Change is all around. Everything flows. Nothing, it seems, stands still for long. The flux affects society, the economy, business and public life. From antiquity to the present, change is viewed as an arduous constant.
Equally present is the inevitable barrier to change. It consists of the existing state of affairs, or the manner in which things are performed. It persists in all settings —from business practices to political situations, to civic and social life, even down to the household. This timeless obstacle is called the “status quo.” And, it has staying power.
Supporters of the status quo are comfortable with the way things stand. They see entire systems working as they should. Impressed with customs and traditions, they are reluctant to rearrange the status quo. Often, the viewpoint is classified as “conservative.”
As for change itself: Wilbert Moore, in his book Social Change, identifies key features of today’s impermanence:( 1) in any given society rapid changes occur frequently; (2) changes are rarely isolated, as their consequences ring through entire regions, sometimes the world; (3) the occurrence of change in the modern world affects a wider range of individual experience. Virtually no feature of life is exempt from an expectation of change.
Change makes a difference when somebody, in some place, at some time, has a new idea. The idea can be an invention, an alteration of current methods, an adjustment of established procedures, and on and on. All represent —to greater or lesser extent — modifications of the status quo.
Much change in the modern age has proved beneficial. Automobiles, microwave ovens, frozen foods, telecommunications, chain saws are but a sampling of tools that generated massive and positive change. And, all originated from original perceptions.
The word “idea” embraces concepts, plans, methods, products, policies, projects, programs and proposals. Said U.S. Senator Patrick Monihan, “All human enterprise begins with an idea.”
Consequently, today’s status quo, in all likelihood, originated with the agitators, innovators and promoters of former times. As the years passed, their proposals were accepted, adopted and integrated. With new proceedings, those in control became comfortable.
Familiarity encourages security. Time-tested techniques, policies and procedures provide anchorage. The defined and the established render the world secure and predictable. They instill a strong grip. Why change processes when they appear working satisfactorily?
For many, change comes uneasily. In his excellent book, The Ordeal of Change, Eric Hoofer described the difficulty among migrant farm workers upon learning they must shift from picking peas to picking string beans in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Hoffer also determined that for more drastic change, problems are more lasting. People are never fully prepared for the wholly new. They have to adjust and every radical adjustment creates a crisis in self- esteem. Self-confidence is an essential ingredient in favoring drastic change.
People tend to react negatively to ideas not their own. Those enmeshed in the status quo are especially prone, as they perceive a threat to power and influence. Even as prolific an inventor as Thomas Edison said: “Society is never prepared to receive any inventions. Every new thing is resisted and it takes years for the inventor to get people to listen to him before it can be introduced.”
On the battlefield of old versus new, those with new ideas commit no error in admitting their audience is unready for complete acceptance. The danger to avoid lies in acceptance of a tidbit, in lieu of the idea’s total adoption.
Small temporary improvements can act as the worst enemy of permanent improvement. That is, unless the first is made on lines and in direction of the second. Indeed, small reforms can constitute an obstacle to still greater reforms.
