From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Societies before industrialization
"Tartar Agriculturalist": A Chinese farmer using an ox to pull a scratch plow
Pre-industrial society
refers to social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the
Industrial Revolution
, which occurred from 1750 to 1850.
Pre-industrial
refers to a time before there were machines and tools to help perform tasks
en masse
. Pre-industrial civilization dates back to centuries ago, but the main era known as the pre-industrial society occurred right before the
industrial 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 its
feudal system
and the
Italian Renaissance
.
The term "pre-industrial" is also used as a benchmark for environmental conditions before the development of industrial society: for example, the
Paris Agreement
, adopted in Paris on 12 December, 2015 and in force from 4 November, 2016, "aims to limit
global warming
to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees
celsius
, compared to
pre-industrial
levels."
[1]
The date for the end of the "pre-industrial era" is not defined.
[2]
Common attributes
[
edit
]
- Limited
production
- Extreme agricultural economy
- Limited
division of labor
. In pre-industrial societies, production was relatively simple and the number of specialized crafts was limited.
- Limited variation of
social 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 more
information
at hand about the world, allowing
knowledge transfer
and
cultural diffusion
between them.
- Populations grew at substantial rates
[3]
- Social classes: peasants and lords
- Subsistence
level of living
- Population dependent on peasants for food
- People were located in villages rather than in cities
Economic systems
[
edit
]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
February 2016
)
|
Labor conditions
[
edit
]
Harsh working conditions had been prevalent long before the Industrial Revolution took place. Pre-industrial society was very static, and
child labour
, dirty living conditions, and long working hours were not as equally prevalent before the Industrial Revolution.
[5]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
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
- ^
R.M. Hartwell,
The Industrial Revolution and Economic Growth
, Methuen and Co., 1971, pp. 339?41
ISBN
0-416-19500-8
Bibliography
[
edit
]