In recent years a chorus of futurologists has sprung up, some pessimistic, some not. However all are concerned with the future of the industrial society. This book takes a close look at industrial society, past and present, in order to evaluate these miltifarious claims. The author begins with the industrial revolution itself, examining the ideas it inspired, especially the idea of progress and the balance of confidence and despair about industrialism. Moving on to the post-industrial idea, Dr Kumar arrives at the conclusion that much of it is plausable only because of a widespread misconception of what "classic" industrial society was all about. He concludes with a discussion of whether we can expect a future society that geninuely goes "beyond industrialism".

Prophecy and Progress: The Sociology of Industrial and Pre-Industrial Society

Kumar, Krishan

Penguin??Books

Utopianism (Concepts in the Social Sciences)

Utopia has become a vague term, synonymous almost with the Good Society or the Good Time. It is applied to the dreams and visions of all peoples and all times: from backward-looking myths of the Golden Age to the future prospect of a glorious Millennium, from Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. This book argues utopia should be seen as a much more specific tradition of social and political thought. It has cultural and historical boundaries. A Western concept, it arose in the West as a specific and highly original way of dealing with the novel problems of modern Western society. Its themes are the characteristic ones of modern Western social thought: power, inequality, democracy, science. But, as a form of imaginative fiction, its treatment of these themes is distinctive and compelling. Far from being merely fantasy or wish-fulfilment, utopia is a critical rehearsal of the dilemmas of modern society and, at the same time, a prescriptive account of the best way of resolving them. From its first appearance in the "Utopia" of Thomas More in 1516, utopia has undergone numerous changes of focus and concern. But its form has remained remarkably resilient. As we approach the end of the second christian millennium, there are clear signs - for example the emergency of feminist and ecological utopias - that utopia has by no means exhausted is power either as a tool of critical analysis or as a constructive vision of future possibilities.

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Open University Press

Utopia has become a vague term, synonymous almost with the Good Society or the Good Time. It is applied to the dreams and visions of all peoples and all times: from backward-looking myths of the Golden Age to the future prospect of a glorious Millennium, from Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained.

Politics & Government

Taylor & Francis Group

Drawing on historical, sociological and literary theory, Krishan Kumar examines the rise of English nationalism and issues of race and ethnicity from the Norman Conquest to the present. This study encourages reconsideration of pre-conceptions about nationalism and identity.

The Making of English National Identity (Cambridge Cultural Social Studies)

History

Europe

Cambridge University Press

This study focuses on the latest phase of the literary tradition of utopia, from the 19th century to the present, in Europe and America. It aims to show how modern versions of utopia and anti-utopia engage in debate about the future of modern society, and especially the role of socialism and science within it. The book asks whether socialism will lead to freedom and fulfillment or to tyranny and conformity, and whether will science free us or enslave us.

Utopia and anti-utopia in modern times

Social Sciences

Blackwell*publishers

What is the sociological theory of industrialism? How far do the actual histories and practices of industrial societies fit this theory? The studies in this volume examine many of the economic, social, political and cultural changes caused by the industrialization of society. They look at continuities and discontinuities through pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial societies before considering particular aspects: for example, the shortcomings of the Marxist theory of class are highlighted by their application to nineteenth-century English society; the theory of revolution is examined for its relevance to the conditions of advanced industrial societies; the changing meanings and changing practices of work and employment are traced; and the current problems of Britain are used to point the way to the future of other societies. These essays, by a noted social theorist, should be of value to those concerned with the history and future of modern society.

The Rise of Modern Society: Aspects of the Social and Political Development of the West

Blackwell Pub.

Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Beginning, in a sense, where "Prophecy and Progress" ended, this work by Krishan Kumar provides an introduction to three new theories of industrial society: the information society, post-Fordism, and postmodernism. Asking why these theories have appeared when they have, and why they have held such an appeal, this critical survey should be suitable for students of contemporary society.

From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of the Contemporary World

This lucid and insightful study of a crucial area of current debate covers the three theories of contemporary change: the information society, post-Fordism and postmodernity.

Wiley/Blackwell

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Books by Kumar, Krishan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kumar, Krishan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Prophecy and Progress: The Sociology of Industrial and Pre-Industrial Society

Utopianism (Concepts in the Social Sciences)

Utopianism (Concepts in the Social Sciences)

The Making of English National Identity (Cambridge Cultural Social Studies)

The Making of English National Identity (Cambridge Cultural Social Studies)

Utopia and anti-utopia in modern times

The Rise of Modern Society: Aspects of the Social and Political Development of the West

Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times

From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of the Contemporary World

From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of the Contemporary World