Karl Marx’s theory:
The theory of social change provided by Karl Marx is called “historical materialism.” This theory is consistent with evolutionary theories because both theorists say that fundamental changes in society occur as a result of interaction with the material environment. In his theory, Marx speaks of two structures in the social system, namely, infrastructure and superstructure. Infrastructure refers to the economic basis of a society, while infrastructure refers to the political, legal, cultural institutions of the society. According to him, the fundamental change in the infrastructure of the society changes the elements of the infrastructure.
Not a normal thing, but a radical change. According to Marx, the key to social change is the fundamental change in the process of production that has been in place for a long time, from the beginning of human society to progressively establishing control over the material world. Marx’s social change indicates the level of economic development of society. There is a fundamental change in the production power and institutional structure of society, which Marx has termed “dialectical interpretation of change.” Whenever there is a change in the structural or production forces or economic elements, there is a shift in the elements of the infrastructure, resulting in social unrest and society. There is pressure for radical change the relationship between the various categories of living deteriorated and the conflict became acute. As a result of the deteriorating relationship continues to exist in society institutions collapsed or entirely new social system was developed through a political revolution.
Marx mentions the four basic aspects of society’s development. He also mentions a fifth section, which is inevitable and is the final stage of society. That is, there are five categories of change in the social system described by Marx. Namely – Eastern or Asian social system, ancient social system, feudal social system, capitalist society, and communist social system. According to Marx, the Asian production system is the oldest.
Here production was made for consumption, the division of labor was limited to family members and joint ownership of the property also existed. In ancient society, private ownership of luxury goods, business and the exchange of goods developed. The production here was not just for consumption, but also exchange. The patriarchal system arose from the breakup of the matriarchal family system. The emergence of private property and the ownership of private property in the land led to the emergence of the merchant class. In feudal society, the elite became the owners of the land. Farmers own the production machinery.
At this stage production was mainly for consumption. Due to the invention of modern technology, the new currency system, the discovery of new countries, the creation of various fields of production, etc., the feudal social system was constantly broken. The collapse of the feudal social system led to the emergence of a capitalist social system. In this system, the wealthy class acquired the exclusive right of the production machine. As a result, two classes are visible in society.
A working-class who earn a living through their labor and on the other hand, the wealthy who earn a profit. According to Marx, a capitalist society can be broken because of its internal conflicts. The collapse of the capitalist society will result in the rise of communist society. It is called the communist social system because genuine communism will be established at this level. There will be no class, society will be free from exploitation. In this society, people will work according to their skills and abilities and get everything which they need.
The Theory of Vilfredo Pareto:
Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto gives the theory of social change which called circulation theory. It is one of the oldest theories of social change. According to this theory, society is rotated in certain circles. According to Pareto, the rise and fall of the politics of every society have happened cyclically. Pareto was influenced to give this theory by German anthropologists Otto Amon, English anthropologist Houston Stewart Chamberlain, psychic anthropologist Madison Grant and Lathrop Stoddard. Spengler, the main proponent of this theory, thinks that the life cycle of society is divided into four stages. Namely, birth, development, maturity, and decline. According to this theory, history is repeated. Each society goes back to its previous state after passing through four stages in succession. Similarly, according to Pareto, the changes in society have happened cyclically. Pareto published the theory in his book “The Mind and the Society” (1935), which is called the “theory of the circulation of elites” in sociology.
In this case, he has shown that there are two types of people living in our society. He called the first type of people “the ruling elite” who followed the traditional practice of controlling the state. And the second type of people are called “power-out elite” who are ready to take risks to fulfill their life’s goals and objectives, but the ruling party has to take shelter of various kinds of cleverness to maintain their power and thus develop conservative thinking inside them.
At this stage, decay begins. On the other hand, the virtues of power-out elite people power begin to develop in the first type of people. As a result, the first type of person begins to take the position of the second type of person. According to Pareto, the change of power between the ruling elite and the non-ruling elite was cyclical in the social change.
Summary:
According to Karl Marx’s theory of social change, there are five categories of social change. Namely – Eastern or Asian social system, ancient social system, feudal social system, capitalist social system, and communist social system. On the other hand, Pareto mentions the change in the power structure in his theory of social change. His theory is called “The Theory of the Circulation of Elites”.
See More:
1. Social change: Basic Concepts, Definition, Characteristics & causes
