Which of the Following Are Characteristics of the Preindustrial Family?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe the deviation between preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial societies
• Empathize the office of environment on preindustrial societies
• Understand how technology impacts societal evolution

How does technology influence a society's daily occupations? (Photograph courtesy of Mo Riza/flickr)

Hunting and gathering tribes, industrialized Japan, Americans—each is a lodge. But what does this mean? Exactly what is a order? In sociological terms, society refers to a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same civilisation. On a broader scale, guild consists of the people and institutions around us, our shared beliefs, and our cultural ideas. Typically, more-advanced societies also share a political potency.

Sociologist Gerhard Lenski (1924–) defined societies in terms of their technological sophistication. Every bit a gild advances, so does its apply of technology. Societies with rudimentary technology depend on the fluctuations of their environments, while industrialized societies take more control over the impact of their surroundings and thus develop different cultural features. This distinction is so of import that sociologists generally classify societies along a spectrum of their level of industrialization—from preindustrial to industrial to postindustrial.

Preindustrial Societies

Before the Industrial Revolution and the widespread use of machines, societies were small, rural, and dependent largely on local resources. Economic product was limited to the corporeality of labor a human being beingness could provide, and there were few specialized occupations. The very start occupation was that of hunter-gatherer.

Hunter-Gatherer

Hunter-gatherer societies demonstrate the strongest dependence on the environment of the various types of preindustrial societies. Every bit the bones construction of human order until nearly 10,000–12,000 years ago, these groups were based around kinship or tribes. Hunter-gatherers relied on their surroundings for survival—they hunted wild animals and foraged for uncultivated plants for food. When resources became deficient, the group moved to a new surface area to find sustenance, meaning they were nomadic. These societies were common until several hundred years agone, but today but a few hundred remain in existence, such as indigenous Australian tribes sometimes referred to every bit "aborigines," or the Bambuti, a group of pygmy hunter-gatherers residing in the Democratic Democracy of Congo. Hunter-gatherer groups are chop-chop disappearing as the world's population explodes.

Pastoral

Changing weather condition and adaptations led some societies to rely on the domestication of animals where circumstances permitted. Roughly 7,500 years ago, human societies began to recognize their ability to tame and brood animals and to abound and cultivate their own plants. Pastoral societies, such every bit the Maasai villagers, rely on the domestication of animals as a resources for survival. Dissimilar earlier hunter-gatherers who depended entirely on existing resource to stay live, pastoral groups were able to breed livestock for nutrient, clothing, and transportation, and they created a surplus of goods. Herding, or pastoral, societies remained nomadic considering they were forced to follow their animals to fresh feeding grounds. Effectually the time that pastoral societies emerged, specialized occupations began to develop, and societies commenced trading with local groups.

Where Societies Meet—The Worst and the All-time

When cultures meet, applied science can assist, hinder, and even destroy. The Exxon Valdez oil spillage in Alaska nearly destroyed the local inhabitant'southward entire style of life. Oil spills in the Nigerian Delta have forced many of the Ogoni tribe from their land and forced removal has meant that over 100,000 Ogoni have sought refuge in the land of Benin (University of Michigan, due north.d.). And the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2006 drew keen attention as it occurred in what is the most developed country, the U.s.. Environmental disasters continue as Western technology and its need for energy expands into less adult (peripheral) regions of the earth.

Of course not all technology is bad. We take electrical light for granted in the The states, Europe, and the rest of the developed world. Such light extends the day and allows usa to piece of work, read, and travel at nighttime. It makes us safer and more than productive. But regions in India, Africa, and elsewhere are not so fortunate. Coming together the challenge, one particular arrangement, Barefoot College, located in District Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, works with numerous less developed nations to bring solar electricity, h2o solutions, and pedagogy. The focus for the solar projects is the village elders. The elders concur to select 2 grandmothers to be trained as solar engineers and cull a village committee composed of men and women to help operate the solar program.

