|
Daniel Bell (b. 1919) is a sociologist and professor emeritus at Harvard University. He is a scholar in residence of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In the
past, Bell taught sociology at Columbia University. He is
also known for his contributions as an editor to The Public Interest Magazine, Fortune and The New
Leader.
He is best known for his contributions to post-industrialism. His most influential books are The End of Ideology (1960), The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976) and
The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (1973). The End of Ideology has
been influential in what was called endism. This is the idea that both history and ideology have been reduced to insignificance because
Western democratic politics and capitalism have triumphed. At the time, Bell was attacked by politically left-wing critics. They
claimed that Bell has lost touch with reality. They particularly pointed to the so-called Third World and argued that endism was just another guise for the status quo.
In The Coming of Post-Industrial Society Bell outlined a new kind of society. He argued that post-industrialism would
be information-led and service-oriented. Bell also argued that the post-industrial society would replace the industrial society
as the dominant system. There are three components to a post-industrial society, according to Bell:
- a shift from manufacturing to services
- the centrality of the new science-based industries
- the rise of new technical elites and the advent of a new principle of stratification
Since the publication of his book, many of the prediction have turned true. He rightly predicted mass consumption, but failed
to foresee the social cost, such as loss of job security or mass unemployment. His work is nevertheless highly regarded. Bell's
insight that modernism has become an outdated narrative might have helped.
See also: post-industrialism, ideology, modernism
|