Industrial civilization

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Krupp factories in 1864. Krupp-Werke in Essen 1864.jpeg
Krupp factories in 1864.

Industrial civilization refers to the state of civilization following the Industrial Revolution, characterised by widespread use of powered machines. [1] The transition of an individual region from pre-industrial society into an industrial society is referred to as the process of industrialisation, which may occur in different regions of the world at different times. Individual regions may specialise further as the civilisation continues to advance, resulting in some regions transitioning to a service economy, [2] or information society, or post-industrial society (these are still dependent on industry, but allow individuals to move out of manufacturing jobs). The present era is sometimes referred to as the Information Age . De-industrialization of a region may occur for a range of reasons. [3]

Contents

Industrial civilization has allowed a significant growth both in world population, thanks to mechanised agriculture and advances in modern medicine, and in the standard of living.

Such a civilization is mostly dependent on fossil fuel, with efforts underway to find alternatives for energy production. Some areas have exhibited de-industrialization as certain industries go into decline, [4] or are superseded.

Contrast with other terms

Contrast with industrial society

Industrial civilization refers to the broader state of civilization, which spans multiple societies; industrial society just to specific segments (within the civilization) dependent on manufacturing jobs, whilst industrial civilisation as a whole involves many regions interdependent (via international trade) specialized in different ways, including information society and service economy. Note that these societies are still dependent on industrial civilization for their goods, and food imports coming from mechanised agriculture. [5]

Contrast with Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution is the historical event that ushered in industrial civilization. The modern world has evolved further following development in mass production and information technology (allowing service economy, and information society).

Contrast with industrialisation

Industrialisation is the process of any individual area being transformed. Industrial civilisation as a whole may have regions that still benefit from industrial societies, without being industrialised themselves, or having specialised in other ways (e.g. service economies). [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial Revolution</span> 1760–1840 period of rapid technological change

The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a period of global transition of the human economy towards more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes that succeeded the Agricultural Revolution. Beginning in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution spread to continental Europe and the United States, during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines; new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes; the increasing use of water power and steam power; the development of machine tools; and the rise of the mechanised factory system. Output greatly increased, and the result was an unprecedented rise in population and the rate of population growth. The textile industry was the first to use modern production methods, and textiles became the dominant industry in terms of employment, value of output, and capital invested.

Import substitution industrialization (ISI) is a trade and economic policy that advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production. It is based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of industrialized products. The term primarily refers to 20th-century development economics policies, but it has been advocated since the 18th century by economists such as Friedrich List and Alexander Hamilton.

An information society is a society or subculture where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid growth of a variety of forms of information. Proponents of this theory posit that these technologies are impacting most important forms of social organization, including education, economy, health, government, warfare, and levels of democracy. The people who are able to partake in this form of society are sometimes called either computer users or even digital citizens, defined by K. Mossberger as “Those who use the Internet regularly and effectively”. This is one of many dozen internet terms that have been identified to suggest that humans are entering a new and different phase of society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrialisation</span> Period of social and economic change from agrarian to industrial society

Industrialisation (UK) or industrialization (US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing. Industrialisation is associated with increase of polluting industries heavily dependent on fossil fuels. With the increasing focus on sustainable development and green industrial policy practices, industrialisation increasingly includes technological leapfrogging, with direct investment in more advanced, cleaner technologies.

The knowledge economy, or knowledge-based economy, is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific innovation. The key element of value is the greater dependence on human capital and intellectual property as the source of innovative ideas, information and practices. Organisations are required to capitalise on this "knowledge" in their production to stimulate and deepen the business development process. There is less reliance on physical input and natural resources. A knowledge-based economy relies on the crucial role of intangible assets within the organisations' settings in facilitating modern economic growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial society</span> Society driven by the use of technology to enable mass production

In sociology, an industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world in the period of time following the Industrial Revolution, and replaced the agrarian societies of the pre-modern, pre-industrial age. Industrial societies are generally mass societies, and may be succeeded by an information society. They are often contrasted with traditional societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-industrial society</span> Society whose service sector provides more economic value than manufacturing

In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy.

The Rostovian take-off model is one of the major historical models of economic growth. It was developed by W. W. Rostow. The model postulates that economic modernization occurs in five basic stages, of varying length.

