Modernity & Colonialism: Examining Contemporary Societies - Essay Sample

Introduction

The sociological theory focuses on obtaining knowledge of the modern world. The contemporary society is approached by studying the change from pre-modern societies to a new community. Before the transition to present-day civilizations, the properties that defined the old and new civilizations must be identified. Understanding the colonial context aids in the knowledge of the contemporary community as the societies develop. Modernity is explained concerning the developing nations. It is defined as the rise of civilizations and the birth of a new person whose desires and thoughts id different from others. The characteristics of transition are presented in various sociological theories.

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Chapter Analysis of Classical Sociological Theories

The sociological theory includes various ideas that explain interactions in human society. They are selective involving their perspectives and priorities, and the information they provide is significant. Most sociological perspectives stress the importance of human behavior rejecting the ideology that they are determined by societal interaction. The classical sociological canons to be studied in this paper are framed from the works of Weber, Early Women Sociologists, DuBois, Simmel, Veblen, Schumpeter, Mannheim, and Mead.

Max Weber

Weber defined sociology as a branch of knowledge that deals with a critical understanding of social behavior with a description of the action course and consequences. Weber's theory on social action and Verstehen which is empathic knowledge on human behavior, states that the onset of work is understood through understanding the meaning attached to the individual. He described two types of understanding: first is the direct observational understanding (Aktuelles Verstehen), which entails observation of action and ascertain the personal feelings through their facial expression and body language (Calhoun, Gerteis, Moody, Pfaff, and Virk 2012). It provides an insufficient knowledge of social activity.

Empathetic understanding is the second type of knowledge. It involves understanding an act concerning the motives that led to it. It requires further inquiry on the reason for the activity. It metaphorically relates to being in the other person's shoes. Weber believed in four ideologies of social action, which are tools used to identify real-life cases and compare them to the doctrine where the facts fall. He thought that each social activity falls on several ideal types.

The first ideology is a traditional social action, where repeated measures determine behaviors. The second ideology is the value rational social action in which effects are caused by conscious belief in the intrinsic nature of the activities such as religion. Thirdly, the instrumental-rational social activity involves activities done to fulfill a set goal where the action is carried out to achieve a result. Lastly, effective social response where emotional state and specific affections determine an action with disregard on the consequences.

The influence of Max Weber's social action theory is on modern society that exercises Instrumental Action Ideology (Calhoun et al. 2002). The organization promotes working very efficiently with no regard for the viability of the set action, which is a rational value action. He believed that society had brushed aside tradition, affection, and ethics. Focus on efficiency and modernization leads to social problems and the individual becoming miserable.

W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois's theory of double consciousness describes self-formation phenomenologically in the condition of racialization (Calhoun et al. 2002). The discussion on sociological theory on self deals with self-being, a product of social interactions made by ongoing social processes. Du Bois's theory describes the racialization experiences of the black Americans. "one ever feels his two-ness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body (Calhoun et al. 2002)."

The theory possessed three ideologies, including twoness, the veil, and second sight. The cover creates a boundary due to races bringing in the color line. It focuses on racialized modernity created by fundamental ideals. Also, it establishes the distinction of the views and experience of the different races on either side of the social veil. The veils act as a two-way mirror having the dominant party with individuals who view the projections of the racialized shown on it. The other side of the mirror shows the screening of the whites. It is a reality check on the Black subjects who should process the image to develop themselves.

The second element is the sense of twoness. Twoness describes two different worlds that the racialized has to be. The world of Blacks is intersubjectively made behind the veil while the white world that disregards by not recognizing their humanity. The last ideal is second sight, where the Black subject can only view their self in the revelation of the other world. It allows them to contend with constant dehumanization while seeing the possibility of balancing the mirroring effect from the veil (Calhoun et al. 2002).

Double consciousness influences the rationalized society and the society of the Whites. Even though the individuals who are streamlined feel invisible for being racializing, the `whites` should understand the `Blacks` are less thoughtful compared to the rationalizing as an individual. It expounds on the inability of the whites to see the social world. The theory allowed for the evaluation of the racial order of the community and have pity or contempt on the African-American (Calhoun et al. 2002).

