 Dear students, in this module we are going to discuss the modern world or the industrialized societies. Industrialized societies often referred to as modern are characterized by advanced technology, formal institutions, rational legal systems and highly specialized division of labor. Industrial revolution which are originated in 18th century in Britain is the major catalyst for the emergence of modern societies. It introduces the mass production, machinization and shift from a gradient to industrialized economies. US serves as the typical example of an industrialized society with its advanced infrastructure, robust economy and influential global presence in the political arena. The sheer scale of its industrial power shares the social relationships, culture and global politics. Emile Durkheim's concept of organic solidarity can aptly describe the industrialized word particularly the division of labor which become more complex and the individuals who become independent of each other, fostering a form of social cohesion based on the mutual need and cooperation. So Emile Durkheim said that societies are shifting from mechanical social solidarity to organic social solidarity. The main reason for this was that in every society there is a foundation for strong social bonds. If in traditional societies the foundation of social bonds was their traditions, their personal relationships, their emotions, their religion then the foundation of social bonding is our economic relationships, our interdependence on each other. Because it is specialization, division of labor, now we have to influence each other. So the nature of social bonds has been changed here but it does not mean that modern society will disintegrate. In fact, it has changed the nature of its bonds because in the society the division of labor has changed, it has become more and more specialized and more interdependent. Industrialization is not without its drawbacks. One critical issue is environmental degradation. So as we can see that modern societies are having a lot of luxuries, a lot of facilities for us but at the same time it is having its drawbacks. And one of the greatest drawbacks in the modern society or due to the industrialization and machinization is produced on our environment which is the environmental degradation as illustrated by China's and India's rapid industrial growth. So these countries push for economic development has led to significant pollution and environmental challenges promoting the call for more sustainable industrial practice. Then we have urbanization which is another crucial aspect of these industrialized or modern societies. For instance, the city of Karachi in Pakistan has experienced a rapid urban growth and you can better assess that it has, it currently has 24,000 people per square kilometer which is a high population density. It is due to the industrialization. So this shift has influenced the social structures and dynamics resulting in a move away from the traditional familial and tribal ties to the relationships based on their work on interdependence and their locality. So modern societies often feature a shift from traditional religious beliefs towards more secular ideology. The concept of secularization as proposed by Max Weber refers to the progressive reduction of religious influence in the public life often replaced by rational legal authorities and scientific belief. So the more modernized societies are, the more traditional religious beliefs are also weakened. So as Max Weber said that in modern societies, the influence of religion on the public life is reduced and most of the influence is replaced by rational legal system. The proliferation of media and technology also marks the industrialized societies. These tools not only change the way individuals communicate but it also shapes the cultural norms and values.