Traditional and industrial society briefly. pre-industrial society
25. Main types of societies: traditional, industrial, post-industrial. Formational and civilizational approaches to the development of society.
The most stable in modern sociology is the typology based on the allocation of traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies.
A traditional society (it is also called simple and agrarian) is a society with an agrarian way of life, sedentary structures and a method of sociocultural regulation based on traditions (traditional society). The behavior of individuals in it is strictly controlled, regulated by the customs and norms of traditional behavior, established social institutions, among which the family and community will be the most important. Attempts of any social transformations, innovations are rejected. It is characterized by low rates of development and production. Important for this type of society is a well-established social solidarity, which was established by Durkheim, studying the society of the Australian Aborigines.
A traditional society is characterized by a natural division and specialization of labor (mainly by gender and age), personalization of interpersonal communication (directly by individuals, and not by officials or status persons), informal regulation of interactions (by the norms of the unwritten laws of religion and morality), connectedness of members by kinship relations (family type of organization). community), a primitive system of community management (hereditary power, the rule of elders).
Modern societies are distinguished by the following features: the role-based nature of interaction (expectations and behavior of people are determined by the social status and social functions of individuals); the developing deep division of labor (on a professional and qualification basis related to education and work experience); a formal system of regulation of relations (based on written law: laws, regulations, contracts, etc.); a complex system of social management (singling out the institution of management, special governing bodies: political, economic, territorial and self-government); secularization of religion (separation of it from the system of government); the allocation of many social institutions (self-reproducing systems of special relations that allow for social control, inequality, protection of its members, distribution of benefits, production, communication).
These include industrial and post-industrial societies.
An industrial society is a type of organization of social life that combines the freedom and interests of the individual with the general principles governing their joint activities. It is characterized by the flexibility of social structures, social mobility, and a developed system of communications.
In the 1960s the concepts of a post-industrial (information) society appear (D. Bell, A. Touraine, J. Habermas), caused by drastic changes in the economy and culture of the most developed countries. The role of knowledge and information, computer and automatic devices is recognized as leading in society. An individual who has received the necessary education, who has access to the latest information, gets an advantageous chance of moving up the ladder of the social hierarchy. Creative work becomes the main goal of a person in society.
The negative side of the post-industrial society is the danger of strengthening social control on the part of the state, the ruling elite through access to information and electronic media and communication over people and society as a whole.
life world human society more and more subject to the logic of efficiency and instrumentalism. Culture, including traditional values, is destroyed under the influence of administrative control, which tends to standardize and unify social relations and social behavior. Society is increasingly subject to the logic of economic life and bureaucratic thinking.
Distinctive features of a post-industrial society:
the transition from the production of goods to a service economy;
the rise and dominance of highly educated vocational professionals;
the main role of theoretical knowledge as a source of discoveries and political decisions in society;
control over technology and the ability to assess the consequences of scientific and technological innovations;
decision-making based on the creation of intelligent technology, as well as using the so-called information technology.
The latter was brought to life by the needs of the information society that began to take shape. The emergence of such a phenomenon is by no means accidental. The basis of social dynamics in the information society is not traditional material resources, which are also largely exhausted, but information (intellectual): knowledge, scientific, organizational factors, intellectual abilities of people, their initiative, creativity.
The concept of post-industrialism has been developed in detail today, it has a lot of supporters and an ever-increasing number of opponents. In the world, two main directions for assessing the future development of human society have been formed: eco-pessimism and techno-optimism. Ecopessimism predicts a total global catastrophe in 2030 due to increasing environmental pollution; destruction of the Earth's biosphere. Techno-optimism paints a more rosy picture, assuming that scientific and technological progress will cope with all the difficulties in the development of society.
