For these thinkers social change was 'a property of social order, known as change' (Luhmann 1984, 471). Comprehensive change became normal, and, accordingly, social philosophers and later sociologists gradually replaced the older ideas of natural constants and the contractual constructions of natural and rational order with conceptions of social change, even though precise formulations were slow to appear. Social change as a concept for comprehending a continual dynamic in social units became salient during the French Revolution and the industrial revolution in England, both periods of extraordinary dynamism. But in more recent centuries the dominant conceptions of change itself have changed. In his essay for this volume Giesen shows that even though ideas of time existed and evolved over thousands of years-ranging from the identification of time as a period of action and a period of living to the differentiation of time according to hierarchical position (the gods are eternal empires rise, prosper, and fall humans have a time lifespan), to the conception of time as progress-stability and order were the norm and changes were exceptional. Realities of different epochs in large degree. Furthermore, conceptions of change appear to have mirrored the historical At the same time it is essential to note that the ways social change has been identified have varied greatly in the history of thought. Theories of Social ChangeД¬hange is such an evident feature of social reality that any social-scientific theory, whatever its conceptual starting point, must sooner or later address it. The conference strategy called for a general statement of a metaframework for the study of social change within which a variety of more specific theories could be identified. Likewise, we have excluded historically specific terms such as 'late capitalism' and 'industrial society' even though these concepts figure prominently in many of the contributions to this volume. Because these terms enjoy wide usage in contemporary sociology and are general and inclusive, they seem preferable to more specific terms such as 'evolution' 'progress,' 'differentiation,' or even 'development,' many of which evoke more specific mechanisms, processes, and directions of change. Those who organized the conference on which this volume is based-including the editors-decided to use the terms 'social change' and 'modernity' as the organizing concepts for this project. Haferkamp is grateful to Angelika Schade for her fruitful comments and her helpful assistance in editing this volume and to Geoff Hunter for translating the first German version of parts of the Introduction Smelser has profited from the research assistance and critical analyses given by Joppke. Smelser, editors Social Change and Modernity.В Berkeley: University of California Press, c1992 1991. Preferred Citation: Haferkamp, Hans, and Neil J.

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