Basics of economics: what is it - post-industrial society. Post-industrial society - what is it and how does it manifest itself? Main features of modern post-industrial society

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 an economy of services;

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 intellectual 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. 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. 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.

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 on the basis of 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 of 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.

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 essence of the concept

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 proportion 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 there is time 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 rest;
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;
the 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 they carefully protect the country's cultural heritage and build up cities 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.

Lectures

1. Basic concepts. Pre-industrial society. Industrial society. Post-industrial society.

2. Global problems and economic growth

3. Economy of the post-industrial world: trends and problems

Basic concepts.

Pre-industrial society. Industrial society. Post-industrial society

Post-industrialism is a collection of various modern concepts of Western socio-political and economic thought. These theories are built on the basis of the recognition of technological determinism. In addition, the ideology of scientism plays a big role here - a philosophical attitude that absolutizes the importance of scientific experimental knowledge and the exact sciences.

These theories adhere to a unified periodization of socio-economic development. The point of view is proven according to which industrially developed countries, thanks to the complication of technical, late 18th century and scientific and technical activities, are gradually moving from a pre-industrial type of society to an industrial type, gradually approaching a post-industrial one. Based on the achieved level of knowledge, the presence of sustainable scientific activity, the quality and quantity of technical means, post-industrial theories divide the history of society into three stages. One of the first to use the term “post-industrial society” was the American sociologist and philosopher D. Bell.

The theory of post-industrial society is one of the most popular in modern Western socio-philosophical thought. From the name it is clear that this is a certain new type of society that will replace the industrial society, which at the end of the 18th century replaced the agrarian society. This theory is largely based on sociological research, statistical data, social theory, and on the study of the degree and quality of development of natural sciences and technology. As an interdisciplinary study, the concept covers almost all areas of human activity, from socio-economic relations to transformations in the sphere of culture. The concept is completely oriented towards Western development. Countries at the stage of agricultural development cannot become post-industrial without developing an industrial base. The “club” of post-industrial countries includes the states of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe and Japan, and some countries of the Pacific region. A number of authors who devoted their work to this problem worked as advisers on economic, environmental and social issues in the administrations of these countries.

Let us list the main concepts: “post-industrial society” (D. Bell); “new industrial society” (J. K. Galbraith); “mature industrial society” (R. Aron); “super-industrial, or “third wave” society (E. Toffler); “technotronic society” (3. Brzezinski); “post-capitalist society” (R. Dahrendorf); “advanced industrial society” (G. Marcuse). Despite terminological differences, all authors agree on the basic characteristics of society.

The emergence of these theories dates back to the late 60s, 70s and 80s. In parallel, I. Masuda’s theory of the information society was put forward as more specifically describing the essence of the new quality of society. Sometimes theorists are accused of excessive technocratism and techno-optimism, calling their theories techno-utopias. Films such as “Blade Runner”, “Terminator”, “Total Recall”, “The Matrix”, in the science fiction genre, develop the negative aspects of human existence in the new post-industrial world (technotopia, dystopia). Post-industrial concepts are based on the principle of technological determinism, believing that the driving force of social development is a high level of scientific knowledge, engineering and technology.

One of the most popular versions of the theory of post-industrial society is the “wave theory” of E. Toffler, the author of a socio-philosophical trilogy devoted to the study of post-industrial society: “Future Shock” (1970), “The Third Wave” (1980) and “Metamorphoses of Power” (1990).

In the book “Future Shock,” Toffler describes the history of mankind over the past 50 thousand years. He conventionally divides this period into 800 generations, each of which accounts for 62 years. He claims that the first 650 generations spent their lives in caves and only during the last 70 generations did people learn, thanks to the advent of writing, to transmit information to their successors, which was the beginning of the development of civilization. In total, the last 6 generations use printed books, 2 use electric motors. 90 percent of all scientists who have ever lived on Earth are our contemporaries.

