Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Introduction to Sociology:
Concepts, Theories and Models
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
May 27, 2008
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
1 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Chapter 12
Social Movements and Social Change
Dirk Helbing
www.soms.ethz.ch
[email protected]
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
1 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
2 / 32
Social Movements
Social Movements
Social Movement
is an organized activity that encourages or discourages social
change.
1
Alterative social movements serve to help certain people to
alter their lives.
2
Redemptive social movements target specific people and seek
radical change.
3
Reformative social movements aim for limited social change,
but target everyone.
4
Revolutionary social movements seek the basic transformation
of an entire society.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
3 / 32
Social Movements
Claims Making
Claims Making
Claims Making
is the process of trying to convince the public and public officials of
the importance of joining a social movement to address a particular
issue.
That is, some issue has to be defined as a problem that demands
public attention.
Example: Need to take public action such as medical research and
safer sex campaigns to fight HIV and AIDS.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
4 / 32
Social Movements
Deprivation Theory
Deprivation Theory
Relative Deprivation
is a perceived discadvantage arising from some specific comparison.
The worst-off people are not necessarily the most likely to organize
for change.
Example: A revolution occured first in France, where peasants had
seen improvements in their lives that made them hope for more
change. German peasants, in contrast, knew nothing else but feudal
servitude at the time of the French Revolution, and they learned to
live with this situation.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
5 / 32
Social Movements
Mass-Society Theory
Mass-Society Theory
Mass-Society Theory
assumes that socially isolated people seek out social movements as
a way to gain a sense of belonging and importance.
Accordingly, social movements are most likely to arise in impersonal
mass societies. Flawed people rather than a flawed society are
responsible for social movements. People who are well integrated
are unlikely to seek membership in a social movement.
Example: Prison inmates are more likely to protest their conditions,
if programs promoting social ties among them are suspended.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
6 / 32
Social Movements
Structural-Strain Theory
Structural-Strain Theory
1
2
3
4
5
6
Social movements begin to emerge when people come to think
their society has some serious problems (structural
conductiveness).
People begin to experience relative deprivation when society
fails to meet their expectations (structural strain).
Forming a well-organized social movement requires a clear
statement not only of the problem, but also of its causes and
its solutions (growth and spread of an explanation).
Some specific event sparks collective action when there is a
historic opportunity (precipitating factors).
A mobilization for action may cause that the rate of change
becomes faster and faster.
The social movement depends on the non-intervention of
political officials, police, and the military (lack of social control).
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
7 / 32
Social Movements
Resource-Mobilization and Culture Theory
Resource-Mobilization and Culture Theory
Resource-Mobilization Theory
The success of a social movement depends on substantial resources
and, therefore, often on a positive public image. It raises and falls
with how well it attracts resources, mobilizes people, and forges
alliances.
Example: Prior to the Iraq War, two individuals using their
computers were able to get 120,000 people in 190 countries to sign
a petition opposing the war. Today, in principle everybody can
organize an own movement.
Culture Theory
Mobilization depends not only on a sense of injustice, but also on
cultural symbols.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
8 / 32
Social Movements
Political-Economy and New Social Movements Theory
Political-Economy and New Social Movements
Theory
Political-Economy Theory
According to Karl Marx, social movements arise within capitalist
societies because the economic system and institutional structures
fail to meet the needs of the majority of people.
New Social Movements
focus on improving of our social and physical surrounding (→ global
warming, women and gay rights, etc.). They tend to become global
(using mass media and new information technology) and to draw
support from the middle and upper-middle classes.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Social Movements
Theories of Social Movements
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
9 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
10 / 32
Stages in Social Movements
Emergence and Coalescence
Emergence and Coalescence
Stage I. Emergence of Social Movements
A social movement is triggered by the perception that something is
not ok.
