In sociology, an industrial society leverages technological advancements to fuel a robust manufacturing sector, which can support a large human population. The United States, for example, is a prime example of industrial society. A significant portion of its economy is based on jobs requiring mechanised labour, such as factory farming or auto assembly plants, which employ both machines and human labour to produce consumer goods. 

In most cases, an industrial economy’s objective is mass production or the rapid and efficient manufacture of standardised products. For instance, cars are mass-produced because one model of car operates similarly to other models so that it can be easily produced in bulk in factories.

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Characteristics of an Industrial Society

The presence of factories and machines characterises industrial societies. They are much wealthier than agricultural societies. Individuals in industrial societies enjoy more political and financial freedom. The following are the salient characteristics of industrial society:

1. The vast use of technology: The industries rely heavily on the use of modern technology and engineering methods. To produce things at a large scale in factories, heavy machinery is required—employment of human beings at the production stage decreases. The use of machines and technology ensures that every product manufactured is identical to others and saves time.
2. Facilitates social change: Innovations in the industry change the social fabric of society. An industrial society generally has more educated masses and reduces gender inequality. Access to education empowers people from all classes. A large segment of the population is employed in factories.
3. Division of Labour: Division of labour is defined as the segmentation of work processes into numerous specified tasks so that each specific task is performed by different people who have gained specialisation in that field. There is usually a large-scale division of labour in industrial society because thousands of new jobs are created per the industry’s demands, unlike the traditional roles in an agrarian society.
4. Greater Emphasis on Skill development and education: Education comes to play a pivotal role. People focus on skill development to get high-paying jobs of their choice. Society progresses as a whole. 
5. Heterogeneous culture: In industrial societies, people from other countries also settle for a better chance at good-quality life. They bring their culture, food, and traditions with them. This leads to a society that has a harmonious establishment of different cultures. There is an increased diversity.
6. Income inequality: The overall economic condition of people in industrial societies is better than in agricultural societies, but there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. The industrialists have a ton of wealth, visibly more than most working-class people. To minimise this, the government imposes heavy taxes on the rich people, used in social development programs.

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History

Human beings used to be hunter-gatherers before the advent of civilization. The adoption of agriculture is marked as the beginning of civilization. That is when humans began to settle at one place, form societies, farm cattle, and so on. The main source of income used to be agriculture and related activities.

However, it started to change in the 1700s as engineering and science advanced. Europe and the United States witnessed the historic industrial revolution. The transformation of society from agrarian to industrial changed the economic, political, and social conditions. The development of new technology also brought about a revolution in agriculture; modern machines replaced human activities. As the requirement of manpower on the farm declined, more and more people migrated to urban cities for jobs. The population of urban cities witnessed a spike. 

Initially started in the west, it expanded to Asian countries like China, India, Japan, Korea, etc as well. Today, most countries in the world are either industrial or post-industrial.

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Post Industrial Society

The stage next to manufacturing goods and products is the development of services. Once industrial societies, like the USA and several European countries, are now post-industrial. IT and service jobs have replaced manufacturing jobs. People consume intangible services. Industrial society and its future are starkly different. Heavy machinery defines the former, sleek laptops and mobiles define the latter. India’s transformation was largely from agrarian to a post industry, i.e., the industrialization phase here was not as significant here as in other countries.

Conclusion

The industrial society and its future, i.e., the post-industrial society, dominate the present world today. It led to urbanisation and globalisation. The major population is employed in manufacturing and service jobs. Industrial societies’ social fabric is very different from that of agrarian societies. There is a reduced gender gap, higher educational levels among masses, more division of labour, and an increased population density in urban centres. Even though it has its own drawbacks, it paves the way for advancement. This is why most countries in the 21st century are industrial and post-industrial.