Changes are accelerating at an unprecedented speed, and today, in the 800th generation, which first experienced scientific and technological progress, humanity is entering the era of super-industrialism. Any stage

This is a kind of specific civilization. Every civilization exists in the biosphere and exerts its influence on it, reacting positively or negatively to the combination of natural and human resources. Each civilization has its own characteristic thermosphere

The energy base associated with the production system. Every civilization has a sociosphere consisting of interconnected social institutions. The configuration of the infosphere is a set of communication channels through which the necessary information moves, the “technosphere” (of which the infosphere is a part), the sphere of management and power has a set of characteristic connections and relationships with the outside world. To designate one historical period (civilization), Toffler uses the metaphor term “wave.” The first wave is the transition of humanity from a hunter-gatherer society to an agrarian civilization. The second wave is the transition from an agricultural to an industrial society. Now there is a third wave, radically changing the direction of development of industrial society, often completely denying what existed before. A new historical community of people is emerging, whose work and life are absolutely dependent on information technology and the exponential development of science and technology.

According to McLuhan, a Canadian sociologist and philosopher, modern information technology will make it possible to turn the world into a global electronic village, the main element of which will be an electronic cottage - an individual home filled with a variety of computing equipment and communications equipment.

According to D. Bell, the following main characteristics of post-industrial society can be identified: 1) centralized storage and use of theoretical knowledge, which becomes the basis for production; 2) creation of new intellectual technology to solve economic, engineering, social problems; 3) the formation of a class of producers of knowledge and information (in the USA, this group, together with managers, makes up more than 25 percent of the workforce); 4) transition from the production of goods to the production of services, 5) a change in power relations (in pre-industrial society - aristocracy and monarchy, in industrial - democracy, in post-industrial - meritocracy (from the Latin mentos - “having merit to society”), 6) developed economics of information; 7) completion of the transition from an individual competitive strategy to a cooperative/corporate cooperation strategy.

In these and many other theories of post-industrial society, technocratic optimism towards the future is manifested and there is a search for optimal options for creating a new high-tech civilization. One of the significant developers of the theory of post-industrial society was Galbraith. He believed that all economic theories are inaccurate simply because they are divorced from politics, social institutions, and culture. He tried to combine economic theory and sociology and create a more comprehensive theory, calling it the “general theory of the economic system,” or “the theory of a high level of economic development.” Galbraith considered not only economic processes, he analyzed society as a whole. In 1967, he published the landmark book “The New Industrial Society.”

The main principles of Galbraith's theory are the following:

1. The modern economy operates under the determining influence of such social institutions as the state, large corporations, and trade unions. 2. The main economic entity is a large company, with the help of the organization it created, dominating the consumer, dictating laws to the market, and not being subordinate to it, as classical economic theory claims. 3. Large corporations must play a decisive role in improving the state of society: in reforms of education, health care, the social security system, urban renewal, environmental protection.

According to most authors of post-industrialism, the first step on the path of human development was an agrarian pre-industrial society that existed for more than five thousand years, until the middle of the 18th century. This society was dominated by the use of natural sources of raw materials, natural sources of energy (water energy, the strength of one’s own muscles and the strength of animals). Agrarian society was characterized by a patriarchal family with a huge number of relatives. Only through the efforts of such a large patriarchal family could a person cope with the problems that surrounded him everywhere and feel safe. Let us note such basic features as the extraction of raw materials, admiration for supernatural forces, traditional values played a determining role in behavior, and due to the existence of patriarchal relations, an authoritarian system for managing social processes (leader-priest, father-owner) developed.

Today they speak of agrarian civilization as a “primitive Paradise”, when man supposedly lived in harmony with nature, but this idea is incorrect. Every day was difficult for a person and was accompanied by danger and risk, the struggle for survival.

Pre-industrial society is an extractive society, its economy is based on agriculture, timber, coal, and fishing. Ero the main resource is raw material, the main figure is the king-leader, warrior and landowner.