Stage II. Coalescence
Leaders must determine policies, decide on tactics, build morale,
recruit new members, and attract the attention of the media.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
11 / 32
Stages in Social Movements
Bureaucratization
Bureaucratization
Stage III. Bureaucratization
To become a political force, a social movement must become an
established organization. As this happens, the movement depends
less on the charisma and talents of a few leaders and relies more on
a professional staff.
However, becoming more bureaucratic can also hurt a social
movement, when neglecting the need to keep people “fired up” for
change.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
12 / 32
Stages in Social Movements
Decline
Reasons of Decline
Stage IV: Decline
1
The social movement may have met its goals. But winning one
victory often leads to new goals.
2
Organizational failures, e.g. poor leadership, internal conflicts,
day-to-day routine, loss of interest among members,
insufficient funds, or repression by authorities.
3
“Selling out” by attracting leaders by offers of money, prestige,
or power from within the established system.
4
Repression by the established system, e.g. frightening away
participants, discouraging new recruits, imprisoning leaders.
5
The social movement may also “go mainstream”, become an
accepted part of the system rather than challenging the status
quo.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Stages in Social Movements
Stages in the Lives of Social Movements
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
13 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Social Change
Social Change
Social Change
is the transformation of culture and social institutions over time.
Cultural Lag
Material culture (technology) usually changes faster than
nonmaterial culture (ideas, attitudes, and norms).
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
14 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Social Change
Culture and Change
Culture and Change
Discovery
occurs when people notice new elements of the existing world.
Invention
produces new objects, ideas, and social patterns.
Diffusion
creates change as products, people, and information spread.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
15 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
16 / 32
Social Change
Other Mechanisms of Change
Other Mechanisms of Change
Conflict and Change
Karl Marx saw class conflict as the engine that drives societies from
one historical era to another.
Ideas and Change
Max Weber traced the roots of most social change to ideas. For
example, people with charisma can carry a message that
sometimes changes the world.
Demographic Change
Population patterns and population growth also play a significant
part in social change.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
17 / 32
Modernity
Four Dimensions of Modernization
Four Dimensions of Modernization
Modernity means social patterns resulting from industrialization
(from 1750).
1
Decline of small, traditional communities such as family and
neighborhood. Traditional world gave each person a
well-defined place offering a strong sense of identity,
belonging, and purpose.
2
Expansions of personal choice (e.g. lifestyle) through
individualization, as tradition weakens.
3
Increasing social diversity with growth of cities, expansion of
impersonal bureaucracy, and social mix of people with diverse
backgrounds.
4
Orientation toward the future and a growing awareness of
time, e.g. through introduction of clocks.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
18 / 32
Modernity
Ferdinand Tönnies
Ferdinand Tönnies (1855–1937)
Viewed modernization as the progressive loss of Gemeinschaft, or
human community. The Industrial Revolution weakened the social
fabric of family and tradition by introducing a business-like
emphasis on facts, efficiency, and money. Most people lived among
strangers, and trust was hard to build up in a mobile and
anonymous society. European and North American societies
gradually became rootless and impersonal, as people came to
associate mostly on the basis of self-interest rather than group
loyality.
Key inventions: Telephones, television, rapid transportation
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
19 / 32
Modernity
Emile Durkheim
Emile Durkheim (1858–1917)
Defined modernization by an increasing division of labor, i.e.
specialized economic activity requiring highly specific roles. The
point is not a loss of community, but the change from community
based on bonds of likeness (kinship and neighborhood) to a
community based on economic interdependence. But diversity may
lead to collapse into anomie, a condition in which norms and values
are so weak and inconsistent that society provides little moral
guidance to individuals (→ increased self-suicide rate).
Preindustrial societies are held together by mechanical solidarity, or
shared moral sentiments. They view everybody basically alike.
In industrialized societies, organic solidarity, i.e. mutual dependency
between people engaged in specialized work takes over. All of us
must depend on others to meet most of our needs.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
20 / 32
Modernity
Max Weber
Max Weber (1864–1920)
Viewed modernity as replacement of a traditional worldview with a
rational way of thinking.
