View source for Post-industrial society

{{Short description|Service and knowledge-based society}}
{{About|a shift from a manufacturing to a services economy|societal effects of the Industrial Revolution|Industrial Revolution|offshoots of industrial music|List of industrial music genres}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2019}}

[[File:Clark's Sector model.png|right|upright=1.8|thumb|[[Colin Clark (economist)|Clark's]] sector model for US economy 1850–2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=Who Makes It? Clark's Sector Model for US Economy 1850–2009|url=http://www.63alfred.com/whomakesit/clarksmodel.htm|access-date=29 December 2011}}</ref> The graph illustrates the predominance of [[Primary sector of the economy|primary]], [[Secondary sector of the economy|secondary]] and [[Tertiary sector of the economy|tertiary industries]] (as a share of all jobs) over time, as a society develops.]]
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In [[sociology]], the '''post-industrial society''' is the stage of society's development when the [[tertiary sector of the economy|service sector]] generates more wealth than the [[secondary sector of the economy|manufacturing sector]] of the economy.

The term was originated by [[Alain Touraine]] and is closely related to similar sociological theoretical concepts such as [[post-Fordism]], [[information society]], [[knowledge economy]], [[post-industrial economy]], [[late modernity|liquid modernity]], and [[network society]]. They all can be used in economics or social science disciplines as a general theoretical backdrop in [[research design]].

As the term has been used, a few common themes, including the ones below have begun to emerge.

# The economy undergoes a transition from the production of goods to the provision of services.
# Knowledge becomes a valued form of capital; see [[Human capital]].
# Producing ideas is the main way to grow the economy.
# Through processes of [[globalization]] and [[automation]], the value and importance to the economy of [[Blue-collar worker|blue-collar]], unionized work, including manual labor (e.g., assembly-line work) decline, and those of professional workers (e.g., scientists, creative-industry professionals, and IT professionals) grow in value and prevalence.
# Behavioral and information sciences and technologies are developed and implemented (e.g., [[behavioral economics]], [[information architecture]], [[cybernetics]], [[game theory]] and [[information theory]]).

==Origins==
[[Daniel Bell]] popularized the term through his 1974 work ''The Coming of Post-Industrial Society''.<ref name="Bell, Daniel 1974">Bell, Daniel. The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1974.</ref> Although some have credited Bell with coining the term,<ref>''[https://www.economist.com/business/2011/02/03/ahead-of-the-curve Ahead of the curve]'', Schumpeter, [[The Economist]], Feb 3rd, 2011</ref> French sociologist [[Alain Touraine]] published in 1969 the first major work {{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} on the post-industrial society. The term was also used extensively by social philosopher [[Ivan Illich]] in his 1973 paper ''[[Tools for Conviviality]]'' and appears occasionally in Leftist texts throughout the mid-to-late 1960s.<ref>For example, James Weinstein, 'Studies on the Left: R.I.P.', ''Radical America: An SDS Magazine'', vol.1, no.3 (Nov–Dec, 1967), p.2.</ref>

The term has grown and changed as it became mainstream. The term is now used by marketers such as [[Seth Godin]],<ref>Godin, Seth. ''Linchpin'' (2010)</ref> public policy PhDs such as Keith Boeckelman,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boeckelman |first1=Keith |title=The American States in the Postindustrial Economy |journal=State & Local Government Review |date=1995 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=182–187 |jstor=4355128 }}</ref> and sociologists such as [[Neil Fligstein]] and Ofer Sharone.<ref>Work in the Postindustrial Economy of California. (2002) On the web, http://www.russellsage.org/publications/workingpapers/workpostindcalif/document {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727231656/https://www.russellsage.org/publications/workingpapers/workpostindcalif/document |date=2011-07-27 }}</ref> U.S. President Bill Clinton used the term to describe Chinese growth in a round-table discussion in Shanghai in 1998.<ref>1999 Forward to "The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society" by Daniel Bell</ref>

==Valuation of knowledge==
The post-industrialized society is marked by an increased valuation of knowledge. This has been foreshadowed in [[Daniel Bell]]'s presumption as to how economic employment patterns will evolve in such societies. He asserts employment will grow faster in the tertiary (and quaternary) sector relative to employment in the primary and secondary sector and that the tertiary (and quaternary) sectors will take precedence in the economy. This will continue to occur such that the "impact of the expert" will expand and power will be monopolized by knowledge.<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976">{{cite journal |last1=Targ |first1=Harry R. |title=Global Dominance and Dependence, Post-Industrialism, and International Relations Theory: A Review |journal=International Studies Quarterly |date=September 1976 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=461–482 |doi=10.2307/2600095 |jstor=2600095}}</ref>