The New Age brought important changes in thinking and the use of technology. Science gradually became the leading force of social development. Somewhat later, Enlightenment thinkers finally formed the idea that it was scientific progress that could improve people’s well-being. It was at this time that the appearance of the first elements of industrialism in Europe was recorded. The emergence of industrialism cannot be fully discussed until the 18th century. It was at the end of the 18th century, when a wave of revolutions, social and technical (J. Watt's steam engine), swept across Europe, replacing the old agrarian system with a new industrial one. Fully industrial civilization took hold in the Western world only by the middle of the 20th century. Industrial society has radically changed all spheres of human activity, destroying the old institutions of traditional society and replacing them with new ones. Production changed radically, other energy sources were discovered, and the structure of political relations changed. The acceleration in the development of science and technology in the 17th - 18th centuries made it possible to create manufacturing and then factory production. The steam engine, internal combustion engine, the discovery of the properties of electricity and much more made it possible to replace handicraft production with machine-based industrial production. The consequences of these industrial age innovations changed culture and society as a whole. The industrial nature of production determined its social structure, including the system of professions and the co-location of social terms. Physical, muscular labor was supplanted by machine, mechanical production. Production, which required enormous effort and took a huge amount of time from an individual, required the creation of completely different social institutions: trade unions, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, clinics. Education, as the fundamental basis of human socialization, has ceased to be the prerogative of the family. Upbringing in a patriarchal family was replaced by upbringing in kindergarten, school and college, where changes took place, as well as in production.

With the advent of the era of industrialism, the need for a large tribal family disappears. Man no longer feels threatened by unpredictable nature. The factory will operate in all weather conditions. The worker knows that in case of illness the health care system will take care of him and that in old age he will receive benefits from the social security authorities. The traditional idea of the tribal family as a protector and patron disappears; a large family becomes burdensome. A person of the new era of industrialism is characterized by great mobility and mobility; a large family does not possess such qualities. As a result of all this, the traditional family disintegrates and is replaced by a new family, nuclear, consisting of father, mother and children. An industrial society is a manufacturing society, in which energy and machinery are used to produce goods. The main resource is energy, processing of raw materials and capital, the main figure is the entrepreneur-capitalist (financier).

In the 40s of the 20th century, D. Clark identified a three-stage model of economic development, which was characteristic of an industrial society: extractive industries and agriculture; extractive industries and construction; industrial and personal services. The industrial stage not only created completely new methods of production, consumption and social structure, it changed people's consciousness. A person who lived in the middle of the 20th century already thought in completely different categories than a person of the 15th century.

The religious picture of the world gave way to natural science, and an aural picture of the world began to take shape. It is appropriate to talk about anthropocentrism here. According to the philosophical anthropology of modern times, man is no longer only a passive being created by God, but also an active participant in the evolution of society. Instead of a geocentric picture of the universe, a heliocentric picture of the world arises (Copernican Revolution). Industrial civilization was undoubtedly a more progressive form of social structure than agricultural civilization.

An industrial society is a dynamically developing, progressive society, in this it is qualitatively different from the preceding agrarian (traditional) or Asian, non-dynamic type of society.

Industrial society, in accordance with ONE OF THE APPROACHES TO periodization of the process of social development, is a stage characterized by formation in the process of industrialization. with machine production, factory organization and production line. the central role of scientific and technical. overall national market and economic system. Industrial society is fundamentally a systematic organization of machines and people for the purpose of producing things.

Global Issues and Economic Growth

Industrial society has contributed to the emergence of such a problem as growing environmental instability on a global scale. As a result of rapid industrial growth, changes in nature appeared that threatened all of humanity, which gave rise to the doctrine of global problems of humanity in the scientific community.

In the early 60s of the 20th century, environmental pollution in developed industrial countries reached such a degree that many scientists began to think about the immediate and distant consequences of growing industrial production. Scientists - mathematicians, geologists, geographers, biologists, sociologists created an initiative research group "Roman Club" to develop economic and environmental scenarios for the future of humanity. A. Peccei, D. Meadows, D. Forrester and many other specialists conducted interdisciplinary research, conferences, and international forums to clarify the situation in the global dimension. Various conceptual approaches and complex mathematical models were used. At the end of the 1960s, a detailed computer model was created, which showed that if current trends in the economy and existing demographic growth continue, humanity will face a global catastrophe by the beginning of the 21st century. The depletion of basic natural resources and total air pollution will lead to the “greenhouse effect.” Intensive use of non-renewable energy sources cannot continue indefinitely.

The governments of many developed industrial countries largely listened to the recommendations of the scientists of the Club of Rome. More stringent requirements for cleaning systems and energy-saving technologies were introduced, and the anthropogenic load on the natural environment was reduced. These measures made it possible to reduce the risk of man-made disasters and improve the environmental situation on a global scale. Fortunately, the worst environmental scenarios of the Club of Rome did not materialize. Despite this, global problems were not removed from the “agenda”, but environmental problems were significantly mitigated.

