Post-industrial society

postindustrial society,marked by a transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy, a transition that is also connected with subsequent societal restructuring. Post industrialization is the next evolutionary step from an industrialized society and is most evident in countries and regions that were among the first to experience the Industrial Revolution, such as the United States, western Europe, and Japan.

American sociologist Daniel Bell first coined the term postindustrial in 1973 in his book The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting, which describes several features of a postindustrial society. Postindustrial societies are characterized by:

1. A transition from the production of goods to the production of services, with very few       firms directly manufacturing any goods.

2. The replacement of blue-collar manual labourers with technical and professional               workers—such as computer engineers, doctors, and bankers—as the
    direct production of goods is moved elsewhere.

3. The replacement of practical knowledge with theoretical knowledge.

4. Greater attention being paid to the theoretical and ethical implications of new                   technologies, which helps society avoid some of the negative features of
    introducing new technologies, such as environmental accidents and massive
    widespread power outages.

5. The development of newer scientific disciplines—such as those that involve
    new forms of information technology, cybernetics, or artificial intelligence
    —to assess the theoretical and ethical implications of new technologies.

6. A stronger emphasis on the university and polytechnic institutes, which
   produce graduates who create and guide the new technologies crucial to
   a postindustrial society.