The classic characteristic of an industrial society suggests that it is formed as a result of the development of machine production and the emergence of new forms of mass labor organization. Historically, this stage corresponded to the social situation in Western Europe in 1800-1960
General characteristics
The generally accepted characteristic of an industrial society includes several fundamental features. What are they? First, an industrial society is based on a developed industry. It has a division of labor that promotes productivity. An important feature is competition. Without it, the characterization of industrial society would be incomplete.
Capitalism leads to the fact that the entrepreneurial activity of brave and enterprising people is actively growing. At the same time, civil society is developing, as well as the state administrative system. It becomes more efficient and more complex. An industrial society cannot be imagined without modern means of communication, urbanized cities and a high quality of life for the average citizen.
Technology advancement
Every characteristic of an industrial society, in short, includes such a phenomenon as the industrial revolution. It was she who allowed Great Britain to be the first in human history to cease to be an agrarian country. When the economy begins to rely not on the cultivation of agricultural crops, but on a new industry, the first sprouts of an industrial society appear.
At the same time, there is a noticeable redistribution of labor resources. The labor force leaves agriculture and goes to the city to work in factories. Up to 15% of the state's inhabitants remain in the agricultural sector. Urban population growth is also boosting trade.
In production, entrepreneurial activity becomes the main factor. The presence of this phenomenon is the characteristic of an industrial society. This relationship was first described briefly by the Austrian and American economist Joseph Schumpeter. On this path, society at a certain point experiences a scientific and technological revolution. After that, the post-industrial period begins, which already corresponds to the present.
Free Society
Together with the onset of industrialization, society becomes socially mobile. This allows people to destroy the framework that exists under the traditional order, characteristic of the Middle Ages and the agrarian economy. In the state, the boundaries between classes are blurred. Lost in themcaste. In other words, people can get rich and become successful thanks to their efforts and skills, without looking back at their own background.
The characteristic of an industrial society is a significant economic growth that occurs due to an increase in the number of highly qualified specialists. In society, technicians and scientists who determine the future of the country are in the first place. This order is also called technocracy or the power of technology. The work of merchants, advertising specialists and other people who occupy a special position in the social structure is becoming more significant and weighty.
Folding nation-states
Scientists have determined that the main characteristics of an industrial society come down to the fact that the industrial and technological order becomes dominant in all areas of life from culture to the economy. Along with urbanization and changes in social stratification comes the emergence of nation-states built around a common language. The unique culture of the ethnic group also plays a big role in this process.
In a medieval agrarian society, the national factor was not so significant. In the Catholic kingdoms of the 14th century, belonging to one or another feudal lord was much more important. Even armies existed on the principle of hiring. It was only in the 19th century that the principle of national recruitment into the state armed forces was finally formed.
Demography
The demographic situation is changing. What is the characteristic of industrial society here? Signs of change boil down to declining birth rates in one average family. People devote more time to their own education, standards are changing in relation to the presence of offspring. All this affects the number of children in one classic "cell of society".
But at the same time, the death rate is also falling. This is due to the development of medicine. Medical services and medicines are becoming more accessible to a wide segment of the population. Increases life expectancy. The population dies more in old age than in youth (for example, from diseases or wars).
Consumer society
The enrichment of people in the industrial age led to the birth of a consumer society. The main motive for the work of its members is the desire to buy and acquire as much as possible. A new system of values is being born, which is built around the importance of material we alth.
The term was coined by the German sociologist Erich Fromm. In this context, he emphasized the importance of reducing the length of the working day, increasing the share of free time, as well as blurring the boundaries between classes. This is the characteristic of an industrial society. The table shows the main features of this period of human development.
| Sphere | Changes |
| Economy | The Emergence of Industry |
| Science | New production technologies |
| Demography | Life expectancy is getting longer |
| Society | Increase in urban population and decrease in agricultural population |
Mass culture
The classic characteristic of an industrial society by spheres of life says that consumption increases in each of them. Production begins to focus on the standards that the so-called mass culture defines. This phenomenon is one of the most striking signs of an industrial society.
What is it? Mass culture formulates the basic psychological attitudes of the consumer society in the industrial era. Art becomes accessible to everyone. It voluntarily or involuntarily promotes certain norms of behavior. They can be called fashion or lifestyle. In the West, the rise of mass culture was accompanied by its commercialization and the creation of show business.
Theory of John Galbraith
Industrial society has been carefully studied by many scientists of the 20th century. One of the prominent economists in this series is John Galbraith. He substantiated several fundamental laws with the help of which the characteristics of an industrial society are formulated. At least 7 provisions of his theory have become fundamental for new economic schools and currents of our time.
Galbraith believed that the development of industrial society did notonly to the establishment of capitalism, but also to the creation of monopolies. Large corporations in free market economic conditions acquire we alth and absorb competitors. They control production, trade, capital, and progress in science and technology.
Strengthening the economic role of the state
An important characteristic of an industrial society at the beginning of the 20th century, according to John Galbraith's theory, is that in a country with such a system of relations, the state increases its intervention in the economy. Prior to this, in the agrarian era of the Middle Ages, the authorities simply did not have the resources to radically influence the market. In an industrial society, the situation is completely reversed.
The economist, in his own way, noted the development of technology in a new era. By this term, he meant the application of systematized new knowledge in production. The requirements of the scientific and technological revolution lead to the triumph of corporations and the state in the economy. This is due to the fact that they become the owners of unique scientific production developments.
At the same time, Galbraith believed that under industrial capitalism, the capitalists themselves had lost their former influence. Now the presence of money did not mean power and importance at all. Instead of owners, scientific and technical specialists come to the fore, who can offer new modern inventions and production methods. This is the characteristic of an industrial society. According to Galbraith's plan, the former working class in theseconditions is blurred. The aggravated relations between the proletarians and the capitalists are coming to naught thanks to technological progress and the equalization of the incomes of graduates.
