pre-modern society

[ria777]

pre-modern society

[CEO]

Досовременное общество?

http://www.sociology.org.uk/p1pme1.htm
Overview

In pre-modern societies, economic organisation has a number of distinguishing features:

Firstly, work is not highly specialised and, accordingly, the number of different roles that need to be performed in order to produce things is relatively small. In this respect, we can note that the division of labour (how various tasks in society are organised) is relatively simple (when compared to the greater complexity evident in modern societies).

Secondly, the productive process in pre-modern society is pre-industrial. The majority of the population are engaged in agriculture (food production through subsistence farming) and, in consequence, ownership of land is a very significant source of economic power.

In Britain, for example, at the beginning of the 15th century, approximately 80% of the population was engaged in some form of agricultural activity (the majority of which related to subsistence farming). If we contrast this with the fact that, by the 18th century, only 30% of the population was engaged in agricultural production, we can gain some idea about both the nature of pre-modern society and, by extension, the economic changes that must have taken place as modern society developed.

Finally, in the absence of machine technology work is labour-intensive and commodities ("goods") cannot be mass-produced.