Social Change Theories: From Comte to Marx
A theory is a logical system consisting of observations, axioms, and postulates, as well as predictions and inference rules that serve to explain economically a certain set of data and even make predictions about what events will be observable under certain conditions. Theories can also be extended from their own predictions and even be corrected by certain rules of reasoning, being able to explain other possible events or facts different from the theory of progress. Progress is a social product that has evolved over the centuries, enriching its contents and slowly acquiring its complex contemporary meaning.
The Classics of Evolution
Advances in the natural sciences led to proposals on the evolution (birth, growth, death) of living organisms. Hence, sociology adheres to the positivist paradigm, adapting the method of study and drawing analogies between living organisms and society to understand social dynamics.
Roots Found in Organicism
Auguste Comte: Early Sociology
Comte assumed the influences of positivism and adopted the scientific method to study social phenomena. His great interest in moving society to a state of order and progress led him to study the evolution of thought in society. His theoretical commitment is based on a linear conception of history and on the idea that evolution is independent of men. There is a divine law that governs progress.
The Law of Three Stages
Comte determined the stages through which the general development of the human species must pass:
- The first stage is theological, focusing on the nature of things and their origin (Gods).
- The second stage is the metaphysical and legal time. It is a transitional stage where the forces of nature are used to explain why things are as they are.
- The third stage, positive, is the end. People leave their non-scientific ideas and guide the search for invariant laws. With the rule of reason, the company then comes to social progress.
Herbert Spencer
Spencer was guided by Darwin’s evolutionary principles. He drew an analogy between living organisms and society. Evolution tends toward structural and functional differentiation, from simple to complex, from the amorphous to the articulation of the parties, from homogeneity to specialization, from fluidity to stability. This mechanism produces a sequence of distinct stages in the human species, from simple to complex societies (social division of labor) in which organization becomes relevant.
Emile Durkheim
Durkheim’s focus was the influence of large structures of society and society itself on the thoughts and actions of individuals. He believed that society was composed of organs or structures, called “social facts,” which constituted the object of study of sociology. For the evolution of society, he sought answers in the social division of labor. His analysis is based on the concept of two ideal types of society:
- The most primitive type, characterized by mechanical solidarity, is rooted in the similarity of functions, and tasks are not differentiated.
- The most modern type, organic solidarity, is characterized by greater complementarity, cooperation, and highly differentiated functional interdependence. (Demographics and population growth intensify social relations. The more complex, the greater the population, plus the relations = the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity.)
The assumptions that constitute the core of evolutionary theory assume that all of human history has a single format or model. Society is assumed to be human as a whole in organic terms, applying the organismic analogy: It is an integrated system of components and subsystems, all individually and collectively contributing to the maintenance and continuity of the total. The evolution of society is seen as a natural, necessary, and inevitable feature of social reality.
Cyclical View of Social Change: Historical Materialism
Marxist theory shares many assumptions about the evolutionary development of human history: It sees progress as the passage through successive stages, leading to the constant improvement of society. History is pushed forward by endogenous forces. Marx also realized the complexity and growing differentiation in society as a product of the social division of labor. The break with evolution occurs when he introduces his dialectical conception of reality, breaking the causal view of the natural sciences. Marx proposed that the modes of production determine the general nature of social, political, and spiritual life. The modes of production create physical and social relations, which are reflected in dominant ideological forms that are expressed through the state, which represents the dominant ideas of the classes in power.