ABSTRACT
As with morality and religion, many very smart people have set their minds to solving the riddles of social change. Women are sometimes accused of being fickle, yet the fact is that both genders are. We humans are congenitally inconsistent. Theorists who identify technology as the chief source of social change take another tack. Commentators have also cited hierarchy, social values, social norms, social roles, cultural beliefs, cultural memes, and social practices as what is altered. Plainly, ideas about social change have proliferated. A number of consistent themes have appeared in our discussion of social change. On the negative side of the ledger, social conflicts are often accompanied by oppression. Theorizing about social change is saturated with moralism. Indeed, accusations of oppression are contingent on some persons being regarded as immoral. Advocates of large-scale changes like to portray our species as totally plastic.