Traditional society (pre-industrial) is the longest of the three stages, with a history of thousands of years. Most of the history of mankind has been spent in a traditional society. This is a society with an agrarian way of life, little dynamic social structures and a method of socio-cultural regulation based on tradition. In a traditional society, the main producer is not man, but nature. Subsistence farming predominates - the absolute majority of the population (over 90%) is employed in agriculture; simple technologies are used, and therefore the division of labor is simple. This society is characterized by inertia, low perception of innovations. If we use Marxist terminology, traditional society is a primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal society.
industrial society
An industrial society is characterized by machine production, a national economic system, and a free market. This type of society arose relatively recently - starting from the 18th century, as a result of the industrial revolution, which first swept England and Holland, and then the rest of the world. In Ukraine, the industrial revolution began around mid-nineteenth V. The essence of the industrial revolution is the transition from manual to machine production, from manufactory to factory. New sources of energy are being mastered: if earlier mankind used mainly the energy of muscles, less often water and wind, then with the onset of the industrial revolution they begin to use steam energy, and later diesel engines, internal combustion engines, and electricity. In an industrial society, the task that was the main thing for a traditional society - to feed people and provide them with the things necessary for life - has receded into the background. Now only 5-10% of people employed in agriculture produce enough food for the whole society.
Industrialization leads to increased growth of cities, the national liberal-democratic state is strengthened, industry, education, and the service sector are developing. New specialized social statuses appear ("worker", "engineer", "railroad worker", etc.), class partitions disappear - no longer noble birth or family ties are the basis for determining a person in the social hierarchy, and her personal actions. In a traditional society, a nobleman, having become poor, remained a nobleman, and a rich merchant was still the face of the "ignoble". In an industrial society, everyone wins his status by personal merits - a capitalist, went bankrupt, is no longer a capitalist, and yesterday's shoe shiner can become the owner of a large company and take high position in society. Social mobility is growing, there is an equalization of human capabilities, due to the universal accessibility of education.
In an industrial society, the complication of the system of social ties leads to the formalization of human relations, which in most cases become depersonalized. A modern city dweller communicates with more people in a week than his distant rural ancestor in his entire life. Therefore, people communicate through their role and status "masks": not as a specific individual with a specific individual, each of which is endowed with certain individual human qualities, but as a Teacher and a student, or a Policeman and a Pedestrian, or a Director and an Employee ("I'm telling you as a specialist ... "," it's not customary with us ... "," the professor said ... ").
Fast industrial society
Post-industrial society (the term was proposed by Daniell. Bell in 1962.). At one time, D. Bell headed the "Commission of the Year 2000", created by the decision of the US Congress. The task of this commission was to work out forecasts of the socio-economic development of the United States in the third millennium. Based on the research conducted by the commission, Daniel Bell, together with other authors, wrote the book "America in 2000". In this book, in particular, it was necessary that after the industrial society a new stage of human history begins, which will be based on the achievements of scientific and technological progress. Daniel Bell called this stage "post-industrial".
In the second half of the XX century. in the most developed countries of the world, such as the United States, Western Europe, Japan, the importance of knowledge and information is growing sharply. The dynamics of updating information has become so high that already in the 70s. 20th century Sociologists have concluded (as time has shown - correct) that in the XXI century. illiterate can be considered not those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, forget the unnecessary, and learn again.
In connection with the growing weight of knowledge and information, science is turning into a direct productive force of society - an ever-increasing part of the income of advanced countries is received not from the sale of industrial products, but from trade in new technologies and science-intensive and information products (for example: cinema, television programs, computer programs etc.). In a post-industrial society, the entire spiritual superstructure is integrated into the production system and - thereby - the dualism of the material and the ideal is overcome. If the industrial society was economically centric, then the post-industrial society is characterized by cultural centricity: the role of the "human factor" and the entire system of socio-humanitarian knowledge directed at it is growing. This, of course, does not mean that the post-industrial society denies the basic components of the industrial society (highly developed industry, labor discipline, highly qualified personnel). As Daniel Bell noted, "the post-industrial society does not replace the industrial one, just as the industrial society does not eliminate the agricultural sector of the economy." But a person in a post-industrial society already ceases to be an "economic man". New, "post-materialistic" values become dominant for her (Table 4.1).
