodernizedcountry,thedualorevenmultiplestructureof"tradition"and"modern"haslongexistedinthesocialstructuresystem.

Basicfeatures

Mainlyinclude

①Scienceandtechnology

Thedevelopmentofeconomyistheresultoftherevolutionofscienceandtechnologytoacertainextent.Technologyalsopromotesthetransformationofsocialspirituallife,materiallifeandtheall-rounddevelopmentofpeople,causingmajorchangesinthesocialstructure

②Continuedeconomy

Theprimaryindicatorofeconomicgrowthisagriculture.Shifttoindustrialization,thatis,industrialization.Itisthebasicsymbolofmodernsocietyandthemaindifferencefromtraditionalsociety.Sincethelate1950s,inthecountriesthathaveachievedindustrialization,thetrendofthemoderneconomicdevelopmentstructureisthatthedevelopmentofthetertiaryindustryhasgraduallysurpassedindustry,occupyingadominantpositioninthenationaleconomy

③PoliticsDemocracy

Thedevelopmentofsocialmodernizationrequiresthatmoremembersofsocietyparticipateinthemanagementofsocialproductionandsociallifeonthebroadestsocialbasis,andgivefullplaytotheinitiativeandcreativityofallmembersofsociety

④Socialstructure

Theprogressofscienceandtechnologyandthedevelopmentoflarge-scaleindustrieshavemadevarioussocialactivitiesincreasinglycomplexandincreasinglycloselyrelatedtoeachother.Inthiscase,variousspecializedsocialorganizationswithcomplementaryfunctionsaredevelopingrapidlytomoreeffectivelymeetpeople'seconomic,political,cultural,andemotionalneeds.Everystructuralelementofsocietyassumesmoreandmorespecializedfunctions

Intheprocessofmodernization,toadapttoeconomicandpoliticalchanges,theentiresocietyandallmembersofsocietyaretransformedfrombackwardandignorant,Thedecadentlifestyleistransformedintoacivilized,scientific,andhealthylifestyle,fromthevalues​​ofbeingcontentwiththestatusquo,fearingchange,andstickingtoconventions,toapositive,upward,andenterprisingmentalstate

⑤Urbanization

Inacountryandsociety,theurbanpopulationincreases,theruralpopulationtransferstothecity,andtheurbancharacteristicsofthecountrysideincrease.Urbanizationisachangeinthewayhumanbeingslive,anditisalsoacomprehensivereflectionofthemodernizationofsocialeconomy,socialrelations,andlifestyles.Generallyspeaking,thelevelofurbanizationofacountryisdirectlyproportionaltothelevelofmodernizationoftheentirecountry.

TheoreticalResearch

Inthehistoryofsociologicalthought,FrenchsociologistA.ComteandBritishsociologistH.Spencertooktheleadinresearchingthenewindustrialsociety.analyze.Comtebelievesthatindustrialcivilizationistheessenceofthepositivismstageandthehigheststageofsocialdevelopment.Itischaracterizedbyahighdegreeofsocialdifferentiationandbeliefinscience.Spencerbelievesthatthedifferencebetweenadevelopedsocietyandaprimitivesocietyisthatthedevelopedsocietyisheterogeneous,andtheprimitivesocietyishomogeneousandisolated.Thinkersintheperiodofthedisciplinaryizationofsociologyconductedamoresystematicstudyofsocialmodernization.TheGermansociologistF.Tennisdemonstratedwiththetheoryof"community"and"society"thatmodernindustrialsocietyisasocietywithgrowingrationality.Frenchsociologist□Durkheimdividessocietyintoasocietyof"mechanicalsolidarity"andasocietyof"organicsolidarity".Asocietyofmechanicalsolidarityisanunderdevelopedsociety,characterizedbypersonalsimilarities.Anorganicallyunitedsocietyisamodernindustrialsociety,characterizedbyaunityofsocialrelationscreatedbythedivisionoflabor.GermansociologistM.Weberusedcomparativemethodstostudythecauses,motivationsandconditionsofmoderncapitalism.HebelievesthattheaccessionasceticismadvocatedbyProtestantethicsisinlinewiththerationalityofmoderncapitalism,andthecombinationofthetwoisoneoftheimportantprerequisitesforcapitalismtofirstappearinWesternEurope.AmericansociologistT.Parsonsbelievesthatsocialchangescanbedividedintothreestages:primitive,intermediateandmodern,andmodernizationisaprocessofspreadingfromtheWesttotheentireworldinthe17thcentury.Thedifferencebetweenmodernsocietyandtraditionalsocietyismainlyreflectedinthefivegroupsof"modelvariables"inthesocialvaluesystem,namely,particularityanduniversality,universalityandspecificity,pre-assignedandself-directed,emotionalandnon-emotional.,Collectivetendenciesandselftendencies.Theso-calledmodernsocietyisacombinationofvariablesformedbymergingthelatteritemineachgroupofvariables.Later,Americansociologists’studiesonsocialmodernizationbasicallyinheritedParsons’theoreticalmodel,butonParsons’stheoryofWestern-centeredviewsanditstendencytodichotomybetween“traditional”and“modern”andstaticanalysis,Severecriticismwasmade.

China'sProcess

China'smodernizationhasgonethroughalongandtortuousprocess.Afterthemid-nineteenthcentury,aftertheWesternizationMovement,theReformMovementof1898,theRevolutionof1911,andtheMayFourthMovement,Chinabegantoembarkontheprocessofsocialmodernization.TheestablishmentofthePeople'sRepublicofChinain1949wasamilestoneinthedevelopmentofChina'smodernizationandmarkedanewhistoricalstageinChina'smodernizationprocess.

Chinaisasocialistcountryaswellasalargecountrywithalargepopulationandavastterritory.Thepopulationaccountsforaboutone-fifthoftheworld'stotalpopulation,makingitthemostpopulouscountryintheworld.IndifferentareasofChina,thedevelopmentofallaspectsofsociallifeisveryuneven.Thelargepopulation,theunbalanceddevelopmentandthebackwardnessofeconomyandcultureareoneofChina'sbasicnationalconditions.Asanancientcivilization,thehistoricalandculturaltraditionsoftheChinesenationaredeeplyrootedinthenation'sbehavior,psychology,andconcepts.China'smodernizationmustbesocialistmodernizationwithChinesecharacteristics.ItmustnotonlydrawonthesuccessfulexperienceofsocialmodernizationinWesterndevelopedcountriesandotherdevelopingcountries,butalsoproceedfromthebasicnationalconditionsofthecountry.Itistheall-rounddevelopmentofeconomy,politics,science,culture,concepts,andlife.Itisembodiedinthecoordinateddevelopmentofmodernsocialistmaterialcivilization,socialistspiritualcivilization,andahighdegreeofsocialistdemocracy.Foralongperiodoftime,China'ssocialistmodernizationprocessislinkedtocomprehensivesystemreforms,andreformswillbecometheonlywayforChina'smodernization.

Maincontent

1.Economicmodernizationcenteredonindustrialization;

2.Politicalmodernization;

3.Culture`Science`Modernizationofideologyandmorality;

4.Modernizationofurbanandruralcommunities;

5.Modernizationofgrouporganization;

6.Modernizationofpeople.

7.Globalization