Social modernization of society: concept, features, examples

The ideas of social modernization of society arose in the 60s of the twentieth century. The essence of this idea was that there is a single standard for the development of society - this is the western path, and all the others are considered dead ends and lead to degradation. This idea has a strong historical justification, however, like other ideas of the social development of society.

What is modernization?

Theoretically, the modernization of social means the transition from the traditional type of society to the modern one through economic, philosophical and political transformations. The Western development path is taken as a standard in this theory. It is believed that any country that follows this path will automatically become prosperous. However, due to the fact that the idea of ​​social modernization does not take into account the national characteristics of other countries, for which the western route may be unacceptable for many reasons, it is often criticized.

In sociology, in addition to the theory of social modernization, there are many different theories that also explain the development model that has developed in various countries. These theories are used as the basis of the theory of evolutionary development, the influence of climatic and geographical conditions. They are also studied and used in the development of social development programs in various states.

What criteria assess the level of social development of a society

The main level, of course, is the level of technological development, since it is precisely new technologies that are the driving force behind economic, political and cultural development. At least, it was the advent of new technologies that led to serious changes not only in Western society, but also led to a change in the structure of societies in non-Western countries.

When determining the level of development and structure of the social structure of modern society, a country is evaluated according to the following parameters:

• infrastructure;
• economy;
• political institutions;
• culture
• laws and law;
• the science;
• equipment;
• the medicine;
• quality of education, its accessibility.

In the theory of social modernization, these indicators help determine the level of development of the state and work out decisions on which of them need to be improved.

Types of modernization

There are two types of social modernization - organic and inorganic. Organic is when the development of a country occurs from within, under the influence of internal factors. This is due to the cultural and psychological characteristics of the country's population. It is believed that during organic modernization, one people makes discoveries in science and technology, without borrowing anything from other nations.

Inorganic, or as it is also commonly called, secondary, modernization occurs under the influence of external factors when a country is faced with more developed states. In such a situation, she is forced to borrow their technologies, cultural and political institutions from more developed people. The secondary is often called “catch-up modernization,” and basically this term refers to former colonies and semi-colonies.

Stages of development of European civilization

The history of social changes in society is divided into the following stages:

1. Primeval state. Simple tools. Mostly live in gathering and hunting. There is no written language, art - primitive drawings on the walls of caves and huts.
2. Antique period. This period is characterized by the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. The origin and development of sciences: astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, law. Writing appears. Complex and grandiose structures are being built using mechanical devices and machines. The economic system is built on the use of slave labor. The antique period ended with the fall of the Roman Empire and a long period of stagnation, right up to the Renaissance.
3. Renaissance. The development of manufacturing, the emergence of new mechanical devices and machines. Construction of sailing ships for long-distance navigation. Opening of new territories and trade routes. The ideas of humanism. The appearance of the first banks and exchanges.
4. Age of Enlightenment. The development of science and technology, the emergence of the first capitalist enterprises and the bourgeois class. However, the muscular power of people and animals is still used in enterprises. Coal is used as the main source of energy.
5. Industrial era. The emergence of new modes of transport: steamboats, steam locomotives, the first cars. The invention of the steam engine, telegraph, telephone, radio and electricity. A massive outflow of population from villages to the city. The transition from agrarian to industrial society is accompanied by rapid urbanization.
6. The post-industrial period. The emergence of modern communications and information transfer media, computers, the Internet, mobile phones, robots. Most of the population does not work in agriculture or industry, but in the service sector. The main capital of enterprises in post-industrial countries is knowledge and technology.

The transition to a new stage usually occurs when the old social system ceases to meet new conditions. There is a crisis, the only way out of which can be a transition to a new, higher level of development. Russia repeats this path, that is, it is universal, but the Russian path has its own specific features. This is due to the fact that historically Russia initially evolved as a centralized state with an authoritarian type of government. Therefore, the transition from one level to another has always occurred “from above” from the ruling elite, and not from below, as was the case in Western Europe.

Civilization modernization of former colonies

The countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, which used to be colonies of European states, received freedom and independence in the 20th century. But since the emerging states were at a low level of social structure for a long time, they were forced to take either a Western or Soviet model of development.

However, not all countries found such models to be acceptable. With rare exceptions, such modernization has led to a deterioration in the quality of life of the population, to social conflicts in society, and the destruction of economic and political institutions. Some countries, such as Turkey and Iran, abandoned the western path of development. This led to the fact that Islamic fundamentalism is developing in these countries today, and those modern social institutions are gradually degrading, giving way to traditional ones.

