Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of theIndustrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850.Pre-industrial refers to a time before there weremachines andtools to help perform tasksen masse. Pre-industrial civilization dates back to centuries ago, but the main era known as the pre-industrial society occurred right before theindustrial society. Pre-Industrial societies vary from region to region depending on the culture of a given area or history of social and political life. Europe was known for itsfeudal system and theItalian Renaissance.
The term "pre-industrial" is also used as a benchmark for environmental conditions before the development of industrial society: for example, theParis Agreement, adopted in Paris on 12 December, 2015 and in force from 4 November, 2016, "aims to limitglobal warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degreescelsius, compared topre-industrial levels."[1] The date for the end of the "pre-industrial era" is not defined.[2]
Common attributes
edit- Limitedproduction
- Extremeagricultural economy
- Limiteddivision of labor. In pre-industrial societies, production was relatively simple and the number of specialized crafts was limited.
- Limited variation ofsocial classes
- Parochialism—Communications were limited between communities in pre-industrial societies. Few had the opportunity to see or hear beyond their own village. Industrial societies grew with the help of faster means of communication, having moreinformation at hand about the world, allowingknowledge transfer andcultural diffusion between them.
- Populations grew at substantial rates[3]
- Social classes: peasants and lords[4]
- Subsistence level of living[4]
- Population dependent onpeasants for food[4]
- People were located invillages rather than incities
Economic systems
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Labor conditions
editHarsh working conditions had been prevalent long before the Industrial Revolution took place. Pre-industrial society was very static, andchild labour, dirty living conditions, and long working hours were not as equally prevalent before the Industrial Revolution.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^UNFCCC,The Paris Agreement, accessed 30 December 2020
- ^Hawkins, E. (2017),Defining 'pre-industrial', published 25 January 2017, accessed 30 December 2020
- ^Cipolla, Carlo M. Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy, 1000–1700. New York: Norton, 1976
- ^abcdPersson, Karl Gunnar. Pre-industrial Economic Growth: Social Organization, and Technological Progress in Europe. Oxford: Blackwell, 1988.
- ^R.M. Hartwell,The Industrial Revolution and Economic Growth, Methuen and Co., 1971, pp. 339–41ISBN 0-416-19500-8
Bibliography
edit- Grinin, L. 2007. Periodization of History: A theoretic-mathematical analysis. In:History & Mathematics. Ed. by Leonid Grinin, Victor de Munck, andAndrey Korotayev. Moscow: KomKniga/URSS. P.10-38.ISBN 978-5-484-01001-1.