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T E C H N O L O G Y , L I K E
ART, IS A SOARING
EXERCISE OF THE
HUMAN IMAGINATION
D A N I E L B E L L ( 1 9 1 9 – 2 0 1 1 )
D
uring the 1960s and
1970s profound changes
swept through the
economic basis of society in
Western Europe and the US. In his
influential work The Coming
of Post-Industrial Society (1973),
political journalist and sociologist
Daniel Bell developed the concept
of “post-industrialism” to refer to
these changes. Having lived in
New York and Chicago, Bell hadfirst-hand experience of the rapid
and extensive urban development
that was taking place.
Bell agrees with Karl Marx that
the bourgeoisie, or capitalist class,
was the most powerful social group
in industrial society because they
owned the means of production—
the factories and machines that
produced the goods consumed
by the wider population. In
Bell’s post-industrial society,Post-industrial society is characterized by the proliferation
of scientific and theoretical knowledge.Scientific
progress leads to
technological
advances and the
rise of service
industries.Universities and
industry-based
research are
key drivers of
innovation and
social change.Technocrats
gain power due
to their technical
competence
and specialist
knowledge.Advances in technology lead society in
imaginative and unpredictable new directions.IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Post-industrialismKEY DATES
1850s–80s Karl Marx argues
that the social power of the
bourgeoisie, or capitalist class,
derives from ownership of
industrial machines.1904–05 Max Weber’s The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit
of Capitalism points to the
increasingly rational nature
of modern culture.1970s Leading US sociologist
Talcott Parsons defends the
values and advancement of
modern industrial society.1970–72 Daniel Bell forecasts
the rise of the Internet and
the importance of home
computers.From the 1990s The
concept of post-industrialism
informs the theories of
globalization experts Ulrich
Beck and Manuel Castells.