Final answer:
The belief that all societies progress through the same stages is called unilineal evolution. This theory has been critiqued for its Eurocentric bias and is largely abandoned in contemporary anthropology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The belief that all societies progress through the same stages is known as unilineal evolution or social evolutionism. This theory posits that there is a set sequence of societal stages through which all cultures inevitably pass. Various models have been proposed illustrating these stages, one of which is the five-stage model of economic growth outlined by economist Walt Rostow. Rostow's stages include Traditional society, Preconditions for take-off, Take-off, Drive to maturity, and the Age of high mass consumption. Additionally, sociologists have conceptualized demographic transition theory, suggesting societies progress through four distinct stages of population growth as they transform from unindustrialized to postindustrial societies.
However, such theories have been critiqued and often abandoned for presupposing a Eurocentric bias, where cultures evolve towards a Western ideal of civilization. Early forms of this thought were promoted in the evolutionary schemes of 19th-century anthropology. Contemporary anthropologists like Franz Boas have argued against unilineal evolution, pointing out that each culture evolves in unique ways and in interaction with others, rejecting the notion of a fixed path that all societies follow.