Everyone has heard of such concepts as the industrial age and industrialization, but few can concisely characterize them. Well, let's try to figure it out.
Industrial society: what is it
This era is characterized by this typesocial relations, which are based on the division of labor, and industry is able to provide people with a comfortable life. It is an intermediate option between traditional and informational (post-industrial) society.
Несмотря на то что историки называют современный way of life is post-industrial, it has many "industrial" features. After all, we still ride the subway, burn coal in boiler rooms, and the cable telephone sometimes reminds us with its shrill call about the industrial Soviet past.
Background of the Industrial Society
The entry of European society onto the path of progress is a gradual process, characterized by a shift of feudal relations to capitalist ones.
The new time (the era of industrialization) is the period from the 16th to the 19th (early 20th) centuries. During these three centuries, European society has come a long way of development, covering all areas of human life:
- Economic.
- Political.
- Social.
- Technological.
- Spiritual.
The process of gradual innovations was called modernization.
The transition to an industrial society is characterized by:
- Division of labor.This is what caused the increase in production, as well as the formation of two economic classes: the proletariat (wage workers) and the bourgeoisie (capitalists). The result of the division of labor was the formation of a new economic system - capitalism.
- Colonialism - the domination of the developed European countries over the economically backward states of the East. It is clear that the colonizer exploits the human and natural resources of the dependent country.
- Scientific and technological revolution. The achievements of science and engineering inventions have changed people's lives.
Industrial society is characterized by the following features.
- Urbanization.
- The transition to capitalism.
- The emergence of a consumer society.
- The formation of a global market.
- Reducing the influence of the church on human life.
- Formation of mass culture.
- The enormous influence of science on people's lives.
- The emergence of two new classes - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
- Reducing the number of peasants.
- Industrialization
- Changing people's worldview (individuality of a person is the highest value).
The industrial revolution in European countries
As mentioned earlier, industrial society is characterized by industrialization. Let us list in turn the countries of the Old World in which this process took place:
one.England is the first European country to take the path of progress. Already in the 16th century, a flying shuttle and steam engine were invented. The 17th century can generally be called the century of inventions: the first locomotive made its way from Manchester to Liverpool. In 1837, scientists Cook and Winston created the electromagnetic telegraph.
2France is a bit "lost" in the industrialization of England because of the strong feudal order. However, the last revolution of 1789-1794 changed the situation: machines appeared, and weaving began to actively develop. The 18th century is notable for the development of the textile and ceramic industries. The final stage of French industrialization is the birth of mechanical engineering. Summing up, we can say that France has become the second country to choose the capitalist path of development.
3Germany lagged far behind the pace of modernization of its predecessors. The German industrial type of society is characterized by the advent of the steam engine in the middle of the 19th century. As a result, the pace of industrial development in Germany gained impressive momentum, and the country became the leader in manufacturing in Europe.
What is common between traditional and industrial society?
Identical features are present in these two fundamentally different ways of life. Traditional and industrial societies are characterized by:
- the presence of the economic and political sphere;
- power apparatus;
- social inequality - is observed in any type of social relations, since all people are different, regardless of the era.
Economics of industrial society
Compared with the agrarian relations of the middle ages, the economy of the new time was more productive.
How is the economy of an industrial society characterized, what distinguishes it?
- Mass production.
- Banking sector development ..
- The emergence of the loan.
- The emergence of a global market.
- Cyclical crises (for example, overproduction).
- The class struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie.
A prerequisite for serious economic change was the division of labor that promoted productivity growth.
Perfectly described this is the English economist Adam Smith. He gave an example of the production of pins, where you can clearly understand what a "division of labor" is.
An experienced master produces only 20 pins perday. If we divide the production process into simple operations, each of which will be carried out by a separate worker, labor productivity will increase many times. In the end, it turns out that a team of 10 people produces about 48 thousand pins!
Social structure
Industrial society is characterized by the following features that changed people's daily lives:
- a population explosion;
- increase in life expectancy;
- baby boom (40-50 years of the twentieth century);
- environmental degradation (with the development of industry, harmful emissions increase);
- instead of a traditional partner family, it consists of parents and children;
- complicated social structure;
- social inequality between people.
Mass culture
What characterizes an industrial society other than capitalism and industrialization? Popular culture: it is an integral part of it.
She went with the scientific and technological revolution. Sound recording technologies, cinema, radio and other mass media appeared - they combined the tastes and preferences of most people.
Массовая культура проста и понятна всем слоям population, its purpose - to cause a certain emotional response from the person. It is designed to meet fleeting requests, as well as - to entertain people.
Here are some examples of popular culture:
- Women's novels.
- Glossy magazines.
- Show.
- Comics.
- TV series.
- Detectives and fiction.
The literature genres mentioned in the last paragraphtraditionally referred to as mass culture. But some social scientists do not share this view. For example, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a series of detectives written in artistic language and having many meanings. But the books of Alexandra Marinina can be safely attributed to popular culture - they are easy to read and have a clear plot.
What kind of society do we live in?
Western sociologists have introduced such a thing asinformation (post-industrial) society. Its values are knowledge, the development of information technologies, the safety of people and the care of our big house - a wonderful green Earth.
Indeed, knowledge plays an ever greater role in our life, and information technologies have touched almost any person.
Но, несмотря на это, продолжает работать industry, cars burn gas, and potatoes were harvested as they were 100 years ago in the fall. Industrial type of society, as mentioned earlier, is characterized just by industry. And potato harvesting is agriculture, which arose in immemorial times.
Therefore, the name of today's era “post-industrial” is a beautiful abstraction. It is more logical to call our society industrial with the features of information.
Industrial society is characterized by many useful discoveries and a man’s visit to the Cosmos.
The accumulated knowledge base for today is huge;another thing is that it can both benefit humanity and cause harm. We hope that a person has enough intelligence to apply the accumulated potential of knowledge in the right direction.