However, such a transition does not mean the rejection of these countries from industrial development with a further transition to post-industrial. Since an industrial society is a society of machine labor and industrial production, high technology, that is, for the existence and development of such a society, there is no need to adopt all Western values, but only what is really necessary.

Theory of Anthropogenesis

Besides the idea of ​​civilizational modernization, there are also some other theories in sociology. One of them is anthropogenesis. The essence of this theory is that nations and states go through the same stages of life, development, extinction, and death as a single organism. Such a theory also has a strong historical foundation and is also used in the development of models for the development of society.

Many empires began their development as a traditional type of society. As territories and population grew, social and political institutions developed in them, new cultural objects were erected, and science and art developed. Having reached a high level, the empire began to lose ground, there was a degradation of the main institutions, and discontent grew in society. The stage of disintegration and destruction of the state came. Such were almost all empires, from the Roman to the Ottoman. Sociologists and historians observe that such a cycle is periodically repeated in the history of mankind, with the new empire eventually moving to a higher level of social and technological development than the previous one.

The disadvantages of the theory of modernization of society

The idea of ​​social modernization of society has two significant drawbacks. This is Western ethnocentrism, ignoring the right of other peoples to their own path, appropriation of inventions and technologies created by peoples who ignored the western path of development. For example, the Chinese invented porcelain, gunpowder, paper money and a compass; lever and foundations of mechanics the ancient Greeks; algebra - the Arabs. One way or another, all the peoples of the Earth have contributed to the development of human civilization, and even democracy first appeared not in the USA or countries of Western Europe, but in ancient Greece.

The fact that many peoples borrowed many things from other countries does not detract from the achievements of the West. However, this means that the theory of social modernization is not universal and cannot be used as the only correct way for the evolutionary change of society.

Does Russia need modernization?

In Russia, there has been a long debate about which way the country should go. Some believe that it is necessary to carry out social modernization, that is, to follow the western path of development. Others believe that the advantage of Western civilization over Russian is a myth that Western countries impose. Westerners cite as arguments that Russia has adopted many things from Western countries: science, technology, and some political institutions. Their opponents cite facts from history that much of what appeared in the West, already existed in Russia.

Opponents of modernization have good reason to be skeptical about the "ready-made recipes" that Western countries offer. An attempt to fully modernize Russia has always led to disastrous results. An example is the events of the 90s, when the country's leadership decided to completely abandon its own path of development and carry out social modernization. The result was terrifying: the destruction of the economy, the education system, the political system. There was a degradation in the structure of Russian society, which led to an increase in crime. If we talk about borrowing some of the most advanced technologies that are in Western countries, then such modernization is necessary. Adopting political and social institutions, given the difference in mentality, means not following the path of progress, but the path of regression.

Why the attempts of social modernization in Russia failed

As mentioned above, the modernization of society does not always lead to positive results, especially if the country has already passed most of its historical path and achieved certain successes in development. When the state already formed and reached a certain level, the main social institutions: education, the legal system, culture and science. And although formally a country can go through very similar development paths, for example, Russia has gone through the stage of industrialization, like Western countries. An industrial society was built. This does not mean that the Russian industrial society is exactly the same as in any Western European country.

However, this does not mean that the Russian path of development is worse or better. He is just different. The table below shows the main differences in the development of public institutions.

Despite the fact that Russia has adopted some technologies and social institutions, the basic values ​​do not change. This is the peculiarity of Russia's social modernization. Moreover, only such modernization, when the achievements of Western civilization are adopted and rebuilt according to the needs of the country, is it possible to achieve high results. An example of this is the achievement in the space field - in the period of the USSR, the world's first space satellite was sent, then man; in the nuclear industry, the peaceful use of atomic energy to produce electricity.

The current state of Russia and possible development paths

Today, Russia is on the path of social modernization, but already taking into account national characteristics. In addition to Western technology, the achievements of Soviet science and technology are used. Despite the fact that in some sectors it still leads, in general, there is a strong lag in social development. In part, the result of improper modernization in the late 80s, when, due to thoughtless reforming of the country's development model, almost all social institutions collapsed, partly affects. An economic, political, and social crisis erupted, from which the country had chosen for a long time.

Today, the Government of the Russian Federation pursues a policy of accelerated development of the country. There is a full-scale infrastructure upgrade, the development of new technologies in the field of robotics, nuclear energy, and the production of new materials. Construction of new cultural and educational institutions. The existing social structures of Russian society are gradually being updated.