Modernization Reappraised: The Kentucky Mountains Revisited and Confrontational Politics Reassessed

Abstract

Twelve years ago I lived for awhile in an eastern Kentucky coal town completing my doctoral research and laying the groundwork for a study of the attitudes of local elites to economic and social change in the area. 1 In the intervening years there has been a revolution in the social science world out of which that research came, and yet the problems in deciding upon and bringing about deliberate social change today seem curiously familiar and no less intractable. 2 An opportunity presents itself to reflect upon what has been learned or unlearned and to take stock of the ways of thinking which have prevailed or are being abandoned. Initially conceived as a reaction to the article by Berman in this issue, my article is intended to sketch out a position that undoubtedly needs more detailed development and reference. Although it is concerned with the recent history of certain ideas, its primary intent is not epistemological; it is hoped that it can help to shed some light on such vital questions as the following: Is our new selection of concepts and methodologies more fruitful than the old? What changes have there been in the kinds of values and objectives guiding economic and social change in less developed regions or societies? Has there been a shift in how we perceive the role and responsibilities of the social scientist in the study of society and in the implementation of deliberate social change?