modernity and globalisation

• modern society


  modern society first emerged in western europe from the late 18th century and has four key characteristics that distinguish it from previous traditional societies

  • nation-state
  • capitalism
  • rationality, science and technology
  • individualism
• the nation-state

  the key political unit in modern society - a bounded territory is ruled by a powerful centralised state, the population of which often shares the same language and culture

  • the modern world is made up of separate societies each with their own state
  • the focal point of society which organises social life on a national basis, with large administrative bureaucracies and welfare policies that regulate citizens' lives
  • also an important source of identity for the citizens who identify with its symbols
• capitalism

  the economy of modern societies is based on private ownership of the means of production and the use of wage labourers

  • capitalism brought about the industrialisation which increased wealth in an unequal distribution which creates class conflict
  • urry + lash - the nation-state is important in regulating capitalism and the conditions it needs to function
  • production is organised on fordist principles
• rationality, science and technology

  secular and scientific ways of thinking dominate which causes the influence of magico-religious explanations of the world to decline

  • technically efficient forms of organisation such as factories dominate social and economic life
  • science is increasingly important in industry and medicine
• indvidualism


  tradition and ascribed status become less important as causing our actions

  • we experience greater personal freedom and can increasingly define our own identity
  • however structural inequalities remain important in shaping people's identities
• globalisation - the increasing interconnectedness of people across national boundaries
• technological changes in globalisation

  technology has allowed us to become more connected which aids globalisation eg. airplane travel and mobile phones/the internet

  • also brings risk on a global scale eg. global warming from one local cause
  • beck - we now live in risk society where increasingly threats to wellbeing come from human-made issues not natural disasters
• economic changes in globalisation

  the global economy is increasingly weightless and produces information eg. music rather than physical goods

  • money never sleeps and can be instantly transferred across the world to gain profit which contributes to beck's risk society
  • western-based transnational corporations own businesses across national boundaries to manipulate wages and conditions
  • sklair - this creates a separate global capitalist class
• political changes in globalisation

  some sociologists argue that globalisation has undermined the power of the nation-state

  • ohmae - we now live in a borderless world in which transnational corporations and consumers have more economic power than national governments
• changes in culture and identity through globalisation

  we live in a global culture in which western-owned media companies spread western culture to the rest of the world

  • economic integration also encourages a global culture eg. the selling of brands across the world promote shared tastes across national boundaries
  • the increased movement of people also encourages a global culture
  • undermines the traditional source of identity like class
• there are three theories that hope to answer the questions that globalisation poses: postmodernism, late modernism and marxist views of postmodernity