Parting

Traditional information and. pre-industrial society. Traditional, industrial and post-industrial society

It is proved that society is constantly evolving. The development of society can proceed in two directions and take three specific 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 you turn to historical facts, then one can clearly see technical 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 of natural resources, undermining natural environment human habitat, 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 of 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 as the 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. 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 communities became possible due 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.

According to the size criterion, this is a large association (more than a 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 example 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 of a large number of cities, most of population lived in the countryside (a closed territorial peasant community, leading subsistence farming, 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

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 18th century) is the child of two revolutions - political (the 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;
minor 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 are presented in the table.

Comparison criterion	Pre-industrial (traditional)	Industrial	post-industrial
1. Main production factor
2. Main production product	Food	Manufactured 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	Strong 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, 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.

Today, an industrial society is a concept familiar in all developed and even many developing countries of the world. The process of transition to mechanical production, the decline in the profitability of agriculture, the growth of cities and a clear division of labor - all these are 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. Previous traditional socio-economic models were distinguished by a relatively low average standard of living for the population.

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

Main differences

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

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

Industrial society is characterized not only by growth industrial production but also 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, media and civic responsibility.

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 advances are making it possible to improve production processes, which makes a number of industries especially efficient.

The processes of globalization and international cooperation and regulation also affect the change in social charters. An 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 divided into three groups: production, economic and social.

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

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

Among economic characteristics need to highlight:

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

The main economic feature of an 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 and worldview, which is affected 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 the industrial society is also characterized by reckless exploitation of natural resources, including irreplaceable ones, 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 secure their livelihood, and nothing more. Only a few could afford comfort, education and pleasure. The agrarian society was forced to move to an agrarian-industrial one. This transition allowed for an increase in production. However, the agrarian-industrial society was characterized by the inhumane attitude of the owners towards the workers and the low level of mechanization of production.

Pre-industrial socio-economic models were based on various forms of the slave system, which indicated the absence of universal freedoms and the low average standard of living of the population.

Industrial Revolution

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

During the period of the industrial revolution, the main features of the modern state took shape, such as the growth of production, 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, but 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 agriculture.
Secondary - processing resources and creating food.
Tertiary - the service sector.

Traditional social structures were based on the superiority of the primary sector. Subsequently, in 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: a technical revolution, including the creation of mechanized factories and the abandonment of manufactory, and the modernization of devices - the invention of the conveyor, electrical appliances and engines.

Urbanization

In the modern sense, urbanization is an increase in the population of large cities due to 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 migration of the population, but also cultural and economic centers. It was the cities that became the boundary of the true division of labor - territorial.

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 and criteria of human capital.

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

In the modern world, there are various forms of societies that differ significantly from each other in many ways. In the same way, in the history of mankind, it can be seen that there were different types of societies.

Society typology

We examined society as if from the inside: its structural elements. But if we approach the analysis of society as an integral organism, but one of many, we will see that in the modern world there are various types of societies that differ sharply from each other in many ways. A retrospective look shows that society has also gone through various stages in its development.

It is known that any living, naturally developing organism, during the time from its birth to the end of its existence, goes through a number of stages, which, in essence, are the same for all organisms belonging to a given species, regardless of the specific conditions of their life. Probably, this statement is also true to a certain extent for social communities considered as a whole.

A typology of society is a definition of what

a) what stages humanity goes through in its historical development;

b) what forms of modern society exist.

What criteria can be used to determine historical types, as well as various forms of modern society? Different sociologists approached this problem in different ways.

So, English sociologist E. Giddens subdivides societies into the main way of earning a livelihood and identifies the following types of societies.

· Societies of hunters and gatherers consist of a small number of people who support their existence by hunting, fishing and collecting edible plants. Inequality in these societies is weakly expressed; differences in social status are determined by age and gender (the time of existence is from 50,000 years BC to the present, although they are now on the verge of complete extinction).

・Based on agricultural societies- small rural communities; there are no cities. The main livelihood is agriculture, sometimes supplemented by hunting and gathering. These societies are more unequal than hunter-gatherer communities; These societies are headed by leaders. (The time of existence is from 12,000 BC to the present. Today, most of them are part of larger political entities and are gradually losing their specific character).

