The Age of Social Transformation

by Peter Drucker

Advanced · Long

Original on theatlantic.com
Sign up to import the full essay

Summary

Drucker argues that the deepest changes of the twentieth century were not wars or revolutions but quiet shifts in who works and how. He traces the decline of farming and domestic service, the rapid rise and fall of factory labor, and the arrival of a society led by specialized knowledge workers, then considers what this means for education, management, community life, and government.

Key points

  • Twentieth-century social change was vast yet happened with little conflict or public notice.
  • Industrial workers rose faster than any class in history and then declined just as quickly.
  • Knowledge workers gain their position through formal education and own their own means of production.
  • Specialized knowledge only produces results when people work in teams within organizations.
  • Nonprofit social-sector groups can meet community needs and give citizens a real way to participate.
  • The twenty-first century will need social and political innovation as much as economic growth.

Why practice this

Drucker writes in measured, authoritative paragraphs that move from broad historical claims to precise distinctions and numbered implications. Retyping him teaches long-range argument, careful definitions, and the confident use of sweeping generalization backed by history.

Practice an excerpt

These excerpts are short quotations for practice and commentary. All rights stay with the author; read the whole essay at the original source.

0%

But it is the social transformations, like ocean currents deep below the hurricane-tormented surface of the sea, that have had the lasting, indeed the permanent, effect. They, rather than all the violence of the political surface, have transformed not only the society but also the economy, the community, and the polity we live in.
This is far more than a social change. It is a change in the human condition. What it means--what are the values, the commitments, the problems, of the new society--we do not know. But we do know that much will be different.
Increasingly these organizations of the social sector serve a second and equally important purpose. They create citizenship. Modern society and modern polity have become so big and complex that citizenship--that is, responsible participation--is no longer possible. All we can do as citizens is to vote once every few years and to pay taxes all the time.

About this essay

Drucker surveys how farmers, servants, and industrial workers gave way to knowledge workers in the twentieth century, and what that shift demands.

“The Age of Social Transformation” was written by Peter Drucker. Read the original at theatlantic.com. Copywork shows a summary and short excerpts for practice and commentary; all rights stay with the author.

Related essays