Postindustrial (information) society. Industrial society - what are its disadvantages and advantages? What caused the rapid development of industrial

Today, an industrial society is a concept that is familiar in all developed and even many developing countries of the world. The process of transition to mechanical production, falling profitability of agriculture, urban growth and a clear division of labor are all the main features of the process that is changing the socio-economic structure of the state.

What is an industrial society?

In addition to production characteristics, this society is distinguished by a high standard of living, the formation of civil rights and freedoms, the emergence of service activities, accessible information and humane economic relations. The previous traditional socio-economic models were characterized by a relatively low average standard of living of the population.

The industrial society is considered modern; both technical and social components are developing very rapidly in it, affecting the improvement of the quality of life in general.

The main differences

The main difference between a traditional agrarian society and a modern one lies in the growth of industry, the need for a modernized, accelerated and efficient production and in the division of labor.

The main reasons for the division of labor and line production can be considered both economic - the financial benefits of mechanization, and social - population growth and increased demand for goods.

An industrial society is characterized not only by the growth of industrial production, but also by the systematization and flow of agricultural activities. In addition, in any country and in any society, the process of industrial reconstruction is accompanied by the development of science, technology, means mass media and civil liability.

Changing the structure of society

Today, many developing countries are characterized by a particularly accelerated process of transition from a traditional society to an industrial one. The process of globalization and free information space play a significant role in changing socio-economic structures. New technologies and scientific achievements allow improving production processes, which makes a number of industries particularly efficient.

The processes of globalization and international cooperation and regulation are also influencing changes in social statutes. Industrial society is characterized by a completely different worldview, when the expansion of rights and freedoms is perceived not as a concession, but as something due. In combination, such changes allow the state to become part of the world market both from an economic point of view and from a socio-political point of view.

The main features and signs of an industrial society

The main characteristics can be roughly divided into three groups: production, economic and social.

The main production features and characteristics of an industrial society are as follows:

• mechanization of production;
• reorganization of labor;
• division of labor;
• productivity increase.

Among the economic characteristics, it is necessary to highlight:

• the growing influence of private production;
• the emergence of a market for competitive goods;
• expansion of sales markets.

The main economic feature of industrial society is uneven economic development... Crisis, inflation, decline in production - all these are frequent phenomena in the economy of an industrial state. The Industrial Revolution is by no means a guarantee of stability.

The main feature of an industrial society in terms of its social development is a change in values \u200b\u200band worldview, which is influenced by:

• development and accessibility of education;
• improving the quality of life;
• popularization of culture and art;
• urbanization;
• expansion of human rights and freedoms.

It should be noted that industrial society is also characterized by reckless exploitation natural resources, including irreplaceable, and almost complete disregard for the environment.

Historical background

In addition to economic benefits and population growth, the industrial development of society was due to a number of other reasons. In traditional states, most people were able to provide for their livelihood, and nothing more. Only a few could afford comfort, education and pleasure. The agrarian society was forced to move to the agrarian-industrial one. This transition allowed for increased production. However, the agrarian-industrial society was characterized by the inhumane attitude of the owners to the workers and a low level of mechanization of production.

Preindustrial socio-economic models were based on various forms of slaveholding, which indicated the absence of universal freedoms and a low average living standard of the population.

Industrial Revolution

The transition to an industrial society began during the industrial revolution. It is this period, the 18th-19th centuries, that is responsible for the transition from manual to mechanized labor. The beginning and middle of the 19th century were the apogee of industrialization in a number of the world's leading powers.

During the industrial revolution, the main features of the modern state took shape, such as production growth, urbanization, economic growth and the capitalist model of social development.

Usually the industrial revolution is associated with the growth of machine production and intensive technological development, however, it was during this period that the main socio-political changes took place that influenced the formation of a new society.

Industrialization

There are three main sectors in the composition of both the world and the state economy:

• Primary - resource extraction and farming.
• Secondary - processing of resources and the creation of food products.
• Tertiary is a service industry.

Traditional social structures were based on the superiority of the primary sector. Subsequently, during the transition period, the secondary sector began to catch up with the primary, and the service sector began to grow. Industrialization is the expansion of the secondary sector of the economy.

This process took place in world history in two stages: the technical revolution, which includes the creation of mechanized factories and the abandonment of manufacturing, and the modernization of devices - the invention of the conveyor, electrical appliances and motors.

