Human society is a dynamic organism. It is constantly growing and evolving, changing and transforming - in a word, it does not stand still. Today we will learn what post-industrial society is, how it is characterized and what its main features and functions are.

The social system has always changed. Initially, people lived in small communities and were content only with the gifts of nature, then livestock farming came into force, and later the agricultural industry came to the fore.

Our grandmothers and parents were born and raised in the so-called industrial society. This is a period of history characterized by scientific and technological progress, the development of new technologies and engineering.

This society arose at the dawn of the twentieth century, and ceased to exist exactly one hundred years later. It was the beginning of the 19th century that was the very time when, in fact, post-industrial society arose, that is, humanity stepped over the era of scientific and technological progress and began to reap the benefits of its developments and achievements.

In fairness, it is worth emphasizing that at the moment such a phenomenon as industrial and even agricultural society still exists. This means that not the entire planet, as they say, has plunged into the future; there are countries that still remain several steps lower.

Such a concept as post-industriality refers to the highest degree of development of the economy, industry and other spheres of life.

The exact definition of what a post-industrial society is is given by Wikipedia. This is a society characterized by an innovative economy with a very high level of GDP.

It is also characterized by highly productive industry, the knowledge and education industry, high competition in all spheres of the economy, as well as a huge share of the population that is not employed in industrial production, but in the service sector.

Socio-economic characteristics

Characteristics of a society living in a post-industrial rhythm is also famous for its innovative industry, which feeds the needs of everyone who is part of this mechanism.

All human physical and spiritual needs are fully satisfied, and thanks to this, time appears to improve previously acquired achievements.

Post-industrial society means not only a stage of development in which people are content with previously developed technical innovations, but also a time when creativity and creativity are on the same level as science and technology.

There is no longer a clear division between humanists and techies, so these two fields have mixed together in order to jointly achieve more perfect and ingenious results.

The first characteristic of post-industrial society was compiled back in 1919 by scientist and researcher Daniel Bell. His work was called “The Coming Post-Industrial Society,” and in it he gave clear definitions of what and how will happen approximately a hundred years after the writing of this work.

His forecast came true down to the smallest detail - at the end of the twentieth century, humanity truly entered a new era, which became the next stage of development.

The changes that occurred at the time of the change from the industrial system to the post-industrial system affected literally all spheres of human existence. This is science, education, interpersonal relations, economics, trade, everyday life. But most importantly, post-industrial society is characterized by a fundamentally new philosophy, the name of which is postmodernism.

It includes concepts such as pluralism, irrationalism and humanism. And this means that humanity has really set foot on a new path of development, changing not only its principles of life and morals, but also its properties, that is, it began to consume less and give more.

New economy

The former economic system, which people were content with for many years and even centuries, was extremely simple. It was necessary to produce something new, develop or invent.

The people who did this received monetary rewards, and the companies for which they worked became more successful, more popular and richer due to the developments of people.

The characteristic features of post-industrial society are fundamentally different from this description. The fact is that all the work that is related to the production of something is performed primarily by machines or robots.

That is, the productive sphere is completely automated, and in the initial stages of this trend this became the reason for the emergence of unemployment.

The transition to a new era at the beginning of the 21st century turned out to be relatively easy and painless. As for the emergence of scientific and technological progress itself in the 19th century, things were much sadder. Machines, which also caused technological unemployment, caused a lot of protests among the population.

The so-called Luddites appeared, who deliberately broke and destroyed equipment in order to provide people with work.

In this century things are different. The tertiary and quaternary sectors of the economy are directly related to post-industrial society. Within the first one, the following aspects can be mentioned:

• communication or communications;
• transport;
• tourism and recreation;
• trade;
• health sector;
• security.

That is, we are talking about the service sector that is already familiar to us all. It is due to this that the GDP of the leading countries of the world is currently growing.

The service sector provides jobs for people with secondary education and allows them to find temporary employment as a part-time job. This can be considered a mutually positive aspect that caters to the interests of each individual and the state as a whole.

Post-industrial society in different spheres of life

Examples of the quaternary market within the post-industrial era include factors such as:

• marketing;
• science;
• education;
• financial services;

Important! A post-industrial society with a developed economy is characterized by the presence of organizations that plan and form productive activities. It is also an additional segment of the economy that was previously missing.

Signs of a post-industrial society

The time has come to consider the main features and characteristics of a post-industrial society by which this type of economy and social system is identified. So, these include:

• The growth of the number of “intellectuals in society (artists and scientists).
• The predominance of abstract truths or theory over practice.
• A powerful impetus for the development of technology and innovation.
• The service sector in the economy is dominant.
• The media plays an extremely important role in social life.
• Caring for the environment and the health of flora and fauna.
• Formation of the middle class – united in society.
• The result is a blurring of boundaries between previously existing classes of rich and poor.
• Also related to post-industrial society is the process of ascending science and the sphere of education above all other spheres of life. It has become fashionable to be smart and well-read.
• Absolute pluralism both in culture and everyday life, and in political activity.
• Feminization, or bringing women to the same level as men.

Signs of a post-industrial society

An important factor for a post-industrial society is the properties that are inherent to it. They can be characterized as follows:

• The trend towards complete humanization.
• Development of cosmopolitanism.
• Automation of the production process.
• Active development of the service sector.
• Active development of information technologies (media, Internet, communications, etc.).
• Introduction of science and creativity into people's daily lives.

Leading post-industrial states

It is officially accepted that the definition of a post-industrial society is typical only for the countries of the so-called “Big Seven or Eight” (if we count Russia among them).

These are Great Britain, Russia, Japan, USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany and the entire European Union.

These are states with the highest economic indicators, in which the sphere of education, services, treatment, etc. is developing in a new way.

Let's look at several powers as an example of a post-industrial society and its characteristics:

• Sweden. It is one of the twenty most developed countries in the world and one of the ten most comfortable states for living. The main share of Sweden's GDP is determined by the service sector, including tourism. The country is famous for its high level of social protection of the population.
• Spain. The most powerful financial center in Europe. A stronghold in shipbuilding and automotive manufacturing, as well as a leader in the production and processing of gas and oil products. There are over 500 political parties registered in Spain. Here the cultural heritage of the country is carefully protected and cities are built up with new architectural objects. Media and transport are two areas that are considered leading in Spain.

