The Change Of Society Essay, Research Paper

As we look for a new way to live our lives, we constantly look back to remind ourselves of the way things used to be. Western culture as we know it today, did not start off as it is now, and it certainly is not going to remain the same for very long. Change has always seemed to be the human beings way of life. We strive to find something different and more effective. As we look onto the Pre Modern, Modern, and Post Modern societies we can see that there have been drastic changes throughout the ages.

There was once a time when a spear was used to kill a buffalo and rocks were the utensils used to mush plants into a fine powder which would later be used as a remedy for an illness. This society that was once the dominant way of living from 10,000 B.C. to 1500 A.D. is what scientists define as the ?Pre Modern? society. These hunters and gatherers would roam the earth using nature as a soul provider for their survival. By establishing tribes, these hunters and gatherers would stay located in an area were the earth and nature provided the best resources. The men would hunt for several days if needed, and the women would gather wild crops, cook, and raise the children. There was no upper or lower class, rather everything was shared in the tribe, and nothing was

wasted. When a tribe was approaching the winter season, little was brought with them and they would start all over in another location.

Much of the Pre modern society was based on unity. There was no greed or advantage of power, but rather togetherness. The elders were looked at as the decision makers of the group because they were more experienced and were more in touch with nature. As a way of teaching, the elders would tell stories of the way things used to be, but many would refer back to paintings on rocks explaining the past. This technique would be passed down to the children in hope that one day they too could come back to their paintings as a way of explaining their culture.

The religion of many hunting and gathering societies consisted of several ceremonial activities, the preparation of dress, making of masks and paintings. Many rituals were called upon by the elders as a way of speaking to their gods for guidance. Children?s games consisted of kicking a coconut into a woven basket, or some games were played in a ceremonial type fashion, in which the children would gather in a circle together and dance. The boys would be given spears and taught to hunt at a very young age, as the girls would follow the precision of their mothers by keeping up the camp.

As tribes continued to multiply, some tribes would come together and join as one. These tribes joining together, we now identify them as civilizations. By doing this, they brought in new ideas for living. These

new ideas were shared together throughout the community. As a result of the growth of these civilizations, some where down the line, power became an essential building block. Elders began thinking of ideas to branch out and absorb more tribes. Sometimes, tribes would not want to submit to a civilization. When this problem arose, war became introduced into many cultures. The spears that were once used for hunting, were now used for the killing of human life as a means of protection.

These civilizations that became empowered with change and conquest soon fell as a result of self destruction. The Roman Empire, known for its huge armies and well developed civilization became too over whelmed with the idea of power and riches. Too many people wanted the control. As a result the Roman Empire crashed to a more barbaric and primitive culture, the Mongolians.

As empires broke apart into smaller states, communities became impatient with the lifestyles they had been living. As a result, change was once again an essential topic of the developing civilizations. The introduction of industrialization redeveloped several cultures and we now refer to these cultures as Industrialized or Modern Societies.

Industrialization, which means; the emergence of machine production, based on the inanimate power resources, greatly changed several societies. The production of goods was made faster and easier, like the spinning jenny, greatly improved the production of cloth, by

weaving yarn and also the invention of the wind mill and steamboat allowed the harnessing of energy.

In the modern societies, hunting and gathering was made easier. The invention of the rifle made it a faster way to kill a buffalo and the invention of steal helped manufacture better tools, which were used for harvesting.

As civilizations began to flourish, cities and towns were created. What was once a normal way of living now became a type of job and people began receiving income for butchering beef and sewing clothes. People who were once concerned with each other had now only become interested in money and the power that it harvest. Social behavior changed. The elders who were once the assumed leaders of tribes, turned into upper class kings and lords. Those who remained were the lower class, peasants. Governments formed. Along with governments came laws, taxes and regulations. People who once danced to the gods in celebration were now moving to other areas of the earth to practice new religions and form new societies. The drawings on stones were transferred onto a mass production of books, which were distributed world wide. People began reading and consuming information through teachings of these books.

Those societies who were left on the pre modern societies, were labeled as third world and unequal to the rest of the evolving countries. it was as if industrialization had taken over the world and inventions popped

up ever so fast, the light bulb, the telephone, then the car. A world that had once resulted in moving with hardly anything on their back was now able to travel across country without the fear of death from starvation or disease.

