Question

Explain the nature of the post industrial society. how is it a different social stage.

Answer 1

It was in 1960s that the
idea of moving into a
post-industrial society
took hold in U.S. The
image of post-
industrialism was given a
certain currency by a
popular belief that an age
of economic plenty was
just around the corner. It
was held that the modern
technology would solve
many of the problems
infected by industrialism
and Fordism.
What kind of post-
industrial society would
emerge was discussed by
Daniel Bell in his book,
“The Coming of Post-
industrial Society”. Bell
outlined the nature of the
transition that industrial
societies had embarked
upon.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
According to Bell, there
have been three successive
phases of economic
progress:
1. Pre-industrial
progress,
2. Industrial progress,
and
3. Post-industrial
progress.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Elaborating the three
phases of economic
progress. Bell says that
the pre-industrial society
was dominated by
agriculture, the second
phase was characterized
by manufacture of goods
and the third stage
dominated in service. The
third stage which the
modern industrial society
would lead us is the post-
industrial phase.
In this scenario, historical
progress involves a
march through these
three stages. The
movement refers to
historical shifts in the
bulk of the workforce,
with the majority moving
first from agriculture to
manufacturing, and then
on to service sector.
For example, in the
developed countries such
as U.S., Germany and
Japan, more than half of
their workforce is in the
service sector. And,
behind all this driving
movement, as it were, are
rises in productivity
levels, initially in
agriculture and then in
manufacturing.
This movement of labour,
in turn, is said to have
been spurred by a shift in
the pattern of demand as
rising affluence among
consumers leads them to
purchase more services
relative to manufactured
goods and foodstuffs. Bell
very strongly writes
about the direction of
economic change – that is,
from industrialism to
post-industrialism.
Bell has restricted his
discussion regarding
post-industrial society to
the transition of
economy. He argues that
there was a definite
change in the economy
and this is termed as
‘service economy’.
Explaining the service
economy of post-
industrial era, Bell (1973)
observes:
The general direction of
economic change in the
post-industrial era within
the western economies is,
therefore, clearly towards
a service economy.
However, the economic
change amounts to more
than a series of aggregate
sectoral shifts in the
economy. Each successive
economic phase is
organized around ‘axial
principles’.
Axial principles or
dynamics are those which
give shape to an
economy. The ‘axial
principles’ are, so to
speak, its driving force.
In industrial society,
there is pursuit of
economic growth through
the application of energy
and machinery.
What Bell tries to do is to
explore the possibilities
of the development of
post-industrial society.