A Study on Theories of Society's Macro-Level Transformation

Tuomo Kuosa

《Journal of Futures Studies》 10卷1期 (2005/08) Pp. 15-30

並列摘要

In this article I will critically examine Pentti Malaska's theory of societal change. This will be made with respect to his ”funnel model” of society and the perspectives of the most commonly known theories on the macro-level transformation of societies. The theories presented here are modernity-, postmodernity-, reflexive modernity-, global age-, historical capitalism-, the information age theory- and the cycle theory. After the brief introduction of the ”rival” theories, a macrohistorical evaluation of the similarities and differences between the theories of transformation will be made. The analytical views used here are: continuity, time, evolutionary, coherence and development categories. After the analysis of the theories, Malaska's theory's position in the puzzle of the categories will be evaluated. Finally, there will be a conclusion presented of Malaska's theory's relationships with the other theories. The primary questions are: which theoretical perspectives is the funnel model consistent with and with which theoretical perspectives is there significant contradictions and discrepancies? Additionally, what kind of philosophical deviations can be identified between Malaska's theory and other theories of societal transformation, and how profound are those differences?