To traditional people, “truth” is roughly the same as “what has
always been”.
To modern people, “truth” is the result of rational calculation.
Weber declared modern society to be “disenchanted”. The
unquestioned truth of earlier times has been challenged by rational
thinking, i.e. modern society turns away from the gods.
The capitalist, the scientist, and the bureaucrat are representatives
of the new, rationalized worldview that dominates humanity during
the era of modernity. Weber feared that rationalization, especially in
bureaucracies, would erode the human spirit with endless rules and
regulations (→ alienation).
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
21 / 32
Modernity
Max Weber
Karl Marx (1818–1883)
For Karl Marx, modern society was synonymous with capitalism. He
saw the Industrial Revolution as primarily a capitalist revolution. He
traced the emergence of the bourgeoisie in medieval Europe to the
expansion of commerce. The bourgeoisie gradually displaced the
feudal aristocracy as the Industrial Revolution gave it a powerful
new productive system.
Moreover, capitalism draws population from farms and small towns
to an ever-expanding market system centered in cities.
Specialization is needed for efficient factories. And rationality is
exemplified by the capitalists’ endless pursuit of profit.
The stifling effects of bureaucracy are as bad as, or even worse than,
the dehumanizing aspects of capitalism.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Modernity
Modernity as Mass Society
Modernity as Mass Society
A mass society is a society in which prosperity and bureaucracy have
weakened traditional social ties (→ weak kinship, impersonal
neighborhods, social isolation). Before, gossip was an effective way
to ensure conformity, while mass societies are spiritually weak, with
moral uncertainty about how to live. This comes with individual
rights and freedom of choice, and minorities get greater freedom
and influence. But the face-to-face communication of the village is
eventually replaced by the impersonal mass media, creating a
national culture: newspapers, radio, television, and computer
networks. Large state organizations steadily assume more
responsibility for the daily tasks that once were carried out by
family, friends, and neighbors. As the ever-growing centralized
bureaucracy progresses, political leaders gain a far larger power
than even absolute monarchs had. These often unresponsive
bureaucracies leave people in local communities little control over
their lives and undermine the autonomy of families. Individuals are
left isolated, powerless, and materialistic.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
22 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
23 / 32
Modernity
Modernity as Class Society
Modernity as Class Society
Class society is a capitalist society with pronounced social
stratification (inequality). Most people would be powerless in the
face of wealthy elites and multinational corporations, and they
would suffer from alienation and uncertainty.
Social conflict theory (Marx et al.) criticizes the greed unleashed by
capitalism, resting on “naked self-interest” and weakening the
social ties. Capitalism would support science as an ideology
justifying status quo (human well-being as a technical problem to
be solved by engineers). Marcuse (1964) believes that science causes
rather than solves the world’s problems, and that modern society
fails to meet the needs of many people.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
24 / 32
Modernity
Modernity and the Individual
Modernity and the Individual
Modernity gives freedom to express individuality, but it makes it
difficult for many people to establish a coherent identity. However,
the freedom of choice has little value without standards (norms)
helping us make good decisions. As a result of tolerance and
“relativism”, many people move from one identity to another,
changing their lifestyles, relationships, and even religions in search
of a “true self” (→ identity crisis).
In contrast, tradition-directed people think and act alike, as they all
act on the basis of the same solid cultural foundation. This implies
rigidity, while modernity implies personal flexibility, the capacity to
adapt, and the sensitivity to trends, fashions, and others, but at the
price of superficiality, inconsistency, and change.
Elders as role models are replaced by members of the own
generation.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
25 / 32
Modernity
Modernity and Progress
Modernity and Progress
We typically link modernity to the idea of progress, while stability is
seen as stagnation.
