SocialDarwinism
Whatcaused the demise and consequential breakup of the Soviet Union inabout 1990?
EmileDurkheim: There has been a lot of debate concerning what led to theend of the arms race. The monarchical entity was destroyed whencommunists killed the imperial family. Also during this era, some ofthe elements began being unsatisfied with the communists and theystarted developing resistance areas in Southern and Siberian Russia.There were also allied armies who had the ultimate desire to defeatthe Germany. The development of friction lack of cohesion between themembers of the communist group was a clear indication that failurewas imminent (Bannister, 1989).
HebertSpencer: After the defeat of the German army, the Allies went furtherto intervene in the Russian civil war against the communists with thepurpose of diverting world socialist revolution. Another happeningthat graced the collapse of the Soviet Union was the peacefulrevolutions. This occurrence was characterized by the voting out thecommunists from the government. When this change began in Poland,other states also followed this event. The events unfolding are aclear indication that time comes when the community wielding thegreatest strength or influence can topple the weaker one (Bannister,1989).
MaxWeber: Sometime later, the East German Government opened the Berlinwall. The final act came into play when the USSR was dissolved. Thiswas due to the troubles that arose in the domestic reforms, and alsothe economy spiraled downwards. Soviet republics wanted to achievesovereignty and independence which caused the beginning of politicalprocesses. This was characterized by the attack on the USSRgovernment and then its subsequent destruction. Each of the membersof the USSR states or republics eventually declared independence orsovereignty and thus adopted the various statements concerning theRepublic leadership on service and also the creation of theirmilitary system and armed forces. The breakup of the Soviet Union wasnot, therefore, something that just exploded out of nowhere. It was aregular, slow progressing action that surfaced from an individual andspread further outwards (Hawkins, 1997). The sour relationshipspossibly flickered rebellion which led to the effect of disunity andultimately to the collapse.
Whyhas industrialism declined in Europe in the last 50 years? Whatresearch would you conduct to understand this issue?
MaxWeber: several general principles facilitate competency. Theseprinciples are rules and guidelines which if not balanced, can havedetrimental consequences to the economy and thus industrialization.How labor is established, the flow of command and duties, as well asthe efficient undertaking of the relevant obligations and tasks, playan important role in the bureaucratic administration. A loss in oneor more of these fundamental principles can be attributed to thedecline in industrialization in Europe (Hawkins, 1997). As such, therate of employment in the manufacturing sector has gone downconsiderably. There have been suggestions that deindustrialization isdue to the globalization of markets. This can be explained by thefast growth of manufacturing industries that require an immenseamount of labor in the developing countries is believed to cause adisplacement of workers and employees in the already developedcountries with better economies.
HerbertSpencer: Social conditions such as wars, political instability, andenvironmental upheaval are also causes of deindustrialization.Although the levels vary from one country to another, it is clearthat the process of achieving a state of complete industrializationrequires evolution from disorder to order. In this case, the road tosuccess had to have its setback associated with poor planning andmanagement, politics and other external factors. The communities havehad to deal with these issues and thus the deindustrializationprocess (Bannister, 1989).
EmileDurkheim: What holds the society together is a collectiveconsciousness, and in its absence the society cannot survive. Thedecline in industrialization can be attributed to the imbalance thatarises from problems regarding labor. Therefore, another explanationis that there are shifts from manufacturing to service sectors of theeconomy. This movement is associated with how work has been dividedin the society. For instance, the allocation of various roles in asociety depend on upon the merits and rewarding (Hofstadter, 1955).In this regard, the importance of regulating morals and economicscannot be overlooked, and that is why we can attributedeindustrialization to inequality and lack of law and order thattries to restore order instead of offering severe discipline.
Whichis the most established theory that guides thinking and research insociology?
EmileDurkheim: Structural functionalism is a set method that must beregarded as a separate academic discipline. Additionally, it alsoencompasses the scientific method of problem-solving. The lack ofsocial integration of distinct communities leads to a disorder knownas anomie. This is why studies have indicated that the levels ofsuicide rates are associated with the few or loose ties in thecommunity. Taking into consideration the socioevolutionary approach,there is a progression of society from a mechanical state to anorganic one. In other words, the society develops into a complexstructure of solidarity. The division of labor characterizes thisstate. There is a certain level of integration that fostersinterdependence and specialization thus making cooperation moreintensive and efficient. However, the destabilization of the societycan be generated by forced division of labor by powerful and greedypeople who may force people to work where they are not best suited(Hofstadter, 1955).
HerbertSpencer: equivocally explains the belief thatsocieties or communities have to evolve in a step by step manner froma state of confusion to a cleaner one. Similar to the DarwinianTheory which presumes that the fittest survive, then the societiesthat exhibit the most orderly characteristics will survive. Analogousto the Darwin’s theory of evolution, the human mind also advancedfrom a lower state to a higher state (Hawkins, 1997). Taking theexample of a militant state which is modest and undifferentiated, theprocess of development has facilitated growth and differentiationinto a more complex and diversified industrial country.
MaxWebber: from a rational standpoint, focusing on the individuals andtheir social actions is a crucial aspect in the explanation of thecauses of occurrences. It further illustrates the theme of cause andeffect. The manner in which a population interacts with each anotherhas an implication on the overall character and behavior of theindividuals involved. The actions exhibited by an individual may betraced back to the understanding of collectivities for examplecultures, governments, and churches among others. The basis ofcomparative historical analysis in this theory facilitates gaininginsight on the occurrence of certain outcomes based on the historicalevents that occurred (Hawkins, 1997). This is more accurate comparedto the prediction of an outcome by basing on the processes in thefuture.
References
Bannister,R. C. (1989). SocialDarwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Hawkins,M. (1997). SocialDarwinism in European and American thought, 1860-1945: Nature asmodel and nature as threat.Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Hofstadter,R. (1955). SocialDarwinism in American thought.Boston: Beacon Press.