Post-industrial society has a distinctive feature: during the scientific and technological revolution, the predominant production of goods gave way to the production of services. At the same time, knowledge and information became the main production resources. Thus, the driving force and foundation of the economy are scientific developments, and the most important qualities for an employee are learning, professionalism and creativity.
The post-industrial structure of the economy suggests that in the general structure of GDP, more than 50% falls on the services sector.
At the dawn of the 21st century, the United States (services - 80% of GDP, 2002), the EU countries (69.4%, 2004) and Japan (67.7%, 2001) were classified as post-industrial states.
Key features of the post-industrial economy
Now let us consider in more detail how the post-industrial structure differs from the industrial one:
- The growing importance of information and knowledge - a large share of the value of the goods is not paid for machines, materials, routine labor, but marketing research, development, design concepts, etc.
- An increase in the share of high-tech products in the structure of GDP.
- Technological improvement and automation of production processes.
- The growth of the share of services in the structure of GDP, as well as the flow of labor into it.
- Changing the structure of the needs of the population — intangible goods and free time are becoming increasingly important for people.
- The emergence of a new labor motivation - the employee is interested not only in material incentives, he also seeks to realize himself professionally and creatively, to take part in production management.
Speaking about how the post-industrial structure differs from the industrial one, one should also note the rapidly growing role of information production.
The main costs are the manufacture of the initial sample. Further copying costs will be negligible.
However, this sphere cannot develop without the active protection of intellectual property rights at the legislative level, as well as without a sufficient number of consumers who are able to use it productively and are ready to offer “non-informational” goods in exchange.
Strengthening the position of small and medium-sized businesses
What is the difference between the post-industrial structure and the industrial structure besides this? One of the most important features is the reduction of the role of mass production and the simultaneous development of small business. A large number of small-scale products with various modifications, new service options are entering the market. Having the opportunity to meet the needs of different consumer groups, flexible small enterprises for the first time become competitive. Moreover, they manage to take worthy positions not only in local markets, but also beyond them (on a global scale).
Technological change
Studying what distinguishes the post-industrial structure from the industrial one, it is worthwhile to examine in detail the ongoing technological changes. In a post-industrial society, the main emphasis is on the development of resource-saving, high-tech and information (high) technologies:
- software;
- microelectronics;
- robotics;
- telecommunications;
- biotechnology;
- production of materials with predefined properties.
At the same time, electronic technologies replace traditional mechanical interactions, the production process becomes automated, and instead of unskilled labor, machines and computers are used.
Social transformation
The structure of post-industrial society, in particular, the composition of labor resources, is changing. This means that the share of physical labor in the production process decreases, while highly skilled and creative mental work, on the contrary, becomes more important. Increasingly large labor costs are required: training, continuing education, etc.
The dominant role is played by meritocracy - the intellectual elite. The main is the so-called class of professionals. D. Bell, the founder of post-industrialism, also noted a tendency toward property stratification based on education.
If the industrial structure of the economy implies a constant need for unskilled labor, then in a post-industrial society, a population with a low level of education, on the contrary, encounters difficulties.
The main form of life is the development of human abilities and inclinations, and material motivation is partly giving way to the desire for self-expression in activity.