MODERNISATION- THE REAL MEANING

MODERNISATION


With the fast increasing application of science and technology, the old landmarks and the traditional thinking are being radically replaced by the new norms and nuances with regards to ideologies – political, social, economic and cultural – and aspirations among the nations of the world. Man’s spectacular conquest of time space and distance, disease and labour as well as the use of nuclear energy has changed the complexion of the world. Judged the criteria of the pace and process of change, the world can be divided in to three categories- developed countries, developing countries and underdeveloped or backward countries. Sophisticatedly this pace and process of change is called the process of MODERNISATION.

Essentially, modernization is a process, a movement from traditional and quasi-traditional to certain desired types of technology and the resultant changes in the social structure, values orientations motivations, achievement and aspirations. It means a “value change”, significantly institutional modifications and improvements of standards of performance and achievements. It involves “the substitution of old images and forms with new ones”. It is not a mechanical imitation of some modernized country. One must retain a distinct entity and be not a carbon copy of some other country.

MODERNISATION is not a synonym of westernization, which loosely may mean ‘uncritical imitation’ of the social ways and values prevailing in a western country. MODERNISATION for discriminate selection between what is worthy and what is unsuitable in a particular situation. It doesn’t stand for “superficial acquisition of some isolated traits and elements of an advanced country”.

SEVERAL THEORATICAL TRAITS OR ATTRIBUTES CHARACTERISE THE CONCEPT OF MODERNISATION

In a modernized or modernizing society the attributes of modernity are manifest at two levels- at the level of the individual and the level of the society.

Inherently the individuals of such society have objective and scientific mind and a mobile personality. Their mind is operational and critical. It is free from skepticism, inhibition and complexes and intelligently avoids the pitfalls of superstitions and callous elements of tradition. It has empathy, that is the capacity to see itself in other’s situations and is equipped to make rational, situational and structural choices.

These individuals have mobile personality, which is not parochially attached to any group or religion or to any rigid traditional rules, customs, usages and practices. They have the psychic urge to have more and more enlightenment and higher and higher material amenities and symbolic rewards. Being persons of imagination and understanding they have positive attitude to learn new things and be loyal. They have the sense of identification and holding a balance between rights and duties and follow the right line of thought and action. Their qualities of hard work, integrity, consistency and efficiency are their natural assets. Instead of restricting themselves to participate in a particular sphere they believe in wider participation in a variety of divergent rules. Rationality influences their choices of goals and means. Being achievement- oriented, they learn “faster and work harder, motivated not by over rewards (like recognition and prestige) but by a covert of feeling of self-fulfillment”. As such they develop new perspectives of “wealth, work savings and entrepreneurship, they have immense faith in the desirability and possibility of change, have the realization that social, economic and political discipline is an essential pre-requisite for growth and change process in every sphere of life – political, economic, social and cultural. They have the capability to put off immediate and short run satisfactions and have an eye on higher long – run satisfaction”.

A society composed of such individuals radiates the attributes of modernity in the social milieu and social institutions, which manifest faith in desirable change rather then in traditional stability. Such a society believes in co-existence, co-operation, consensus and compromise rather then in competition and conflicts. This is a reflective society with no notions of traditional rigidity but attuned to adjustment between rich heritage and the accelerated change in the modern world. It adopts science-based technology and rational end means calculations. Believing in the cult of desirable change in conformity with the emerging needs, demands and aspirations of the individuals, it develops new attitude to wealth, work, savings and risk taking but with the rider of maintaining political, economic and social discipline.

I will add my views on this article and my perception of modernity in some later post on this blog.



Disclaimer:

I had read this article in one of my notes during my M.ED. (Masters of Education). Here I am rewriting this article in my blog because it is really very impressive and thought provoking.
My intention is to provide my thoughts to the world by this blog and not to infringe the copyright of the authors of this article. If any one has any objection please write to me on this e-mail ID- Mahesh_jain@fastmail.fm. I will remove it from my blog.
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