Industrialization as an Agent of Social Change: A Critical Analysis

by Herbert Blumer

Herbert Blumer wrote continuously and voluminously, and consequently left a vast array of unpublished work at the time of his death in 1987. This posthumously published volume testifies further to his perceptive analysis of large-scale social organizations and elegant application of symbolic interactionist principles. Blumer's focus on the processual nature of social life and on the significance of the communicative interpretation of social contexts is manifest in his theory of industrialization and social change. His theory entails three major industrialization must be seen in processual terms, and the industrialization process is different for different historical periods; the consequences of industrialization are a function of the interpretive nature of human action and resembles a neutral framework within which groups interpret the meaning of industrial relations, and the industrial sector must be viewed in terms of power relations; industrial societies contain inherently conflicting interests. The editors' introductory essay outlines Blumer's metatheoretical stance (symbolic interactionism) and its emphasis on the adjustive character of social life. It places Blumer's theory in the context of contemporary macro theory, including world systems theory, resource dependence theory, and modernization theory.

Genres: Sociology

196 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1990

About the author

Herbert George Blumer was an American sociologist whose main scholarly interests were symbolic interactionism and methods of social research.Believing that individuals create social reality through collective and individual action, he was an avid interpreter and proponent of George Herbert Mead's social psychology, which he labeled symbolic interactionism. Blumer elaborated and developed this line of thought in a series of articles, many of which were brought together in the book Symbolic Interactionism. An ongoing theme throughout his work, he argued that the creation of social reality is a continuous process. Blumer was also a vociferous critic of positivistic methodological ideas in sociology.

Reviews

[Dirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book by Herbert Blumer that for reasons I am not aware of has not been widely received. Blumer critically examines the notion that industrialisation 'causes' certain social changes and instead argues to conceive industrialisation as an "agent of social change" that is neutral and indeterminate. It's people's interpretation of developments and their practical responses to these developments that has consequences for society, organisations and people. The book is very relevant for current debates about digitisation.