Important! The information flow that the Internet now provides to the whole world brings any information to the most remote corners of the planet. In almost all countries one can now observe a trend towards the formation of a post-industrial society through photos, articles and news, videos, films, and scientific programs. To one degree or another, all people living on Earth are now part of this new dynamic.

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Let's sum it up

The post-industrial era has begun quite recently. It is difficult for older generations to understand its essence and nature, but new citizens of the world easily adapt to this environment. Post-industrialism has many positive aspects, but if humanity uses them irrationally, the benefit will turn into harm.

Humanity is in constant and dynamic development. Once upon a time it was based on primitive communal foundations, but now it is based on the latest technologies and information. At the end of the last century, the so-called era of post-industrial society began. It is the features of this type that will be discussed in this article.

Main types of society

One of the key tasks of the science called sociology is to identify the main types of society. This typologization is based on the views of Karl Marx and Hegel. According to these outstanding thinkers and economists, human civilization develops in an ascending line, passing through a series of specific historical stages that follow each other.

Thus, humanity has already overcome several such steps. We are talking about a primitive, slave-owning, feudal and communist society (the latter type, however, is still preserved in some countries of the world). Today, sociologists distinguish the following types of society: industrial, post-industrial and traditional (or agrarian).

A characteristic feature of the traditional type is that the bulk of all material goods and resources are produced by the agricultural sector. At the same time, industrial sectors are poorly or insufficiently developed. It is worth noting that at the beginning of the 21st century there were practically no purely agricultural countries left. All of them, one way or another, were transformed into industrial ones (as a result of the industrial revolution). Sometimes economists also distinguish an industrial-agrarian type of society. He acts as an intermediate link.

Industrial society arose on the basis of industry, machine production and corresponding forms of labor organization. It is characterized by processes such as urbanization, the formation of a wage labor market, the development of higher and specialized education, the modernization of transport and infrastructure, and so on.

Industrial society, according to the theory of Marxism, sooner or later must transform into a post-industrial society. We will consider the signs and features of this type in more detail. We will also list those countries that are currently at this stage of development.

General characteristics of post-industrial society

The concept of a post-industrial society was developed by scientist Daniel Bell back in 1919. His work was called: “The Coming Post-Industrial Society.” Its signs, according to Bell’s theory, are visible primarily in the size and structure of the state’s GDP. In his opinion, the stage of post-industrial civilizational development should begin precisely in the 21st century. As we can see, his forecast turned out to be accurate.

This stage is due to the development of the latest communication technologies and services, the introduction of innovations, and the transition to electronics at all levels of production activity. Another important feature of post-industrial societies is the high level of development of the service sector in the economy.

Changes during the transition from the industrial to the post-industrial stage of development affect all spheres of human life, including cultural, scientific and educational. Thus, the culture of post-industrial society is characterized by the emergence of qualitatively new trends, in particular postmodernism. This cultural phenomenon is based on three main principles: humanism, pluralism and irrationalism. Postmodernism as a new movement has manifested itself in many spheres of human life: in philosophy, literature, and fine arts.

Post-industrial society: signs

This type of society, like any other, has its own characteristic features. Among them it is worth highlighting the following:

• the dominance of abstract, theoretical knowledge over practical ones;
• an increase in the total number of “intellectuals” (representatives of science, researchers);
• rapid development of new technologies and innovations;
• strengthening the importance of information in all spheres of life and activity;
• dominance of the service sector in the structure of the economy;
• development and implementation of resource-saving, environmentally friendly production;
• the gradual blurring of class boundaries and distinctions;
• the formation of an economically stable layer of society, the so-called middle class;
• the increasing role of science and education in the life of society;
• changing the role of women in society (feminization);
• pluralism of opinions and points of view in politics and culture.

"Tertiary sector" in the economy of post-industrial countries

A full description of post-industrial society is impossible without an analysis of changes in the structure of the economy of these states. After all, it also changes qualitatively.

The economy of a post-industrial society differs primarily in that its structure is dominated by the so-called tertiary sector. What is this, what areas does it include?

The "tertiary sector" in the economy is nothing more than the service sector. Since the economy of a post-industrial society provides for the active introduction into industry of automated machines and lines that do not require human participation, the living labor force is gradually being forced out into other areas of activity. The tertiary sector of the economy includes transport, communications (communications), tourism and recreation, trade, health care system, and the like.

Very often, sociologists and economists also distinguish the “quaternary market” of the economy. It includes science and education, marketing, financial services, the media, as well as all those areas that plan and organize production activities.

Examples of countries with a post-industrial development model

Today, there is a debate in academic circles: which states can be classified as belonging to one or another type of social development? Thus, it is customary to classify as post-industrial those countries in whose economic structure the main share is occupied by “tertiary sector” enterprises.

In the modern world, the countries of post-industrial society are the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg and others.

The creative class and its role in the development of post-industrial society

This term appeared quite recently in the USA. As a rule, the creative or creative class means that part of civil society that is characterized by maximum activity, mobility and, in fact, creativity. It is representatives of this class who shape public opinion and turn the “wheel of progress.”

In economically developed countries (such as the USA or Japan), the creative class makes up about 20-30% of all workers. It is concentrated, as a rule, in large cities and metropolitan areas of its country. Representatives of the creative class include scientists, journalists, writers, public figures, engineers and artists. In other words, all those who are able to take a creative and innovative approach to solving important problems of society.

Information society and its features

Today, in the 21st century, post-industrial society is often called information or virtual. Its main features are the following:

1. Information is gradually becoming the most important and valuable commodity.

2. One of the key sectors of the economy is the production of the necessary information and data.

3. An appropriate infrastructure for consuming information as a product begins to form.

4. There is an active introduction of information technology into all, without exception, spheres of human life.

In conclusion...