· Societies of pastoralists are based on breeding domestic animals to satisfy material needs. The sizes of such societies vary from a few hundred to thousands of people. These societies are usually characterized by pronounced inequality. They are ruled by leaders or commanders. The same period of time as that of agricultural societies. Today pastoral societies are also part of larger states; and their traditional way of life is being destroyed

· Traditional States, or Civilizations. In these societies, the basis of the economic system is still agriculture, but there are cities in which trade and production are concentrated. Among the traditional states there are very large ones, with a population of many millions, although usually their sizes are small in comparison with large industrial countries. Traditional states have a special government apparatus headed by a king or emperor. There is considerable inequality between the various classes (the time of existence is from about 6000 BC to the nineteenth century). To date, traditional states have completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Although hunter-gatherer tribes, as well as pastoral and agricultural communities, continue to exist to this day, they can only be found in isolated areas. The reason for the destruction of societies that determined the entire human history two centuries ago was industrialization - the emergence of machine production based on the use of inanimate energy sources (such as steam and electricity). Industrial societies are in many ways fundamentally different from any of the previous types of social organization, and their development has led to consequences that affected far beyond their European homeland.

· Industrial (industrial) societies based on industrial production, with a significant role given to free enterprise. Only a small part of the population is employed in agriculture, the vast majority of people live in cities. There is significant class inequality, although less pronounced than in traditional states. These societies constitute special political formations, or nation-states (the time of existence is from the eighteenth century to the present).

industrial society - modern society. Until now, in relation to modern societies, they are divided into first, second and third world countries.

Ø Term first world designate the industrial countries of Europe, Australia, Asia, as well as the United States and Japan. Virtually all First World countries have adopted a multi-party parliamentary system of government.

Ø Countries second world they called the industrial societies that were part of the socialist camp (today such countries include societies with economies in transition, i.e. developing from a centralized state to a market system).

Ø Countries third world, in which the majority of the world's population lives, almost all were previously colonies. These are societies in which the majority of the population is employed in agriculture, lives in rural areas and uses mainly traditional methods production. However, some agricultural products are sold on the world market. The level of industrialization of the third world countries is low, the majority of the population is very poor. In some third world countries there is a system of free enterprise, in others - central planning.

Two approaches to the typology of society are best known: formational and civilizational.

A socio-economic formation is a historically defined type of society based on a certain mode of production.

Mode of production- this is one of the central concepts in Marxist sociology, characterizing a certain level of development of the whole complex public relations. The mode of production is set of industrial relations and productive forces. In order to obtain means of subsistence (to produce them), people must unite, cooperate, enter into certain relations for joint activities, which are called production. Productive forces - this is a connection of people with a set of material resources that are in work: raw materials, tools, equipment, tools, buildings and structures. This the totality of material elements forms the means of production. The main component of the productive forces are, of course, themselves people (personal element) with their knowledge, skills and abilities.

Productive forces are the most flexible, mobile, continuously developing part of this unity. Industrial relations are more inert, are inactive, slow in their change, but it is they who form the shell, the nutrient medium in which the productive forces develop. The inseparable unity of the productive forces and production relations is called the mode of production., since it indicates in what way the personal element of the productive forces is connected with the material, thereby forming a specific method of obtaining material wealth inherent in a given level of development of society.

On the foundation basis (production relations) grows up superstructure. It is, in fact, the totality of all other relations "remaining minus production", and containing many different institutions, such as the state, family, religion, or various types of ideologies that exist in society. The main specificity of the Marxist position comes from the assertion that the nature of the superstructure is determined by the nature of the basis.

Historically certain stage development of a given society, which is characterized by a specific mode of production and its corresponding superstructure, is called socio-economic formation.

Change in production methods(and the transition from one socio-economic formation to another) is called antagonism between obsolete relations of production and productive forces, which becomes crowded in these old frames, and they break.

Based on the formational approach, the entire human history is divided into five socio-economic formations:

primitive communal,

slaveholding,

the feudal

the capitalist,

· communist (including socialist society as its initial, first phase).

