The coming of post-industrial
society - Bell
Class Media technology & society
Central role of information & knowledge
→ new tech permeated offices, schools & homes
→ urge to discover where all these changes were leading
→ revival of interest in forecasting the future
→ pivotal role of Daniel Bell in foreseeing post-industrialism
Post-industrial society
Characterised by heightened presence & significance of information
Information & knowledge are crucial
→ both quantitatively & qualitatively
Lead by the US
Bell’s evolutionist thinking = history automatically headed towards post-
industrialism
→ came from pre-industrial & industrial society
→ predicted in 1970s how social structures in 21st century would look
Evolutionist thinking = self-satisfied & intellectually vulnerable
Fallacy of historicism = idea that it is possible to identify underlying
laws or trends of history + foresee the future
Trap of teleological thinking = notion that societies change towards
some ultimate goal
Bell denies these accusations
→ but that does not ensure his innocence
Typology of different societies dependent on predominant mode of
employment
→ most common type of work = defining feature (critically reflect on this)
→ post-industrial = service employment
Separate realms
The coming of post-industrial society - Bell 1
, Bell’s starting principle = social structure is separate from politics
→ post-industrial society comes from changes in social structure, not
politics or culture
Changes in social structure = economy, occupational structure &
stratification system
‘I am a conservative in culture, socialist in economics, liberal in politics’
→ nice sentence, but these things are not separate in real life
→ one of the reasons not all of his predicitions came true
No evidence or argument to justify this principle
→ division = arbitrary
→ pivotal for several aspect’s of Bell’s work
Enables him to hold contradictory views at the same time
→ so he can appear credible in all three realms, instead of confused &
contradictory
Enables him to sidestep how changes in one realm influences another
Post-industrialist society
Change in employment = change in society
→ increases in productivity is the key to change
→ rationalisation & efficiency as drivers of change (possibility to get more
for less)
→ industrialisation = march of mechanisation & automation
Questions are not about tech, but what lies under the discovery and use of
the tech
→ innate need to be more efficient, want more for less or result of
structure?
With basic needs fulfilled, focus on other ‘once unthinkable’ luxuries
possible
→ start of change of society
→ satisfying new needs, this is ever-going
→ new needs will keep coming up
New needs of today
→ AI to think for us (really wasn’t needed)
→ skincare products
The coming of post-industrial society - Bell 2
society - Bell
Class Media technology & society
Central role of information & knowledge
→ new tech permeated offices, schools & homes
→ urge to discover where all these changes were leading
→ revival of interest in forecasting the future
→ pivotal role of Daniel Bell in foreseeing post-industrialism
Post-industrial society
Characterised by heightened presence & significance of information
Information & knowledge are crucial
→ both quantitatively & qualitatively
Lead by the US
Bell’s evolutionist thinking = history automatically headed towards post-
industrialism
→ came from pre-industrial & industrial society
→ predicted in 1970s how social structures in 21st century would look
Evolutionist thinking = self-satisfied & intellectually vulnerable
Fallacy of historicism = idea that it is possible to identify underlying
laws or trends of history + foresee the future
Trap of teleological thinking = notion that societies change towards
some ultimate goal
Bell denies these accusations
→ but that does not ensure his innocence
Typology of different societies dependent on predominant mode of
employment
→ most common type of work = defining feature (critically reflect on this)
→ post-industrial = service employment
Separate realms
The coming of post-industrial society - Bell 1
, Bell’s starting principle = social structure is separate from politics
→ post-industrial society comes from changes in social structure, not
politics or culture
Changes in social structure = economy, occupational structure &
stratification system
‘I am a conservative in culture, socialist in economics, liberal in politics’
→ nice sentence, but these things are not separate in real life
→ one of the reasons not all of his predicitions came true
No evidence or argument to justify this principle
→ division = arbitrary
→ pivotal for several aspect’s of Bell’s work
Enables him to hold contradictory views at the same time
→ so he can appear credible in all three realms, instead of confused &
contradictory
Enables him to sidestep how changes in one realm influences another
Post-industrialist society
Change in employment = change in society
→ increases in productivity is the key to change
→ rationalisation & efficiency as drivers of change (possibility to get more
for less)
→ industrialisation = march of mechanisation & automation
Questions are not about tech, but what lies under the discovery and use of
the tech
→ innate need to be more efficient, want more for less or result of
structure?
With basic needs fulfilled, focus on other ‘once unthinkable’ luxuries
possible
→ start of change of society
→ satisfying new needs, this is ever-going
→ new needs will keep coming up
New needs of today
→ AI to think for us (really wasn’t needed)
→ skincare products
The coming of post-industrial society - Bell 2