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a new type of social relations began to form - the so-called post-industrial society. The signs of this new type are associated with radical changes in the field of labor communications, in the structure of the economy, culture and science.

The term "industrial society" was first introduced by Henri Saint-Simon (1760–1825).

Industrial society - this is a type of organization of social life that combines the freedom and interests of the individual with general principles governing their joint activities. It is characterized by flexibility of social structures, social mobility, and a developed system of communications.

The theory of industrial society is based on the idea that as a result of the industrial revolution, a transformation of traditional society into an industrial one occurs. An industrial society is characterized by the following features:

1) a developed and complex system of division of labor and professional specialization;

2) mechanization and automation of production and management;

3)mass production of goods for a wide market;

4)high development of means of communication and transport;

5) increased urbanization and social mobility;

6)increasing per capita income and qualitative changes in the structure of consumption;

7) formation of civil society.

In the 1960s concepts appear post-industrial (informational ) societies (D. Bell, A. Touraine, J. Habermas), caused by drastic changes in the economy and culture of the most developed countries. The leading role in society is recognized as the role of knowledge and information, computer and automatic devices. An individual who has received the necessary education and has access to the latest information has an advantageous chance of moving up the social hierarchy. The main goal of a person in society becomes creative work.

The negative side of post-industrial society is the danger of strengthening social control on the part of the state, the ruling elite through access to information and electronic media and communication over people and society as a whole.

Distinctive features of post-industrial society:

transition from the production of goods to a service economy;

the rise and dominance of highly educated technical vocational specialists;

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 technical innovations;

decision-making based on the creation of intelligent technology, as well as using the so-called information technology.

11. The concept of social structure and various theoretical approaches to the problem of social structuring.

Society, its characteristics Social structure covers the placement of all relationships, dependencies, interactions between individual elements in social systems of different ranks. The elements are social institutions, social groups and communities of various types; The basic units of social structure are norms and values. Thus, society is a set of historically established and developing forms of joint activities and relationships between people. Sociologists formulate and define the characteristics of society in different ways. However, the most famous in this regard is the concept proposed by the French classical sociologist Emile Durkheim. From his point of view, society is characterized by the following features. 1. The community of territory, as a rule, coinciding with state borders, since territory is the basis of the social space in which relationships and interactions between individuals take shape and develop. 2. Integrity and stability, i.e. the ability to maintain and reproduce high intensity of internal connections. 3. Autonomy and a high level of self-regulation, which is expressed in the ability to create the necessary conditions to meet the needs of individuals, i.e. society, without outside interference, can fulfill its main purpose - to provide people with such forms of organization of life that make it easier for them to achieve personal goals. 4. Integrity. Each new generation of people in the process of socialization is included in the existing system of social relations and is subject to established norms and rules. This is ensured through culture, which is one of the main subsystems that make up society. The main elements of the social structure of society include: social individuals (personality); social communities; social institutions; social connections; social relations; social culture. Some sociologists believe that the structure of the social system of society can be represented in the following form: Social groups, layers, classes, nations, social organizations, individuals. Social institutions, public institutions, organizations. Relations between classes, nations, social communities, individuals. Ideology, morality, traditions, norms, motivations, etc. In addition, there is an approach to considering the structure of society with the identification of spheres in it. Usually the following are distinguished: economic sphere; political sphere; social sphere - society and its elements; spiritual sphere - culture, science, education, religion. Basic elements of the social structure of society 1. Personality is a subject of social relations, a stable system of socially significant traits that characterize an individual as a member of society or a community. 2. A social community is an association of people in which a certain social connection is created and maintained. Main types of social communities: social groups: professional; labor collectives; sociodemographic; gender and age; classes and strata; socio-territorial communities; ethnic communities. In addition, social communities can be divided according to quantitative criteria, according to scale. Large social communities - collections of people existing on the scale of society (country): classes; social layers (strata); professional groups; ethnic communities; gender and age groups. Medium or local communities: residents of one city or village; production teams of one enterprise. Small communities, groups: family; labor collective; school class, student group. 3. Social institution - a certain organization of social activity and social relations, a set of institutions, norms, values, cultural patterns, sustainable forms of behavior. Depending on the spheres of social relations, the following types of social institutions are distinguished: economic: production, private property, division of labor, wages, etc.; political and legal: state, court, army, party, etc.; institutions of kinship, marriage and family; educational institutions: family, school, higher educational institutions, media, church, etc.; cultural institutions: language, art, work culture, church, etc. 4. Social connection is a social process of articulation of at least two social elements, resulting in the formation of a single social system. 5. Social relations - interdependence and connections between elements of the social system that develop at various levels of society. Social laws and patterns of functioning and development of society are manifested in relationships. The main types of social relations are: Power relations - relations associated with the use of power. Social dependence is a relationship based on the ability to influence the satisfaction of needs through values. They develop between subjects regarding the satisfaction of their needs for appropriate working conditions, material goods, improvement of life and leisure, education and access to objects of spiritual culture, as well as medical care and social security. 6. Culture is the totality of life forms created by man in the course of his activity and life forms specific to him, as well as the process of their creation and reproduction. Culture includes material and spiritual components: values ​​and norms; beliefs and rituals; knowledge and skills; customs and institutions; language and art; equipment and technology, etc. Culture is the basis of social, public behavior of individuals and social groups, as it is a system of collectively and individually shared norms, rules, and patterns of activity. Thus, society is a complex social system consisting of different but interconnected elements.