Urbanization

In the modern sense, urbanization is population growth big cities through migration from rural areas. However, the transition to an industrial society was characterized by a broader interpretation of the concept.

Cities became not only places of work and population migration, but also cultural and economic centers. It was the cities that became the border of the true division of labor - the territorial one.

The future of industrial society

Today in developed countries there is a transition from a modern industrial society to a post-industrial one. There is a change in the values \u200b\u200band criteria of human capital.

The knowledge industry should become the engine of the post-industrial society and its economy. therefore scientific discoveries and technological developments of the new generation play big role in many states. Professionals with a high level of education, good learning ability, and creative thinking are considered a valuable working capital. The dominant sector of the traditional economy will be tertiary, that is, the service sector.

Society is a complex natural-historical structure, the elements of which are people. Their connections and relationships are determined by a certain social status, functions and roles that they perform, norms and values \u200b\u200bgenerally accepted in this system, as well as their individual qualities. Society is usually divided into three types: traditional, industrial and post-industrial. Each of them has its own distinctive features and functions.

This article will look at traditional society (definition, characteristics, foundations, examples, etc.).

What it is?

A modern industrialist who is not familiar with history and social sciences may not understand what a "traditional society" is. We will consider the definition of this concept further.

Operates on the basis of traditional values. It is often perceived as tribal, primitive and backward feudal. It is a society with an agrarian structure, with sedentary structures and with methods of social and cultural regulation based on traditions. It is believed that most of its history, mankind was at this stage.

Traditional society, the definition of which is considered in this article, is a collection of groups of people at different stages of development and do not have a mature industrial complex. The determining factor in the development of such social units is agriculture.

Characteristics of a traditional society

A traditional society is characterized by the following features:

1. Low rates of production, meeting the needs of people at a minimum level.
2. High energy intensity.
3. Non-acceptance of innovations.
4. Strict regulation and control of people's behavior, social structures, institutions, customs.
5. As a rule, any manifestation of individual freedom is prohibited in traditional society.
6. Social formations, consecrated by traditions, are considered unshakable - even the thought of their possible changes is perceived as criminal.

The traditional society is considered agrarian, as it is based on agriculture. Its functioning depends on the cultivation of crops with a plow and draft animals. So, one and the same piece of land could be cultivated several times, resulting in permanent settlements.

The traditional society is also characterized by the predominant use of manual labor, the extensive absence of market forms of trade (the predominance of exchange and redistribution). This led to the enrichment of individuals or classes.

Forms of ownership in such structures are usually collective. Any manifestation of individualism is not perceived and denied by society, and is also considered dangerous, since it violates the established order and traditional balance. There is no impetus for the development of science, culture, therefore extensive technologies are used in all areas.

Political structure

The political sphere in such a society is characterized by an authoritarian power that is inherited. This is due to the fact that only in this way can traditions be maintained for a long time. The system of government in such a society was rather primitive (hereditary power was in the hands of the elders). The people had virtually no influence on politics.

Often there is the idea of \u200b\u200bthe divine origin of the person in whose hands the power was. In this regard, politics is virtually completely subordinate to religion and is carried out only according to sacred precepts. The combination of secular and spiritual power made possible the increasing subordination of people to the state. This, in turn, strengthened the stability of the traditional society.

Social relationships

In the sphere of social relations, the following features of a traditional society can be distinguished:

1. Patriarchal structure.
2. The main goal the functioning of such a society is the maintenance of human life and the avoidance of its disappearance as a species.
3. Low level
4. The traditional society is characterized by division into estates. Each of them played a different social role.

5. Assessment of personality in terms of the place that people occupy in the hierarchical structure.
6. A person does not feel like an individual, he considers only his belonging to a certain group or community.

Spiritual realm

In the spiritual sphere, traditional society is characterized by deep religiosity and moral attitudes, instilled from childhood. Certain rituals and dogmas were an integral part of human life. Writing did not exist in traditional society as such. That is why all legends and traditions were passed on orally.

Relationship with nature and the surrounding world

The influence of traditional society on nature was primitive and insignificant. This was due to low-waste production, represented by cattle breeding and agriculture. Also in some societies there were certain religious rules that condemn the pollution of nature.