But most high-income countries show a decline of happiness over
the course of the recent decades, possibly because today’s routines
are too stressful, with people often having little time to relax and to
spend together. According to surveys, science “makes our way of life
change too fast”.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
26 / 32
Postmodernity
Postmodernity
Postmodernity refers to social patterns characteristic of
postindustrial societies, as created, for example, by the Information
Revolution. The following is criticized:
1
Modernity has failed to provide a life free from want.
2
In contrast to the idea of progress in modern societies, most
adults believe that life is getting worse.
3
Science no longer holds the answers, and often there is no one
truth.
4
Cultural debates are intensifying.
5
Social institutions are changing, e.g. families no longer
conform to a single pattern of relationship.
In conclusion, postmodernity fails to successfully address human
needs. Furthermore, the information age threatens privacy.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
27 / 32
Postmodernity
Modernization and Our Global Future
Modernization and Our Global Future
1
The world is in a desperate need of change.
2
Although the Industrial Revolution enhanced human
productivity and raised living standards in many nations, global
modernization may be difficult.
3
But the world’s rich societies help poor countries to grow
economically.
4
The entire world is developing towards one huge village, as the
lives of all people are increasingly linked.
5
Many traditional people lose their cultural identity and values,
they are drawn into a global “McCulture”.
6
Balancing individual freedom and personal responsibility is a
social dilemma.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Postmodernity
Traditional vs. Modern Societies
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
28 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
29 / 32
Civil Rights Movement
The Situation
The Situation before the Civil Rights Movement
Upto the 1950ies, African Americans were virtually without any
political power, although they amounted to about 40% of the
population in the South of the US. They had endured even most
terrible situations with considerable stoicism, as they believed they
must. But when they came to believe that things could become
better, a revolution of rising expectations occured. It was triggered
by a precipitating event, which served as a symbol of cumulated
grievances and signallized that now was the time for resistance and
action. It all started with Mrs. Rosa Parks, who was not willing to
stand up in the bus section for colored people to provide her seat to
a white person, when the bus section for white people was
crowded. She was put to prison for this by the police.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
Civil Rights Movement
How the Situation Evolved
How the Situation Evolved
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
The mother of Rosa Parks called a political leader she knew.
The social network through the local church provided support.
A bus strike was launched, and white households lacked their
personnel. The boycott would be continued until segregated
seating was discontinued.
African Americans organized a massive carpool.
Police began to stop carpool drivers and ticket them for
imaginary violations. Drivers responded by driving very slowly
and giving exaggerated turn signals.
Bombings occured and Martin Luther King was arrested.
This made things a national affair, and substantial outside
support was starting to build up.
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws requiring segregated buses
were unconstitutional.
African Americans started to organize themselves in many other
communities.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
30 / 32
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
31 / 32
Civil Rights Movement
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer (Mississippi, 1964)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Sixty-thousand armed white men organized for what amounts
to everyday terrorism against local African Americans.
For example, African Americans trying to register to vote were
shot.
Then, in Freedom Summer, 1,000 white volunteers recruited
from elite colleges and universities came to Mississippi with
one goal: to register African American voters.
As several of them were shot, there were daily reports all over
the nation of idealistic white students from good families
risking death on behalf of African Americans.
This finally ended the period of race segregation.
Most of the volunteers were idealists who continued political
activism on other subjects (Vietnam war, nuclear power,
feminism, abortion, gay rights, disarmament, etc.).
of Sociology,
particular
of Modelingby
and Simulation
In conclusion, socialChair
reality
canin be
changed
individuals, by
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/
Introduction to Sociology
Dirk Helbing and Research Team
Zurich
May 27, 2008
32 / 32
Bibliography
Bibliography
1
Slides 2-28: John J. Macionis: Sociology, 11th edition (Pearson
International, 2007), Chap. 23+24.
2
Other slides: Rodney Stark: Sociology, 7th edition (Wadsworth,
2006), Chap. 21.
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
http://www.soms.ethz.ch/