The first “entry into the public arena” of a person for whom “post-materialistic values” are a priority is considered (G. Marcuse, S. Ayerman) a youth riot in the late 60s of the XX century, which declared the death of the Protestant work ethic as a moral one. foundations of Western industrial civilization.
Table 4.1. Comparison of industrial and post-industrial society
Scientists fruitfully worked on the development of the concept of a post-industrial society: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Alvin Toffler, Aron, Kennep Bouldinga, Walt Rostow and others. True, some of them used their own terms to name a new type of society that is replacing the industrial one. Kenneth Boulding calls it "post-civilization". Zbigniew Brzezinski prefers the term "technotronic society", thereby emphasizing the crucial importance of electronics and communications in the new society. Alvin Toffler calls it a "super-industrial society", referring to a complex mobile society based on highly advanced technology and a post-materialist value system.
Alvin Toffler in 1970 He wrote: "The inhabitants of the Earth are divided not only along racial, ideological or religious lines, but also, in in a certain sense, and in time. studying modern population planet, we find a small group of people who still live by hunting and fishing. Others, most of them, rely on Agriculture. They live in much the same way as their ancestors lived hundreds of years ago. These two groups together make up about 70% of the world's population. These are the people of the past.
More than 25% of the world's population lives in industrialized countries. They live modern life. They are a product of the first half of the 20th century. shaped by mechanization and mass education, brought up on memories of the agro-industrial past of their country. They are modern people.
The remaining 2-3% of the world's population cannot be called either people of the past or modern people. Because in the main centers of technological and cultural change, in New York, London, Tokyo, millions of people can be said to live in the future. These pioneers, without realizing it, live the way others will live tomorrow. They are the scouts of humanity, the first citizens of a super-industrial society."
We can add to Toffler in only one thing: today, almost 40 years later, more than 40% of humanity lives in a society that he called superindustrial.
The transition from industrial to post-industrial society is determined by the following factors:
change in the economic sphere: the transition from an economy focused on commodity production to an economy focused on the service and information sector. Moreover, we are talking first of all about highly qualified services, such as the development and general accessibility of banking services, the development of mass communication and the general availability of information, health care, education, social care, and only secondarily - services provided to individual clients. In the mid 90s. 20th century in the production sector and in the service sector and the provision of information services, respectively, the following were employed: in the USA - 25% and 70% of the working population; in Germany - 40% and 55%; in Japan - 36% and 60%); what is more - even in the manufacturing sector in countries with a post-industrial economy, representatives of intellectual labor, production organizers, technical intelligentsia and administrative personnel account for about 60% of all employees;
a change in the social structure of society (professional division replaces class division). For example, Daniel Bell believes that the capitalist class is disappearing in a post-industrial society, and its place is being taken by a new ruling elite that has high level education and knowledge;
the central place of theoretical knowledge in determining the main vectors of the development of society. The main conflict, then, in this society lies not between labor and capital, but between knowledge and incompetence. The importance of higher educational institutions A: The university has entered an industrial enterprise, the main institution of the industrial era. Under the new conditions, higher education has at least two main tasks: to create theories, knowledge, which become the main factor social change and also educate advisers and experts;
creation of new intellectual technologies (among others, for example, genetic engineering, cloning, new agricultural technologies, etc.).
Control questions and tasks
1. Define the term "society" and describe its main features.
2. Why is society considered a self-reproducing system?
3. How does the system-mechanical approach to understanding society differ from the system-organic one?
4. Describe the essence of the synthetic approach to understanding society.
5. What is the difference between the traditional community and modern society(terms of F. Tjonnies)?
6. Describe the main theories of the origin of society.
7. What is "anomie"? Describe the main features of this state of society.
8. How does R. Merton's anomie theory differ from E. Durkheim's anomie theory?
9. Explain the difference between the concepts of "social progress" and "social evolution".
10. What is the difference between social reform and revolution? Do you know the types of social revolutions?
11. Name the criteria of the typology of societies known to you.
12. Describe the Marxist concept of the typology of societies.
13. Compare traditional and industrial societies.
14. Describe the post-industrial society.
15. Compare post-industrial and industrial societies.
It is proved that society is constantly evolving. The development of society can proceed in two directions and take three definite forms.
