Modernization: understanding the debate

Relevance: Sociology II: Impact of Colonial rule on India

Modernization is a composite concept. It is also an ideological concept. The models of modernization co-vary with the choice of ideologies. The composite nature of this concept renders it pervasive in the vocabulary of social sciences and evokes its kinship with concepts like development, growth, evolution and progress. In the book on “Essays on Modernization in India” Yogendra Singh has analyzed the varied and complex processes involved in the modernization in India, the forces released by it and their bearing on the stability, creativity and development in India as a dynamic nation and composite civilization.

Modernization is a process associated with the sweeping changes that took place in the society, particularly social, economic, political and cultural changes. It represents substantial breaks with traditional society. The concept of modernization, emerged as an explanation of how Western countries/ societies developed through capitalism.

According to this approach, modernization depends primarily on introduction of the science and technology and the knowledge required making use of it. Besides, several social and political prerequisites have been identified to make modernization possible. Some of these prerequisites are:

1. Increased levels of education;
2. Development of mass media
3. Accessible transport and communication;
4. Democratic political institutions;
5. More urban and mobile population;
6. Nuclear family in place of extended family
7. Complex division of labour
8. Declining public influence of religion, and;
9. Developed markets for exchange of goods and services in place of traditional ways of meeting such needs.

            Modernization is, thus, supposed to be the result of the presence of these prerequisites in the social system. It is clear that the term modernization has been used here in a very broad sense. We, therefore, find different views about the scope and area to be covered by the concept of modernization.

            Debate on Concept of Modernization

• Some sociologists limit modernization to its structural aspect, others emphasise its cultural dimension. Daniel Thorner in his essay on ‘Modernization’ explains the modernization in these words: “modernization is the current term for an old process of social change whereby less developed society’s acquired characteristics common to more developed societies.” He further writes “Modernization, therefore, is the process of social change in which development is the economic component”.
• Accordingly, modernization is a process of change, which takes a country from underdevelopment to development. It produces social environment for economic development. The growths in industrialization, urbanization, national income and per capital income are taken as criteria of development.
• However, while accepting the economic criteria of development, some sociologists have added non-economic criteria to judge development. They argue that rising output alone is not sufficient to assess the level of development. A society has to move from rising output to self-sustaining growth. Therefore, non-economic criteria such as the level of education, function of media, growth of communication and social norms conducive to change have to be taken into consideration.
• The meaning of modernization given above incorporates, primarily, structural aspects of change. In other words, under modernization structural transformation takes place in economy, polity and social institution. It is to be noted here that the concept of modernization has also been explained in cultural terms.
• In cultural term, modernization implies change in values and attitudes. Modernity involves values and norms that are universal in nature. Explaining this aspect of modernization Yogendra Singh suggests that ‘modernization implies a rational attitude towards issues and their evaluation from a universal viewpoint’. Thus, technological advancement and economic growth are not the sole criterion to judge the level of modernization of the society. The commitment to scientific world view and humanistic ideas are equally important.
• Moreover, the idea of modernization has also been analyzed in terms of the paired concepts of tradition and modernity. It has been argued that modernity stands as opposite to tradition. In this sense, all the underdeveloped societies are characterized as traditional and the developed societies as modern. Modernization, thus, implies a change from tradition to modernity. Change occurs according to this view, in predicable direction. In other words, in order to modernize, every society has to follow the same direction and adopt a similar path. All the existing values and structures have to be replaced by the new values and structures.
• Nonetheless, sociologists from the developing countries are critical of this understanding of modernization. They maintain that modernization does not stand as a polar opposite to tradition. Traditional values and institutions are not necessarily discarded while taking up new values in the process of change. Society adopts new values because they are considered more efficient and rewarding. In view of this, these sociologists hold that modernization would develop typical forms in different societies. Patterns of modernization, thus, may vary from society to society. The discussion shows that processes of modernization involve both structural and cultural dimensions.

     Understanding Tradition:

According to Yogendra Singh, tradition refers to those ‘value-themes’ which encompass the entire social system of Indian society prior to the beginning of modernization. These value themes were organized on the principles of hierarchy, holism, continuity and transcendence. These four value themes were deeply interlocked with other elements of Indian social structure:

• Hierarchy was engrained in the system of caste and subcaste stratification. It was also there in the Hindu concepts of nature, occupational lifecycles (ashramas), and moral duties (dharma)
• Holism implied a relationship between individual and group in which the former was encompassed by the later in respect of duties and rights. Here precedence was given to community or sangha, not the individual. This overshadowing of individual by collectivity persisted all along the line of traditional social structure, e.g. family, village community, caste and nation.
• Continuity in Hinduism was symbolized by principles of karma, transmigration of soul and a cyclical view of change. Communalism in traditional social system was reinforced through the value system of continuity.
• The principle of transcendence also posited that legitimating of traditional values could never be challenged on grounds of rationality derived from the non-sacred or profane scales of evaluation. It formed a super concept contributing to integration as well as rationalization of the other value themes of the tradition. The organization of tradition based on these value-components could not be called typical only of the Indian society, since at one level similar phenomenon also existed in the traditional West. The divergence between the two traditions, however, arose from their unique social heritage, existential situation and historicity of circumstances.