Modernization as Social Process: Sociological Interpretations

Abstract

The paper deals with the various approaches to the problem of modernization, it is emphasized that the feature of the modern process of modernization is nonlinearity and irregularity of its course. The process is complicated by the systemic crisis of global governance, tightening the pace of international competition, defining the role of transnational companies. The author proves that the modernization can be performed only on the basis of socio-cultural features of the country. It is emphasized that the most important prerequisite and foundation of modernization is innovative potential of society, which realization is complicated due to psychological barriers, primarily due to inertia and conservatism of value consciousness and everyday practices of Ukrainian population, including various elite groups of our society. Extremely slow transformation of the business elite into the modern managerial elite becomes a national problem. The complexity and contradictions of contemporary processes of modernization are caused also by new factors of social and economic inequality, which, in their turn, are determined by global stratification, altered functions of social space and social time, specific regional development.