Global problems have become an important milestone in the work of scientists in the framework of interdisciplinary research regarding the situation of a sharp acceleration of technological progress that emerged after the deepening of the scientific and technological revolution, which led to environmental degradation. A more accurate and comprehensive picture of the environmental disaster was facilitated by complex mathematical models obtained as a result of the beginning of the so-called “computer revolution” (60s of the XX century).

At this time, theories of the so-called “post-industrial society”, “new industrial society”, “post-capitalist formation”, “techno-ironic era”, etc. arise. Post-industrial society is a higher stage of development than industrial society. The main resource is knowledge, information and education, the main energy base is renewable energy sources. Informatization at all levels of this society makes it possible to increase labor productivity several times while simultaneously increasing the quality and quantity of products produced.

Economy of the post-industrial world:

trends and problems

The meaning of the concept of “post-industrial society” can be revealed by describing the three main dimensions of post-industrial society, which are closely interconnected: technological, socio-economic and cultural. A post-industrial society in the technological dimension is a society in which knowledge, information flows, networks, telecommunications and computers play a major role in economic production based on the exchange of databases. The rapid development of computer and telecommunication technologies leads to the fact that the flow of information reaching people increases many times every day, segments of knowledge are specialized and differentiated. And then the person no longer has time to adapt to new information and innovations. Thousand-year and century-old stereotypes of thinking, perception and activity are constantly being replaced by new and new patterns of thinking, behavior and communication. Post-industrial society in the social-economic dimension is a society in which the service sector (the economy of services and entertainment) has priority development and dominates in relation to the volume of industrial production and agricultural production. In the socio-economic structure of post-industrial society, the number of people employed in the service sector is increasing, and new elites are being formed: technocrats, managers.

Post-industrial society in the cultural dimension is a society in which there is no uniform system of values based on traditional patterns inherited from previous cultural eras. National cultures are gradually being minimized under the onslaught of denationalized mass culture, while the national cultural tradition is being absorbed by global cultural trends (“Hollywoodization,” “McDonaldization of culture,” “Disneylandization of culture,” “cyberculture,” etc.). The current cultural situation is characterized as multicultural, based on the principle of political correctness. This means that there is no “high” and “low” culture, there is no “axial” and “peripheral” (“marginal”) culture, “classical” and “profane”. All cultures have an equal right to exist, while the principles of hierarchy or subordination (ranking) of cultures turn out to be illegitimate.

There is a transition from the production of things to the production of services. The main resource of this society is information and knowledge, education. The main figure is a scientist, programmer and manager.

American sociologist D. Bell was one of the first thinkers to declare a new stage in human development, which he called “post-industrial society.” In its original version, the theory of post-industrial society is presented in the book “The Coming Post-Industrial Society. Experience in Social Forecasting”, published in the USA in 1973. We can highlight the fundamental characteristics of the new social system:

Replacement of mechanical, electrical and electromechanical means with electronic means of production and communication. Communications in production and in everyday life based on electronic media.

Computers are becoming ubiquitous, but decreasing in size. If the first computers were multi-ton, then already in the early 80s of the 20th century a personal computer was created that was placed on a desk. Miniaturization of computer equipment with a manifold increase in the speed of computing power. Increased software quality.

Knowledge, both general and, in particular, highly specialized, is the most important resource in developed countries.

Innovation is an effective engine of progressive change. And innovative thinking is possible only on the basis of a highly developed level of theoretical rational thinking. Theoretical knowledge is the most sought-after resource in post-industrial society.

Futurological orientation of post-industrial thinking, focus on the expected future, correlation of the present state of affairs with the future. As a result, constant monitoring of technologies, expert assessment of new technologies, modeling of technological forecasts.

According to Bell, the leading force in post-industrial society is not the entrepreneur (as in industrial society), but the scientific expert, the scientific researcher. A new class is coming to manage the economy and politics - meritocracy. an intellectual elite whose influence and power are based not on inheritance and political connections, but on personal achievements in innovation and creativity. If in agricultural and partly in industrial societies physical force and physical violence played a significant role in managing people, then post-industrial society is characterized by shifts in forms of management.