In relation to the outside world, it was closed. Traditional society by all means protected itself from outside intrusions and any external influence. As a result, a person perceived life as static and unchanging. Qualitative changes in such societies took place very slowly, and revolutionary changes were perceived extremely painfully.

Traditional and industrial society: differences

Industrial society emerged in the 18th century, primarily in England and France.

Some of its distinctive features should be highlighted.
1. Creation of a large machine production.
2. Standardization of parts and assemblies of different mechanisms. This made mass production possible.
3. Another important distinctive feature - urbanization (the growth of cities and the resettlement of a significant part of the population on their territory).
4. Division of labor and its specialization.

Traditional and industrial societies have significant differences. The first is characterized by a natural division of labor. Traditional values \u200b\u200band patriarchal structure prevail here, there is no mass production.

It is also worth highlighting the post-industrial society. Traditional, in contrast, aims at the extraction of natural resources, and not the collection of information and its storage.

Examples of traditional society: China

Vivid examples of traditional society can be found in the East in the Middle Ages and modern times. Among them are India, China, Japan, the Ottoman Empire.

Since ancient times, China has been distinguished by a strong state power. By the nature of evolution, this society is cyclical. China is characterized by the constant alternation of several eras (development, crisis, social explosion). The unity of spiritual and religious authority in this country should also be noted. By tradition, the emperor received the so-called "Mandate of Heaven" - divine permission to rule.

Japan

The development of Japan in the Middle Ages and in also allows us to say that there was a traditional society, the definition of which is considered in this article. The entire population of the Country rising sun was divided into 4 estates. The first is samurai, daimyo and shogun (personified supreme secular power). They occupied a privileged position and had the right to bear arms. The second estate - peasants who owned land as a hereditary holding. The third is the artisans and the fourth is the merchants. It should be noted that trade in Japan was considered an unworthy business. It is also worth highlighting the strict regulation of each of the estates.

Unlike other traditional Eastern countries, there was no unity of supreme secular and spiritual power in Japan. The first was personified by the shogun. In his hands was most of the land and tremendous power. There was also an emperor (tenno) in Japan. He was the personification of spiritual authority.

India

Vivid examples of traditional society can be found in India throughout the history of the country. The Mughal Empire, located on the Indian subcontinent, was based on the military-fief and caste system. Supreme ruler - padishah - was the main owner of all land in the state. Indian society was strictly divided into castes, whose life was strictly regulated by laws and sacred precepts.

