Modernity, Cultural Diversity and Its Impact on Society - Free Essay Sample

Intorduction

Industrialization brought forth modernity, which resulted in changes in the social structure and societal organization. People embraced modern culture, which significantly impacted their social aspects such as language, norms, behavior, beliefs, and traditions. Besides, several cultures emerged as people shared the cultural elements from distinct communities. These transformations are what constitutes cultural diversity. However, the changes arising from the dynamics of modernity usually affects the existing social solidarity. Industrialization resulted in the division of labor, which prompted human beings to focus more on themselves and how to enhance their living standards. They develop new ways of doing things tailored towards meeting their personal needs and desires. Modernity modifies the existing social structure resulting in a new moral culture whose components are distinct from the current culture of the particular community. As postulated by Durkheim, the core characteristic of modernity is the labor division as an organization strives to achieve high efficiency (Allan, 2017). For this reason, this essay will provide a comprehensive discussion of the impact of modernity on the societal organization and the role of religion in the organization as per the perspectives of Emile Durkheim. The paper will also highlight how these perceptions differ from those of Karl Marx and their application in the current world.

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How Was the Change to Modernity Affecting Organization of the Society?

Modernity was a result of industrialization as the entrenchment of many factories prompted specialization and competent educational training for those working in the sites. People adopted new ways of life attributed to distinct conduct, interactions with others, traditions, norms, and beliefs.

According to Durkheim, one of the ways by which modernity impacted societal organization was through the division of labor as it led to a decline in the actual interactions and proximity of people (Allan, 2017). Division of labor intensified as modernity encroached because many industries embraced innovation prompting the workforce to specialize in their duties for adequate competence hence increased production and sustainability.

At the work stations, individuals experience an organizational culture different from how they do things in society. Also, most of them change jobs from one firm to another, where the traditions and beliefs differ, implying that one has to unlearn the previous culture and learn that of the current company. The differences in these working surroundings indicate that the structure of interactions among people change as they strive to attain distinct objectives. All these transformations result in an escalation of the particularized culture, threatening the social solidarity and collective consciousness of the given society (Allan, 2017). The transition from one job to another and change of the working surroundings require that an individual develop specific sentiments and ideas aligned to the organization's traditions (Allan, 2017). Initially, society's structure was in such a way that people shared a standard structure where they adhered to similar traditions, beliefs, and norms that shaped their conduct and strengthened their moral fiber. However, the intensified interactions resulting from the increase in division of labor have made people embrace different cultures that design their varied ways of thinking and conduct.

Consequently, the social gap between people widens as their cultures vary hence causing social differentiation. The cause of this is that people share minimal components of the collective consciousness, as they have very few things in common. It becomes difficult for integration to occur in society because of the different affiliations individuals manifest in terms of status, norms, and roles. Durkheim emphasizes that this challenge of integration is an outcome of the initial force imposed by structural interdependency of the societal facets (Allan, 2017). However, after the division of labor, the societal knit gets disrupted even as the population increases because people focus on meeting their insatiable needs independently.

Another notable change in the societal organization is the transformations in the education system in France. The government formulated and passed "Ferry Laws," which gave the country the sole authority to regulate the offering of educational degrees (Allan, 2017). Also, the country reinforced and upheld the teachers' training to ensure that there were adequate for the schools, and the students would receive a quality education.

Role of Religion in the Organization

Religion is an integral social institution as it shapes the development and conduct of people within a society. Durkheim defined it as a single entity of doctrines and beliefs regarding sacredness, and those who practice them and follow stipulated moral guidelines form a church (Allan, 2017). Thus, religion plays a massive role in enhancing the organization of people. It creates a kinship of those who share similar practices and beliefs of sacredness and create a moral community.

According to Durkheim, religion is significant in the societal organization because it generates emotions in people who are essential in creating connections. The implication is that the more people adopt and adhere to their shared religious practices, the closer they become hence enhancing the knit-together attribute of the society. As individuals engage in continuous interactions, they tend to develop particular conduct, and their emotions become oriented towards their religious doctrines resulting in the emergence of specific morals and symbols (Allan, 2017). Thus, religion boosts people's emotional energy, which is vital in enhancing and reinforcing the organization of a society.