As tertiary and [[quaternary sector]] positions are essentially knowledge-oriented, this will result in a restructuring of education, at least in its nuances.  The "new power… of the expert" consequently gives rise to the growing role of universities and research institutes in post-industrial societies.<ref name=" Targ, Harry R 1976"/> Post-industrial societies themselves become oriented around these places of knowledge production and production of experts as their new foci. Consequently, the greatest beneficiaries in the post-industrial society are young urban professionals. As a new, educated, and politicized generation, more impassioned by liberalism, social justice, and environmentalism, comes into being; the shift of power into their hands, as a result of their knowledge endowments, is often cited as a good thing.<ref name="Wright, James D. 1978">Wright, James D."The Political Consciousness of Post-Industrialism." Contemporary Sociology. 7. 3 (1978): 270–273.</ref><ref name="Banks 1983">Banks, Alan and Jim Foster."The Mystifications of Post-Industrialism. Appalachian Journal . 10. 4 (1983): 372–378.</ref>

The increasing importance of knowledge in post-industrial societies results in a general increase in expertise through the economy and throughout society. In this manner, it eliminates what Alan Banks and Jim Foster identify as "undesirable work as well as the grosser forms of poverty and inequality". This effect is supplemented by the aforementioned movement of power into the hands of young educated people concerned with social justice.<ref name="Banks 1983"/>

Economists at Berkeley have studied the value of knowledge as a form of [[human capital|capital]], adding value to material capital, such as a factory or a truck. Speaking along the same lines of their argument, the addition or 'production' of knowledge, could become the basis of what would undoubtedly be considered 'post-industrial' policies meant to deliver economic growth.<ref>Czarnitzki, Dirk; Hall Bronwyn H. (Berkeley); Oriani Raffaele; ''The Market Valuation of Knowledge Assets in US and European Firms.'' On the web at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~bhhall/papers/CHO05_mktval.pdf</ref>

The valuation of specifically scientific knowledge and technology can paradoxically be devalued by individuals in a post-industrial society as they still expect its benefits but are more sensitized to moral trade-offs and risks.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Nisbet |first=Matthew C. |date=2019 |title=Science and Society Beliefs across the Globe |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2019/09/science-and-society-beliefs-across-the-globe-a-study-of-fifty-four-countries-assesses-public-optimism-and-reservations/ |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=25–27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206190158/https://skepticalinquirer.org/2019/09/science-and-society-beliefs-across-the-globe-a-study-of-fifty-four-countries-assesses-public-optimism-and-reservations/ |archive-date=6 December 2019 |access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>

==Creativity culture==
Similarly, post-industrial society has serviced the creative culture. Many of those most well-equipped to thrive in an increasingly technological society are young adults with tertiary education. As education itself becomes more and more oriented towards producing people capable of answering the need for self-actualization, creativity, and self-expression, successive generations become more endowed with the ability to contribute to and perpetuate such industries. This change in education, as well among the emerging class of young professionals, is initiated by what James D Wright identifies as an "unprecedented economic affluence and the satiation of basic material needs".<ref name="Wright, James D. 1978"/> [[Ellen Dunham-Jones]] as well observes this feature of post-industrial society where "abundant goods [are] equitably distributed [in order that] laborless leisure and [[self-determination]]" can be consumed.<ref name=" Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000">Dunham-Jones, Ellen. "New Urbanism as a Counter-Project to Post-Industrialism [The Promise of New Urbanism]." Places. 13. 2 (2000): 26–31.</ref>

The post-industrial society is stressed to be one where knowledge is power and technology is the instrument.<ref name=" Targ, Harry R 1976"/> Naturally, where one is creatively inclined, they are advantaged by such a society. The doctrine of "speed, mobility, and malleability" is well suited to a dynamic creative industry and as industries of good production decrease in precedence, the way is paved for artists, musicians, and other such types, whose skills are better used by the tertiary and quaternary sector.<ref name="Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000"/> Urban geographer Trevor Barnes, in his work outlining the Vancouver experience in post-war development, evokes the post-industrial condition, citing the emergence and consolidation of a significant video games industry as a constituent of the elite service sector.<ref name=" Barnes, T 2011">Barnes, T et al. "Vancouver: Restructuring narratives in the transnational metropolis.” Canadian urban regions: trajectories of growth and change. Eds. L Bourne et al. (2011): 291–327.</ref>

