1st Edition
Social Change The Advent and Maturation of Modern Society
First published in 1981, Social Change offers a critical review of the main classical and modern theories of social change, and a study of the processes of change in western societies since modernization. It focusses on the cardinal aspects of society, and those that have figured most prominently in various theories: the economy, the class structure, the political structure, and the structure of education, as they changed throughout the process of modernization and up to the 1980s.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I presents a general discussion of classical and contemporary theories of the advent and maturation of modern society in Western capitalist and non-Western countries. Part II provides a more detailed discussion of modernization and subsequent changes in the Western, capitalist societies. Part III examines alternative social formations—communes and co-operatives. This book will be a beneficial read for students and researchers of sociology.
Introduction Part 1 1. The advent of modern society in classical sociology 2. The advent of modern society in contemporary sociology (A): ‘mainstream’ and modernization theory 3. The advent of modern society in contemporary sociology (B): Marxist, neo-Marxist and dependency theory Part 2 4. The advent and maturation of the modern economy 5. The advent and maturation of the modern class structure 6. The advent and maturation of the modern polity (A): the power of governments and ruling elites 7. The advent and maturation of the modern polity (B): public participation and political manipulation 8. The advent and maturation of modern education Part 3 9. The search for alternatives Conclusion
Biography
Eva Etzioni-Halevy is a Holocaust Survivor. She is Professor Emerita of Political Sociology at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. She has published many academic books and writes Biblical novels. Etzioni-Halevy has previously taught at Tel Aviv University and Australian National University.