  1. Traditional society
  2. Preconditions for take-off
  3. Take-off
  4. Drive to maturity
  5. Age of High mass consumption
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underdevelopment</span> Concept in international economics, associated with lesser well-being

Underdevelopment, in the context of international development, reflects a broad condition or phenomena defined and critiqued by theorists in fields such as economics, development studies, and postcolonial studies. Used primarily to distinguish states along benchmarks concerning human development—such as macro-economic growth, health, education, and standards of living—an "underdeveloped" state is framed as the antithesis of a "developed", modern, or industrialized state. Popularized, dominant images of underdeveloped states include those that have less stable economies, less democratic political regimes, greater poverty, malnutrition, and poorer public health and education systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agrarian society</span> Community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland

An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agriculture. In agrarian society, cultivating the land is the primary source of wealth. Such a society may acknowledge other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses the importance of agriculture and farming. Agrarian societies have existed in various parts of the world as far back as 10,000 years ago and continue to exist today. They have been the most common form of socio-economic organization for most of recorded human history.

The term Family Economy can be used to describe the family as an economic unit. The early stages of development in many economies are characterized by family based production.

A post-industrial economy is a period of growth within an industrialized economy or nation in which the relative importance of manufacturing reduces and that of services, information, and research grows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pre-industrial society</span> Societies before industrialization

Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850. Pre-industrial refers to a time before there were machines and tools to help perform tasks en masse. Pre-industrial civilization dates back to centuries ago, but the main era known as the pre-industrial society occurred right before the industrial society. Pre-Industrial societies vary from region to region depending on the culture of a given area or history of social and political life. Europe was known for its feudal system and the Italian Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Divergence</span> Period/event in European history

The Great Divergence or European miracle is the socioeconomic shift in which the Western world overcame pre-modern growth constraints and emerged during the 19th century as the most powerful and wealthy world civilizations, eclipsing previously dominant or comparable civilizations from the Middle East and Asia such as Qing China, Mughal India, the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Iran, and Tokugawa Japan, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-sector model</span> Model in economics

The three-sector model in economics divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials (primary), manufacturing (secondary), and service industries which exist to facilitate the transport, distribution and sale of goods produced in the secondary sector (tertiary). The model was developed by Allan Fisher, Colin Clark, and Jean Fourastié in the first half of the 20th century, and is a representation of an industrial economy. It has been criticised as inappropriate as a representation of the economy in the 21st century.

Proto-industrialization is the regional development, alongside commercial agriculture, of rural handicraft production for external markets. The term was introduced in the early 1970s by economic historians who argued that such developments in parts of Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries created the social and economic conditions that led to the Industrial Revolution. Later researchers suggested that similar conditions had arisen in other parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Periphery countries</span> Less developed, poorer nations in world-systems theory

In world systems theory, the periphery countries are those that are less developed than the semi-periphery and core countries. These countries usually receive a disproportionately small share of global wealth. They have weak state institutions and are dependent on — and, according to some, exploited by — more developed countries. These countries are usually behind because of obstacles such as lack of technology, unstable government, and poor education and health systems. In some instances, the exploitation of periphery countries' agriculture, cheap labor, and natural resources aid core countries in remaining dominant. This is best described by dependency theory, which is one theory on how globalization can affect the world and the countries in it. It is, however, possible for periphery countries to rise out of their status and move into semi-periphery or core status. This can be done by doing things such as industrializing, stabilizing the government and political climate, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-periphery countries</span> Industrializing countries in world-systems theory

In world-systems theory, the semi-periphery countries are the industrializing, mostly capitalist countries which are positioned between the periphery and core countries. Semi-periphery countries have organizational characteristics of both core countries and periphery countries and are often geographically located between core and peripheral regions as well as between two or more competing core regions. Semi-periphery regions play a major role in mediating economic, political, and social activities that link core and peripheral areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of the Soviet Union</span>

The economy of the Soviet Union was based on state ownership of the means of production, collective farming, and industrial manufacturing. An administrative-command system managed a distinctive form of central planning. The Soviet economy was characterized by state control of investment, prices, a dependence on natural resources, lack of consumer goods, little foreign trade, public ownership of industrial assets, macroeconomic stability, low unemployment and high job security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of industrialisation</span>

This article delineates the history of industrialisation.

References

  1. "WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND HISTORY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT – Industrial Civilization - Robert Holton" (PDF).
  2. "service economy" (PDF).
  3. "economic issues - deindustrialization (IMF)".
  4. Lazonick, William (1981). "industrial decline". The Journal of Economic History. 41: 31–38. doi:10.1017/S0022050700042716. S2CID   154585521.
  5. 1 2 Gershuny, J.I. (April 1977). "the myth of the service economy". Futures. 9 (2): 103–114. doi:10.1016/0016-3287(77)90003-9.