Primitive communal system (or primitive societies). Here the production method is characterized by:

1) an extremely low level of development of productive forces, all labor is necessary; everything that is produced is consumed without a trace, without forming any surplus, and therefore without giving the opportunity either to make accumulations or to carry out exchange transactions;

2) elementary production relations are based on public (more precisely, communal) ownership of the means of production; there can be no people who could afford to be professionally engaged in administration, science, religious rites, etc.;

3) it makes no sense to force captives to work: they will use everything they produce without a trace.

Slavery:

1) the level of development of productive forces makes it possible to profitably turn captives into slaves;

2) the appearance of a surplus product creates the material prerequisites for the emergence of the state and for professional religious activities, science and art (for a certain part of the population);

3) slavery as a social institution is defined as a form of property that gives one person the right to own another person.

Feudalism. The most developed feudal societies are characterized by the following features:

1) relations of the lord-vassal type;

2) monarchical form of government;

3) land ownership based on the granting of feudal estates (fiefs) in exchange for service, primarily military;

4) the existence of private armies;

5) certain rights landlords in relation to serfs;

6) the main object of ownership in the feudal socio-economic formation is land.

Capitalism. This type of economic organization is distinguished by the following features:

1) the presence of private property;

2) making a profit is the main motive for economic activity;

3) market economy;

4) appropriation of profit by the owners of capital;

5) providing the labor process with workers who act as free agents of production.

Communism. Being more a doctrine than a practice, this concept refers to such societies in which missing:

1) private property;

2) social classes and the state;

3) forced ("enslaving man") division of labor;

4) commodity-money relations.

K. Marx argued that communist societies would gradually form after the revolutionary overthrow of capitalist societies.

The criterion of progress, according to Marx, is:

- the level of development of productive forces and the consistent increase in the share of surplus labor in the total volume of labor;

- a consistent increase in the degree of freedom of a working person in the transition from one formation to another.

The formational approach that Marx relied on in his analysis of society has historically been justified.

The needs of a more adequate understanding of modern society are met by an approach based on the analysis of civilizational revolutions. Civilization approach more versatile than formational. The development of civilizations is a more powerful, significant, long-term process than the change of formations. In modern sociology, on the question of the types of society, it is not so much the Marxian concept of a consistent change in socio-economic formations that dominates, but "triadic" scheme - types of agrarian, industrial and post-industrial civilization. In contrast to the formational typology of society, which is based on economic structures, certain production relations, the concept of "civilization" fixes attention not only on the economic and technological side, but on the totality of all forms of society's life - material and economic, political, cultural, moral, religious, aesthetic. In the civilizational scheme, at the forefront is Not only the most fundamental structure of socio-historical activity - technology, but to a greater extent - a set of cultural patterns, value orientations, goals, motives, ideals.

The concept of "civilization" importance in the classification of types of society. Stand out in history civilizational revolutions:

agricultural(it took place 6-8 thousand years ago and carried out the transition of mankind from consumer to productive activity;

industrial(XVII century);

scientific and technical (mid-twentieth century);

informational(modern).

Hence, in sociology, stable is division of societies into:

- pre-industrial (agrarian) or traditional(in the modern sense, backward, basically agricultural, primitive, conservative, closed, unfree societies);

- industrial, technogenic(i.e., having a developed industrial basis, dynamic, flexible, free and open in the organization of social life);

- post-industrial(i.e. societies of the most developed countries, the production basis of which is the use of the achievements of the scientific and technological and scientific and technological revolutions and in which, due to a sharp increase in the role and importance latest science and information, there have been significant structural social changes).

Under traditional civilization understand pre-capitalist (pre-industrial) social structures of the agrarian type, in whose culture traditions are the main way of social regulation. Traditional civilization covers not only the periods of antiquity and the Middle Ages, this type of social organization has survived to our times. Many countries of the so-called "Third World" have the features of a traditional society. His characteristic signs are:

- agrarian orientation of the economy and the extensive type of its development;

- a high level of dependence on the climatic, geographical conditions of life;

— conservatism in social relations and lifestyle; focus not on development, but on the restoration and preservation of the established order and existing structures of social life;

— negative attitude to any innovations (innovations);

— extensive and cyclic type of development;

- the priority of traditions, established norms, customs, authority;

- a high level of human dependence on a social group and strict social control;

- a sharp limitation of individual freedom.

idea industrial society developed in the 50-60s by such well-known sociologists in the United States and Western Europe as R. Dahrendorf, R. Aron, W. Rostow, D. Bell and others. The theories of industrial society are being combined today with technocratic concepts as well as with convergence theory.

