128
LEWI S A . COSER
THE POLITICS OF THE FUTURE
THE COMING OF POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY: A VENTURE IN
SOCIAL FORECASTING . By Daniel Bell. Basic Books. $12.50_
Daniel Bell is among the most knowledgeab le and sophisti–
cated commentators on the contemporary scene, and no product of his
incisive mind is without interest- He has published a series of searching
essays in recent years (some of them are incorporated in this book),
which further whetted one's appetite for this major work. I am bound to
confess, however, that I find the book disappointing. I have profited
from many of its specific ideas, but cannot but register the conclusion
that its major thesis remains unproven and carries little conviction .
This is a sprawling, repetitive, prolix, and badly organized work, an
olla podrida in which Bell delivers himself of opinions and arguments on
an amazing variety of topics_
It
is a pity that he did not have the time to
write a shorter book_ As it is, much of what he has to say is indeed
illuminating, but the whole, alas, does not partake of the excellence of
some of its parts.
Bell's overall thesis is rooted in the assertion that the old structure
of corporate capitalism is rapidly decaying and is about to be replaced by
a new "knowledge-based society" in which the professional and technical
classes will have preeminence and in which "intellectual technology" and
theoretical knowledge will have pride of place. As American society
moves from a goods-producing to a service economy, expertise and
knowledge will serve as a prepotent source of societal power.
Bell is at pains to assert over and over again that he is not a
technological determinist like the Saint-Simonians and that politics and
culture do not necessarily reflect technological trends. Yet in concrete
fact he nevertheless concludes that the "axial institution" that will shape
post-industrial society is the theoretical knowledge of scientists and
engineers in universities and research laboratories. But what is a powerful
"axial institution" that carries no political clout? Throughout the book
Bell wrestles with the ghost of Saint-Simon. But the ghost, alas, seems
most of the time to win the battle.
Scientists and engineers, Bell argues, will impress their distinctive
stamp on post-industrial society, much as Schumpeterian entrepreneurs
constituted the central dynamic element in classical capitalism. But why
should this be so? Here Bell seems to argue from the twin grounds of
numbers and indispensability. He shows that white-collar workers are
now considerably more numerous than blue-collar workers, and that
professional, technical, and kindred workers, a relatively small category
under classical capitalism, now number over ten million, that is con-