Industrial society is a type of social development based on an accelerating change in the natural environment, forms of social relations and the person himself. The rapid development of industrial society is due not only to the expansion of the sphere of human life, the emergence industrial production,but also a restructuring of its very foundations, a radical change in traditionalist values \u200b\u200band meanings of life. If in a traditional society any innovations were disguised as tradition, then the industrial society proclaims the value of the new, not constrained by the regulatory tradition. This contributed to the development of social productive forces unprecedented in history.
Industrial society is characterized by the rapid development of technology based on the introduction of scientific ideas into social production. If traditional society got by with relatively simple tools of labor, arranged according to the principle of a composite object with a geometric fit of individual parts (block, lever, cart), then industrial society is characterized by technical devices based on force interactions (steam engines, machine tools, internal combustion engines, etc. .d.). The emergence of large industrial enterprises, equipped with sophisticated equipment, formed a social demand for a competent worker, and therefore contributed to the development of a mass education system. Network development railways not only significantly increased economic and cultural exchange, but also required the introduction of a single maternity time. The impact of technology on all aspects of the life of an industrial society is so great that it is often called technogenic civilization.
The development of technology not only expands the sphere of human domination over nature, but also changes the place of man in the system of social production. Living labor gradually loses power and motor functions and increases control and information functions. In the second half of the XX century. such technical systems (automated enterprises, control systems spaceships, nuclear power plants), the exploitation of which requires not only virtuoso production skills, but also fundamental professional training based on the latest achievements of science. Science is becoming not only the most important area of \u200b\u200bspiritual culture, but also a direct productive force.
Technological progress contributed to the rise of the productive forces of society and an unprecedented increase in the quality of human life. The development of commodity production not only led to the saturation of the market with essential products, but also generated new needs unknown to traditional society (synthetic medicines, computers, modern means of communication and transport, etc.). The quality of housing, food and medical care has noticeably improved, and the average life expectancy has increased. The powerful development of technology has noticeably changed not only the subject environment of man, but also his entire daily life... If the patriarchal-stagnant turn of life in the traditionalist consciousness was symbolized by the "wheel of times", that is, the idea of \u200b\u200beternal return to square one, then the dynamism of technogenic civilization gave rise to the image of axial historical time, about which the German philosopher K. Jaspers wrote. "Time is an arrow" is becoming a symbol of not only technical, but also social progress,that is, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe progressive development of society from barbarism and savagery to civilization and the further increase in civilizational achievements.
Technological progress has given rise to profound changes in the cultural meanings of nature, society and man himself, has brought new values \u200b\u200band meanings of life into public consciousness. The traditionalist idea of \u200b\u200blife-giving nature in the public consciousness of industrial society is replaced by the idea of \u200b\u200ban ordered "system of nature" governed by natural laws. Such ideas are reflected in the metaphor of the world as a clockwork, the individual parts of which are connected by a rigid causal interaction. Cognition of the world was identified with its reproduction in the forms of human activity. The religious "disenchantment" of the world (M. Weber) was accompanied by a large-scale secularization of public consciousness,i.e. replacement religious worldview and secular education. Karl Marx's definition of nature as the “inorganic human body” illustrates the destruction of traditionalist ideas about the organic unity of man and nature: the perception of nature as a deified source of life is being replaced by the concept of habitat as a storehouse of an inexhaustible supply of industrial raw materials. The pathos of the Promethean will of the new European man, the assertion of his strength and power meant the assertion of limitless transformative possibilities in relation to nature. Conquest, submission, transformation are becoming key metaphors for the new industrial culture. “We cannot wait for favors from nature” - this is the motto of not only a process engineer, but also a botanist-selectionist.
Unlike traditional society, in an industrial society, the dominant type of social connection is based not on non-economic, but on economic coercionto work. Capitalist hired labor is characterized by a social partnership of two legally equal parties: an entrepreneur who owns the means of production (premises, equipment, raw materials), and an employee who has only his own labor force (physical ability to work, production skills, education). Unlike the owner of the means of production, the hired worker, yesterday's peasant, driven from the land by need, does not have the means to live. Therefore, the formal (legal) equality of the parties in practice turns out to be actual inequality, economic compulsion to work on the terms of the employer. But in a civilizational sense, the abolition of personal dependence and the transition to social contracton the basis of a legal agreement is a noticeable step forward in the establishment of human rights and the formation of civil society. The break in the relationship of personal dependence and clan-clan affiliation creates conditions for social mobility,that is, the person's ability to move from one social group (class) to another. Industrial society grants a person one of the highest civilizational values \u200b\u200b- personal freedom.A free person becomes the master of his own destiny.
Social relations, invisible threads of the social fabric, in an industrial society take the form of commodity-money exchange (activities, products of labor, services, etc.). This gives rise to the illusion that it is not people who dominate each other, connected by a historically defined type of social relations, but "money rules the world." Only a deep study of society can dispel this illusion and show that the basis of this or that form of labor exploitation is a historically determined type of social production and the corresponding relations of ownership and distribution.
If social relations in a traditional society are called directly social, then industrial modernity is characterized by social ties mediated (by money, goods, institutions) of people who do not personally know each other - social partners. Describing medieval cities, M. Weber noted that urban dwellings are located much closer than in rural areas, however, unlike fellow villagers, urban neighbors do not necessarily know each other. Mediators in human relations in an industrial society are social institutions, and above all the state represented by law enforcement agencies, courts, prosecutors, as well as institutions of socialization (schools, universities, etc.) and employment of an individual (state enterprises). Institutionally-mediated social ties give rise to the attitude of people towards each other as carriers social role(judge, boss, teacher, doctor, salesman, bus driver, etc.). And each person plays not one, but many social roles, acting both as an actor and the author of his own life.
The period of industrialization is characterized by mass migration of the rural population to cities that can provide more high level life. The characteristic features of a Western European medieval city were formed as early as the 16th-17th centuries. The city is distinguished from rural settlements by a fortified territory ("burg"), as well as elected bodies of city government. In contrast to the rural population with a strict division into masters and subjects, the townspeople are formally equal in rights, regardless of their social origin, personal merit and wealth. Industrial corporations defended the rights of their members in the city court, including in the face of the former owner. In many countries, the city court's verdict was final and not subject to appeal by the royal court. The saying "City air makes free" has reached our days. However, with the strengthening of centralized states, the administration of justice is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the supreme power. Monopolization and regulation of violence by the state helps to reduce the overall level of unauthorized violence in society. The development of legal awareness and legal institutions that equalize the strong and the weak, the noble and the rootless, the rich and the poor in the face of the law, that is, the formation the rule of law,not only essential condition development of industrial capitalism, but also the most important civilizational conquest of mankind.

