Social development In Sociology

Social development , process of improving the quality of life of society . A society has a high quality of life, when the human beings that make it up, within a framework of peace, freedom, justice, democracy, equity, tolerance and solidarity, have wide and constant possibilities of satisfying their needs and displaying all their potentialities. with a view to achieving their personal improvement and fulfillment and the realization of society as a whole.

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Considerations
2 Link between social development and economic development
- 1 Main theories
  - 1.1 Modernization Theory
  - 1.2 Dependency Theory
  - 1.3 World Systems Theory
  - 1.4 Globalization Theory
- 3 UN for Social Development
- 4 Conferences on Social Development
- 5 Sources

Considerations

Social development is a process that, in the course of time, leads to the improvement of the living conditions of the entire population in different areas: health , education , nutrition , housing , vulnerability , Social Security , employment , wages , mainly. As a result of this approach, there are demands that seek that social rights be recognized in the laws of the countries, but also that mechanisms be established to guarantee their compliance and control.

It also implies the reduction of poverty and income inequality. In this process, the role of the State as its promoter and coordinator is decisive , with the active participation of social, public and private actors.

It must lead to equalizing the prevailing welfare conditions in industrialized societies. Although it is currently accepted that social development must be adapted to the particular economic and social conditions of each country, there are international standards that are considered “desirable social goals”. The United Nations ( UN ) and its various associated organizations are the main reference in this matter.

Traditional measurements of development consider factors such as Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ), GDP per capita, the level of industrialization, among others. There are five different types of freedoms:

) political freedoms.
) economic services.
) social opportunities.
) guarantees of transparency.
) protective security.

Factors considered by traditional measurements are some of the means to achieve these freedoms.

Link between social development and economic development

There is currently a consensus that economic growth is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to achieve social development. Current proposals on the matter recommend giving greater weight to the “quality of growth”, that is, ensuring that economic growth is inclusive and contributes to social development.

Main theories

Modernization Theory

Modernization is a homogenizing process, in this sense it can only be said that modernization generates a tendency towards convergence between societies.
Modernization is a Europeanizing and / or Americanizing process; in modernizing literature there is a complacent attitude toward Western Europe and the United States .
Modernization is a process that is evident as irreversible. In other words, once the third world countries come into contact with the West they will not be able to resist the impetuous process of modernization.
Modernization is a progressive process that in the long term is not only inevitable but desirable, within the perspective of modernization theory.
Modernization is a long process. It is a change based more on evolution than on a revolutionary leap. It will take generations and even centuries for it to culminate, and its profound impact will only be felt over time. All of these assumptions are derived from evolutionary theory fundamentally developed in Europe and the United States .

Dependency Theory

Control the monetary exchange rate , placing greater emphasis on fiscal policies than on monetary policies.
Promote a more efficient government role in terms of national development.
Create an investment platform, giving priority to national capital.
Allow the entry of external capital following priorities already established in national development plans.
Promote a more effective domestic demand in terms of domestic markets as a basis to consolidate the industrialization effort in Latin America in particular and in developing nations in general.
Generate greater internal demand by increasing the wages and salaries of workers.
Develop a more efficient social security system by the government, especially for poor sectors, in order to create conditions for these sectors to become more competitive.
Develop national strategies that are consistent with the import substitution model, protecting national production by imposing quotas and tariffs on foreign markets.

World Systems Theory

East Asia ( Japan , Taiwan , South Korea , Hong Kong , and Singapore ) continued to experience a high rate of economic growth. It became increasingly difficult to characterize this economic miracle as “manufacturing imperialism.”
There was a widespread crisis within the socialist states that included the Sino-Soviet split, the failure of the Cultural Revolution , economic stagnation of the socialist states, and the gradual opening of the socialist states to capitalist investments. This crisis was a sign that would mark a process of falling of many points of the agenda of revolutionary Marxism.
There was a crisis in American capitalism that included the Vietnam War , the abandonment of the gold / dollar standard , the Watergate crisis , the oil price hikes in 1973 and 1979 , the combination of stagnation and inflation at the end of the decade. the 1970s , as well as the rise of protectionism sentiment, the unprecedented fiscal deficit, and the widening of the trade gap in the 1980s ; all these were signs of the deterioration of American hegemony in the capitalist world economy.

Globalization Theory

It recognizes that global communications systems are gaining in importance, and through this process countries interact more frequently and with greater flexibility, not only at the government level but also at the population level.
Although the main communication systems operate within more developed countries, these mechanisms also extend to less developed countries. This fact increases the possibility that marginal groups in poor countries can communicate and interact within a global context using novel technology.
Modern communication systems imply important structural modifications in the economic, social and cultural patterns of the countries. Regarding economic activity, these new technological advances are increasingly accessible to small local businesses. This situation has created a different environment to carry out economic transactions, use productive resources, exchange products, and take advantage of “virtual monetary mechanisms”. From a cultural perspective, the new communication products unify patterns of exchange around the world, at least in terms of economic transactions under current conditions.
These new communication patterns are affecting the new concept of minorities within a particular country. Although these minorities are not fully integrated into the new world communication system, large companies and political elites in each country are part of this interaction around the world. Ultimately, business and political elites continue to be the decision makers in developing countries.

UN for Social Development

The United Nations maintains that social development in all its aspects is a challenge for both developing and developed countries. All societies face problems of unemployment, social fragmentation and persistent poverty to a greater or lesser degree. Likewise, many other social problems can only be dealt with effectively through international cooperation. Examples of these problems include forced migration or drug abuse , organized crime, and the spread of disease.

The United Nations Organization deals with issues related to social development through several of its main organs. One of the main bodies in charge of matters relating to social development is the General Assembly, especially through the Commission on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs. In addition, the Economic and Social Council also has the Commission for Social Development . This Commission has 46 Member States and advises ECOSOC on social policy and on the social aspects of development.

For its part, the United Nations Secretariat has the Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which provides research, analysis and expert advice services to the aforementioned bodies, when requested. Likewise, various specialized agencies, funds, offices and programs work in favor of different aspects of social development.

Conferences on Social Development

In order to compensate for this lack of attention to the social question, the UN has convened many world conferences that focus on problems of social development. Among these conferences we can mention the following:

World Conference on Education for All ( Jomtien , Thailand ; 1990 )
World Summit for Children , ( New York ; 1990)
United Nations World Conference on Environment and Development ( Rio de Janeiro , Brazil ; 1992 )
World Conference on Human Rights ( Vienna ; 1993 )
World Conference on Population and Development ( Cairo ; 1994 )
World Summit for Social Development ( Copenhagen ; 1995 )
Fourth World Conference on Women : Action for Equality, Development and Peace ( Beijing , 1995 )
Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) ( Istanbul , 1996 )
World Food Summit ( Rome , 1996)

The General Assembly reviews every five years, in special sessions, the progress made in each of the areas addressed by the major development conferences and assesses the implementation of the actions taken at the Conference on Population and Development (1999), the women ( 2000 ), social development (2000), human settlements (2001), children (planned for 2001 ; delayed for 2002 ), food (2002) and sustainable development (2002).

Likewise, in 2001, the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries was held, and in 2003 the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Representatives of Donor Countries and of the International Financial and Development Institutions on cooperation in Transit Transportation.

In 1995, the World Summit for Social Development was held to encourage the allocation of increasingly scarce national resources to the social sector. This Summit urged interested countries to adopt the 20/20 formula, which asks governments of developing countries to reserve at least 20% of the budget for basic social services and that donor countries allocate to these services at least 20% of its official development assistance.