S.S is a relatively stable, ordered and hierarchical relationship between the elements of a social system, reflecting its essential characteristics. A part of the system that is not divisible within the framework of a given system (the person himself chooses). An element is the essence of a given system. (Their “beginning” is based on them) ).1).a) spheres of social life - economic, political, spiritual. b). social subjects - historical communities and stable associations of people (social institutions) - these are the basic principles. Social status as an element of structuring is the process and result of dividing people into unequal groups , forming a hierarchical afterbirth based on one or many signs. There are 23 signs: property, power and social status (chief idea of ​​​​openness of the layer). C (SIZE OF INCOME) in (political affiliation). 1815-T CLASSES AND T CREATION OF THE FIRST HALF 19 CENTURY. Stratification was created in opposition to the class structure of society (Marxism-Lenenism) as an ideologist of the revolutionary struggle. That is, the social stratificationist was promoted by Sorokin (American sociologist R origin) he did not share the ideology of this power) - Marxism. 3 basic types of social stratification of modern society-economic water socio-professional vysl criteria: 1) income 2) power 3) status. Social stratum (layer) has a certain qualitative homogeneity, the totality of people in the hierarchy has a close position and a similar way of life. Belonging to the stratum has 2 components - objective, subjective (with a defined layer of self-identification) - for this layer.

The definition of post-industrial society states that in connection with the scientific and technological revolution and increased income of the population, priority has moved from the production of goods to the production of services. Information and knowledge are now especially in demand, and scientific achievements have become the basis of the economy. When applying for a job, the level of education and professionalism, learning ability and creativity are assessed. The article describes the new economy.

What services are in demand in post-industrial countries?

These are the countries where the service sector accounts for more than half of GDP. This list contains:

• USA - 80% as of 2002.
• EU countries - 69.4% in 2004.
• Australia - 69% as of 2003.
• Japan - 67.7% in 2001.
• Canada - 70% as of 2004.
• Russia - 58% in 2007.

In a post-industrial society, the volume of production of material assets does not decrease, but only develops less actively than the volume of services. The latter refers not only to trade, public services, but also any infrastructure. Today the society contains:

Some futurologists are confident that post-industrial society is only an introductory part to the “post-human” stage of development of civilization on planet Earth.

Main features of post-industrial society

The term “post-industrialism” appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, it was introduced by A. Kumaraswamy, a specialist who studies the pre-industrial development of Asian countries. The term took on its modern meaning in the middle of the century, and gained widespread recognition thanks to the work of Daniel Bell. A professor at Harvard University published a book in 1973 "The Coming Post-Industrial Society", which marked the beginning of a new concept. It is based on the division of social development into 3 stages:

1. In pre-industrial times, the most important structures were the church and the army, the determining sphere being agriculture.
2. In the industrial world, corporations and firms were in the first positions, and industry was an important sector.
3. In the post-industrial period, theoretical knowledge has come to the fore, led by the university, where its production and accumulation take place.

The mass consumer society arose as a response to assembly line production, which increased labor productivity, but now the continuous production of information has arisen, making it possible to obtain development in all directions. The service economy, which arose on the basis of mass consumption, gave rise to the information economy; this sector is developing most actively.

Reasons for appearance

Researchers of this phenomenon have not found common ground, so there are many reasons for the emergence of a post-industrial society:

“Marxists” see other reasons:

• The division of labor from production constantly isolates individual actions, which are formed into a separate service. For example, previously the manufacturer himself developed and implemented an advertising campaign, which was part of the business, but now advertising business- an independent sector of the economy.
• Labor has divided and become international, production is concentrated in regions where specific activities are more profitable. Previously, such processes separated physical and mental labor. This distribution resulted from the expansion of corporations beyond national boundaries. To improve efficiency multinational companies locate their production in regions where trade is more profitable. At the same time, transport costs are reduced. Nowadays, production is located far from the source of raw materials or the consumer. The profit belongs to the parent company located in another country.
• The economy and labor productivity are developing, which is changing consumption patterns. After a stable supply of necessary goods has been established, there is an active increase in the consumption of services, and the consumption of goods decreases slightly.
• Most services are consumed locally, and even a reduced price for a haircut in one country is unlikely to affect the price in another. But now information is a mass commodity, which allows the development of distance trading.
• By their nature, some services cannot increase productivity. For example, a taxi driver cannot drive two cars at once. If demand increases, the car will become a bus or the number of taxi drivers will increase. However, with mass industrial production, the number of products produced by one person constantly increases. Therefore, there are more workers in the service sector.

Social structure

A characteristic feature of such a post-industrial society is strengthening the meaning of a person. Labor resources are changing their structure: physical labor is decreasing, mental, highly qualified and creative labor is increasing. The costs of training workers are growing: it is necessary to provide them with training and education, and improve their skills. It is known that in the United States, “man of knowledge” accounts for 70% of all employees.

"Class of professionals"

Some researchers formulate the characteristic of a post-industrial society as a “society of professionals.” In it the main class are intellectuals, where power belongs to the intellectual elite, whose representatives at the political level become consultants, experts or technocrats. The division of society based on education is already clearly visible.

“Knowledge workers” will not be the majority, but they are already the leading class of the “knowledge society.”

Wage labor: change in status

The main means of production in a post-industrial society is employee qualifications. In this case, the means of production belong to the employee, and therefore the value of employees for companies is high. The relationship between the employer and the knowledge worker becomes a partnership, and dependence on companies is sharply reduced. The structure of the corporation is changing from a central hierarchical to a hierarchical network, where increasing the independence of the hired employee plays a role.

In large companies, all working and even managerial positions are occupied by hired employees who are not owners.

Creativity is important

Some researchers argue that industrial society enters a post-economic phase of development, when the dominance of the economy begins to fade. The production of material goods becomes non-main, and the main form of human activity becomes development of abilities. In developed countries, there is a tendency to express oneself by reducing material motivation.

However, the post-industrial economy has less and less need for unskilled labor, which increases difficulties for the population whose educational level does not reach the new standards. A situation arises where the growth of the unskilled part of the population reduces the power of the country's economy, rather than increasing it.

Points of view on the new society are multipolar. Thus, some researchers believe that the world in the 21st century looks quite autonomous, can control the production of technologies, and also provide itself with industrial and agricultural products. It is relatively free of raw materials and also self-sufficient in trade and investment.

Others believe that the success of the modern economy is temporary. It was achieved thanks to unequal relations between developed countries and regions of the planet, which provided them with cheap labor and raw materials. Excessive stimulation of the financial and information sphere of the economy to the detriment of material production led to a global economic crisis.