Directions of development of society
It is customary to single out social progress (the trend of development from the lowest level of the material state of the society and the spiritual evolution of the individual to a higher one) and regression (the opposite of progress: the transition from a more developed state to a less developed one).
If we demonstrate the development of society graphically, we will get a broken line (where ups and downs will be displayed, for example, the period of fascism is a stage of social regression).
Society is a complex and multifaceted mechanism, in connection with which progress can be traced in one of its areas, while regression in another.
So, if we turn to historical facts, we can clearly see technological progress (the transition from primitive tools to the most complex CNC machines, from pack animals to trains, cars, airplanes, etc.). However back side medals (regression) - destruction natural resources, undermining the natural habitat of a person, etc.
Criteria of social progress
There are six of them:
- affirmation of democracy;
- the growth of the welfare of the population and its social security;
- improving interpersonal relationships;
- the growth of spirituality and the ethical component of society;
- weakening interpersonal confrontation;
- a measure of freedom granted to an individual by society (the degree of individual freedom guaranteed by society).
Forms of social development
The most common is evolution (smooth, gradual changes in the life of society that occur naturally). Features of her character: gradualness, continuity, ascent (for example, scientific and technical evolution).
Second form community development- revolution (quick, deep changes; a radical upheaval social life). The nature of revolutionary change has radical and fundamental features.
Revolutions can be
- short-term or long-term;
- within one or more states;
- within one or more areas.
If these changes affect all existing public spheres (politics, everyday life, economics, culture, public organization), then the revolution is called social. Such changes cause strong emotionality, mass activity of the entire population (for example, such Russian revolutions like October, February).
Third form social development- reforms (a set of measures aimed at transforming specific aspects of society, for example, economic reform or reform in the field of education).
Systematic model of typologies of social development D. Bell
This American sociologist distinguished world history at the stage (types) regarding the development of society:
- industrial;
- post-industrial.
The transition from one stage to another is accompanied by a change in technology, form of ownership, political regime, lifestyle, social structure of society, mode of production, social institutions, culture, and population.
Pre-industrial society: characteristics
There are simple and complex societies. A pre-industrial society (simple) is a society without social inequality and division into strata or classes, as well as without commodity-money relations and the state apparatus.
In primitive times, gatherers, hunters, then early pastoralists, farmers lived in a simple society.
The social structure of a pre-industrial society (simple) has the following features:
- small size of the association;
- primitive level of development of technology and division of labor;
- egalitarianism (economic, political, social equality);
- priority of blood ties.
Stages in the evolution of simple societies
- groups (local);
- communities (primitive).
The second stage has two periods:
- tribal community;
- neighborly.
The transition from tribal communities to neighboring ones became possible thanks to a sedentary lifestyle: groups of blood relatives settled close to each other and were united both by marriages and by mutual assistance regarding joint territories, by a labor corporation.
Thus, a pre-industrial society is characterized by the gradual emergence of the family, the emergence of a division of labor (inter-sex, inter-age), the emergence social norms, which are taboos (absolute prohibitions).
Transitional form from a simple society to a complex one
The chiefdom is a hierarchical structure of a system of people that does not have an extensive administrative apparatus, which is an integral part of a mature state.
In terms of numbers, this large association(more tribe). There is already horticulture without arable farming and a surplus product without surplus. Gradually, there is a stratification into rich and poor, noble and simple. The number of management levels - 2-10 and more. Modern examples of chiefdoms are: New Guinea, Tropical Africa and Polynesia.
