List the three features of post industrial society.

The dominant features of a post-industrial society are that the majority of the work force are employed in the service and the trade sector. Government is the major employer. There is a predominance of a new type of class structure the professionals and the technicians. Scientific knowledge and skills become increasingly important. There is a need of professionals who specialize in technical knowledge. To develop such a body professionals, universities assume importance and grow in size.

Sociologists note that with the advent of the computer microchip, the world is witnessing a technological revolution. This revolution is creating a post-industrial society based on information, knowledge, and the selling of services. That is, rather than being driven by the factory production of goods, society is being shaped by the human mind, aided by computer technology. Although factories will always exist, the key to wealth and power seems to lie in the ability to generate, store, manipulate, and sell information.

Sociologists speculate about the characteristics of postindustrial society in the near future. They predict increased levels of education and training, consumerism, availability of goods, and social mobility. While they hope for a decline in inequality as technical skills and “know-how” begin to determine class rather than the ownership of property, sociologists are also concerned about potential social divisions based on those who have appropriate education and those who do not. Sociologists believe society will become more concerned with the welfare of all members of society.

They hope postindustrial society will be less characterized by social conflict, as everyone works together to solve society’s problems through science.