"The concept of modernity with reference to sociological contributions of those representing the modernization school"

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I would like to define the concept of modernity or modernization as a continuous change in the mindset (and life style) of a person, with regard to its social, legal, economic, political and technological environments. A person or a group of people (a society) to be modern refers to a process of development (or becoming mature/organized) enabled through mass media. Where one turns from its traditional ways of thinking and doing things to a more advanced/more developed or in other words modern way of thinking and doing things.

Thus, modernity is a product of development. And development is made possible through effective mass media.

The development of communication & the concept of modernity strongly came about during World War II. With World War II came dozens of new, very poor, countries, left by their former colonial overseers with little infrastructure, education, or political stability. It was widely accepted that mass media could bring education, essential skills, social unity, and a desire to modernize.

Daniel Lerner, Walt Rostow, Everett Hagen & David McClelland are some of the representatives of the Modernization school.

Daniel Lerners study, The Passing OF Traditional Society (158) refers to modernization. The study was conducted in Middle East after the World War II.

To him, the society was of two parts, traditional & modern. According to Lerner what makes one part traditional and another modern depended on how much they were willing to accept information on development and how far they made use of it.

Thus under-development to him was a 'people-problem' and not merely fatalism or lack of alternatives!

Lerner, identifies a modern person as a person with a 'mobile personality'. Mobility in identifying & understanding changing environments, participating in those changes positively and rationally. And such people were called to be 'empathetic' persons.

Lerner suggested that exposure to Western media would create empathy for modern culture, and a desire to move from traditional to modern ways.

He believed that it was the responsibility of mass media to convey information about the changing environment to the society effectively. As a matter of fact it was considered as a pre-requisite to participate in a modern society. Also a similar emphasis was given to the policy makers/planners, as persons who control the media and was held responsible in educating, directing the society towards embracing modernity and driving towards development.

Walt Rostow, another sociological contributor to the modernization school, theorized that, societies progress through specific stages of development on their way to modernity, what he termed as the age of high mass consumption.

Stages of development were vividly explained by an analogy of an airplane to the process of development.

The traditional economy was seen as a stationary plane on the ground waiting to take-off. And the pre-requisites to take-off was a clear vision of the destination, a scientific mind-which is positive and rational that has an action plan.

The taking-off period refers to executing the action plan in an enterpreneuval manner using all resources such as media to the optimum. Forces making for economic progress, which yielded limited bursts and enclaves of modern activity, expand and come to dominate society (Rostow, 160)

Drive to maturity is the final stage referring to the maintenance of development. This is also where high mass consumption comes to play, when people increasingly consume goods and services well in excess of their basic need. Thus, according to Rostow, the process of development is a step by step growth pattern.

Psychologists & economists, had also contributed greatly to the building up of modernization school as given below.

In traditional societies, the style of life inhibited the formation of a creative or innovative personality so that life went on the same generation after generation. If so, how was the change possible? Since the 150s this has been seen as a puzzle to be solved. In explaining the origins of development, Everet E. Hagen and David McClelland concentrated on psychological changes occurring within the individual. HOW DOES PERSONALITY INFLUENCE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?

Early studies of Everett E. Hagen. 16 On the Theory of Social Change. Hagen inquires into the forces which disrupt the great stability of traditional society and cause groups to emerge which abandon traditional ways and turn their energies to the tasks of modernization. His question is What does influence some individuals to alter their cognitions, needs, and values? What are the social bases of innovational and creative personality? It corresponds to this dimension of personality that is usually identified with openness to experience. It defines it terms of drives and needs. Hagen's answer is formulated in the concept of withdrawal of status respect. Hagen finds that innovational and creative personality is a deviant individual who belongs to a rejected group. This individual is a member of some marginal group which perceives that its values are not rightfully acknowledged by other groups. People from this group tend to change their situation and in the process of adaptation develop innovative and creative personality and, as a result, engage in entrepreneurial behavior. Finally, this behavior leads to economic development.

David C. McClelland. 161 (The Achieving Society) McClelland introduced a new concept characterizing psychological functioning of individuals a need for Achievement (nAch). An achievement motivation is defined as the need to perform well or the striving for success, evidenced by persistence and effort in the face of difficulties. Achievement motivation is a recurrent preference or readiness in thought and behavior for experiences of attaining excellence--of competing with a standard of excellence (McClelland. 185. Human Motivation) McClelland contends that the persistence of individuals with a high need for Achievement is antecedent to entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Both Hagen and McClelland based their work on the concept of motivation (Hagen implicitly, McClleland explicitly). Motivation has been traditionally conceived of in terms of stable individual differences in the strength of motive dispositions. A motive disposition refers to a cluster of affectively pursued goals/values. Motives energize, direct, and select behavior. In contemporary individual and social psychology, considerable literature have developed around the Big Three Motives (1) Achievement () Affiliation/Intimacy () Power.

To Hagen and McClelland personality is the independent variable and the social structure, or that part of it which is related to the economy, is the dependent variable, Changes occur in the minds of people with the result that economic development is likely to follow through which modernity is created. For a number of researchers the opposite is true.

Alex Inkeles. 16 Alex Inkeles and D. H. Smith. 174. Becoming Modern Individual Change in Six Developing Countries.

The characteristics of modernity include - a disposition to accept new ideas and try new methods; - a readiness to express opinions; - a time sense that makes people more interested in the present and future than the past - a better sense of punctuality; - a greater concern for planning, organization, and efficiency; - a tendency to see the world as calculable - a faith in science and technology; - a belief in distributive justice. These characteristics embrace more than the need for Achievement, but modern people, as Inkeles describe them, clearly are achievement oriented. Inkeles finds that elements of the social structure change individuals.

In a nutshell the representatives of the modernization school views that; Modernization is the goal of development. It is characterized by a change of society from a traditional culture to a modern culture through certain stages of development. Therefore, modernization is a unilinear process. This linear process is facilitated by modern and efficient communication.

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