As modern societies began to grow, they became more organized. buildings were set up for work. This type of system is known as a bureaucracy. There were different places to go to that satisfied the needs of the people. There were hospitals for the sick, there are plumbers for the water, electricians for the electricity, etc. People no longer did things on their own. If something was wrong, people that could help were only a phone call away. People began to take advantage of things that used to be an everyday activity. Clothes could now be washed in bulks in a washing machine and light was one flick of a switch away.

Society in the modern became a broken record. People began doing the same activities everyday. People would wake up in the morning at a certain time, go to work at a certain time, go to lunch at a certain time, and come back home at a certain time. Being spontaneous was not a part of the modern societies way of living. Everything done was done for a purpose and everything needed to fit into a certain time or space.

Social behavior had changed drastically. Entertainment was not perceived in the work anymore, but rather people would be required to go out of the home. Sports became a new and fun way to socialize. People

would play sports, basketball, football, baseball, golf, etc. what was once a form of leisure, became a high priced industry. Tickets were sold and money was made. Another huge industry that bloomed in the early twentieth century was the production of movies and invention of television. Movies took the place of plays and television took the place of radios. People were now able to see what the actors of hit radio shows looked like on television.

As countries developed, the essence of power, once again roamed societies. With everyone inventing something new, it seemed that ?Ye with the most toys wins?, as countries who were the most developed in industry seemed to take the role as a ?Super Power? of the world. One example of this is the United States versus Russia. This ?Cold War?, was battled for the possession of being the super power of the world. The mass production of military armerment began. It was thought that the country with the biggest army and the more sophisticated weapons was the biggest power of the world.

The modern world as we knew it, was on a fast pace to industrializing everything in its path. The world had become a working world. Everyone striving to reach for the top. More inventions made the life style of a human being easier. One in particular was the invention of the computer. The computer industry bloomed with new high tech micro chips and discs allowing the storage of data. When computers became

more user friendly, industries absorbed them in for use of filing and storage. Computers were also used so that people did not need to get dirty. Computers were beginning to take over the roles of people, that bloomed the Industrial Revolution. The men who once pounded away on the production of steel, were being replaced by machines that were able to work faster and produce more, cheaper. As computers and machines became part of the world wide industry, manual labor was needed less and less. Instead, jobs were wanted for people to know how to work computers and to improve the technology. Whether people noticed it or not, Post Modernism was making its way into societies.

Post Modernism is now a time that requires knowledge. It is a time that is no longer governed by history, but it is rather highly diverse with no guidelines. It is a time were almost anything goes in society with men and women sharing the same roles. The consistency of time is still present, but now it is shared by more than one member in the family. Jobs are not as secure as in the late Modern Societies. If one is not able to keep up, they are replaced with a more youthful, computer intellectual person. This new bread of workers work fast and consistent. Some are not necessarily looking for a permanent job, but rather do a job, get out and find another.

Post Modernism is a time when everyone begins to work together for a more admirable purpose. This is know as globalization. Globalization

brings together a social organization. It is the selling of service, not manufactory. We are reaching a time in which we don?t even need to leave our homes to shop. We can log on to the internet and order clothes. We are reaching a time where everything is done on a computer and communication between people is possible with a keyboard. Businesses no longer need to travel long distances for meetings. They are now able to have them over a teleprompter and phone connection.

Post Modernism is unlimited. It is a time that is changing with every waking hour and every computer upgrade. It is a time when the perfect woman is not even real, but a computer generated image. Bottom line, Post Modernism is a time of change that gathers in the old and makes it better. Youth plays a key in the advancement of this new era. It is going back to the Pre Modern time of unity. When everyone worked together as a team. It is also still closely related to Modernism. People are still striving to reach the ultimate. People want to be rich and they want their money fast. What is different is that jobs now are making it harder for people to go right out of high school. And even so, right out of college. People that once had jobs working on the assembly line, now have to go back to school in order to receive the education that the more prime younger society was brought up on.

Pre Modern, Modern, Post Modern, before you know it there will be a Post Post Modern. But for sure, this new society of Post Modernism is

catching on fast. I believe the world as a whole, has learned from its past mistakes. We are now taking those times and improving them for further advancement. One thing that scares me is how dependent we have become on materials. What if everything was wiped out one day and society returned to the primitive state? Would we be able to survive? With all the advancements and all the new technologies, it is still in our nature to be able to survive with nothing. Yes, it would be difficult, but survival is an instinct that human beings are born with.