Features of post-industrial society

Post-industrial society- a society in which the economy is dominated by the innovative sector of the economy with highly productive industry, knowledge industry, with a high share of high-quality and innovative services in GDP, with competition in all types of economic and other activities, as well as a higher share of the population employed in the service sector than in industrial production.

In a post-industrial society, an effective innovative industry satisfies the needs of all economic agents, consumers and the population, gradually reducing its growth rate and increasing qualitative, innovative changes.

Scientific developments are becoming the main driving force of the economy - the basis of the knowledge industry. The most valuable qualities are the level of education, professionalism, learning ability and creativity of the employee.

The main intensive factor in the development of post-industrial society is human capital - professionals, highly educated people, science and knowledge in all types of economic innovation activities.

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Subtitles

The essence and concept of development of post-industrial society

The main distinguishing features of a post-industrial society from an industrial one are very high labor productivity, high quality of life, and the predominant sector of the innovative economy with high technology and venture business. And the high cost and productivity of high-quality national human capital, generating an excess of innovation, causing competition among themselves.

The essence of a post-industrial society lies in the growth of the quality of life of the population and the development of an innovative economy, including the knowledge industry.

The concept of the development of a post-industrial society comes down to the priority of investments in human capital, improving its quality, including the quality of life, and improving the quality and competitiveness of the innovative economy.

High labor productivity, efficiency of the innovation system, human capital and the entire economy, management systems, high competition in all types of activities saturate the markets with industrial products, satisfy the demand of consumers of all types and types, including economic agents and the population.

The saturation of markets with industrial products and goods leads to a decrease in the growth rate of total industrial production and to a decrease in the share of industry in GDP compared to the share of the service sector. In itself, a decrease in the share of industry in GDP is not the main feature of a post-industrial economy. For example, in Russia, the share of services in 2010, according to Rosstat, amounted to 62.7% of GDP, industry - 27.5%, agriculture - 9.8%, however, the industry and economy of Russia remain largely resource-based, with an uncompetitive industrial economics. In Russia, the saturation of domestic markets with industrial goods and products occurs not due to high labor productivity, but due to the predominance of their imports over exports. The situation with the service sector in Ukraine is similar to the Russian one. In 2011, the share of services in GDP was 56%, but the economy did not become post-industrial because of this. The situation is different in the Republic of Belarus. Industry accounts for 46.2% of GDP, and the service sector - 44.4%. The economy of this country is industrial with a low share of raw materials economy.

In this regard, some scientists believe that the decisive criterion for the emergence of a post-industrial society is a change in the structure of employment, namely, achieving the share of those employed in the non-production sector of 50% or more of the total working population. However, many types of service sectors, such as retail trade, consumer services and the like, are not considered non-manufacturing activities.

The relative predominance of the share of services over industrial production does not mean a decrease in production volumes. It’s just that these volumes in a post-industrial society increase more slowly due to the satisfaction of demand for them than the volumes of services provided grow. At the same time, the growth in the volume of services is directly related to the growth in the quality of life, the innovative development of the service sector and the advanced offering of a variety of innovative services to consumers. A clear example of this real and endless process is the Internet and new means of communication.

The possibilities for improving the quality of life of the population through new, innovative services to the population are inexhaustible.

The formation of the concept of post-industrial society

The term “post-industrialism” was introduced into scientific circulation at the beginning of the 20th century by the scientist A. Coomaraswamy, who specialized in the pre-industrial development of Asian countries. In its modern meaning, this term was first used in the late 1950s, and the concept of post-industrial society received wide recognition as a result of the work of Harvard University professor Daniel Bell, in particular, after the publication of his book “The Coming Post-Industrial Society” in 1973.

Close to post-industrial theory are the concepts of information society, post-economic society, postmodernity, “third wave”, “society of the fourth formation”, “scientific-information stage of the production principle”. Some futurologists believe that post-industrialism is just a prologue to the transition to the “post-human” phase of the development of earthly civilization.

Development of post-industrial society

The concept of post-industrial society is based on the division of all social development into three stages:

• Agrarian (pre-industrial) - the agricultural sector was decisive, the main structures were the church, the army
• Industrial - the determining factor was industry, the main structures were the corporation, the firm
• Post-industrial - theoretical knowledge is decisive, the main structure is the university, as the place of its production and accumulation

Reasons for the emergence of a post-industrial economy

It should be noted that among researchers there is no common point of view on the reasons for the emergence of post-industrial society.

Developers of post-industrial theory indicate the following reasons:

1. The division of labor leads to the constant separation of individual activities from the production sphere into an independent service (see outsourcing). If earlier the manufacturer himself invented and implemented an advertising campaign and this was part of the factory business, now the advertising business is an independent sector of the economy. Similar processes at one time led to the division of physical and mental labor.
2. As a result of the development of the international division of labor, there is a gradual concentration of production in regions that are most profitable for specific activities. One catalyst for this redistribution is the expansion of corporate ownership beyond national boundaries. The struggle to increase efficiency is forcing transnational companies to locate production in more profitable regions. This is also facilitated by a reduction in specific transport costs. Today, production is no longer geographically tied to the source of raw materials or the main consumer. At the same time, the results of production, including profit, belong to the parent company and are an additional source of consumption and development of the service sector in the country where its headquarters are located, while production units are located in another country.
3. With the development of the economy and labor productivity, the structure of consumption changes. After a stable supply of essential goods, the consumption of services begins to grow faster than the consumption of goods. This leads to a corresponding change in the proportion of production and employment in the structure of the economy.
4. The production of most services is tied to the location where the service is consumed. Even if haircut prices in China are 100 times lower than in the rest of the world, this is unlikely to significantly affect the hairdressing market in the US or Europe. However, the development of communications and the transformation of information into a mass product has made it possible to develop distance trading of some types of services.
5. Some services by their nature are difficult to increase productivity. One taxi driver will not drive two cars at once. As demand increases, either taxis will turn into buses or the number of taxi drivers will increase. At the same time, mass industrial production is characterized by a constant increase in the volume of products produced by one worker. This leads to an additional bias in the number of employed towards the service sector.