The first concept of an industrial society was put forward by a French scientist Jean Fourastier in The Great Hope of the 20th Century (1949). The term " traditional society”was borrowed by him from the German sociologist M. Weber, the term “industrial society” - from A. Saint-Simon. In the history of mankind, Fourastier singled out two main stages:

The period of traditional society (from the Neolithic to 1750-1800);

· the period of industrial society (from 1750-1800 to the present).

J. Fourastier pays the main attention to the industrial society, which, in his opinion, is fundamentally different from the traditional one.

An industrial society, unlike a traditional one, is a dynamically developing, progressive society. The source of its development is technological progress. And this progress is changing not only production, but the whole society as a whole. It provides not only a significant general increase in the standard of living, but also the equalization of the incomes of all sections of society. As a result, in industrial society the poor classes are disappearing. Technological progress in itself solves all social problems, which makes social revolution unnecessary. This work by J. Fourastier breathes optimism.

On the whole, the idea of an industrial society was not widely accepted for a long time. She became famous only after the appearance of the works of another French thinker - Raymond Aron, to which its authorship is often attributed. R. Aron, like J. Fourastier, singled out two main stage types of human society: traditional (agrarian) and industrial (rational). The first of them is characterized by the dominance of agriculture and animal husbandry, subsistence farming, the existence of estates, an authoritarian mode of government, the second - the dominance of industrial production, the market, the equality of citizens before the law and democracy.

The transition from a traditional society to an industrial one was a huge advance in every way. Industrial (technogenic) civilization formed on the ruins of medieval society. Its basis was the development of mass machine production.

Historically, the emergence of an industrial society was associated with such processes:

- the creation of nation-states, rallying around a common language and culture;

- commercialization of production and the disappearance of the subsistence economy;

- the dominance of machine production and the reorganization of production in the factory;

- a drop in the proportion of the working class employed in agricultural production;

- urbanization of society;

- the growth of mass literacy;

- granting voting rights to the population and the institutionalization of politics around mass parties.

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 production. 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, an industrial society is based on a 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 the fact that the entrepreneurial activity of courageous and enterprising people is actively growing. 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 a high quality of life for the average citizen.

Technology Development

Any characteristic of an industrial society, in short, includes such a phenomenon as 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 the 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 a 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 built around a 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. In the West, the rise of 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 free market economic conditions acquire wealth and absorb 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 the 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.

Modern societies differ in many ways, but they also have the same parameters by which they can be typified.

One of the main trends in typology is choice of political relations, forms state power as grounds for singling out various types society. For example, u and i societies differ in type state structure : monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy. In modern versions of this approach, there is a distinction totalitarian(the state determines all the main directions of social life); democratic(population can influence state structures) and authoritarian(combining elements of totalitarianism and democracy) societies.

The basis typology of society supposed Marxism difference between societies type of industrial relations in various socio-economic formations: primitive communal society (primitive appropriating mode of production); societies with an Asian mode of production (the presence of a special type of collective ownership of land); slave-owning societies (ownership of people and the use of slave labor); feudal (exploitation of peasants attached to the land); communist or socialist societies ( equal treatment all to ownership of the means of production by eliminating private property relations).

Traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies

The most stable in modern sociology is considered a typology based on the allocation traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies.

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 will be the most important. Attempts of any social transformations, innovations are rejected. For him characterized by low rates of development, production. Important for this type of society is the well-established social solidarity that Durkheim established while studying the society of Australian aborigines.

traditional society characterized by a natural division and specialization of labor (mainly by gender and age), personalization interpersonal communication(directly individuals, and not officials or status persons), informal regulation of interactions (norms of unwritten laws of religion and morality), connectedness of members by kinship relations (family type of organization of the community), a primitive system of community management (hereditary power, rule of elders).

