•IN SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL CHANGE REFERS TO THE ALTERATION OF

MECHANISMS IN A SOCIAL STRUCTURE. THIS PROCESS IS

CHARACTERIZED BY CHANGES IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, CULTURAL
SYMBOLS, PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR, AND VALUE SYSTEMS.
THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, SOCIOLOGISTS
HAVE TRIED TO PROVIDE MODELS OF SOCIAL CHANGE. PERHAPS ONE OF
THE MOST WELL-KNOWN AND WIDELY USED IS THE STRUCTURAL-
FUNCTIONALIST MODEL THAT EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF
VARIOUS SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN DEVELOPING AND DRIVING CHANGE
AT BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETAL LEVELS.
•ACCORDING TO BOTH CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES, SOCIAL CHANGE OCCURS AS A PATTERN.
WITHIN THESE PATTERNS, TRADITIONAL THEORISTS BELIEVED THAT
SOCIETAL DECLINE, CYCLIC CHANGE, AND PROGRESS INFLUENCE
SOCIETAL CHANGES. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE LACK OF EMPIRICAL
EVIDENCE AND LITERATURE SUGGESTING THE VALIDITY OF SUCH
FACTORS, MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORISTS CALLED FOR THE
ADMONITION OF SUCH
•CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE AGREED UPON THE NOTION
THAT SOCIAL CHANGE SPURS FROM CAUSAL RELATIONS BETWEEN
THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY, INCLUDING THE NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT, DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES,
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, AND POLITICAL
FACTORS. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS WOULD BE THE EMERGENCE OF NEW
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IDENTITIES EXPERIENCED WITHIN THE
PHILIPPINES IN JUST A FEW DECADES.
•IN PARTICULAR, THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGY, COUPLED WITH
RELATIVELY CHEAPER COMMUNICATION COSTS, HAS MADE THE
PHILIPPINES THE TEXTING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. MOREOVER, THE
AVAILABILITY OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES HAS MADE COMMUNICATION
OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY EASIER. AS SUCH, TRANSNATIONAL
FAMILIES BEGAN TO EMERGE.
•SOCIETAL AND POLITICAL CHANGE ARE CLOSELY RELATED.
CHANGES IN THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE OCCUR WHEN CHANGES
IN SOCIETY HAPPEN, AND VICE VERSA. THUS, POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL CHANGE ARE INTERCONNECTED CONCEPTS. CHANGES IN
POLITICS, HOWEVER, OCCUR MOST WHEN THERE IS A PLAY
AGAINST POWER AND WHEN THERE IS A “REVOLUTION OF RISING
EXPECTATIONS” FROM THE GOVERNMENT, PARTICULARLY WHEN
THERE IS RADICAL REVOLUTION, STRUCTURAL REVISION, CHANGE
OF LEADERS, AND CHANGE IN POLICIES
•MAHATMA GANDHI (1869 – 1948) WAS AN INDIAN ACTIVIST, LAWYER,
POLITICIAN, AND WRITER WHO LED THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT
AGAINST THE BRITISH RULE IN HIS COUNTRY. GANDHI, EVEN UP TO
THIS DAY, IS INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN AS THE PURVEYOR OF
NONVIOLENT PROTEST—SATYAGRAHA—IN ACHIEVING
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGE. GANDHI TOOK PART IN THREE MAJOR
CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE BRITISH.
•HE STOOD AS AN ADVOCATOR AND MEDIATOR, WHICH LED THE
BRITISH TO LABEL HIM AS A “UTOPIAN VISIONARY.” MANY OF HIS
WRITINGS, GAINED HIM THE ADMIRATION OF INDIANS FROM
DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE. HE WAS CONSIDERED AS THE CATALYST IN
ENDING COLONIAL RULE IN INDIA AND IN PROVIDING THE COUNTRY
WITH A TYPE OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL REFORM THAT WAS BASED
ON PEACE AND SPIRITUALITY.