Economy

Deindustrialization

Over the past 50 years, all countries of the world have seen a decline in the share of employed people and the share of industry in GDP. World average for 1960-2007. the share of industry in GDP fell from 40% to 28%, and the share of employment to 21%. Deindustrialization primarily affects economically developed countries and old industries such as metallurgy and textiles. The closure of factories leads to increased unemployment and the emergence of regional socio-economic problems. But parallel to deindustrialization, there is a process of reindustrialization - the development of new, high-tech industries replacing old industries.

The decline in the share of people employed in industry, which is characteristic of post-industrial countries, does not indicate a decline in the development of industrial production. On the contrary, industrial production, like agriculture in post-industrial countries, is extremely developed, including due to a high degree of division of labor, which ensures high productivity. There is simply no need to further increase employment in this area. For example, in the United States, about 5% of the employed population has long been working in agriculture. At the same time, the United States is one of the world's largest grain exporters. At the same time, over 15% of US workers are employed in the transportation, processing and storage of agricultural products. The division of labor made this labor “non-agricultural” - this was taken up by the service sector and industry, which further increased their share in GDP by reducing the share of agriculture. At the same time, in the USSR there was no such detailed specialization of economic entities. Agricultural enterprises were engaged not only in cultivation, but also in storage, transportation, and primary processing of crops. It turned out that from 25 to 40% of the workers worked in the village. At a time when the share of the rural population was 40%, the USSR provided itself with all the grain (and other agricultural products, such as meat, milk, eggs, etc.) itself, but when the share of the agricultural population dropped to 25% (by the end of 1960 's), the need for food imports arose, and finally, with this share decreasing to 20% (by the end of the 1970s), the USSR became the largest importer of grain.

In a post-industrial economy, the greatest contribution to the cost of material goods that are produced within this economy comes from the final component of production - trade, advertising, marketing, that is, the service sector, as well as the information component in the form of patents, R&D, etc.

In addition, information production is playing an increasingly important role. This sector is economically more efficient than material production, since it is enough to produce an initial sample, and the costs of copying are insignificant. But it cannot exist without:

1. Developed legal protection of intellectual property rights. It is no coincidence that it is post-industrial countries that defend these issues to the greatest extent.
2. Rights to information that are subject to legal protection must be monopolistic in nature. This is not only a necessary condition for turning information into a commodity, but also makes it possible to extract monopoly profits, increasing the profitability of the post-industrial economy.
3. The presence of a huge number of consumers of information who benefit from using it productively and who are ready to offer “non-information” goods for it.

Features of the investment process

The industrial economy was based on the accumulation of investments (in the form of savings of the population or through the activities of the state) and their subsequent investment in production capacities. In a post-industrial economy, the concentration of capital through monetary savings drops sharply (for example, in the USA, the volume of savings is less than the volume of household debts). According to Marxists, the main source of capital is property rights to intangible assets, expressed in the form of licenses, patents, corporate or debt securities, including foreign ones. According to the modern views of some scientists of Western economic science, the main source of financial resources is the company’s market capitalization, which is formed on the basis of investors’ assessment of the efficiency of business organization, intellectual property, the ability to successfully innovate and other intangible assets, in particular, consumer loyalty, employee qualifications, etc. d.

The main production resource - the qualifications of people - cannot be increased through increased investment in production. This can only be achieved through increased investment in people and increased consumption - including the consumption of educational services, investments in human health, etc. In addition, increased consumption makes it possible to satisfy basic human needs, as a result of which people have time for personal growth , development of creative abilities, etc., that is, those qualities that are most important for the post-industrial economy.

Today, when implementing large projects, significant funds are necessarily provided not only for construction and equipment, but also for personnel training, their constant retraining, training, and the provision of a range of social services (medical and pension insurance, recreation, education for family members).

One of the features of the investment process in post-industrial countries is the ownership of significant foreign assets by their companies and citizens. In accordance with the modern Marxist interpretation, if the amount of such property is greater than the amount of property of foreigners in a given country, this allows, through the redistribution of profits created in other regions, to increase consumption in individual countries even more than their domestic production grows. According to other schools of economic thought, consumption grows most rapidly in those countries where foreign investment is actively directed, and in the post-industrial sector, profit is formed mainly as a result of intellectual and managerial activity.

In post-industrial society, a new type of investment business is developing - venture capital. Its essence lies in the fact that many developments and promising projects are simultaneously financed, and the super-profitability of a small number of successful projects covers the losses of the rest.

The superiority of knowledge over capital

In the first stages of industrial society, having capital, it was almost always possible to organize mass production of any product and occupy the corresponding niche in the market. With the development of competition, especially international competition, the size of capital does not guarantee protection against failure and bankruptcy. Innovation is a must for success. Capital cannot automatically provide the know-how necessary for economic success. Conversely, in post-industrial sectors of the economy, the presence of know-how makes it easy to attract the necessary capital even without having your own.

Technological changes

Technological progress in industrial society was achieved mainly through the work of practical inventors, often without scientific training (for example, T. Edison). In post-industrial society, the applied role of scientific research, including fundamental research, is sharply increasing. The main driver of technological change was the introduction of scientific achievements into production.

In a post-industrial society, knowledge-intensive, resource-saving and information technologies (“high technologies”) receive the greatest development. These are, in particular, microelectronics, software, telecommunications, robotics, production of materials with predetermined properties, biotechnology, etc. Informatization permeates all spheres of society: not only the production of goods and services, but also the household, as well as culture and art.

Among the features of modern scientific and technological progress, theorists of post-industrial society include the replacement of mechanical interactions with electronic technologies; miniaturization penetrating all areas of production; changes in biological organisms at the genetic level.

The main trend in changing technological processes is the increase in automation, the gradual replacement of unskilled labor with the work of machines and computers.

