Social Thought and Social Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Thought and Social Change - Essay Example Several theorists have contributed to the comprehensive view of social change, not confining the understanding of social change as associated with globalization alone. Of these theorists come three of the pillars of sociology, whose thoughts have been applied even today. These theorists include Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. Their concepts might have some strands of divergence, yet these concepts were converged to forming a single praxis for academic integration. According to Daniel Bell (1999 cited in Kalantzis & Kope, 2008), a sociologist from Harvard University, â€Å"post-industrial society† is a term coined to refer to â€Å"new principles of innovations, new modes of social organization, and [the emergence of the] new classes in society†¦ [highly featuring] the codification of theoretical knowledge and the new relation of science to technology.† In addition, the post-industrial society is also characterized by a rapid-growing service sector with a focus on information dissemination and modern technological drives that utilize extensively human knowledge and not human muscles (Bell, 1973, p.127). During Marx’s time, the dominating classes involved in the production system are the proletariats and the bourgeoisie, with the latter own the means of production. In the post-industrial society, a large and a growing number of workers are working not in factories of goods production but in service industries, all of wh ich are using their intellects and technical capabilities instead of physical strength. This class of workers, most are professionals, are what Bell calls the new class.