INTRODUCTION
Pre-industrial
societies are societies that existed before the Industrial Revolution, which
took place in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some remote societies
today may share characteristics with these historical societies, and may, therefore,
also be referred to as pre-industrial.
In general, pre-industrial societies
share certain social attributes and forms of political and cultural
organization, including limited production, a predominantly agricultural
economy, limited division of labor, limited variation of social class, and
parochialism at large. While pre-industrial societies share these
characteristics in common, they may otherwise take on very different forms. Two
specific forms of pre-industrial society are hunter-gatherer societies and
feudal societies.
Industrial societies rely heavily on
machines powered by fuels for the production of goods. This produced further
dramatic increases in efficiency. The
increased efficiency of production of the industrial revolution produced an
even greater surplus than before. Now the surplus was not just agricultural
goods, but also manufactured goods.
DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS
Social order is
a set of linked social structure, social institution and social practice which
conserve, maintain and enforce way of behaving (C.N. Shankarrao).
Social
order refers to
the manner in which a society is organized and the rules and standards required
to maintain that organization (www.medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com).
Population
is a summation of all organisms of the same species which live in the same
geographical area and have the capacity of interbreeding (Perthy, T. 2008).
Population
refers to a group of persons who can be delimited on the basis of some
observable characteristics (H. MacBeth and
P. Collinson, 2002).
Pre-industrial society
refers to specific social attributes and forms of political and cultural
organization that were prevalent before the advent of the industrial revolution.
Industrial society
is a social system whose mode of production focuses primarily on finished goods
manufactured with the aid of machinery (http://sociology.about.com).
Industrial society is a society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and
services (Mukenge T, 2002).
FEATURES OF PRE-INDUSTRIAL
POPULATION
Limited production, production
in pre-industrial societies was predominantly agricultural providing most of
the population with no more than the bare means of survival. A small elite (the
nobles and clergy), who were in control of power, had a very high standard of
living for those times. Methods of cultivation and agricultural implements were
ancient and therefore productivity was still low (Groria K.F, 2002).
Demography, in
pre-industrial population the birthrate was extremely high because
contraceptive methods were not exposed. The infant mortality rate was very high
and therefore a high fertility rate was essential for the survival of our
species. Especially since the mortality rate was also very high, life
expectancy being around 35/40 years (because of starvation, lack of hygiene and
inadequate medical knowledge). The population also grew slowly because it was
periodically reduced by disease, famine and war (Joseph R.S, 1955).
Primarily agriculture economy, pre
industrial society was characterized by agricultural production, mainly of
subsistence crops. This was carried out by peasant farmers. A direct share of
their output was taken by landlords. Instead of producing crops for a market,
workers exchanged the crops they grew for access to land, which was owned by a
feudal lord. The economy was based on the exchange of labor for land instead of
the exchange of wages for labor. Other primary sector activities also existed,
such as hunting, fishing, forestry and some mining, as they had always done
(Groria K.F, 2002).
Limited division of labor,in
pre-industrial societies, production was relatively simple and the number of
specialized crafts was limit.The extent of this division must always be limited
by the extent of that power, or, in other words, by the extent of the market.
When the market is very small, no person can have any encouragement to dedicate
himself entirely to one employment, for want of the power to exchange all that
surplus part of the produce of his own labour, which is over and above his own
consumption, for such parts of the produce of other men’s labour as he has
occasion for (Jerry H.B, 2003).
FEATURE OF INDUSTRIAL POPULATION
Increase in production,
both agricultural products and industrial goods increased in industrial
population as compared to pre-industrial population. This is due to advancement
of technology and discovery of new machines required in production activities.
For example, the discovery of cultivating and harvesting machines as well as
new industrial machines results to the increase of agricultural products and
good in this industrial population (www.nber.org).
Competition in economy,
this is one of the most important features of industrial population. It implies
the existence of large number of buyers and sellers in the market who are
motivated by self-interest but cannot influence market decisions by their
individual actions. It is competition among buyers and sellers that determines
the production, consumption and distribution of goods and services. There being
sufficient price flexibility under capitalism, prices adjust themselves to
changes in demand, in production techniques, and in the supply of factors of
production. Changes in prices, in turn, bring adjustments in production, factor
demand and individual incomes (Robert J.G,2011).
Private Ownership and Management of
Means of Production, this feature show that, instruments of
production are owned by private individuals and they are managed by the owners
exclusively for their own benefit. Thus, private individuals are the owners of
farms and factories. They carry on the business of agriculture, trade and
industry for their own personal profit and not for the benefit of the society.
The result is that the lion's share of the national surplus goes to the
powerful capitalist and the rich landlord. The masses are exploited and do not
get a fair return on their labor.