Information and knowledge are becoming a key resource for the economy and management of social processes. Power rests on wealth, competence and knowledge. Information can be used to enrich and solve geopolitical problems. It is no coincidence that today information wars in domestic and foreign policy play a more significant role than military force. The political “velvet revolutions” of the 21st century are both quantitatively and qualitatively replacing the armed uprisings of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is obvious that knowledge becomes the basis of power in post-industrial society. This allows you to bypass difficult situations and avoid unnecessary waste of economic and social energy.

One can imagine the fundamental principles of post-industrial society in this way: 1) theoretical knowledge becomes the determining factor in economic, political and technological activity, gradually displacing physical and mechanized labor;

2) the determining factor of socio-economic stratification is the level of knowledge and degree of competence (professionalism);

3) the economy of post-industrial society is based primarily on the development of the service sector; 4) in addition to the raw materials (“primary”) sector and the industrial (“secondary”) sector, a significant service (“tertiary”) sector and an information (“quaternary”) sector appear, which, in turn, “permeates” all the previous ones, remaining at this is quite independent; 5) intelligent technologies are replacing mechanical methods of production in terms of volume and efficiency; information technologies of the world have a greater influence not only on the economy, but also on social practices and culture (education, politics).

The main characteristics of a post-industrial society: a high level of management organization and its professionalism. total information recording. the formation of fundamentally new technological structures, humanization of production and management, increasing the role of the human factor, economic psychology in economic activity.

In post-industrial society, new types of services are becoming widespread. The humanitarian sphere, education, especially higher education, healthcare, social services and legal services are transforming especially quickly and on a large scale. The efficiency of analysis, planning and forecasting increases noticeably. There is a total aestheticization of social space; design has become a necessary element of all industrial products and services. All technological processes require software, which has become a necessary element of any activity in demand by society. In post-industrial countries, there is an exponential growth of specialists with higher education. “Blue collar workers” (“technical class”) are losing their positions to “white collar workers” (“class of intellectuals”, creative managers).

The central place in post-industrial society, according to D. Bell, is occupied by terrestrial knowledge. The position of new methodological approaches is strengthening, game theory and systems analysis are being developed and widely disseminated. Due to these new trends, the scientist turns out to be the central figure of post-industrial society. If in the industrial era the basic organizational and production institution was a factory or a bank, then in modern post-industrial society such an institution is gradually becoming a university, a “factory” of new technologies and knowledge.

The post-industrial society is sometimes called informational, technotronic. “Information society” is a narrower concept than “post-industrial society”. The structure, functioning and significance of the information aspects of post-industrial society will be discussed below.

The development of post-industrial society is associated with a number of socio-economic and civilizational problems:

What is the structure of interaction between elements of pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial societies in the modern world (hierarchical, genealogical, mosaic, stratification, rhizomatic?).

What are the reasons for the formation of post-industrial society?

What is the ratio of positive and negative trends in the development of strategies in the post-industrial world?

Is it possible for the entire modern world to reach the standards of a post-industrial society?

Are global problems surmountable in the foreseeable future?

Post-industrial society (post-industrial society) is a stage of development of society that began in the last quarter of the 20th century as a result of the scientific and technological revolution, characterized by the development of energy-saving technologies, the creation of high-tech industries, the informatization of society, the development of science and technology, an increase in the level of education, medicine, and the quality of life of people.

In the middle of the 20th century, the modern scientific and technological revolution unfolded, representing a revolution in technology and production technology based on the latest scientific achievements. Its main directions: development of new energy sources, automation of production, its chemicalization and biologization. The development of the scientific and technological revolution led to the transformation of industrial society into post-industrial society in the last quarter of the 20th century. The transition to energy-saving technologies as a consequence of the energy crisis of the 70s, the creation and widespread use of synthetic materials, the informatization of society based on mass production and the use of personal computers, and robotization led to a change in the employment structure of the population and changed the very face of society. In post-industrial countries, the share of people employed in traditional industries (mining and manufacturing industries, agriculture, construction) does not exceed a third of the population. The nature of work has changed. Thus, in the United States at the end of the 20th century, the share of those employed in manual labor did not exceed 10%, and a century ago it was 90%. And two thirds are engaged in the information business, providing financial, consulting, consumer, tourism, medical, educational and other services, and working in the entertainment industry. This sector of the economy is called tertiary.