Modern societies differ in the following traits: the role-based nature of interaction (expectations and behavior of people are determined by social status and social functions 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.); complex system 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.

industrial society- this is a type of organization of social life, which 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 concepts appear post-industrial (informational) societies (D. Bell, A. Touraine, Y. 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 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 is getting stronger obeys the logic of efficiency and instrumentalism. Culture, including traditional values, is destroyed under the influence of administrative control tending towards standardization and unification of social relations, 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 one that began to form. information society . 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. The world has formed two main directions assessments of the future development of human society: eco-pessimism and techno-optimism. eco-pessimism predicts in 2030 a total global catastrophe due to increasing pollution environment; destruction of the Earth's biosphere. Techno-optimism draws a more rosy picture, assuming that scientific and technological progress will cope with all the difficulties in the development of society.

Basic typologies of society

Several typologies of society have been proposed in the history of social thought.

Typologies of society during the formation of sociological science

French scientist, founder of sociology O. Comte proposed a three-part stadial typology, which included:

stage of military domination;
stage of feudal rule;
stage of industrial civilization.

The basis of the typology G. Spencer the principle evolutionary development societies from simple to complex, i.e. from an elementary society to an increasingly differentiated one. The development of societies Spencer represented as constituent part one for all nature evolutionary process. lower pole evolutions of society form the so-called military societies, characterized by high homogeneity, the subordinate position of the individual and the dominance of coercion as a factor of integration. From this phase, through a series of intermediate phases, society develops to the highest pole - an industrial society dominated by democracy, the voluntary nature of integration, spiritual pluralism and diversity.

Typologies of society in the classical period of development of sociology

These typologies differ from those described above. The sociologists of this period saw their task in explaining it, proceeding not from general order nature and the laws of its development, and from itself and its internal laws. So, E. Durkheim sought to find the "original cell" of the social as such, and for this purpose he was looking for the "simplest", most elementary society, the simplest form of organization of "collective consciousness". Therefore, his typology of societies is built from simple to complex, and it is based on the principle of complicating the form of social solidarity, i.e. awareness by individuals of their unity. Mechanical solidarity operates in simple societies because the individuals who make them up are very similar in consciousness and life situation- as particles of a mechanical whole. In complex societies there is a complex system division of labor, differentiated functions of individuals; therefore, the individuals themselves are separated from each other in terms of their way of life and consciousness. They are united by functional ties, and their solidarity is "organic", functional. Both types of solidarity are present in any society, but mechanical solidarity dominates in archaic societies, while organic solidarity dominates in modern ones.

German classic of sociology M. Weber viewed the social as a system of domination and subordination. His approach was based on the concept of society as the result of a struggle for power and to maintain dominance. Societies are classified according to the type of domination that has developed in them. The charismatic type of domination arises on the basis of a personal special power - charisma - of the ruler. Charisma is usually held by priests or leaders, and such dominance is irrational and does not require a special system of government. modern society, according to Weber, a legal type of domination is inherent, based on law, characterized by the presence of a bureaucratic management system and the operation of the principle of rationality.

Typology of a French sociologist J. Gurvich differs by a complex multi-level system. He identifies four types of archaic societies that had a primary global structure:

tribal (Australia, American Indians);
tribal, which included heterogeneous and weakly hierarchized groups, united around the endowed magic power leader (Polynesia, Melanesia);
tribal s military organization consisting of family groups and clans (North America);
tribal tribes united in monarchical states ("black" Africa).

charismatic societies (Egypt, Ancient China, Persia, Japan);
patriarchal societies (Homeric Greeks, Jews of the era Old Testament, Romans, Slavs, Franks);
city-states (Greek policies, Roman cities, Italian cities of the Renaissance);
feudal hierarchical societies (European Middle Ages);
societies that gave rise to enlightened absolutism and capitalism (Europe only).

In the modern world, Gurvich distinguishes: a technical-bureaucratic society; a liberal-democratic society built on the principles of collectivist etatism; a society of pluralistic collectivism, etc.

Typologies of the Society of Contemporary Sociology

The postclassical stage in the development of sociology is characterized by typologies based on the principle of the technical and technological development of societies. Nowadays, the most popular typology is one that distinguishes traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies.