The program has brought light to over 450,000 people in 1,015 villages. The environmental rewards include a large reduction in the utilize of kerosene and in carbon dioxide emissions. The fact that the villagers are operating the projects themselves helps minimize their sense of dependence.

Otherwise skeptic or hesitant villagers are more easily convinced of the value of the solar project when they realize that the "solar engineers" are their local grandmothers. (Photo courtesy of Abri le Roux/flickr)

Horticultural

Around the same time that pastoral societies were on the rise, some other type of society adult, based on the newly developed capacity for people to grow and cultivate plants. Previously, the depletion of a region'south crops or water supply forced pastoral societies to relocate in search of food sources for their livestock. Horticultural societies formed in areas where rainfall and other weather condition immune them to grow stable crops. They were similar to hunter-gatherers in that they largely depended on the environment for survival, but since they didn't accept to abandon their location to follow resources, they were able to start permanent settlements. This created more stability and more textile goods and became the footing for the start revolution in human survival.

Agricultural

While pastoral and horticultural societies used small, temporary tools such as excavation sticks or hoes, agronomical societies relied on permanent tools for survival. Effectually 3000 B.C.E., an explosion of new technology known as the Agricultural Revolution made farming possible—and assisting. Farmers learned to rotate the types of crops grown on their fields and to reuse waste products such equally fertilizer, which led to amend harvests and bigger surpluses of food. New tools for digging and harvesting were fabricated of metal, and this made them more effective and longer lasting. Human settlements grew into towns and cities, and especially bountiful regions became centers of trade and commerce.

This is also the historic period in which people had the time and comfort to appoint in more wistful and thoughtful activities, such every bit music, poetry, and philosophy. This period became referred to as the "dawn of civilisation" past some considering of the development of leisure and humanities. Craftspeople were able to support themselves through the production of creative, decorative, or idea-provoking aesthetic objects and writings.

Equally resource became more than plentiful, social classes became more divisive. Those who had more than resources could afford better living and adult into a class of nobility. Divergence in social standing betwixt men and women increased. As cities expanded, buying and preservation of resources became a pressing business concern.

Feudal

The ninth century gave rise to feudal societies. These societies contained a strict hierarchical arrangement of power based effectually land ownership and protection. The nobility, known as lords, placed vassals in charge of pieces of land. In render for the resource that the country provided, vassals promised to fight for their lords.

These individual pieces of state, known every bit fiefdoms, were cultivated by the lower course. In render for maintaining the country, peasants were guaranteed a place to live and protection from outside enemies. Ability was handed down through family unit lines, with peasant families serving lords for generations and generations. Ultimately, the social and economic system of bullwork failed and was replaced by commercialism and the technological advances of the industrial era.

Industrial Gild

In the eighteenth century, Europe experienced a dramatic ascension in technological invention, ushering in an era known as the Industrial Revolution. What fabricated this catamenia remarkable was the number of new inventions that influenced people'due south daily lives. Within a generation, tasks that had until this bespeak required months of labor became achievable in a matter of days. Earlier the Industrial Revolution, work was largely person- or brute-based, and relied on human workers or horses to power mills and drive pumps. In 1782, James Watt and Matthew Boulton created a steam engine that could exercise the work of twelve horses by itself.

Steam ability began appearing everywhere. Instead of paying artisans to painstakingly spin wool and weave information technology into cloth, people turned to fabric mills that produced fabric apace at a better price and often with better quality. Rather than planting and harvesting fields by hand, farmers were able to buy mechanical seeders and threshing machines that acquired agronomical productivity to soar. Products such as paper and glass became available to the average person, and the quality and accessibility of pedagogy and health care soared. Gas lights immune increased visibility in the night, and towns and cities developed a nightlife.

One of the results of increased productivity and technology was the rise of urban centers. Workers flocked to factories for jobs, and the populations of cities became increasingly diverse. The new generation became less preoccupied with maintaining family land and traditions and more focused on acquiring wealth and achieving upwardly mobility for themselves and their families. People wanted their children and their children'due south children to go along to rise to the top, and as capitalism increased, so did social mobility.

