[go: up one dir, main page]
Scribd
Upload
31 views1 page

Pages From Paradoxes of Moder - Part24

The document discusses modernization theory, particularly the traits of modern societies identified by proponents like Parsons, including economic efficiency, individualism, and social integration. It highlights the transition from subsistence to industrialized economies and the importance of interconnectedness and standardization in modern societies. The emphasis on economic incentives as drivers for political organization and social change is also noted.

Uploaded by

official.takohero
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
31 views1 page

Pages From Paradoxes of Moder - Part24

The document discusses modernization theory, particularly the traits of modern societies identified by proponents like Parsons, including economic efficiency, individualism, and social integration. It highlights the transition from subsistence to industrialized economies and the importance of interconnectedness and standardization in modern societies. The emphasis on economic incentives as drivers for political organization and social change is also noted.

Uploaded by

official.takohero
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Helen Margetts

(Huntington 1971: 286); and the association of modernization with indus-


trialization. I have sifted through the various lists or ‘traits’ associated with
modern societies provided by proponents of modernization theory: Parsons
(1967) for example identified four ‘evolutionary universals’ which character-
ize modern societies: a differentiated, predominantly universalistic legal
system, money and markets, bureaucratic organization and the pattern of
democratic association (Parsons 1967: 490), which are vital to further evolu-
tion. Using just these basic ‘first’ (in chronological terms) principles of
modernization theory before so many protagonists entered the debate, it is
possible to identify three clusters of characteristics that might be hypothe-
sized to define a modernization reform. These will be considered under each
heading in the following sections.
First, economic efficiency emerges from the link between modernization
and the economic transition from subsistence economies to technology-
intensive industrialized economies and individualism derives from an
emphasis on individuals and self-orientation, rather than families, commu-
nities, and collective orientation as the basic unit of society. In emphasizing
the importance of economic transition in societal development, moderniza-
tion accounts both observe and promote the primacy of economic incentives
as a key driver for political organization and social change.
Second, modernization implies a move away from a fragmented society,
based on association with place and clan, towards a more integrated and
interconnected society. A modernization reform, therefore, can be hy-
pothesized to involve integration and interconnectedness. Social integration
also results from the higher density of population that results from indus-
trialization; economic integration results from the ‘two-way flow of goods
and services between towns and villages’; while political integration
emerges from the ‘high degree of centralization associated with modernized
societies’ (Levy 1967). The emphasis of early modernization theory on the
development of and commitment to the nation-state, implies a level of
integration beyond towns, villages, or immediate locality. Standardization
also emerges from many early modernization accounts, in part from the
characteristics of early forms of industrialization in comparison with other
modes of production; that is, the concentration of labour and machinery
and the standardization of processes to provide economies of scale. Indeed,
integration, interconnectedness, and standardization can be viewed as
mutually dependent. For example, the standardization of Greenwich
Mean Time across countries relies crucially upon each country involved
knowing what Greenwich Mean Time is, on their agreement to standardize
and their knowledge of how other countries are operating.

26

You might also like