This increased faculty of the post-industrialist society with respects to the creative industry is reflected by the economic history of post-industrial societies. As economic activities shift from primarily primary and secondary sector-based to tertiary, and later quaternary, sector-based, cities in which this shift occurs become more open to exchanges of information.<ref name="Golden, Miriam 2006">Golden, Miriam & Michael Wallerstein. “Domestic and International Causes for the Rise of Pay Inequality: Post-Industrialism, Globalization, and Labor Market Institutions.” The Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, UCLA (2006).</ref> This is necessitated by the demands of a tertiary and quaternary sector: in order to better service an industry focused on finance, education, communication, management, training, engineering, and aesthetic design, the city must become points of exchange capable of providing the most updated information from across the globe. Conversely, as cities become a convergence of international ideas, the tertiary and quaternary sector can be expected to grow.<ref name="Barnes, T 2011"/><ref name="Golden, Miriam 2006"/>

A cult of 'creatives' have sprung up{{when|date=September 2023}} embodying and often describing and defending the post-industrial ethos. They argue that businesses that create [[intangible goods|intangibles]] have taken a more prominent role in the wake of manufacturing's decline.

Actor and then-artistic director of the [[The Old Vic|Old Vic Theatre]], [[Kevin Spacey]], has argued the economic case for the arts in terms of providing jobs and being of greater importance in exports than manufacturing (as well as an educational role) in a guest column he wrote for ''[[The Times]]''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090511032440/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6251188.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=1185799 The Times] Kevin Spacey makes an economic case for the arts{{subscription required}}</ref>

==Criticism==
Post-industrialism is criticized for the amount of real fundamental change it produces in society, if any at all. A mild view held by Alan Banks and Jim Foster contends that representations of post-industrial society by advocates assume professional, educated elites were previously less relevant than they have become in the new [[social order]], and that changes that have occurred are minor but greatly embellished.<ref name="Banks 1983"/> More critical views see the entire process as the highest evolution of [[capitalism]], wherein the system produces [[Commodity|commodities]] as opposed to practical goods and is determined privately instead of socially. This view is complemented by the assertion that "the characteristic feature of a modern [that is, post-industrial] society is that it is a [[technocracy]]".<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976"/> Such societies then become notable for their ability to subvert [[social consciousness]] through powers of [[Manipulation (psychology)|manipulation]] rather than powers of [[coercion]], reflective of the "ideology of the ruling class [as] … predominantly managerial".<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976"/> [[Pope Francis]] has suggested that "the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history", although he follows this comment with "the hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities".<ref>Pope Francis, [https://www.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf Laudato si'], paragraph 165, published 24 May 2015, accessed 20 April 2024</ref>

In line with the view that nothing fundamental has changed in the transition from industrial societies to post-industrial societies is the insistence of lingering problems from past development periods. [[Malthusianism|Neo-Malthusian]] in essence, this outlook focuses on post-industrial society's continuing struggle with issues of resource [[scarcity]], [[overpopulation]], and [[environmental degradation]], all of which are remnants from its industrial history.<ref name=" Gibson, Donald E. 1993">Gibson, Donald E. "Post-Industrialism: Prosperity or Decline?” Sociological Focus. 26. 2 (1993): 147–163.</ref> This is exacerbated by a "[[corporate liberalism]]" that seeks to continue economic growth through "the creation and satisfaction of [[False consciousness|false needs]]", or as [[Christopher Lasch]] more derisively refers to it, "subsidized waste".<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976"/>

[[Urban planning|Urban development]] (UD) in the context of post-industrialism is also a point of contention. In opposition to the view that the new leaders of post-industrial society are increasingly environmentally aware, this critique asserts that UD rather leads to environmental degradation, which is rooted in the patterns of development. [[Urban sprawl]], characterised behaviourally by cities "expanding at the periphery in even lower densities" and physically by "[[Business park|office parks]], malls, strips, condo clusters, corporate campuses, and gated communities", is singled out as the main issue.<ref name="Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000"/> Resulting from a post-industrialist culture of "[[mobile capital]], the [[service economy]], [[Post-Fordism|post-Fordist]] disposable [[consumerism]] and [[Deregulation|banking deregulation]]", urban sprawl has caused post-industrialism to become environmentally and socially regressive.<ref name="Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000"/> Of the former, environmental degradation results from encroachment as cities meet demands on low-density habitation; the wider spread of population consumes more of the environment while necessitating more energy consumption to facilitate travel within the ever-growing city, incurring greater pollution.<ref name="Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000"/> This process evokes the neo-Malthusian concerns of overpopulation and resource scarcity that inevitably lead to environmental deterioration.<ref name=" Gibson, Donald E. 1993"/> Of the latter, "post-industrialism's doctrine of … mobility and malleability" encourage a disconnect between communities where social belonging falls into the category of things considered by the "post-Fordist disposable consumer[ist]" attitude as interchangeable, expendable, and replaceable.<ref name="Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000"/>

