Bell, Daniel
Birth, Education, Work History, and Main Contributions
Born Daniel Bolotsky on New York City’s Lower East Side on May 10, 1919, Daniel Bell was to become one of the world’s most prolific and influential sociologists, writers, editors, and professor emeritus of social sciences at Harvard University. He is best known for his seminal contributions to the study of post-industrialism, i.e., the process whereby economically advanced countries shift from manufacturing to the service and, now, knowledge-based economies. His major lines of inquiry included the failures of socialism in America, the exhaustion of modern culture, and the transformation of capitalism from an industrial-based system to one built on consumerism. He has been described as “one of the leading American intellectuals of the postwar era.” His three best known works are The End of Ideology, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society, and The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism.
Within the social indicatorsmovement, he is...
References
- Bell, D. (1960). The end of ideology: On the exhaustion of political ideas in the fifties. Glencoe: Free Press.Google Scholar
- Bell, D. et al. (1969). Toward a social report: 1--The idea of a social report. The Public Interest (15): 72–84. Retrieved March 12, 2011 from http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080522_196901507theideaofasocialreportdanielbell.pdf
- Bell, D. (1973). The coming of post-industrial society: A venture in social forecasting. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
- Bell, D. (1976). The cultural contradictions of capitalism. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
- Kaufman, M. T. (2011). Daniel Bell, ardent appraiser of politics, economics and culture, dies at 91. New York Times, January 25. Retrieved March 18, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/arts/26bell.html?_r=1