The most common and stable states, with limited weaponry and environmental threats. Societies tend to be small and scattered, driven by subsistence farming, foraging, or hunter-gathering needs. Technology is limited to simple tools, weapons, or agrarian implements and methods, but a basic understanding of planetary and solar mechanics is not uncommon.
* Limited production (i.e. artisanship vs. mass production)
* Primarily had an agricultural economy
* Limited division of labor- i.e. Capitalism needs a vast amount of specialized knowledge and skills due to the complex nature of industrial production. In pre-industrial societies, production was relatively simple and, thus, the number of specialized crafts was limited.
* Limited variation of social classes
* Parochialism- Social theories hold that communications were limited between communities in pre-industrial societies. Few had a chance to see or hear beyond their own village. In contrast, industrial societies grew with the help of faster means of communication, having more information at hand about the world, allowing knowledge transfer and cultural diffusion between them.
* Pre-industrial societies developed largely in rural communities. Capitalism developed largely in urban areas.
Subject: The Preindustrial Age 
Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:23 pm