Complex pre-industrial societies
The final stage in the evolution of simple societies, as well as the prologue to complex ones, was the Neolithic Revolution. A complex (pre-industrial) society is characterized by the emergence of a surplus product, social inequality and stratification (castes, classes, slavery, estates), commodity-money relations, an extensive, specialized management apparatus.
It is usually numerous (hundreds of thousands - hundreds of millions of people). Within the framework of a complex society, consanguineous, personal relationships are replaced by unrelated, impersonal ones (this is especially evident in cities, when even cohabitants may be unfamiliar).
Social ranks are replaced by social stratification. As a rule, a pre-industrial society (complex) is referred to as stratified because the strata are numerous and the groups include only those who are not related to the ruling class.
Signs of a complex society by V. Child
There are at least eight of them. The signs of a pre-industrial society (complex) are as follows:
- People are settled in cities.
- Non-agricultural specialization of labor is developing.
- A surplus product appears and accumulates.
- There are clear class divisions.
- Customary law is replaced by legal law.
- Large-scale public works such as irrigation are born, and pyramids are also emerging.
- Overseas trade appears.
- There is writing, mathematics and elite culture.
Despite the fact that the agrarian society (pre-industrial) is characterized by the emergence a large number cities, most of the population lived in the countryside (a closed territorial peasant community, leading a subsistence economy, which is poorly connected with the market). The village is oriented towards religious values and traditional way of life.
Characteristic features of pre-industrial society
The following features of a traditional society are distinguished:
- Agriculture occupies a dominant position, which is dominated by manual technologies (the energy of animals and people is used).
- A significant proportion of the population is in rural areas.
- Production is focused on personal consumption, and therefore market relations are underdeveloped.
- Caste or estate classification system of the population.
- Low level of social mobility.
- Large patriarchal families.
- Social change is proceeding at a slow pace.
- Priority is given to the religious and mythological worldview.
- Homogeneity of values and norms.
- Sacralized, authoritarian political power.
These are schematic and simplified features of a traditional society.
Industrial type of society
The transition to this type was due to two global processes:
- industrialization (creation of large-scale machine production);
- urbanization (resettlement of people from villages to cities, as well as the promotion of urban life values in all segments of the population).
Industrial society (originated in the XVIII century) - the child of two revolutions - political (Great French revolution) and economic (the English Industrial Revolution). The result of the first is economic freedoms, a new social stratification, and the second is a new political form(democracy), political freedoms.
Feudalism has been replaced by capitalism. In everyday life, the concept of "industrialization" has become stronger. Its flagship is England. This country is the birthplace of machine production, new legislation and free enterprise.
Industrialization is interpreted as the use of scientific knowledge regarding industrial technology, the discovery of fundamentally new energy sources that made it possible to perform all the work previously carried out by people or draft animals.
Thanks to the transition to industry, a small proportion of the population was able to feed a significant number of people without the procedure for cultivating the land.
Compared with agricultural states and empires, industrial countries are more numerous (tens, hundreds of millions of people). These are the so-called highly urbanized societies (cities began to play a dominant role).
Signs of an industrial society:
- industrialization;
- class antagonism;
- representative democracy;
- urbanization;
- the division of society into classes;
- transfer of power to the owners;
- little social mobility.
Thus, we can say that pre-industrial and industrial societies are actually different social worlds. This transition obviously could not be either easy or quick. It took Western societies, so to speak, the pioneers of modernization, more than one century to implement this process.
post-industrial society
It gives priority to the service sector, which prevails over industry and agriculture. The social structure of the post-industrial society is shifting in favor of those employed in the aforementioned area, and new elites are also emerging: scientist and technocrats.
This type of society is characterized as "post-class" in view of the fact that it shows the collapse of entrenched social structures, identities that are so characteristic of industrial society.
Industrial and post-industrial society: distinctive features
The main characteristics of modern and postmodern society are shown in the table below.