In post-industrial society, the middle class became its basis - the basis of social stability. The following criteria for belonging to this class can be distinguished: family ownership of property equivalent to 20-50 times the average annual income of one employee; obtaining income that provides the family with income not lower than the subsistence level; respect for the laws and traditions of the country, the ability and desire to defend their rights and freedoms, taking on a share of social responsibility for the future of the country. The average family owns a cottage or apartment, one or two cars, a full set of modern household appliances, one or more televisions, telephones, etc. For comparison, we present some data. The size of the total housing area per inhabitant (mid-90s): Russia - 18.3 m2, France - 36, USA - 65, Norway - 74. At the same time, in Russia, a fifth of urban apartments and up to three quarters of rural ones are not have centralized water supply and sewerage. Number of passenger cars per 1 thousand inhabitants in 1998: China - 2, Brazil - 76, Russia - 110, Estonia - 200, Japan - 343, Germany - 505, Italy - 514, USA - 700. Health care costs in the USA 14% of gross domestic product, in Germany - 9%, in Russia - 2.3%.

The village as a concept has disappeared.

The high level of food consumption is ensured by a small number of farmers. In a post-industrial society, the quality of life comes to the fore, which means the opportunity to live in harmony with nature, society, and oneself. A high quality of life is evidenced by universal literacy and a high level of education for a significant part of the population, high life expectancy, accessibility and good quality of medical services, an increase in leisure time and the ability to manage it rationally, a decrease in crime, etc.

By the beginning of the third millennium AD. About two and a half dozen countries, where more than a fifth of the planet's population lives, have entered the post-industrial stage of development. The GDP here was 20,249 “international dollars” in 1995, 67 - 68% of the world's population lives in a country where the average annual income is less than 20% of the first group, and 34% of the population lives in countries with an average annual income of less than 10% of the first group . And only 15% of the population falls in countries with an average per capita income of 20 to 99% in relation to the leaders. But an analysis of world development for the 70-90s shows that the gap between highly educated countries and the periphery of the planet is narrowing. The most effective efforts are those of countries that adhere to the policy of openness of the economy, reduction of the public sector, attraction of foreign capital, and government concern for education. This opens the way to prosperity for even the least backward countries.

Basics of economic theory. Lecture course. Edited by Baskin A.S., Botkin O.I., Ishmanova M.S. Izhevsk: Udmurt University Publishing House, 2000.

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POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ITS MAIN FEATURES.

In the second half of the 20th century, profound changes occurred in society: man himself and his place in the world changed. We can conclude that a new society is being formed. It is called post-industrial, information, technotronic, postmodern, etc.

The main ideas of post-industrial society are outlined by the American sociologist D. Bell. Another representative of American sociology, M. Castellier, in characterizing modern society, focuses primarily on its informational nature. One way or another, the authors emphasize the transition to a new period in the history of modern civilization, which was caused by changes in the economy, social life, politics and the spiritual sphere. These changes were so significant that they led to a crisis in the previous development model. The scientific and technological revolution that occurred in the middle of the 20th century changed the structure of production - information technology took first place in importance.

According to Bell, the post-industrial, information society differs from the previous industrial society mainly in two parameters:

1) theoretical knowledge acquires a central role;

2) the service sector is expanding in relation to the “producing economy”. This means that there has been a fundamental shift in the relationship between three sectors of the economy: primary (mining and agriculture), secondary (manufacturing and construction), and tertiary (services). This latter took the leading position.

The basis of post-industrial society is the unprecedented influence of science on production. If industrial society relies on various types of energy and machine technology, then post-industrial society relies on intellectual technologies, its main resource being knowledge and information.

Information in society has always played a special role. It is known that experience accumulated in a long process could not be transmitted genetically, so society became increasingly interested in preserving and transmitting knowledge, i.e. social information. The development of information connections has made society, like any living, self-developing, self-regulating system, more resistant to environmental influences, and has streamlined the connections within it. Because the information in society it is, first of all, knowledge (but not all that humanity has, but only that part of it that is used for orientation, for active action), insofar as it serves as a necessary link in the management of systems in order to preserve and qualitative specificity, improvement and development. The more received information the system processes, the higher its overall organization and operating efficiency, thereby expanding the possibilities for its regulation.

