11.6.3: Postindustrial Societies:

 11.6.3: Postindustrial Societies: 

The Birth of the Information Age The society that followed the industrial society is known, logically and uncreatively, as the postindustrial society (Bell 1973). 

Its six primary characteristics are: 

(1) a service sector so large that most people work in it, 

(2) a vast surplus of goods,

 (3) even more extensive trade among nations, 

(4) a wider variety and quantity of goods available to the average person,

 (5) an information explosion, and

 (6) an interconnected global village—that is, the world’s nations are linked by fast communications, transportation, and trade. 

To see why analysts use the term postindustrial society to describe the United States, look at Figure 11.3. The change shown in this figure is without parallel in human history. In the 1800s, most U.S. workers were farmers. 

Today, farmers make up about 1 percent of the workforce. With the technology of the 1800s, a typical farmer produced enough food to feed five people. 

With today’s powerful machinery and hybrid seeds, a farmer now feeds about eighty.

 In 1940, about half of U.S. workers wore a blue collar. 

As changing technology shrank the market for blue-collar jobs, white-collar work continued its ascent, reaching the dominant position it holds today.

 Figure 11.3 The Revolutionary Change in the U.S.

 Workforce SOURCE: Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2019: Table 639. The vertical axis of the graph represents “Percentage” ranging from 0 to 100 in increments of 10, while the horizontal axis represents “Year” ranging from 1900 to 2020 in increments of 20 years. The graph shows three lines as follows: The line on top represents “blue-collar,” beginning at 40 percent in the year 1900, which rises to 48 percent in 1940. Further, it is shown to decline till 13 percent, in the year 2020. The curve in the middle represents “white-collar,” beginning at 20 percent, in the year 1900, which rises exponentially to 85 percent, in 2020. The curve at bottom represents “farming,” beginning at 31 percent in 1900, which is shown to decline till 12 percent in 1930, beyond which it further declines to 2, in 1980. It further remains constant be-tween 1980 and 2020. Note: All data is approximate. Hearing from the Author: The Meaning of Market Listen to the Audio

 The commonsense meaning of market is a place where people exchange or buy and sell goods. Such old-fashioned markets remain common in the Least Industrialized Nations, such as this one in Vietnam. I took this photo in a village market outside Ho Chi Minh City. The customer (squatting, as is customary in Vietnam) does not have to wonder if her chicken is fresh. Credit: James M. Henslin