Back in school, we all learn not only what industrialization is, but also about the features of an industrial society, its characteristic features. We propose to find out what advantages and disadvantages it has, how it differs from post-industrial and whether there is a crisis of an industrial society.

What is an industrial society?

An industrial society is a society formed in the process of industrialization, where machine production and the achievement of technical and scientific progress are applied. It can be based on an industry with very flexible dynamic structures, where the division of labor, as well as the growth of labor productivity, high competition and accelerated development of entrepreneurship, a significant level of urbanization, and an increase in the quality of life are characteristic.

Signs of an industrial society

The following features of an industrial society are distinguished:

1. Rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production.
2. Development of communication tools.
3. The emergence of print media and other media.
4. Expanding educational opportunities.
5. Complete urbanization.
6. The emergence of monopolies.
7. International division of labor.
8. A significant increase in the vertical differentiation of the population.

Industrial Society in Philosophy

Encyclopedic dictionaries say that industrial society in philosophy is a concept introduced by A. Saint-Simon in order to define a social system, where industrial production is the main type of economic activity. O. Comte and G. Spencer are considered to be the founders of the theory of industrial society. Theorists of industrial society are sure that there is such an opportunity to build a universal model of the history of society. Moreover, the prototype of such a model can be Western society.

Industrial society in sociology

Experts openly say what an industrial society means in this area. This concept can be called a product of modern social science. Researchers in this field begin their expositions of social science in ancient Greece. Thanks to these data obtained, they pave the way from ancient philosophy to a new social science. Famous thinkers Aristotle, Plato, Tacitus and Cicero were engaged in such social phenomena. They often expressed opinions about possible and present forms of society, trying to find the laws of social development.

What is the difference between post-industrial society and industrial society?

To know what are the differences between an industrial society and a post-industrial society, it is important to understand their features. So, an industrial society has the following features:

1. Development of the economy by increasing the rate of exploitation of not only natural, but also human resources.
2. Thanks to the increase in machine-building and chemical industries, the development of industry is ensured.
3. Society is oriented towards production and consumption. Low-standard mass culture is being replaced by the world's masterpieces of culture and art.

As for the post-industrial society, it has the following differences from the industrial one:

1. Information, knowledge and intelligence are at the heart of the wealth of a society.
2. Production is focused on the needs of the consumer and the quality of the products offered to him.
3. Technological processes built on an intelligent basis are the main management tool.
4. The quality of life is getting better.
5. Social ones prevail over material ones.

Pros and cons of an industrial society

Even a child understands what the disadvantages and advantages of an industrial society are. So, among the advantages of such a society:

1. Fast pace of economic development.
2. The development of industry is increasing.
3. Social and historical progress.
4. Improving product quality.
5. The emergence of international trade
6. Honesty, decency and hard work as the main values \u200b\u200bin society.

Among the disadvantages of an industrial society:

1. The exploitation of natural resources to the detriment of the ecology of the environment.
2. Uneven growth and development of the economy.
3. Decrease in jobs.

The advantages of an industrial society

Many historians argue that the transition to an industrial society has allowed humanity to take a major step towards the technological process. Among the advantages of such a society:

1. Improving the quality of products offered to potential consumers.
2. International trade.
3. Technological and historical progress.
4. Increasing the pace of economic development.
5. Industry development.

Cons of an industrial society

Despite all the advantages, the theory of industrial society also has its disadvantages. Among the disadvantages of such a society:

1. Aggressive exploitation of natural resources. Even schoolchildren know how the overexploitation of environmental resources can threaten the environment.
2. Uneven development of economic growth.
3. Decrease in jobs.

