Early functionalists such as Durkheim and Spencer developed stage models of societal evolution which tried to explain the development of societies from simple to complex forms. However, these theories were largely abandoned in the 20th century because they proposed unrealistic theories regarding the evolution of societies. Thus, some critics accused evolutionary theories of being ethnocentric because they viewed all societies as inevitably evolving towards capitalism (Turner “Varieties” 164). Moreover, other theories were considered utopian because theorists such as Marx proposed communism as the next stage in the evolution of societies, after capitalism.
After being dismissed for many years, the stage-model evolutionary theorizing was revived during the 1960s and 1970s, through the works of several theorists among whom, Gerhard Lenski was one of the most important. Lenski developed models which depicted the movement of societies from their basic hunter-gathering form, towards post-industrial capitalism. While Talcott Parsons was the first to reintroduce evolutionary ideas into the sociological debate, Gerhard Lenski’s work was much more important because the author emphasized the role of power, inequality and potential conflict in the development of societies (Turner “Theoretical Sociology” 232). The importance that Lenski gave to these factors contributed to the successful reemerging of stage-model evolutionary theories because it reflected the atmosphere of the times (Turner “Theoretical Sociology” 232).
Lenski’s success also comes from his willingness to focus on the conflict dynamics which were uninterruptedly created by the transformation of the stratification systems. This theory was later expanded to comprise the entire social organization. Lenski was also willing to adjust his model later, adding the ecological dynamics which are at play in a society.
Works Cited
Turner, Jonathan. Theoretical Sociology: A Concise Introduction to Twelve Sociological Theories. New York: Sage Publications. 2014. Print.
Turner, Jonathan. “Varieties of Sociological Theorizing”. Ed. Charles Crothers. Historical Developments and Theoretical Approaches in Sociology - Volume I. Eolss Publishers. 2010. Print.