In modern society information turned into his exclusive important resource. Society is embarking on the path of informatization: a systemic and activity-based process of mastering information as a resource for development (and management) using computer science tools with the goal of progress of civilization. Informatization of society does not simply mean computerization, it is a new level of life activity of each individual and society as a whole, in which the interaction of computer science and society is carried out on the basis of the study of laws and trends.

Thus, information society characterized by a state when society masters information flows and arrays that determine social development. The main and main form of social development on a global scale is information-intensive all-round intensification. On this basis, the global unity of the entire civilization develops. A major role was played by the creation of the Internet, then the merger of global media and computer communications into multimedia, covering all spheres of human life. A new information and technological paradigm has been created, which, having changed the economy, entailed radical changes in public administration.

The features of post-industrialism were largely determined by the technology that arose in the 16th – 17th centuries. Western European civilization, having now received deeper development. This:

– high rates of development. Society has switched to an intensive path of development;

– there was a fundamental change in the value system: innovation itself, originality, became a value. In addition, personal autonomy occupies one of the highest places in the hierarchy of values. A person can change his corporate connections, join different social communities and cultural traditions, especially as education becomes more accessible;

– the essence of man as an active being who is in a transformative relationship with the world has manifested itself as never before. The activity-active ideal of man’s relationship with nature has also spread to the sphere of social relations (struggle, revolutionary changes in society, etc.);

- society has moved to a different vision of nature - by learning the laws of nature, it puts them under its control. Therefore, scientificity has acquired special significance as the basis for further progress.

At the same time, the problem of the capabilities of science also arises, especially at the present time. The fact is that the very development of technogenic civilization has approached critical milestones, which marked the boundaries of this type of civilizational growth. With the advent of global problems, problems of human survival arose, problems of preserving personality and the biological foundations of human existence in conditions when the threat of the destructive influence of modern technogenesis on human biology is becoming more and more clear. Anti-scientist concepts hold science and its technological applications responsible for growing global problems. They come out with demands to limit and even freeze scientific and technological progress; in essence, this means a return to traditional societies.

The role of technology in modern society is also contradictory. On the one hand, fulfilling a social function, it complements and expands human capabilities. Its significance is so great that it gives rise to a certain state of worldview - technocracy.

Technocracy absolutizes the role of technical ideas and principles of technical knowledge, extending them to other spheres of human activity, believes that the leading place in modern society belongs to technical specialists.

On the other hand, the penetration of the principles of technical design into all areas of human life creates a threat to man himself, his identity. A kind of “technical state” is emerging, in which all priorities, and the very fate of society, are left to the scientific and technical elite. Social and political norms and laws are replaced by the laws of things created by civilization itself. Therefore, there is an increase in society technical alarmism– panic in front of technology.

Literature.

1. Philosophy / Ed. V.V. Mironova.

– M., Section. VII, ch. 3.

2. Philosophy / Ed. A.F. Zotova and others - M., 2003. Section. 5, ch. 7.

In recent decades, sociologists have been talking about the emergence of a new type of society - post-industrial.

basis post-industrial society is information, which in turn generated . Proponents of the theory of the information society believe that this society is characterized by processes that are opposite to those that took place in previous phases of the development of societies even in the 20th century. 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.

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

As has already been said, in past societies the first technological innovations brought with them astonishing changes. What will happen to our culture? Perhaps future sociologists and analysts will talk about the current changes as the fourth revolution. Often called the information revolution, it is based on information processing technologies. In particular, the computer chip is an invention that transforms society, and with it our social relationships. The list of changes brought about by this technological advancement is almost endless.

Researchers are already using the term “virtual society” to describe a modern society that has emerged and is developing under the influence of information technologies, primarily Internet technologies. Virtualization (i.e., replacing reality with its simulation/image) of society is total, since all the elements that make up society are virtualized, significantly changing their appearance, their status and role. Virtual reality has certain properties, including:

generation - virtual reality is produced by the activity of some other reality external to it;
relevance - virtual reality exists only “here” and “now”;
autonomy - virtual reality has its own time, space, its own laws of existence;
interactivity - virtual reality can actively interact with other realities and influence them.

