The liberals interpret and fundamentally believe that change must be devoid of any conflict to avoid disrupting the processes in society while the radicals believe otherwise and categorically state that change must be revolutionary especially that conflict is inherent in most capitalist setups in which the class is divided by social formation of the society. .
Change is concept of development and relates to complete or partial transformation of the society. The liberals and radicals both agree that change in the society and its political life ought to change but only disagree on the mode and process that this change should take in order to ultimately benefit society.
Definitions.
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines change as to become or to make something become different. The same dictionary goes on to further define change as a process or a result of something or someone becoming different. There is no standard agreed upon definition of social change though several definitions have been propounded by different scholars in an attempt to give the process a logical meaning. Light, D. et al (1982:550) defined social change as variations overtime, in the behaviour patterns, culture, and structure of society. Lenski, G. et al (1987:61) defines social and cultural change in two aspects one involving the addition of new elements to the existing system while the other form will involve elimination of older elements where the former dwells on social and cultural innovation and the latter on cultural extinction. Giddens, A. (2006:43) states: Social change is difficult to define, because there is a sense in which everything changes, all of the time. Every day is a new day; every moment is a new instant in time as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus pointed out that a person cannot step into the same river twice as the water moves and a human being change all the time. .
Akuffo, F.W.B.