Introduction : Modernity and Emergence of Sociology
Modernity refers to the substantial, tangible visible change in the social , cultural and intellectual aspects of society .Sociology was born in 19th-century Europe to make sense of the chaos caused by massive changes like factories replacing farms, cities growing overnight, and old traditions collapsing. Thinkers like Marx, Durkheim, and Weber wanted to answer questions like: Why are people feeling lost? Why are the rich getting richer? How can societies stay stable? Let’s break down this story with simple examples.
I. What Caused These Changes?
1. The Enlightenment (1600s–1700s)
- What happened? People started trusting science and reason more than religion or kings.
- Example: Thinkers like Voltaire wrote books criticizing the church and kings. A group even made a giant encyclopedia (called Encyclopédie) to spread these new ideas. This made ordinary people question old rules.
2. Industrial Revolution (1760–1840)
- What happened? Machines (like steam engines) replaced hand tools. Factories popped up, and people moved from villages to cities for jobs.
- Consequences:
- Cities got crowded: Places like Manchester (England) turned into factory hubs with slums. Workers lived in dirty, cramped homes.
- New social classes: Factory owners (rich) vs. workers (poor). Workers had long hours, low pay, and no rights.
- Protests: The Luddites (1811–1816) were workers who smashed machines they thought were stealing their jobs.
3. French Revolution (1789)
- What happened? People overthrew the king, declared “Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood,” and created a republic.
- Impact: Showed that society could change through revolution. Ideas like democracy and human rights spread globally.
- Example: The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) said, “All men are born free and equal.” This inspired freedom movements worldwide.
4. Cities Became Miserable
- Problem: Cities grew too fast. There were no proper houses, clean water, or sewage systems. Crime increased.
- Example: London’s East End slums in the 1800s were filthy and overcrowded. Families lived in single rooms.
5. Capitalism Took Over
- What happened? Money and markets ruled everything. Landlords and kings lost power to business owners.
- Example: During the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852), a million people starved because the British government let food be exported for profit instead of feeding the hungry.
6. Science Over Religion
- Shift: People stopped seeing the world as “God’s plan” and started using science to explain things.
- Example: Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859) said humans evolved from animals, not God. This shook religious beliefs.
II. How Society Changed
1. Old Hierarchies Broke Down
- Feudalism to Class System: Earlier, your status depended on birth (like being a lord or peasant). Now, money decided your class (rich factory owner vs. poor worker).
2. Religion Lost Power
- Example: After the French Revolution, France took control of churches and said priests must work for the government, not the Pope.
3. New Politics
- Rise of Nations: Countries like Germany and Italy unified under strong governments.
- Ideas Clashed: Some wanted democracy (liberals), others wanted workers to own factories (socialists), and some wanted old traditions back (conservatives).
4. Culture Changed
- Books and Newspapers: More people learned to read. Novels like Hard Times by Charles Dickens exposed factory workers’ struggles.
- Individualism: People started focusing on personal freedom over family or community ties.
III. Sociology’s Founders & Their Big Ideas
1. Auguste Comte
- Idea: Study society like science! He called it “sociology.”
- Example: Just like physics has laws, Comte said societies have patterns we can study to fix problems.
2. Émile Durkheim
- Idea: Society is glued together by shared values (like respecting laws or family).
- Example: In his book Suicide, he found that people feel suicidal when society’s bonds break (e.g., in crowded cities).
3. Karl Marx
- Idea: Factories make the rich richer and workers poorer. Workers will revolt someday.
- Example: Marx said factory workers felt like “cogs in a machine” with no control over their lives (alienation).
4. Max Weber
- Idea: Modern life is all about rules and efficiency (like offices with strict hierarchies).
- Example: Weber linked hardworking Protestants (like Calvinists) to the rise of capitalism. They believed working hard was a duty to God.
5. Harriet Martineau
- Idea: Studied not just class but also gender and slavery.
- Example: She wrote about how society treated women and Black people unfairly, topics others ignored.
IV. Real-Life Case Studies
1. Industrialization in England
- Problem: Factories hired kids for dangerous jobs. Cities had no sanitation.
- Solution: Laws like the Factory Acts (1833–1878) banned child labor. Chadwick’s Report (1842) pushed for clean water and toilets.
2. French Revolution’s Legacy
- Impact: Napoleon’s laws (like the Napoleonic Code) spread secular ideas across Europe. No more special privileges for nobles.
3. Weber’s Protestant Ethic
- Example: In places like the Netherlands, Calvinists worked hard, saved money, and reinvested profits, creating early capitalism.
V. Why Does This Matter for UPSC?
- Questions from this topic are of frequent occurrence
- Link Events to Theories: Connect thinkers to real events (e.g., Marx → Industrial Revolution’s inequalities).
- Use Simple Quotes:
- Marx: “Workers of the world unite!”
- Weber: “Modern life is an iron cage of rules.”
- Draw Diagrams: Make a timeline of events (1700–1900) and match them to sociology theories.
Conclusion
Sociology was born to solve the mess created by factories, revolutions, and collapsing traditions. While thinkers like Durkheim wanted to fix society, Marx and Weber showed its flaws. These ideas still help us understand today’s issues, like inequality or the stress of city life.
Sample Question for Practice:
“The Industrial Revolution and French Revolution created the need for sociology.” Explain with examples. (15 marks)