Sharing standard religious practices and participating in communal rituals bounds individuals morally as they dictate what is right and wrong in how they act, speak, or dress. Such moral boundaries that result from observing similar beliefs as prescribed by the religion usually makes it a challenge when individuals want to get in or out of their religious group. The significance of rituals is that they ensure that people perform repeated acts over time, which generates a unified focus of attention and a shared emotional bond, resulting in a collective emotion (Allan, 2017). The emotional energy is usually directed into symbols that believers uphold as sacred. Thus, people develop collective consciousness as the rituals maintain the creation of this energy and comprehend the significance of the sacred symbols. Such collective consciousness is fundamental in ensuring that the organization of the society remains intact.

Differences between Durkheim and Marx and their Application in the World

Marx argues that variations in the economic systems are the primary driver of modernity as they result in transformations and evolution of the structural composition of the social networks and organization of the society at large (Allan, 2017). The need to increase the production level in the industries affects the social relations of people as companies embrace innovation and minimize labor costs. Due to modernity, most societies have become capitalists from the perspective of Karl Marx, division of labor results from the capitalist nature of the society where the bourgeoisie, who are the owners of the means of production, aimed at replacing the human labor with machines to ensure efficiency in production. However, the owners of production exploit the proletariat, who provide labor to the industries, making sure that they work for long hours under low pay. Such exploitation enhances the class differentiation where the bourgeoisie belong to the high class while the proletariat falls under the low class (Allan, 2017). On the other hand, Durkheim held that division of labor creates a particularized culture comprised of social aspects that are distinct from those held by society. The new interactions and working environments require that the employees develop ideas and sentiments aligned to the organizational culture. In the current world, every organization has its way of doing things, and they expect all employees to adhere to the set traditions and beliefs.

Durkheim analyzed the division of labor generally. He held that it was an outcome of the desire of people to enhance their skills to increase productivity, and it was the leading cause of modernity. It resulted from the need to acquire specialized training due to the industry's adoption of innovation and technology. The acquisition of new machines implied the need for people who have specialized knowhow on how to operate them. On the other hand, Marx believed that the labor division was structurally made possible by alienation and ideology (Allan, 2017). The perpetuation of ideology came from the capitalists, who mainly designed how activities will take place. They alienated themselves from the workers by providing them with deplorable working conditions to ensure that they maintain the social class gap. Also, Marx held that labor division shifted from natural to forced where people had to work for their survival due to the prevailing harsh economic conditions. It is evident that capitalism had commodified labor and changed the division of labor to forced (Allan, 2017). However, in the modern world, the need for a job pushes people into training. Also, the nature of the division of labor is forced because employers bring in machines that require a particular specialization and training for the worker to operate them.

Marx argues that human consciousness is a resultant of the ingrain potent of people to produce economically to meet their insatiable needs, which makes them unique among the animal kingdom. He further notes that class consciousness is the cause of change in society's organization (Allan, 2017). For instance, those who belong to the low and middle class strive to better themselves and undergo educational and professional training to make their livelihoods better. On the other hand, Durkheim believed that people have a collective consciousness. It implies that the entire society shared common ideas and sentiments without bias of an individual's socioeconomic status. In the current world, people's social classification is evident as an enhanced division of labor occurs. People fall under different salaries and wage classification depending on their education, training, and professionalism.

Conclusion

All in all, modernity resulted in changes in the social structure and societal organization. People embraced modern culture, which significantly impacted their social aspects such as language, norms, behavior, beliefs, and traditions. According to Durkheim, the core characteristic of modernity is the increased division of labor as an organization strives to achieve high efficiency. He also believed that religion is integral to the organization of society. Marx argues that variations in the economic systems are the primary drivers of modernity as they result in the transformations and evolution of the social networks' structural composition.

References

Allan, K. (2017). Explorations in classical sociological theory: Seeing the social world. 4th ed. Pine Forge Press. ISBN-13: 978-1483356693 ISBN-10: 9781483356693