Social Change Serves As a Prerequisite for Peace

Social Change Serves As a Prerequisite for Peace.
A mind that has been exposed to new ideas does not return to its previous way of thinking. Social structure describes the arrangement of institutions in the society where humans thrive and interact with one another. Social change entails exposing people to new ideas and ways of life through the transformation of policy, as well as the communal, cultural, and economic environment to foster equality. It is of great importance to the human life and the people as it serves as a prerequisite for peace.
Social change is an indispensable aspect of a stable and healthy society. The behavior of people is influenced by the social structures, and the role of aspects of social justice is to ensure that the structures satisfy human needs. Change cannot be forced through leadership and leaders cannot bring social change and development as it has existed for many centuries. It only needs to be invoked from within (Reeler, 2007). At times, inequality, exploitation, and political segregation are characteristics of social structures and institutions. Nevertheless, systems in power have low chances of reversing such situations because the systems are designed to support the existing structures. Violence is likely to occur until a change of structural social change is achieved. To drive change, leaders need to embrace the adaptive practice. It involves observing and working with existing change drivers, resources, and oppositions instead of imposing them to those below.

Structural change is vital as it assists in maintaining harmony in the society and addressing injustices. To avoid violence, the social inequalities should be addressed. An important element of creating change to prevent conflicts is transforming policies and institutions, and the creation of new institutions. Creating a new institution is an aspect of emergent change (Reeler, 2007). It involves adjusting and shifting the reality basing on what is already known from experiences and learning. According to Maiese (2003), conflict can only be prevented by eliminated conditions in which it is likely to occur. Making changes to address social injustices before the eruption of violence requires extensive alterations within the existing structural systems, such as the creation of a new institution. For instance, if the major cause of drug abuse in the society is unemployment and unequal distribution of resources, the change should focus on ensuring that everybody has adequate opportunities for individual growth, thereby eliminating the structure that fuels the problem.
Another way of achieving change is by empowering the civil service. Civil society comprises of different sectors such trade unions, gender organizations, religious associations, and human rights’ activists. In instances where the civil society is weak or does not exist, it means that the existing regime is domineering (Maiese, 2003). A powerful civil society is necessary for addressing social problems because it promotes dialogues, reconciliations, promotes good leadership, and facilitates peaceful coexistence among people of different cultures. Civil society has the capacity to promote inclusive dialogues amid a wide range of stakeholders and provides the opportunity for parties to discuss conflicting issues. Civil societies promote public participation to facilitate the creation of good governance and have an important role in building peace.
To sum up, it is apparent that social change is of great significance to the human life and the people as it serves as a prerequisite for peace. Having a healthy and stable society without social change is impossible. It plays a vital role in eliminating inequalities, injustices and exploitation, and political exclusion, which impede peaceful coexistence in the society. In some cases, social structure change is insufficient to address injustices; however, it plays a vital role in preventing violent conflicts by promoting harmonious coexistence.
References
Maiese, M. (2003). Social structural change. In Beyond Intractability. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado.
Reeler, D. (2007). A Threefold Theory of Social Change. CDRA, 1-10.