Characteristic | Modern society | postmodern society |
1. The basis of public welfare | ||
2. Mass class | Managers, employees |
|
3. Social structure | "Grainy", status | "Cellular", functional |
4. Ideology | sociocentrism | Humanism |
5. Technical basis | Industrial | Informational |
6. Leading industry | Industry | |
7. The principle of management and organization | Management | Coordination |
8. Political regime | Self-government, direct democracy |
|
9. Religion | Small denominations |
Thus, both industrial and post-industrial society are modern types. home distinguishing feature the latter is that a person is not seen as predominantly an “economic person”. A post-industrial society is a “post-labor”, “post-economic” society (the economic subsystem loses its decisive importance; labor is not the basis of social relations).
Comparative characteristics of the considered types of development of society
Let us trace the main differences that have a traditional, industrial and post-industrial society. Comparative characteristics presented in the table.
Comparison criterion | Pre-industrial (traditional) | Industrial | post-industrial |
1. Main production factor | |||
2. Main production product | Food | Industrial goods | |
3. Features of production | Exceptionally manual labor | Widespread use of technologies and mechanisms | Computerization of society, automation of production |
4. Specificity of labor | Individuality | Predominance of standard activities | Encouraging creativity |
5. The structure of employment | Agriculture - approximately 75% | Agriculture - approximately 10%, industry - 75% | Agriculture - 3%, industry - 33%, services - 66% |
6. Priority type of export | Mainly raw materials | Manufactured products | |
7. Social structure | Classes, estates, castes included in the collective, their isolation; little social mobility | Classes, their mobility; simplification of the existing social structures | Preservation of the existing social differentiation; an increase in the size of the middle class; professional differentiation based on qualifications and level of knowledge |
8. Life expectancy | 40 to 50 years old | Up to 70 years old and above | Over 70 years |
9. The degree of human impact on the environment | Uncontrolled, local | Uncontrolled, global | controlled, global |
10. Relations with other states | Minor | Close relationship | Complete openness of society |
11. Political sphere | Most often, monarchical forms of government, lack of political freedoms, power is above the law | Political freedoms, equality before the law, democratic transformations | Political pluralism, a strong civil society, the emergence of a new democratic form |
So, it is worth recalling once again the three types of social development: traditional, industrial and post-industrial society.
IN modern world there are various types of societies that differ from each other in many ways, both explicit (language of communication, culture, geographical location, size, etc.) and hidden (degree of social integration, level of stability, etc.). Scientific classification involves the selection of the most significant, typical features that distinguish some features from others and unite societies of the same group. The complexity of social systems called societies determines both the diversity of their specific manifestations and the absence of a single universal criterion on the basis of which they could be classified.
In the middle of the 19th century, K. Marx proposed a typology of societies based on the method of production of material goods and production relations - primarily property relations. He divided all societies into 5 main types (according to the type of socio-economic formations): primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist and communist (the initial phase is a socialist society).
Another typology divides all societies into simple and complex. The criterion is the number of management levels and the degree of social differentiation (stratification). A simple society is a society in which the components are homogeneous, there are no rich and poor, leaders and subordinates, the structure and functions here are poorly differentiated and can be easily interchanged. Such are the primitive tribes, in some places preserved to this day.
A complex society is a society with highly differentiated structures and functions that are interconnected and interdependent on each other, which necessitates their coordination.
K. Popper distinguishes between two types of societies: closed and open. The differences between them are based on a number of factors, and, above all, the relationship of social control and freedom of the individual. A closed society is characterized by a static social structure, limited mobility, resistance to innovation, traditionalism, dogmatic authoritarian ideology, and collectivism. K. Popper attributed Sparta, Prussia, Tsarist Russia, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union of the Stalin era to this type of society. An open society is characterized by a dynamic social structure, high mobility, ability to innovate, criticism, individualism and democratic pluralistic ideology. K. Popper considered ancient Athens and modern Western democracies to be examples of open societies.
The division of societies into traditional, industrial and post-industrial, proposed by the American sociologist D. Bell on the basis of a change in the technological basis - the improvement of the means of production and knowledge, is stable and widespread.
