Sociology-theories and methods-globalisation, modernity, postmodernity Flashcards
What are modernist theories?
They are part of the Enlightenment project-the idea that society can process through the use of human reason. Rationality and science will enable us to discover true knowledge about the world. With this knowledge we can progress to a future freedom and prosperity
What is the aim of modernist theories?
They set out to explain the working of modern society and to identify the direction it should take if it is to progress
What is modern society?
It first emerged in Wester Europe from about the late 18th century. It has a number of characteristics that distinguish it from previous traditional societies
What are characteristics of modern society (that distinguish it from previous traditional societies)?
The nation-state, capitalism, rationality/science/technology, individualism
What is the nation-state in modern society?
It is the key political unit in modern society-bounded territory ruled by a powerful centralised state, whose population usually shares the same language and culture. Tend to think of modern world as made up of series of separate societies, each with own state. The state is the focal point of modern society, organising social life on national basis. Modern states have created large administrative bureaucracies and educational, welfare and legal institutions to regulate their citizens’ lives. Nation-state is also important source of identity for citizens, who identify with its symbols, such as the flag
What is capitalism in modern society?
The economy of modern societies is capitalist-based on private ownership of means of production and use of wage labourers. Capitalism brought about industrialisation of modern society, with huge increases in wealth. However wealth distribution is unequal, resulting in class conflict. Nation-sate becomes important in regulating capitalism/maintaining conditions under which is operates. Lash and Urry describe this as ‘organised capitalism’. In modern industry, production is organised in Fordist principles: the mass production of standardised product is large factories, using low skilled labour. Cheap, mass produced consumer goods lead to rising standard of living
What is rationality, science and technology in modern society?
Rational, secular, scientific ways of thinking dominate and the influence of magico-religious explanations of the world declines. Technically efficient forms of organisation, such as bureaucracies and factories, dominate social and economic life. Science becomes increasingly important in industry, medicine and communications
What is individualism in modern society?
Tradition, custom and ascribed status become less important as the basis for our actions. We experience greater personal freedom and can increasingly choose our own course in life and define our own identity. However, structural inequalities such as class remain important in shaping people’s identity and restricting their choices
What is globalisation?
Until recently, the nation-state provided the basic framework for most people’s lives. However, many sociologists argue we are now increasingly affected by globalisation-the increasing interconnectedness of people across national boundaries. We live in one interdependent ‘global village’ and our lives are shaped by a global framework. Four related changes have helped bring this about
What four related changes helped bring about globalisation?
Technological changes, economic changes, political changes, and changes in culture and identity
How have technological changes helped to bring about globalisation?
Can now cross entire continents in matter of hours and exchange info across globe with click of a mouse. Satellite communications, internet and global television networks have helped create time-space compression, closing distances between people
Although technology has helped improve the world, how has it also had a negative effect?
Technology also brings risks on a global scale. Eg, greenhouse gases produced in one place contribute to global climate change that leads to a rise in sea levels and flooding in low-lying countries. Beck argues that we are now living in ‘risk society’, where increasingly the threats to our well being come from human-made technology rather than natural disasters
How have economic changes helped to bring about globalisation?
Economic activity now takes place within set of global networks that are creating ever-greater interconnectedness. The global economy is increasingly a ‘weightless’ or electronic economy. Instead of producing physical goods, much activity now involves the production of information such as music, TV programmes and data processing. These commodities are produced, distributed and consumed through global electronic networks
How has the economy been changed by globalisation?
In the electronic economy, money never sleeps. Global 24-hour financial transactions permit the instantaneous transfer of funds around the world in pursuit of profit. This too contributes to the ‘risk society’
What is another major economic force pushing globalisation forward?
Trans-national companies (TNCs). These operate across frontiers, organising production on a global scale. Most TNCs are Western-based. Some, such as Coca-Cola, are colossal enterprises, and the largest 500 together account for half the total value of the commodities produced in the whole world. So powerful are the small elite who control these companies, that Sklair argues they now form a separate global capitalist class
How have political changes helped bring about globalisation?
Some sociologists claim that globalisation has undermined the power of the nation-state. Eg Ohmae argues we now live in a ‘borderless world’ in which TNCs and consumers have more economic power than national governments. States are now less able to regulate the activities of large capitalist enterprises, a situation Lash and Urry describe as ‘disorganised capitalsim’
How have changes in culture and identity helped being about globalisation?
Globalisation makes it much harder for cultures to exist in isolation from one another. A major reason for this is the role of information and communications technology (ICT), especially with the mass media
What sort of culture do we live in today?
Today we find ourselves living in a global culture in which Western-owned media companies spread Western culture to the rest of the world. Economic integration also encourages a global culture, eg TNCs such as Nike, selling the same consumer goods in many countries, help to promote similar tastes across national borders. In addition, the increased movement of people as tourists, economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers helps to create globalised culture
What is the effect of globalisation on identity?
Globalisation undermines traditional sources of identity such as class, eg the shift of manufacturing from the West to developing countries has led to the fragmentation and decline of working-class communities that previously gave people their class identity
What sort of questions do the changes that led to globalisation raise?
Do they mean we are no longer living in modernity-are we now in a new, postmodern society? Do we need new theories to understand society as we now find it, or can we use our existing modernist theories to explain it? Is the Enlightenment project still viable-can we still hope to achieve objective knowledge and use it to improve society? Or have rapid changes made society too chaotic for us to understand and control?
What theories offer answers to the questions raised by the changes that led to globalisation?
Postmodernism, theories of later modernity and Marxist theories of postmodernity
What is postmodernism?
It is a major intellectual movement that has emerged since the 1970s. It has been influential in many areas including sociology. Postmodernists argue we are now living in a new era of postmodernity
What is postmodernity?
Postmodernity is an unstable, fragmented, media-saturated global village, where image and reality are indistinguishable. In postmodern society, we define ourselves by what we consume. It is not a continuation of modernity, but a fundamental break with it. For postmodernists, this new kind of society requires a new kind of theory-modernist theories no longer apply
What do postmodernists argue about knowledge?
Drawing on ideas of Foucault, postmodernists argue there are no sure foundations to knowledge-no objective criteria we can use to prove whether a theory is true or false. This view-known as anti-foundationalism-has two consequences
What are the two consequences of anti-foundationalism?
The Enlightenment project of achieving progress through true, scientific knowledge is dead-if we cannot guarantee our knowledge is correct, we cannot use it to improve society. Aldo any all-embracing theory that claims to have the truth about how to create a better society, such as Marxism, is just a meta narrative-just someone’s version of reality, not the truth, therefore there is no reason to accept the claims that the theory makes
Why do postmodernists reject meta-narratives?
On the grounds that they have helped to create oppressive totalitarian states that impose their version of the truth on people. Eg, in the former Soviet Union, the state’s attempt to re-mould society on Marxist principles led to political repression and slave labour camps
How do postmodernists take a relativist position?
Rejecting meta-narratives that claim absolute truth, postmodernists take a relativist position. That is, they argue all views are true for those who hold them. No one has special access to the truth-including sociologists. All accounts of reality are equally valid. We should therefore celebrate the diversity of views rather than seek to impose one version of the truth on everyone
