Sociological Theories of Social Change: Part 1

This part covers Classical & Evolutionary (Comte, Spencer, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, Tönnies), Functionalist Differentiation (Parsons, Smelser), and Conflict & Revolution (Marx/Engels, Gramsci, Dahrendorf). Visual maps and UPSC-ready tables are included for quick recall.

1) Classical & Evolutionary Theories

1.1 Auguste Comte — Law of Three Stages

• Theological (fetishistic → polytheistic → monotheistic): phenomena explained by supernatural agencies; social order via tradition.
• Metaphysical: abstract essences/substances replace gods; transitional critique of tradition without empirical grounding.
• Positive/Scientific: knowledge based on observation & verification; sociology as the “queen” integrating sciences to engineer order & progress.

1.2 Herbert Spencer — Militant → Industrial

• Militant society: centralised, coercive, war-oriented; low differentiation; compulsory cooperation.
• Industrial society: voluntary cooperation, contract, high differentiation; functional interdependence.
• Method: evolutionary analogy from biology; society as a “social organism” differentiating over time.

1.3 Émile Durkheim — Mechanical → Organic; Anomie

• Mechanical solidarity: similarity & strong collective conscience; repressive law.
• Organic solidarity: specialisation & interdependence; restitutive law; requires moral regulation to avoid anomie.
• Change driver: increasing dynamic density (population + interaction) → division of labour.

1.4 Max Weber — Rationalisation & Disenchantment

• Rationalisation: calculability, predictability, efficiency institutionalised via bureaucracy (legal-rational authority).
• Disenchantment: erosion of magical/religious worldviews; value spheres differentiate (economic, legal, scientific).
• Ambivalence: “iron cage” of formal rationality vs substantive value rationality (ethics, meaning).

1.5 Georg Simmel — Money, Metropolis & the Modern Mind

• Money economy: quantification & impersonal exchange; fosters individual freedom yet blase attitude.
• Urban life: overstimulation → reserve/blase; social forms (fashion, secrecy) mediate individuality.
• Change lens: cultural differentiation and subjective culture lag behind objective cultural growth.

1.6 Ferdinand Tönnies — Gemeinschaft ↔ Gesellschaft

• Gemeinschaft: community ties of kinship, locality, tradition; affective bonds.
• Gesellschaft: association based on contract, self-interest, law; impersonal ties.
• Use in answers: Pair with Durkheim (mechanical/organic) and Simmel (urban) to explain socio-cultural transitions.

2) Functionalist Differentiation

2.1 Talcott Parsons — AGIL & Evolutionary Universals

• AGIL functions for any system: Adaptation (economy), Goal attainment (polity), Integration (legal/normative), Latency (culture/family).
• Differentiation: modern change = increasing structural differentiation and value generalisation (universalistic norms).
• Evolutionary universals: money, bureaucracy, universalistic legal systems, democratic association, markets, etc., that enable complex coordination.

2.2 Neil Smelser — Value-Added (Structural Strain) Model

• Change (esp. collective episodes) unfolds when structural conduciveness, structural strain, generalised belief, precipitating factors, mobilisation, and social control align.
• Explains how strain accumulates into collective action, complementing Parsons’ system maintenance view.

3) Conflict & Revolution

3.1 Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels — Modes of Production & Class Struggle

• Base–superstructure: productive forces + relations (class ownership) shape law, state, ideology.
• Contradiction & crisis: exploitation generates conflict; class-in-itself → class-for-itself via organisation & ideology.
• Revolutionary change: transitions (feudalism→capitalism→socialism) occur as relations fetter productive forces.

3.2 Antonio Gramsci — Hegemony & Counter-Hegemony

• Hegemony: ruling class leadership via consent built in civil society (schools, media, church) + coercion in political society.
• Counter-hegemony: organic intellectuals, alliances, and war of position transform common sense; explains why change can be gradual & cultural.

3.3 Ralf Dahrendorf — Authority & Organised Conflict

• Authority positions (command/obedience) generate imperatively coordinated associations with latent interests that can mobilise into conflict groups.
• Institutionalisation of conflict (parties, unions) channels change without system collapse.

UPSC Answer Toolkit — Part 1

• Define & locate the lens: evolutionary (Comte/Spencer/Durkheim), rationalisation (Weber), urban/culture (Simmel), community→association (Tönnies), system differentiation (Parsons/Smelser), conflict (Marx/Gramsci/Dahrendorf).
• Two-step spine: (i) driver (knowledge, density, rationalisation, authority, class), (ii) mechanism (division of labour, bureaucracy, hegemony, mobilisation).
• Compare classical vs conflict: order/integration vs power/contradiction; then blend (e.g., Durkheim + Gramsci for stability & consent).
• Use visual hooks: Comte’s stages; Spencer’s militant→industrial; Durkheim’s mechanical→organic; Weber’s iron cage; Parsons’ AGIL; Smelser’s six steps; Marx→Gramsci→Dahrendorf chain.
• Indianise briefly: knowledge/education (Comte/Parsons), urbanisation (Simmel/Tönnies), labour conflict & reforms (Marx/Dahrendorf), civil society & media (Gramsci).

Next (Part 2): We’ll cover Modernisation & Diffusion (Rostow, Lerner, Inkeles–Smith, Ogburn, Rogers), Dependency & World-Systems (Frank, Cardoso–Faletto, Wallerstein), and Late-modern/Post- perspectives (Beck, Giddens, Bauman, Castells, Harvey, Bourdieu, Foucault) with India-focused tables.

Thinkers in this part: Comte, Spencer, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, Tönnies, Parsons, Smelser, Marx, Engels, Gramsci, Dahrendorf.