New Industrial Society of the Second Generation: Towards the Noospheric Civilisation

The paper studies the development of the concept of the new industrial society of the second generation under the changes of the global civilisation. It elaborates on the principal propositions of the industrial society of the second generation and proves that instead of making a transition to postindustrial society the civilisation is moving towards transformation of material production. New material production features a decrease in unit consumption of materials and capital accompanied by an increase in knowledge intensity of a product. The author explains the reasons behind the reindustrialisation of the Russian economy, and investigates the problems of transition of the Russian production to the new type of industrial society. Finally, the author examines technologies that are going to underlie the economy of the second generation and justifies the impact of knowledge as the major factor in formation of the noospheric civilisation.