Thorstein Veblen

Thorstein Veblen developed the theory of leisure class. He researched consumer behavior and developed an explanation based on the behavior about conspicuous consumption, which id directed by a trial to market wealth. The theory made Veblen be considered as a marketing and consumer action theorist. He dealt with the primary social mores, including fundamental economic, social, and political activities, and the central belief that supports individual behavior, social sciences, and public policy analysis.

Being a Darwinist (Calhoun et al. 2002), he believed that consumer behavior, which is human behavior are in continuous change depending on external socio-cultural and socio-economic conditions. The theory focused on the conspicuous consumption of the consumer. Several motivational ideologies support the study on conspicuous consumption. First, is the conventional approach, which encompasses invidious comparison. It includes social class and status that have a substantial impact on the behavior and lifestyle of the consumer.

The leisure class is considered the bourgeois class with honorable employment who show their social superiority and excessively waste their wealth as a means of showing their wealth. The second concept is the psychological ideology, which explores the motivation of the rich to purchase an expensive product. It explains that motivation is self-satisfaction and a boost in self-esteem in other people's eyes. Self-esteem is considered as a significant socio-psychological element in conspicuous consumption.

The socio-psychological ideal focuses on the individual need for more self-esteem during the presentation in the form of valuables. Thirdly, the socio-economic element, which explains the correlation between income in terms of wealth and conspicuous consumption. Pecuniary emulsion shows the members of the middle and lower class tend to imitate the preferences of the leisure upper class and consume conspicuously. Through invidious use, the wealthy engage in extravagant lifestyle, avoiding any probability of being imitated (Calhoun et al. 2002).

The theory of leisure class influenced the institutional approach to consumption. It is a reference for individuals showing wealth and status through consumption behaviors. It contributed to consumer theory concerning the social forces towards personal taste, preferences, and taste, which creates aspired or present consumers.

Georg Simmel

Georg Simmel hypothesized the theory of culture. George developed two ideologies to explain his concept of culture. Simmel observes human culture as a local interaction between subjective culture and objective culture. He viewed actual culture as all the shared social activities including literature, art, rituals, religion, and philosophy. All human products created and transformed an individual`s life.

Subjective culture entails the intellectual and creative abilities of an individual. Simmel argued that subjective culture is developed through the agency of objective perception. The theory of culture is manifested as societies become modern and numerous accurate cultural behavior. The actual cultural products can be shown or diminished by the subjective actions of an individual. Simmel concluded by asserting that an individual might not grow socially and psychologically if the individual is provided with more options than one. Simmel's influence is shown in social networks and modern exchange theory.

Joseph Schumpeter

Schumpeter developed the theory of economic development, which focusses on the socio-historical approach that covers psychological and sociological components in the context of economic assessment. He considered capitalism rise as a method of society's economy rationalization, which establishes a new manufacturing and new values. The components that explain the economic development theory are static-hedonistic action and dynamic-energetic action or creative action (Calhoun et al. 2002).

Static action involves rational consumer economic behavior, while the creative act explains the whole activity of economic development. Static-hedonistic is a rule in the economic and social lifestyle. The social factor in humans describes why individuals remain in a constant economic mode. He influenced the analysis of socialism, democracy, and capitalism. The long-term perspective of his work delivers a pathway for understanding the development in the economy and the connection between society and the economy. Rationalization is essential for a competitive marketplace, which creates a smooth transition to socialism. Management and entrepreneurial function create what can be taught and learned.

The early women sociologists made a significant contribution to classical sociological theory. They include Harriet Marineau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jane Addams, Ida Wells-Barnett, Marianne Schnitger Weber, and Beatrice Potter Webb. The women explained their views on sociology, leaving a feminist mark in the field of sociology.

Harriet Marineau

Harriet Marineau wrote on sociological research. She wrote the foundational treatise representing data collection from a sociology study named, How to Observe Morals and Manners (Calhoun et al. 2002). It articulates the methods and principles involved in empirical social research. Also, it created positivist results on the relationship issue between intersubjectivity, invisible theoretical problems, and correct observables. Her work on Society in America is well known with American sociologists, which focusses on methodological approaches drawn by ethnocentrism.

She created a comparison between visible social patterns and moral values identifying the distinction between reality and rhetoric. She led to the introduction of sociology and positivism in the American line of thought after translating Comte`s Cours de philosophie favorable to the English language. She is known as the first woman sociologist.

Idda Wells-Barnett

Idda Wells-Barnett postulated the Black Feminism Sociology focused on the pathological connection between...