`PEOPLE NOW HAVE MORE CHOICES AND OPORTUNITIES TO IMPORVE THEIR LIVES THAN THEY HAVE FIFTY YEARS AGO` DISCUSS THIS VIEW, DRAWING ON MATERIAL FROM AT LEAST THREE BLOCKS FROM DD100. THE BOOK IS

Social Change : The Growth in Choice and Opportunity during the Last Fifty Years

Introduction

The extent of change in the post Second World War society is a of constant and animated debate , not just in the UK but all over the world Shifts in social , economic , and political structures are occurring with dramatic rapidity , altering and impacting knowledge bases , individual and collective competencies , earning powers , political actions community structures , social identities , hierarchies , and relationships as well as family and working life . Every possible area of human existence is being impacted

as never before . Today 's youth , born in the last two decades , find it difficult , if not practically impossible to relate to the society of the fifties and sixties

Sociologists and social scientists , analysing the content and quality of change , find them to be mixed in nature , with enhancement and empowerment of individuals going hand in hand with breakdowns and alterations in social and cultural patterns , increase in mental problems , and restructuring of family relationships . Even as the pace of change sucks humanity into its vortex forcing them to adapt in to survive , it also provides choices and opportunities to people individually and collectively , to enhance and improve their mental competencies , physical health , political strength , social standing and economic status . This assignment attempts to investigate and analyse the differences between the opportunities available to men and women today for self improvement and those available in the fifties , and thereby assess the impact of change on social wellbeing

Commentary

Social theories , as argued by Durkheim , and Weber , and more recently by Roy Bhasker , Margaret Archer and others attempt to explain evolution of change through concepts of structure and agency , structure representing social institutions that have been built over time and agency denoting the effect of the individual . While social structures are of course built by individuals , the actions of structures and individuals differ from each other , despite their interrelationship , and impact society in diverse ways . Structure is a space-time phenomenon guided by paradigms built on past actions . Actions are predicated on structure , and the intended and unintended consequences of these actions dynamically shape the temporal conditions and rules of structure and function ' Whilst opinion is divided over the dominant role of either structure or agency in bringing about social evolution , modern day thinkers like Anthony Giddens , Scott Lash and John Urry argue that individual actions are becoming increasingly more important than institutions in effecting social evolution . The effects of structure and agency on change are evident everywhere in society , be they in education , medicine , or technological advancement (Freeman , 2001

The interplay between structure and agency on the evolution of family relationships during the last century , especially during the last fifty years is an illustrative example of how social change provides for great advancement opportunities even as it leads to insecurity , emotional problems and structural breakdowns . The family , in the nuclear as well as in the extended term , is one of the earliest and most long lasting social institutions . Over...