Factors Responsible for Social Change

Factors Responsible for Social Change:

1. Demographic factors:

Population plays an important role in society it there is change in the composition of pop there is change in society by composition we mean the structure i.e. sex ratio. For balance in society the sex ratio should be 1:1 and if there is change in the ratio there is change in society. The composition of population depends upon variables like age, sex, marital status, literacy etc. Changes in demographic structure, which may be caused by changes in mortality rates, will produce changes in the ratio of breadwinners to dependents. Such a change can have consequences for the structure of family, kinship, political and other institutions. The size of population affects each of us quite personally. Whether we are born into a growing or a shrinking population has a bearing on our education, the age at which we marry, our ability to get a job, the taxes we pay, and many other factors.

Poverty is related with health and the size of the family also. Nations with large population (e.g., China and India) are more poverty-stricken than the countries which have not much population. Sex imbalance affects the forms of marriage (monogamy or polygyny). It is seen that communities, which have more males than females, resorted to polyandry system. Polygyny was generally found in such communities where females were in more numbers than males.

2. Physical Factor:

This factor is also known as geographical or natural factor. Physical factors consist of climatic conditions, physical environment, animal life, biodiversity, mineral resources, natural resources (rivers, vegetation, mountains) etc. They have great influence upon human society. Social change is to some extent conditioned by physical factors. National calamities, floods, epidemics affairs society in its social relationships. Human history is full of examples that flourishing civilisations fell prey to natural calamities. The distribution of population over various regions, the variations in the population densities, the agricultural production, flora and fauna, the joys and hardships—all indicate a change when a change in the physical environment occurs.

3. Technological factors:

One of the benchmarks of a so-called civilized society is its extent of technological
development. Today, we certainly ask questions like: What does
‘development’ mean? Development for whom? Development at what cost? And yet, technological development creates new conditions of life and new conditions for adaptation. Technological development continues to be an index of the overall ‘progress’ of society. Technological changes have affected social, economic, religious, political and cultural life of human beings. For example, during the decades of the British period in India, systems of transportation and communication were laid. These may well have served the needs of the colonizers then, but we still continue to benefit from the systems founded by them. Indeed, successive Indian Governments have further expanded and improved these services.

4. Socio-cultural Factors:

Human culture is a process of change. Any change in the cultural order is accompanied by a corresponding change in the whole social order. Where two cultures meet or clash, social changes are inevitable. Cultural diffusion is a
source of change. Culture includes our values, beliefs, ideas and ideologies, morals, customs and traditions. These are all subject to change and they in turn, cause changes. It is an established fact that there is an intimate connection between our beliefs and social institutions, our values and social relationships. Values, beliefs, ideas, institutions are the basic elements of a culture. Certainly, all cultural changes involve social change. Social and the cultural aspects are closely interwoven. Thus, any change in the culture (ideas, values, beliefs etc.) brings a corresponding change in the whole social order. Social institutions cannot live on life shells within which life is extinct.

5. Economical Factor:

This factor is of unique importance in social change. Stages of economic development in human history are not limited to economic transformation in society. They promoted large scale political and social transformations. Amidst these changes, there continues to be a need for a decent livelihood and human welfare.Of economic influences, the most far-reaching is the impact of indus­trialisation. It has revolutionised the whole way of life, institutions, organisations and community life. In traditional production systems, levels of production were fairly static since they were geared to habitual, customary needs. Modern industrial capitalism promotes the constant revision of the technology of production, a process into which science is increasingly drawn.

6. Political Factor:

State is the most powerful organisation which regulates the social relationships. It has the power to legislate new laws, repeal old ones to bring social change in the society. Laws regarding child marriage, widow remarriage, divorce, inheritance and succession, untouch­ability are some of the examples which have brought many changes in the social structure of Indian society. The type of political leadership and individuals in power also influences the rate and direction of social change. In many societies the political leadership controls the economy also. Scientific-technological and non-techno­logical change are also dependent on political development which indirectly affects social change.