The role of science in industrial society

Science is of great importance in an industrial society. Among its main functions here are cultural, ideological, and production, social management. Thanks to these functions, it is possible to characterize it in detail and meaningfully not only as a cognitive-cognitive phenomenon, but also to reveal its sociocultural nature, to fix the role and significance of science in the dynamics and functioning of modern society. In general, an industrial society cannot be imagined without scientific progress.

The values \u200b\u200bof an industrial society

The researchers say that the basic values \u200b\u200bof an industrial society are freedom. The industrial system itself is often referred to as nothing less than the space of a person's personal freedom. Freedom is often worshiped and even sworn allegiance, and even fought and protected for it. Restrictions and sacrifices are made in her name. It promotes development, is at the heart of personal initiatives, creative impulses, innovative enterprises and beginnings.

Dynamic system

Society as a system

Outcome

HomeworkLearn § 10, complete tasks.

The main historical types of society: traditional (agrarian), industrial (capitalist) and post-industrial (information) society.

The first two developed gradually, there were long historical periods and took on peculiar cultural features in different countries.

Typological characteristics of historical types of society (sociocultural communities of people):
– the attitude of people to nature (and modified by man natural environment);
– people's attitude to each other (type of social connection);
– a system of values \u200b\u200band life meanings (a generalized expression of these relations in the spiritual life of society).

1. Traditional society

– The basis of human life is labor, in the process of which a person transforms the substance and energy of nature into articles of his own consumption; the basis of life is manual agricultural labor using simple tools, providing a person with only the most necessary, and even then under favorable weather conditions.

– A lovingly caring attitude to nature as a source of life, from which one was not supposed to draw too much. Perception of nature as a living being that requires a moral attitude towards itself. Labor activity was subject to the eternal rhythms of nature.

– Private land ownership prevailed – the main wealth of agrarian civilizations. It matched a type of social submission called personal dependence. The concept of personal dependence characterizes the type of social connection of people belonging to different social classes of feudal society, – steps of the "feudal ladder". The owners of the land were the full-fledged owners of the bodies and souls of their subjects, or even owned them as property. Personal addiction breeds non-economic compulsion to laborbased on personal power based on direct violence.

– Forms of everyday resistance to labor exploitation on the basis of non-economic coercion: refusal to work for the master (corvee), evasion of payment in kind (quitrent) or monetary tax, escape from one's master, which undermined the social basis of traditional society – attitude of personal dependence.

– People of the same social class or estate were bound by relationships of solidarity, trust and collective responsibility. High moral qualities: collectivism, mutual assistance and social responsibility. A person in a traditional society did not feel himself to be a person opposed or competing with others, but perceived himself as an integral part of his village, community, polis. The social status of a person in a traditional society was determined not by personal merit, but by social origin. A type of contemplative personality, whose creative efforts are directed not to altering life, but to spiritual improvement. Social predetermination and the idea of \u200b\u200bpredetermination of fate

– Everyday life is stable, it was regulated not so much by laws as tradition -a set of unwritten rules, patterns of activity, behavior and communication that embody the experience of ancestors. Patriarchal society.

– The public authority of the supreme power, supported by religious beliefs about the divine origin of power. The personification of political and spiritual power in one person (theocracy) ensured a double subordination of man to the state and the church, which made traditional society even more stable.

Questions:1. What civilizations does the concept of traditional society cover?

2. What is the basis of human life in a traditional society? Describe the features of human labor at this stage of human development.

3. What was the relationship between man and nature at this stage? Give examples to support your findings.

4. What can you say about the relationships between people in a traditional society?

5. What is “non-economic coercion”?

6. What are the consequences of such relationships between people. When answering, rely on examples from general history.

7. What values \u200b\u200bare formed at this stage of human development?

8. Please comment on the above fact from the point of view of the values \u200b\u200bof traditional society.

9. Describe the relationship between the concepts of "person" and "personality" in traditional society.

10. What was the attitude towards traditions?

11. What was determined social status a person in a traditional society?

12. Explain the proverb of that time: "It is written in the family."

13. Describe the daily life of a traditional society.

14. Describe political structure states at the stage of traditional society. Try to justify the strong power of the rulers and the obedience of the population.

15. What is the role of the church at this stage of human development?

16. Highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this type of society. Justify your choice.