If we take into account the above, post-industrial society, i.e. “post-economic” can be defined as one in which the economic subsystem loses its dominant significance, and labor ceases to be the basis of all social relations. A person in a post-industrial society loses his economic essence and is no longer considered as an “economic man”, since he is focused on new, “post-materialist” values. The emphasis is shifting to social and humanitarian problems, and the priority issues are the quality and safety of life, the self-realization of the individual in various social spheres. Based on this, new criteria for welfare and social well-being are being formed.

Sometimes post-industrial society is called “post-class”. In such a society, social structures and identities that are stable in nature in an industrial society lose their stability. The status characteristics of an individual in a post-class society are no longer determined entirely by his class affiliation, but depend on many factors, among which education and level of culture play an increasing role (what P. Bourdieu called “cultural capital”). Of course, it is too early to talk about the “death” of class society and the final change in status priorities, however, undoubtedly, significant changes are taking place in the structure of society, associated primarily with the change in the role of knowledge and its bearers in society - intellectuals.

Concept of post-economic society developed by domestic researcher V.L. Inozemtsev. Here, post-economic society is understood as a qualitatively new type of society, which represents the next stage of development of social life after the post-industrial one. The main features of a post-economic society are “the departure of individual human interests from a purely material plane and the colossal complication of social reality, the multiplication of the diversity of models of social life and even options for its development over time.” In a post-economic society, in contrast to an economic society focused on material enrichment, the main goal for most of its members is the development of their own personality.

The theory of post-economic society presupposes a new periodization of human history, in which three large-scale eras are distinguished - pre-economic, economic and post-economic. This periodization is based on criteria such as the type of human activity and the nature of the relationship between the interests of individuals and society. In the early stages of history, human activity was motivated mainly by instinctive impulses, like all biological beings. As the human psyche developed, the motives of activity became more and more conscious. The conscious nature of activity is inextricably linked with its purposefulness, and the goal has become the material product of labor. Finally, a new round of development led to the formation of prerequisites for post-economic type activities, focused on improving oneself as an individual, one’s unique individual qualities and abilities. Thus, there is a typology of historical forms of activity: pre-labor instinctive activity - labor - creativity.

Another criterion is the nature of the relationship between the interests of individuals and society. In the early periods of history, the collective interest of the group or community as a whole rigidly dominates over individual interests. At the stage of an economic society based on labor, personal material interest dominates over the interests of the community; all people are actual or potential competitors because their private economic interests are mutually exclusive. Finally, post-economic society is characterized by the absence of the struggle of personal interests, since the desire for material success is no longer the main interest of the majority. The world is becoming multivariate and multidimensional, people's personal interests are intertwined and enter into unique combinations, no longer opposing, but complementing each other.

Rice. 6.1. Ideological and political preferences of representatives of different generations of Russians (answer to the question: “Which idea do you consider yourself to be a supporter of?”), %: 1 - supporter of radical market reforms and rapid rapprochement with Western countries; 2- supporter of the independent Russian path of development of the country; 3- supporter of socialism; 4 - supporter of a combination of various ideas listed above, but trying to avoid extremes; 5- I don’t consider myself anything, since I’m not interested in politics; 6- I find it difficult to answer

Post-economic type of society is defined as follows: “By post-economic society we understand this type of social structure where human economic activity becomes more intense and complex, but is no longer determined by his material interests, and is not determined by traditionally understood economic feasibility.” The economic basis of such a society is formed by the destruction of private property and a return to personal property, the state of non-alienation of the worker from the tools of production. Post-economic society is characterized by a new type of social confrontation - the confrontation between the information-intellectual elite and all people who are not included in it, engaged in the sphere of mass production and, as a result, forced out into the world.
the periphery of society. However, members of such a society have the opportunity to make themselves an elite, since membership in the elite is determined by abilities and knowledge.

In this regard, domestic sociologists asked the question: what path of development do different generations of modern Russians prefer? Data from applied sociological research allow us to conclude that there is a tendency towards de-ideologization of both the older generation and youth (see Fig. 6.1).

The results of a sociological study indicate that among our fellow citizens there are adherents of different models of social development, represented in a variety of social groups (see Fig. 6.2).

Rice. 6.2. Distribution of Russians by type of worldview in 2004-2007, %: 1 - traditionalists; 2 - intermediate; 3 - modernists