Social structure

An important feature of post-industrial society is the strengthening of the role and importance of the human factor. The structure of labor resources is changing: the share of physical labor is decreasing and the share of mental, highly qualified and creative labor is growing. The costs of training the workforce are increasing: costs of training and education, advanced training and retraining of workers.

According to the leading Russian specialist on post-industrial society V.L. Inozemtsev, the “knowledge economy” in the United States employs about 70% of the total workforce.

"Class of professionals"

A number of researchers characterize post-industrial society as a “society of professionals”, where the main class is the “class of intellectuals”, and power belongs to the meritocracy - the intellectual elite. As the founder of post-industrialism D. Bell wrote, “ post-industrial society... involves the emergence of an intellectual class, whose representatives at the political level act as consultants, experts or technocrats". At the same time, trends in “property stratification based on education” are already clearly evident.

According to the famous economist P. Drucker, ““Knowledge workers” will not become the majority in the “knowledge society,” but... they have already become its leading class”.

To designate this new intellectual class, E. Toffler introduces the term “cognitariat”, for the first time in the book “Metamorphoses of Power” (1990).

… Purely manual labor is at the lower end of the spectrum and is gradually disappearing. With few manual workers in the economy, the "proletariat" is now in the minority and is increasingly being replaced by the "cognitariat". As the super-symbolic economy emerges, the proletarian becomes a cognitarian.

Change in the status of hired labor

In a post-industrial society, the main “means of production” is the qualifications of employees. In this sense, the means of production belong to the worker himself, so the value of employees for the company increases dramatically. As a result, the relationship between the company and knowledge workers becomes more partnership-like, and dependence on the employer is sharply reduced. At the same time, corporations are moving from a centralized hierarchical to a hierarchical network structure with increasing employee autonomy.

Gradually, in companies, not only workers, but also all management functions, up to the very top management, are beginning to be performed by hired employees, who are often not the owners of the companies.

Increasing the importance of creative and reducing the role of unskilled labor

According to some researchers (in particular, V. Inozemtsev), post-industrial society is moving into a post-economic phase, since in the future it will overcome the dominance of the economy (production of material goods) over people and the development of human abilities will become the main form of life activity. Already now, in developed countries, material motivation is partially giving way to self-expression in activity.

On the other hand, the post-industrial economy has less and less need for unskilled labor, which creates difficulties for the population with a low educational level. For the first time in history, a situation arises where population growth (in its unskilled part) reduces, rather than increases, the economic power of a country.

Historical periodization

According to the concept of post-industrial society, the history of civilization is divided into three large eras: pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial. During the transition from one stage to another, a new type of society does not displace previous forms, but makes them secondary.

The pre-industrial way of organizing society is based on

• labor-intensive technologies,
• use of human muscle power,
• skills that do not require long training,
• exploitation of natural resources (in particular agricultural land).

The industrial method is based on

• machine production,
• capital-intensive technologies,
• use of extramuscular energy sources,
• qualification requiring lengthy training.

The post-industrial method is based on

• high technology,
• information and knowledge as the main production resource,
• creative aspect of human activity, continuous self-improvement and advanced training throughout life.

The basis of power in the pre-industrial era was land and the number of dependent people, in the industrial era - capital and energy sources, in the post-industrial era - knowledge, technology and qualifications of people.

The weakness of post-industrial theory is that it considers the transition from one stage to another as an objective (and even inevitable) process, but does little to analyze the social conditions necessary for this, the accompanying contradictions, cultural factors, etc.

Post-industrial theory operates mainly with terms characteristic of sociology and economics. The corresponding “cultural analogue” is called the concept of postmodernity (according to which historical development proceeds from traditional society to modern society and further to postmodernity).

The place of post-industrial societies in the world

The development of post-industrial society in the most developed countries of the world has led to the fact that the share of manufacturing industry in the GDP of these countries is currently significantly lower than that of a number of developing countries. Thus, this share in the US GDP was 13.4% in 2007, in the French GDP - 12.5%, in the UK GDP - 12.4%, while in China's GDP - 32.9%, in Thailand's GDP - 35 .6%, in Indonesia's GDP - 27.8%.

By moving commodity production to other countries, post-industrial states (mostly former metropolises) are forced to put up with the inevitable increase in the necessary qualifications and some well-being of the labor force in their former colonies and controlled territories. If in the industrial era, from the beginning of the 19th century until the 80s of the 20th century, the gap in GDP per capita between backward and developed countries increasingly increased, then the post-industrial phase of economic development slowed down this trend, which is a consequence of the globalization of the economy and growth education level of the population of developing countries. Associated with this are demographic and sociocultural processes, as a result of which by the 90s of the 20th century, most countries of the “third world” achieved a certain increase in literacy, which stimulated consumption and caused a slowdown in population growth. As a result of these processes, in recent years, most developing countries have observed growth rates of GDP per capita that are significantly higher than in most economically developed countries, but given the extremely low starting position of developing economies, their gap in consumption levels with post-industrial countries cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future.

It should be borne in mind that international goods supplies often occur within the framework of one transnational corporation, which controls enterprises in developing countries. Economists of the Marxist school believe that the bulk of the profit is distributed disproportionately to the total labor invested, through the country where the board of the corporation is located, including through an artificially exaggerated share based on ownership rights to licenses and technologies - at the expense and to the detriment of the direct producers of goods and services (in particular, software, an increasing amount of which is being developed in countries with low social and consumer standards). According to other economists, the bulk of added value is actually created in the country where the head office is located, as developments are carried out there, new technologies are created and connections with consumers are formed. The practice of recent decades requires special consideration, when both the headquarters and financial assets of the majority of the most powerful TNCs are located in territories with preferential taxation, but where there are no production, marketing, or, especially, research departments of these companies.

As a result of the relative decline in the share of material production, the economies of post-industrial countries have become less dependent on the supply of raw materials. For example, the unprecedented rise in oil prices from 2004 to 2007 did not create a crisis similar to the oil crises of the 1970s. A similar increase in prices for raw materials in the 70s of the twentieth century forced a reduction in the level of production and consumption, primarily in advanced countries.