Class Conflict, industrialsociety
or population is characterized by class conflict. The poor are exploited by the
rich. This leads to mutual distrust between the workers and the employers and
to social unrest.In this population the society is divided into two classes,
the "haves" and the "have-nots" which are constantly at war
with each other. There is the conflict of labor and capital going on in all
capitalistic countries, and there seems to be no near solution of this problem.
One regards the other as its natural enemy. It seems this class-conflict is
inherent in capitalism.
The following are breakdown of
social order in pre-industrial and industrial population
Market revolution, rapid
improvements in transportation, commercialization, and industrialization caused
the market revolution in the early 19th century; the market revolution undermined the social order in preindustrial population.
The economy was based mostly on agricultural production. Instead of producing
crops for a market, workers exchanged the crops they grew for access to land,
which was owned by a feudal lord. The economy was based on the exchange of
labor for land instead of the exchange of wages for labor that is typical in
industrial society. Whereby families
changed under the weight of the market revolution, as production moved out of
the household, family and work matters became separate.
Industrial
revolution, before the industrial revolution the
society used labour force for production but during industrial revolution they
changed the system because there was reduction of labour force whereby machines
replaced labor. The
breakup of agricultural-based feudal societies caused many people to leave the
land and seek employment in cities. This created a great surplus of labor and
gave capitalists plenty of laborers who could be hired for extremely low wages.
Emergence of nuclear family, with industrialization, the functions of the family
changed and one of the major transformations was the diminishing importance of the extended family and the
emergence of the nuclear family. As nuclear families replace
extended families in industrial societies, older people no longer reside with
their adult children (Donald cowgill, 1998).
Education development, Most
of human history lies in pre-history,
the period before the use of writing, and before written history. In
preindustrial societies, education was achieved through demonstration and copying
as the young learned from their elders. Rural communities had few resources to
expend on education, and there was a lack of commercially available products
for schools. At later stages they received instruction of a more structured and
formal nature, imparted by people not necessarily related, in the context of
initiation, religion or ritual. Some forms of traditional knowledge
were expressed through stories, legends, folklore, rituals, and songs, without
the need for a writing
system. The change from
informal to formal education results to the development of technology,
improvement of schools and expansion of skills and knowledge which lead to the
increase of discovery and innovation.
This factor brought about the breakdown of social order in preindustrial
population (Gloria K. F, 2002)
The breakdown of social order in
Industrial population
Child rearing;
became more difficult and expensive within the society because the emergence of
industrial societies was perpetuating variety of jobs or works that lead the
increase of employment of women outside the home and leaving the children or
families in trouble.
Demographic transition, this
was a transition period from high birth and death rate to low birth and death
rate as a country develops from pre-industrial to an industrial economic system.
When the size, or the structure, of population alters, then significant
developments almost always ensue. In most industrial societies, birthrates have
dropped substantially below the level required to keep populations at their
present size.
Immigration;
A decline in the populations of industrialized societies, however, is unlikely
because of the great influx of immigrants from the Third world. The economic opportunities and high standards
of living in the industrial democracies, together with the growth of the
welfare state are a powerful magnet for people whose own societies are
suffering the throes of early industrialization Immigration of this magnitude
would create problems in any society but it is especially serious when
substantial cultural differences are introduced into populations that have been
culturally homogeneous for centuries. But when high levels of immigration are
combined with global economic recession or decline and high rates of
unemployment, the situation can become explosive.
Conclusion
Generally,
in the breakdown of social order people are forced to fend for themselves and
their families, by any means necessary. Various ways will help you and your
loved ones survive a breakdown of the social order until such time that help
can arrive, or, if help does not come, prepare you towards the long-term goal
of rebuilding society in the aftermath.
REFERENCES
Groria
K.F (2002), The Humanistic Tradition, 4th edition, Mc Grow Hill, New
York
Jerry H. B (2003),
Traditional Encounters, A Global Perspectve on the past, 2nd
edition, Mc Grow Hill, New York
Joseph
R.S (1955), Wesren Europe in the middle Age, Princeton University, New York
MACBeth
H. and Collinson P, (2002), Human
Population Dynamics Cross-disciplinary
Perspective, University Press Cambridge
Mukenge, Tshilemalema (2002): Culture
and Customs of the Congo. Greenwood Press, Westport, pp 1-185.
Perthy,
T, (2008), Education for all population, New York, University Press
Retrieved on 30th March, 2014 from
http://www.nber.org/chapters/c9671.pdf pre industrial
Retrieved on 30th March, 2014 from
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/social+order
Retrieved on 8th
April 2014 from http://sociology.about.com/od/I_Index/g/Industrial
Society
Retrieved on
8th April March, 2014 from http://www2.fiu.edu/~grenierg/chapter13.htm
Written By AUSI CHIWAMBO (2014)-Teofilo Kisanji University
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