Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Blumer, Herbert

Titel

INDUSTRIALIZATION AS AN AGENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Erscheinungsjahr

1990

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Sociological Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A posthumous systematization & presentation of the late Herbert Blumer's (1900-1987) development of the symbolic interactionist perspective on the processual nature of social organizational life, highlighting his less recognized observations & analyses of stratification, power structures, political economy, & social change, published as part of the Communication & Social Order series (David R. Maines [Pennsylvania State U, University Park], series editor), & presented in VII PARTS containing 23 Chpts, with an additional introduction by the editors: On the Breadth and Relevance of Blumer's Perspective: Introduction to His Analysis of Industrialization. PART I - INTRODUCTION. PART II - AMBIGUITY OF THE CONCEPT OF INDUSTRIALIZATION - includes The Inadequacy of the Colloquial Meaning of "Industrialization"; The Confusion of Industrialization with Other Processes; & Study of Selected Aspects or Expressions of "Industrialization". PART III - THE NATURE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION - contains Industrialization as a Type of Economy; Views of Industrialization as an Agent of Social Change; The Framework of Industrialization; & Variation in Industrialization. PART IV - INDUSTRIALIZATION AS AN AGENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE -- PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS - includes Analysis of Happenings at Points of Entry; Implications of the Analysis; & Summary Remarks. PART V - INDUSTRIALIZATION AND THE TRADITIONAL ORDER - includes Response of the Established Order to Industrialization; Significance of the Differential Responses of Established Social Orders; & Summary Observations. PART VI - INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL TRANSITION - contains The Alleged Role of Industrialization in Producing Social Disorder; Assessment of Industrialization as a Source of Social Disorder; & Relation of Early Industrialization to Disorganization and Disorder. PART VII - THE NEUTRAL ROLE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION - contains The Construction of a Typology of Early Industrialization; & The Addition of the Social Setting. PART VIII - IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEUTRAL ROLE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION - concludes with Implications for Research and Scholarly Study; Research Procedure under the New Perspective; Comparative Study of Industrialization; The "Ideal Type" of Analysis; & Implications for Social Policy. Blumer's sociological approach is reiterated briefly & its suitability to any level or scale of analysis presented. His conceptualization of society as a framework inside of which collective action occurs, but which does not wholly determine such activity, is elaborated, & the institutional & structural aspects of his position are developed. His substantive analysis of industrialization is summarized, & its relevance to, & convergence with or divergence from current thinking on the topic assessed. It is argued that an honest reading of Blumer's writings will reveal the fundamental misinterpretations expounded by Neil J. Smelser & others of similar viewpoint. Blumer's analysis focuses on the determination of the requirements of causal analysis by claiming concept definition as a key requirement of empirically based scientific theory. To the investigation of the proposition that industrialization exerts a set of causal forces on societies that result in changes in the social structure, normative orders, & patterns of belief & conduct, Blumer brought an original blending of diverse perspectives, arguing that the process of industrialization is neutral & has an indeterminate relation to societal effects that may be construed as social change resulting from the introduction of it. This does not mean it is inconsequential or lifeless; it is the causal attribution that is at issue. Three core empirical processes or elements are defined & developed: a system of production based on mechanization, an associated system of procurement & distribution, & a service structure. It is concluded that Blumer's analysis anticipates much of the new work on early industrialization that has empirically established great variation in the rate, timing, circumstances of growth, & societal response to the industrialization process. The key contribution is his emphasis on variation with regard to the influence that industrialization may or may not have; the magnitude of this contribution can be calculated in terms of its potential as an alternative to world-system theory, which, while having the merit of focusing attention on the interdependence of nations & sectors, rests on an underlying assumption of internally organized production & distribution systems. Blumer's Darwinian focus on variation identifies different mechanisms that are critical in explaining social change. 31 References. M. Crowdes