Modernization

Modernization manifests itself in United States society through capitalism. Karl Marx felt that modern society was the same as capitalism. He also agreed that modernization weakened small communities, increased the division of labor, and encouraged a rational world view. His theory incorporates all the other theorists’ theories. Today small communities like farmers are still around but are few. They have cars and phones and other amenities that connect them to the outside world even though they are isolated land wise. The smaller communities continue to dwindle down because of the facts about efficiency and money. Division of labor increased specialized roles for specific jobs. In today’s society if you do not have a high school diploma or a college degree there are not many jobs a person can obtain. This increase in division of labor has made going to school and secondary education more obtainable. There is more dependency between people who have these specialized jobs. Many of us no matter what depend on other people to meet every day needs. Rationalization dampens traditions, the traditions that keep society running. These traditions are those that we don’t control over things, gods and other types of religious theories run our lives. Today modern people adopt any social patterns that allow them to achieve their goals. Modernization is likely to continue in the United States because as things progress and technology gets more advanced and all other areas advance so will modernization. The advancement of technology has made life easier. Many machines need to be run by humans for now, computers and machines that make certain building materials still have to be run by humans. With the advancement of technology also comes the advancement in medicine. Advancement in medicine means that the birth rate goes up and the death rate goes down. This means that we have the means to stop and counteract certain diseases. Many people today live longer than in the past and babies born today are better taken care of because of the medical advancements we have made. Schooling has also made modernization continual. We have better schools than in the past; many children can get the special needs they need. More schools have smaller classes to help get all students take care of with individual help. Also after graduating many people go on to work or to get more schooling to advance their skills. Many go to be doctors, nurses, lawyers, and any other profession someone could want. This gets more into the division of labor where someone can specialize in just one field and may get to the top of that field. So yes, modernization is likely to continue in the United States. Modernization does seem to be world-wide trend, it is happening everywhere. It is turning into a globalization theory. The modernization theory has to do with the county or regions but the globalization theory have to do with relationships with other countries (Jiafeng, 2009). Many different regions and areas are following the Americans, or Westerners, in the trend of modernization. Many of the little countries are still trying to catch up but with the theory turning into something else can they catch up' So yes, modernization seems to be world-wide but it is turning into globalization. Some of the consequences of modernization are that in important respects it has failed, the progress is fading, science does not hold answers anymore, cultural debates are becoming huge, and certain social institutions are changing. The reasons of modernization failing is that it is supposed to give us a life free from want. It has failed because we have not solved problems such as poverty. We still have many people that lack finances and the financial security to live in today’s world. We look to the future hoping that our lives will change for the better but many of us believe that life is getting worse and not any better. We also feel that technology would make life better. Many still face the fact that even though we have progressed far with medicine that there are still issues with poor health. It has come to light that there are new problems such as pollution and resources being depleted or being used up completely. While everyone has all of their material things new ideas like social justice, the environment, and animal rights are gaining more light in the public’s eye. More and more stories like these are appearing on TV and in newspapers. With modernization people are choosing different types of family patters. That means that it is not always a mom and a dad and a few children. Today shows that it can be two moms and two dads, even single moms and dads are appearing more and more today. Some household only have one or two children because of the economy when in the past many families had their own sports team in the house with the amount of children they had. Karl Marx best reflects my perceptions of modernization because he incorporated everyone else’s theories into his. Capitalism best fits the world today. He thought about what each had felt been happening when modernization came about. His theory shows that no one person was wrong about what has been happening and what will continue to keep happening. With modernization come the good and the bad. Many things have happened to help the world and yet it does not seem to be enough. We always want more even after we have everything that can be offered. Many people believe that we will never have enough until world peace comes about. Many think that we still have not met human needs. We may have not gotten everything worked out yet but with the way things have become I do not believe everyone will be satisfied. Someone or something will always be in the lime light for us to figure out. Jiafeng, W. (2009). Some reflections on modernization theory and globalization theory. Chinese Studies in History, 43(1). Macionis, J. J. (2006). Society: The basics. Prentice-Hall.