Post-industrialism as a concept is highly [[western culture|Western]]-centric. Theoretically and effectively, it is only possible in the Global West, which its proponents assume to be solely capable of fully realizing industrialization and then post-industrialization. [[Herman Kahn]] optimistically predicted the "economic growth, expanded production and growing efficiency" of post-industrial societies and the resultant "material abundance and… high [[quality of life]]" to extend to "almost all people in Western societies" and only "some in Eastern societies".<ref name="Gibson, Donald E. 1993"/> This prediction is treated elsewhere by contentions that the post-industrial society merely perpetuates capitalism.<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976"/><ref name="Dunham-Jones, Ellen 2000"/>

Recalling the critical assertion that all modern societies are technocracies, [[Theodore Roszak (scholar)|T. Roszak]] completes the analysis by stating that "all societies are moving in the direction of technocracies".<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976"/> From this, the foremost "suave technocracies" reside in the West, whereas all others are successively graded in descending order: "vulgar technocracies", "[[teratoid]] technocracies", and finally "comic opera technocracies".<ref name="Targ, Harry R 1976"/> This view importantly presumes one transition and furthermore one path of transition for societies to undergo, i.e. the one that Western societies are slated to complete. Much like the [[demographic transition]] model, this prediction does not entertain the idea of an Eastern or other alternative models of transitional development.

===Neologism===
When historians and sociologists considered the revolution that followed the agricultural society they did not call it a "post-agricultural society". "Post-industrial society" signifies only a departure, not a positive description.<ref>Veneris, Yannis. The Informational Revolution, Cybernetics and Urban Modelling, PhD Thesis, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 1984. This thesis explored trends and theories (general economic and regional), and developed a large scale dynamic simulation model of the transition from an industrial to an informational economy.</ref><ref>Veneris, Yannis. Modeling the transition from the Industrial to the Informational Revolution, Environment and Planning A 22(3):399–416, 1990. [http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=a220399]</ref>

One of the word's early users, [[Ivan Illich]], prefigured this criticism and invented the term Conviviality, or the [[Convivial Society]], to stand as a positive description of his version of a post-industrial society.

===Social critique===
A group of scholars (including [[Allen J. Scott|Allen Scott]] and [[Edward Soja]]) argue that industry remains at the center of the whole process of capitalist accumulation, with services not only becoming increasingly industrialized and automated but also remaining highly dependent on industrial growth.

Some observers, including Soja (building on the theories of the French philosopher of urbanism [[Henri Lefebvre]]), suggest that although industry may be based outside of a "post-industrial" nation, that nation cannot ignore industry's necessary sociological importance.

Further concerns can be raised regarding the difference in mindset and objectives between those in an industrial society, and those in a post-industrial one. For instance, if the industrial society (producing the raw materials and goods consumed by its peer) were for some reason to cut off supply to the post-industrial nation, there would be little recourse for the latter to ensure that supply chains were not disrupted. Since the society based on ideas would have diminished real product output, the industrial society would be in a position to dictate terms to its counterpart. The response from the "more advanced" nation might be eventually effective or damaging, however it would be hard pressed to bridge the gap until domestic industry could makeup for the lack of imported manufactured goods.

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Deindustrialization]]
* [[Late modernity]]
* [[Late capitalism]]
* [[Industrial society]]
* [[Information society]]
* [[Information revolution]]
* [[Knowledge economy]]
* [[Network society]]
* [[Post-capitalism]]
* [[Post-democracy]]
* [[Post-Marxism]]
* [[Post-modernity]]
* [[Post-scarcity economy]]
* [[Sleepers, Wake!]]
* [[Sociocultural evolution]]
* [[Technological unemployment]]
* [[Urban decay]]
* [[Future Shock]]
{{div col end}}

;People
* [[Heinz von Foerster]]
* [[Alvin Toffler]]
* [[Alain Touraine]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.technology-essays.com/essays/bells_post_industrial_society_essay.htm Post Industrial Society Essay] Criticism of Bell's analysis of the role of information and knowledge in relation to contemporary social change and the extent of these changes. Technology essays, 2005.

{{Types of societies}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post-Industrial Society}}
[[Category:Postindustrial society| ]]
[[Category:Postmodernism|Industrial society]]
[[Category:Social philosophy]]
[[Category:Stages of history]]
[[Category:Information economy]]
[[Category:Social model]]