Essay on “Social Change” – A Complex Phenomenon – “The fact of social change has fascinated the keenest minds and still poses some of the great unsolved problems in social science.” The phenomenon of social change is not simple but complex.
It is difficult to understand this phenomenon in its entirety. The unsolved problems are always pestering and pressurising us to find an appropriate answer. Some such problems are as follows – What is the direction of social change? What is the form of social change?
What is the source of social change? What are its causes? Its consequences? What are its conditions and limitations? What is the rate of change? Whether the changes are due to human engineering or the uncontrollable cosmic design? Is it necessary to control social change? Can man, regulate it to suit his conveniences? Can he regulate and decide the direction of social change to satisfy his desires? These are some of the tantalising questions – tantalising not only because of their complexity but also because of their human significance.