It was during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of the Industrial Revolution that folklore was born. Life was irresolute quickly and the long-established traditions of the agricultural eras did not apply to life in the larger cities. Masses of people were moving to new environments and often plant themselves faced with horrendous atmospheric condition of filth, overcrowding, and poverty. Social scientists emerged to written report the relationship between the individual members of society and society equally a whole.

It was during this time that power moved from the hands of the elite and "onetime money" to business-savvy newcomers who amassed fortunes in their lifetimes. Families such equally the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts became the new power players and used their influence in business to control aspects of government as well. Eventually, concerns over the exploitation of workers led to the germination of labor unions and laws that set mandatory conditions for employees. Although the introduction of new technology at the cease of the nineteenth century ended the industrial historic period, much of our social structure and social ideas—like family, babyhood, and time standardization—have a basis in industrial lodge.

John D. Rockefeller, cofounder of the Standard Oil Company, came from an unremarkable family of salesmen and menial laborers. By his expiry at age 98, he was worth $one.4 billion. In industrial societies, business concern owners such every bit Rockefeller hold the majority of the power. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Postindustrial Society

Information societies, sometimes known as postindustrial or digital societies, are a recent evolution. Unlike industrial societies that are rooted in the product of material goods, information societies are based on the production of data and services.

Digital engineering is the steam engine of information societies, and reckoner moguls such every bit Steve Jobs and Neb Gates are its John D. Rockefellers and Cornelius Vanderbilts. Since the economy of information societies is driven by knowledge and not material goods, power lies with those in charge of storing and distributing data. Members of a postindustrial society are likely to be employed as sellers of services—software programmers or business consultants, for instance—instead of producers of goods. Social classes are divided by access to instruction, since without technical skills, people in an information guild lack the means for success.

Summary

Societies are classified co-ordinate to their development and use of technology. For most of human history, people lived in preindustrial societies characterized past limited technology and low production of goods. Afterwards the Industrial Revolution, many societies based their economies around mechanized labor, leading to greater profits and a trend toward greater social mobility. At the plough of the new millennium, a new type of club emerged. This postindustrial, or information, society is built on digital engineering and nonmaterial goods.

Short Respond

In which type or types of societies do the benefits seem to outweigh the costs? Explain your reply, and cite social and economic reasons.

Is Gerhard Lenski right in classifying societies based on technological advances? What other criteria might be appropriate, based on what yous have read?

Glossary

agricultural societies

societies that rely on farming as a style of life

feudal societies

societies that operate on a strict hierarchical organisation of ability based effectually land ownership and protection

horticultural societies

societies based around the cultivation of plants

hunter-gatherer societies

societies that depend on hunting wild animals and gathering uncultivated plants for survival

industrial societies

societies characterized by a reliance on mechanized labor to create cloth goods

information societies

societies based on the production of nonmaterial appurtenances and services

pastoral societies

societies based around the domestication of animals

society

a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same civilisation

Further Research

The Maasai are a modern pastoral society with an economy largely structured around herds of cattle. Read more than about the Maasai people and see pictures of their daily lives hither: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/The-Maasai

References

Clearing and Refugee Board of Canada. 2005. "Israel: Treatment of Bedouin, Including Incidents of Harassment, Bigotry or Attacks; Land Protection (January 2003–July 2005)", Refworld, July 29. Retrieved February 10, 2012 (http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/440ed71325.html).

Kjeilen, Tore. "Bedouin." Looklex.com. Retrieved February 17, 2012 (http://looklex.com/alphabetize.htm).

University of Michigan. n.d. "The Curse of Oil in Ogoniland". Retrieved January 2, 2015 (http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/cases_03-04/Ogoni/Ogoni_case_study.htm).

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Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/types-of-societies/

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