Traditional (pre-industrial) society - a society with an agrarian way of life, with a predominance of subsistence farming, a class hierarchy, sedentary structures and a method of socio-cultural regulation based on tradition. It is characterized by manual labor, extremely low rates of development of production, which can satisfy the needs of people only at a minimal level. It is extremely inertial, therefore it is not very susceptible to innovations. The behavior of individuals in such a society is regulated by customs, norms, and social institutions. Customs, norms, institutions, consecrated by traditions, are considered unshakable, not allowing even the thought of changing them. In fulfilling its integrative function, culture and social institutions suppress any manifestation of individual freedom, which is a necessary condition for the gradual renewal of society.
The term industrial society was introduced by A. Saint-Simon, emphasizing its new technical basis. Industrial society - (in modern sounding) is a complex society, with an industrial-based way of managing, with flexible, dynamic and modifiable structures, a method of sociocultural regulation based on a combination of individual freedom and the interests of society. These societies are characterized by a developed division of labor, the development of mass media, urbanization, etc.
Post-industrial society (sometimes called information society) - a society developed on an information basis: extraction (in traditional societies) and processing (in industrial societies) of natural products are replaced by the acquisition and processing of information, as well as predominant development (instead of agriculture in traditional societies and industry in industrial) service sectors. As a result, the structure of employment and the ratio of various professional and qualification groups are also changing. According to forecasts, already at the beginning of the 21st century in advanced countries, half of the workforce will be employed in the field of information, a quarter - in the field of material production and a quarter - in the production of services, including information.
The change in the technological basis also affects the organization of the entire system of social ties and relations. If in an industrial society the mass class was made up of workers, then in a post-industrial society it was employees and managers. At the same time, the significance of class differentiation is weakening, instead of a status (“granular”) social structure, a functional (“ready-made”) social structure is being formed. Instead of leading the principle of governance, coordination is becoming, and representative democracy is being replaced by direct democracy and self-government. As a result, instead of a hierarchy of structures, a new type of network organization is created, focused on rapid change depending on the situation.
True, at the same time, some sociologists pay attention to contradictory possibilities, on the one hand, ensuring a higher level of individual freedom in the information society, and on the other hand, the emergence of new, more hidden and therefore more dangerous forms of social control over it.
In conclusion, it should be noted that, in addition to those considered, there are other classifications of societies in modern sociology. It all depends on what criterion will be the basis of this classification.
The classical characteristic of an industrial society suggests that it is formed as a result of the development of machine production and the emergence of new forms of mass labor organization. Historically, this stage corresponded to the social situation in Western Europe in 1800-1960
general characteristics
The generally accepted characteristic of an industrial society includes several fundamental features. What are they? First, industrial society is based on developed industry. It has a division of labor that promotes productivity. An important feature is competition. Without it, the characterization of industrial society would be incomplete.
Capitalism leads to what is actively growing entrepreneurial activity courageous and enterprising people. At the same time, civil society is developing, as well as the state administrative system. It becomes more efficient and more complex. An industrial society cannot be imagined without modern means of communication, urbanized cities and High Quality life of the average citizen.
Technology Development
Any characteristic of an industrial society, in short, includes such a phenomenon as the industrial revolution. It was she who allowed Great Britain to be the first in human history to cease to be an agrarian country. When the economy begins to rely not on the cultivation of agricultural crops, but on a new industry, the first shoots of an industrial society appear.
At the same time, there is a noticeable redistribution of labor resources. Work force leaves agriculture and goes to the city to work in factories. Up to 15% of the state's inhabitants remain in the agricultural sector. The growth of the urban population also contributes to the revival of trade.
Entrepreneurial activity becomes the main factor in production. The presence of this phenomenon is the characteristic of an industrial society. This relationship was first described briefly by the Austrian and American economist Joseph Schumpeter. On this path, society at a certain point experiences scientific and technological revolution. After that, the post-industrial period begins, which already corresponds to the present.