The globalization of the world economy has allowed post-industrial countries to shift the costs of the next world crisis onto developing countries - suppliers of raw materials and labor: according to V. Inozemtsev, “the post-industrial world is entering the 21st century completely an autonomous social entity that controls the global production of technology and complex high-tech goods, fully self-sufficient in industrial and agricultural products, relatively independent from the supply of energy resources and raw materials, and also self-sufficient in terms of trade and investment.”

According to other researchers, the success of the economies of post-industrial countries, observed until recently, is a short-term effect, achieved mainly due to unequal exchange and unequal relations between a few developed countries and vast regions of the planet, which provided them with cheap labor and raw materials, and forced stimulation of information industries and the financial sector of the economy (disproportionate to material production) was one of the main reasons for the global economic crisis of 2008.

Criticism of the theory of post-industrial society

Reduction of high-paying jobs, reduction in wages

The rapid reduction of jobs in industry as a result of robotization, the scientific and technological revolution and the deindustrialization of developed countries gave rise to Western sociological theories about the “end of the proletariat” and even the “end of work.” Thus, the American sociologist Jeremy Rifkin stated in the mid-1990s that the world is “ on the road to a jobless economy" The German sociologist Oskar Negt wrote in 1996 that Karl Marx “overestimated the ability of the working class to end capitalism before it took on barbaric forms.” Lost strikes by workers in Great Britain, the USA, and other developed countries ended in mass layoffs, after which the previous number of workers in the downsized sectors of industry was no longer restored. As a result of deindustrialization, the United States experienced the decline and bankruptcy of industrial cities, such as the bankruptcy of Detroit.

However, industrial jobs did not actually disappear, but only moved to developing countries with cheaper labor. By the end of the 1990s, this led to rapid industrial growth in the newly industrialized countries of Asia (China, India, Indonesia), as well as in some Latin American countries. The sharp increase in automation has led to a reduction in the need for workers per unit of mass-produced products - about 100 times over 40 years. High qualifications and attention are no longer required from operators, the requirements for them are reduced, and the need for qualified labor is reduced. And since it doesn’t make sense to pay a lot to an unqualified operator, production is being transferred from developed countries to Mexico and Southeast Asia.

In developed countries, the service and trade sector has grown, but since labor in this sector is on average worse paid, irregular and less skilled than in industry, it has not been able to equivalently replace the reduction in high-paying industrial jobs.

The famous Russian sociologist and political scientist Boris Kagarlitsky believes that in the 90s of the 20th century, despite technological breakthroughs, the world did not come closer to the “post-industrial society”, the emergence of which was predicted by Western sociologists, but, on the contrary, showed the abstractness of this theory:

Modern methods of organizing production - “lean production”, audit and optimization of business processes, outsourcing - are not aimed at displacing the traditional worker, but at better controlling him and forcing him to work more intensively... All this does not mean the disappearance of the worker class, but rather about restructuring the wage labor system and simultaneously intensifying its exploitation.

Since the late 1990s, more and more jobs have been cut for white-collar workers - managers and administrators. Automation of banks and service enterprises, Internet banking, and online stores have led to the need for fewer and fewer clerks and more technicians and operators performing almost the same functions as workers in industry. While jobs in industry were being cut due to automation, robotization and the introduction of new technologies, the active introduction of automation in the service and trade sectors began in the 21st century. The relationship between industry and the service sector in the 21st century is changing once again, this time in favor of industry, believes B. Kagarlitsky.

Technological breakthroughs have always been necessary for business as a means of reducing production costs, including increasing pressure on employees. A sharp increase in the technological level of production almost always led to staff reductions, depreciation of the labor force and increased unemployment. But at a certain stage, even very advanced machines begin to lose competition with a very cheap worker. That is, again, in accordance with Marxist theory, the growth of the reserve army of the unemployed creates additional pressure on workers, lowering the cost of labor and leading to lower wages.

Certain negative aspects

Critics of the theory of post-industrial society point to the fact that the expectations of the creators of this concept were not met. For example, D. Bell, who stated that “the main class in an emerging society is primarily a class of professionals who possess knowledge” and that the center of society should shift from corporations towards universities, research centers, etc. In reality, corporations , contrary to Bell's expectations, remained the center of the Western economy and only strengthened their power over the scientific institutions among which they should have dissolved.

Attention is drawn to the fact that it is often not information as such that brings profit to corporations, but the image of the product offered to the market. The share of people employed in the marketing and advertising business is growing, and the share of advertising costs in the budget of commodity producers is growing. Japanese researcher Kenichi Ohmae described this process as “the major paradigm shift of the last decade.” Observing how in Japan agricultural products of well-known brands are sold at prices several times higher than the prices for no-name products of the same type and quality, that is, “without a brand” (from little-known producers), he came to the conclusion that added value - the result of a well-directed brand-building effort. A skillful simulation of technological progress becomes possible when modifications that do not affect the functional properties of a thing and do not require real labor costs in the virtual reality of advertising images look like a “revolution”, a “new word”. A similar approach is outlined in Naomi Klein's book No Logo.

At the same time, new post-industrial businesses (marketing, advertising), despite multimillion-dollar turnover, are elite and do not require hiring a large number of performers - just a few designers, managers and their assistants are enough. They do not create any significant number of jobs.

Head of the Analytical Department of the Treasury of Sberbank Nikolay Kashcheev stated: “The American middle class was created primarily by material production. The service sector brings Americans less income than material production, at least it did, of course, with the exception of the financial sector. The stratification is caused by the so-called mythical post-industrial society, its triumph, when a small group of people with special talents and abilities, expensive education is at the top, while the middle class is completely washed out, because a huge mass of people leaves material production for the service sector and receives less money". He concluded: “Yet Americans are aware that they must industrialize again. After this long-standing myth about post-industrial society, these seditious words are beginning to be spoken openly by economists, who are still mostly independent. They say that there must be productive assets in which to invest. But so far nothing like this is visible on the horizon.”

Unemployment

According to a Russian publicist E. V. Gilbo: due to the large number of released labor in developed countries,