Traditional societies characterized by a high development of agricultural labor. The main sector of production is the procurement of raw materials, which is carried out within the framework of peasant families; members of society seek to meet mainly domestic needs. The basis of the economy is the family economy, capable of satisfying, if not all of their needs, then a significant part of them. Technical development is extremely weak. In decision making, the main method is the trial and error method. Social relations are extremely poorly developed, as is social differentiation. Such societies are traditionally oriented and therefore directed towards the past.

industrial society - a society characterized by high industrial development and rapid economic growth. Economic development is carried out mainly due to an extensive, consumerist attitude to nature: in order to meet its actual needs, such a society strives for the fullest possible development of the natural resources at its disposal. The main sector of production is the processing and processing of materials carried out by teams of workers in factories and factories. Such a society and its members strive for maximum adaptation to the present moment and satisfaction of social needs. The main decision-making method is empirical research.

Another very important feature of an industrial society is the so-called "modernizing optimism", i.e. absolute confidence that any problem, including social, can be solved based on scientific knowledge and technology.

post-industrial society- this is a society that is emerging at the moment and has a number of significant differences from an industrial society. If an industrial society is characterized by a desire for the maximum development of industry, then in a post-industrial society, knowledge, technology and information play a much more noticeable (and ideally paramount) role. In addition, the service sector is developing at a rapid pace, overtaking industry.

In a post-industrial society, there is no faith in the omnipotence of science. This is partly due to the fact that humanity has faced the negative consequences of its own activities. For this reason, “ecological values” come to the fore, and this means not only a careful attitude to nature, but also an attentive attitude to the balance and harmony necessary for the adequate development of society.

The basis of a post-industrial society is information, which in turn gave rise to another type of society - informational. According to the information society theory proponents, a completely new society is emerging, characterized by processes that are opposite to those that took place in the previous phases of the development of societies even in the 20th century. For example, instead of centralization, there is regionalization; instead of hierarchization and bureaucratization, democratization; instead of concentration, disaggregation; instead of standardization, individualization. All these processes are driven by information technology.

Service providers either provide information or use it. For example, teachers transfer knowledge to students, repairmen use their knowledge to maintain equipment, lawyers, doctors, bankers, pilots, designers sell to clients their specialized knowledge of laws, anatomy, finance, aerodynamics and color schemes. They do not produce anything, unlike factory workers in an industrial society. Instead, they transfer or use knowledge to provide services that others are willing to pay for.

Researchers are already using the term virtual society" for description modern type a society that has developed and is developing under the influence of information technologies, primarily Internet technologies. The virtual, or possible, world has become a new reality as a result of the computer boom that has swept society. Virtualization (replacement of reality with simulation/image) of society, the researchers note, is total, since all the elements that make up society are virtualized, significantly changing their appearance, their status and role.

Post-industrial society is also defined as a society " post-economic", "post-labor”, i.e. a society in which the economic subsystem loses its defining significance, and labor ceases to be the basis of all social relations. In a post-industrial society, a person loses his economic essence and is no longer regarded as an "economic man"; it focuses on new, “post-materialistic” values. The emphasis is shifting to social, humanitarian problems, and the issues of quality and safety of life, self-realization of the individual in various social spheres, in connection with which new criteria for well-being and social well-being are being formed.

According to the concept of a post-economic society developed by the Russian scientist V.L. Inozemtsev, in a post-economic society, in contrast to an economic society oriented towards material enrichment, main goal for most people it becomes the development of their own personality.

The theory of post-economic society is associated with a new periodization of the history of mankind, in which three large-scale eras can be distinguished - pre-economic, economic and post-economic. Such periodization is based on two criteria - the type of human activity and the nature of the relationship between the interests of the individual and society. The post-economic type of society is defined as a type of social structure where economic activity a person becomes more intense and complex, but is no longer determined by his material interests, is not set by the traditionally understood economic expediency. The economic basis of such a society is formed by the destruction of private property and a return to personal property, to a state of non-alienation of the worker from the instruments of production. Fast- economic society inherent new type social confrontation - the confrontation between the information and intellectual elite and all people who are not included in it, employed in the sphere of mass production and, because of this, forced out to the periphery of society. However, each member of such a society has the opportunity to enter the elite himself, since belonging to the elite is determined by abilities and knowledge.