Free society
With the onset of industrialization, society becomes socially mobile. This allows people to destroy the framework that exists under the traditional order, characteristic of the Middle Ages and the agrarian economy. In the state, the boundaries between classes are blurred. They lose caste. In other words, people can get rich and become successful thanks to their efforts and skills, without looking back at their own background.
The characteristic of an industrial society is a significant economic growth that occurs due to an increase in the number of highly qualified specialists. In society, technicians and scientists who determine the future of the country are in the first place. This order is also called technocracy or the power of technology. The work of merchants, advertising specialists and other people who occupy a special position in the social structure becomes more significant and weighty.
The formation of nation-states
Scientists have determined that the main characteristics of an industrial society boil down to being industrial and becoming dominant in all areas of life from culture to economics. Along with urbanization and changes in social stratification comes the emergence of nation states folded around common language. The unique culture of the ethnic group also plays an important role in this process.
In a medieval agrarian society, the national factor was not so significant. In the Catholic kingdoms of the 14th century, belonging to one or another feudal lord was much more important. Even armies existed on the principle of hiring. It was only in the 19th century that the principle of national recruitment into the state armed forces was finally formed.
Demography
The demographic situation is changing. What is the characteristic of industrial society here? Signs of change boil down to declining birth rates in one average family. People devote more time to their own education, standards are changing in relation to the presence of offspring. All this affects the number of children in one classical “cell of society”.
But at the same time, the death rate is falling. This is due to the development of medicine. Medical services and medicines are becoming more accessible to a wide segment of the population. Increases life expectancy. The population dies more in old age than in youth (for example, from diseases or wars).
Consumer society
The enrichment of people in the industrial age led to the emergence of the main motive for the work of its members is the desire to buy and acquire as much as possible. Is born new system values, which is built around the importance of material wealth.
The term was coined by the German sociologist Erich Fromm. In this context, he emphasized the importance of reducing the length of the working day, increasing the share of free time, as well as blurring the boundaries between classes. This is the characteristic of an industrial society. The table shows the main features of this period of human development.
Mass culture
The classic characteristic of an industrial society by spheres of life says that consumption increases in each of them. Production begins to focus on the standards that defines the so-called This phenomenon - one of the most striking features of an industrial society.
What is it? Mass culture formulates the basic psychological attitudes of the consumer society in the industrial era. Art becomes accessible to everyone. It voluntarily or involuntarily promotes certain norms of behavior. They can be called fashion or lifestyle. Bloom in the west mass culture was accompanied by its commercialization and the creation of show business.
John Galbraith's theory
The industrial society was carefully studied by many scientists of the 20th century. One of the prominent economists in this series is John Galbraith. He substantiated several fundamental laws with the help of which the characteristics of an industrial society are formulated. At least 7 provisions of his theory have become fundamental for the new and currents of our time.
Galbraith believed that the development of industrial society led not only to the establishment of capitalism, but also to the creation of monopolies. Large corporations in economic conditions of the free market make wealth and gobble up competitors. They control production, trade, capital, and progress in science and technology.
Strengthening the economic role of the state
An important characteristic, according to John Galbraith's theory, is that in a country with such a system of relations, the state increases its intervention in the economy. Prior to this, in the agrarian era of the Middle Ages, the authorities simply did not have the resources to radically influence the market. In an industrial society, the situation is quite the opposite.
The economist in his own way noted the development of technology in new era. By this term, he meant the application of systematized new knowledge in production. Demands lead to the triumph of corporations and the state in the economy. This is due to the fact that they become the owners of unique scientific production developments.
At the same time, Galbraith believed that under industrial capitalism, the capitalists themselves had lost their former influence. Now the presence of money did not mean power and importance at all. Instead of owners, scientific and technical specialists come to the fore, who can offer new modern inventions and production methods. This is the characteristic of an industrial society. According to Galbraith's plan, the former working class is being eroded under these conditions. The aggravated relations between the proletarians and the capitalists are coming to naught thanks to technological progress and the equalization of the incomes of graduates.
