How can we measure social development through history?

There are different indicators that help us to measure social development. Social development is a complex process and that can't be measured only by one indicator. We can observe the development by combining the observation of different signs. Only then we can have a wider view. It won't guarantee the right answer but is going to give us an overview. Each economy and country is different, also stages of development, their principles and goals differ. Different indicators are used while considering the development in the history of hundreds of years and different ones while focusing on the last 100 years. The measures that I firstly thought of are the following:

  • Since Social Development can be better conducted when society is better educated (the process becomes more conscious), the first thing that comes to my mind thinking how to measure the Social Development through history, is the education level, the percentage of people that have finished a certain level of education and foremost literacy level. Without being literate, no one can have access to written information.
  • One of the most basic measures (though still can't be considered alone) is the GDP and GDP per capita level. A country that has more resources can invest in further development and speed up the process of accomplishing its goals.
  • Another basic index that comes to my mind is the Human Development Index that groups the nations into specified as "very high"/"high"/"medium"/"low" level of development. Countries constantly develop and the list is changing, especially now, when the process is as fast as never before. That's why we can observe how certain countries and areas were developing. Tough this indicator is more useful for modern countries (it was launched in 1990), I find it really helpful while considering the social development process considering the current speed of changes.
  • Social Development can be also observed by looking at the level of urbanization. We can see a positive correlation between economic development and the tendency for people to live in the concentration. The percentage of people living in urban areas is higher than in the countries that are characterized by a lower level of development. 
  • These days I also find less conventional indicators interesting to show the level of development, although it can be useful mostly in modern times. What I mean is the educational input that each country contributes, the number of universities, registered prototypes, etc.
The indicators above don't present the complicity of this term. While considering the social development, there are countless signs we can take into account. The choice depends on a certain area of development we want to focus on.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

W4. Millennium Development Goals / Lee Se Hyun

Summary The Millennium Development Goals were established under the International Development Goals. Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, sought 191 U.N. member states and more than 22 international organizations to achieve their goals by 2015. MDGs have promoted the development of the international community. Poverty, hunger eradication, universal education level, gender equality, disease, environment and development of developing countries were targeted. However, it has been criticized for lack of legitimacy, neglect of female inequality in employment, and uneven achievement rate, but it has contributed a lot to many equal development. Interesting point I knew that international politics was carried out in a complex and selfish atmosphere. However, upon encountering the MDGs, I learned that the international community is making great efforts to ensure human rights. Among the MDG criticisms, criticism of women's inequality was interesting. The phenomenon of female ineq...
Read more

What is meant by that? / Lee hayoung

Q. Society is not determined by technology, nor is technology determined by society. Both emerge as two sides of the sociotechnical coin. What is meant by that? A. So to begin with, I think that society and technology are the relationships that influence each other, the concepts that one cannot include or dominate. There is technology in society, and technology exists because there is society. I think it's an inseparable relationship, so I think it can be expressed in both sides of a coin.
Read more

W10. Human_rights / Lee Se Hyun

Summary Human rights are the basic right to live as a person. This is an absolute domain. Applicable regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or location and guaranteed by international law. Human rights have been modified and established over a long period of time. From ancient times to the post-World War II international human rights treaties, various changes and considerations continued. Since the 1966 Human Rights Treaty, the concept of human rights has been established and human rights are guaranteed at the international level through the UN, an international organization. Also, various efforts are made to ensure human rights in the community. Human rights organizations are established in continental units such as Africa, America, Asia, and Europe, to strive for the self-reliance of the vulnerable classes and countries. Human beings have studied human rights for a long time. Thus, the theory of human rights exists, and there are various views on human rights. Interesting point ...
Read more