Post-industrial Society or Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions?

Hristo Prodanov
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Hristo Prodanov: University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria

Ikonomiceski i Sotsialni Alternativi, 2022, issue 1, 80-94

Abstract: The aim of the article is to answer one of the most interesting questions in recent decades – is there a transition to a post-industrial society or to the Third and then to the Fourth Industrial Revolution since the 1970s. The approach is politico-economic, because the main role for the development of technologies is played by the state, which tries to secure certain competitive and strategic advantages in the world race. The answer to the above question goes through the discussions on it, and through the analysis of the various concepts and the growing amount of empirical data. Therefore, the article begins with the emergence, development and essence of the concept of post-industrial society. Then the contradictions in the concepts of post-industrial society are considered and it is concluded that the industrial society continues to exist and the share of the industry increases, but the industry itself is increasingly changing and intellectualizing to produce all those industrial goods through which post-industrial technologies related to information, data and knowledge are realized. Attention is then paid to the special case of China, which in the context of the development of postindustrial societies in the West has managed to become industrialized, with the state having a special role in this regard, and this makes it the fastest growing economic power in history. After that the shift of geo-economic balances as a result of China’s rise and the West’s deindustrialization are considered a mistake, which is leading to new attempts at industrialization. The article ends with new industrial policies and the loss of legitimacy of theories of post-industrial society with the unfolding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution after the crisis of 2007-2008.

Keywords: industrial revolution; post-industrial society; industrial society; technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L16 O11 O25 O38 O57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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