The Future of Industrial Man (Drucker Century Classic Series)

Author: (American) Peter Drucker
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Every manager in the world should be grateful to this person, as he devoted his entire life to clarifying the role of people and organizations in our society. I believe Peter Drucker has been more effective than anyone else in achieving this. — Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric
Among all management books, Drucker's works have had the greatest impact on me. — Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft
Drucker is a hero in my heart. His writings and thoughts are very clear and stand out among the crowd of people who are fashionable ideas. — Andy Grove, Chairman of Intel
If management is the greatest invention of the 20th century, then Peter Drucker is undoubtedly the great inventor. — American Management Association
This book is unanimously regarded by many friends and critics as the best of all my books. Indeed, I myself also believe that this is my most powerful work. — Peter Drucker
The overall planning of this book is perfect, the writing is clear and profound, and it is enjoyable to read. Between the lines of every page, the fragrance of continuous learning and long-term reflection is evident, making it worth studying, thinking about, and analyzing word by word. — Jacques Barzun
To appreciate the spiritual power of Peter Drucker, one must start from the source of his thoughts, from his early works. The Industrial Trilogy — The Future of Industrial Man, The Concept of the Corporation, and The New Society — enables people to understand the nature of industrial society, its internal structure and operating mechanisms, and the overall picture of the basic unit of industrial society — the enterprise and its management.
The basic conditions for a society to function normally: Everyone has a clear social status, possesses legitimate social power, and fulfills their social function in line with the overall goal.
The basic conditions for the operation of industrial society: Treat the enterprise as a community and grant it social status, social power, and social functions.
The Future of Industrial Man, this book is unanimously regarded by many friends and some critics as the best of all books. Indeed, the author himself also considers this book to be his most proud work. It is also the only book in which the author openly elaborates on basic social theories. In fact, this book attempts to elaborate not one, but two social theories. One can be called a "general social theory," which proposes that any society must have requirements in terms of functionality and legitimacy. The other can be called a "special industrial society theory," which applies these general social theories to the special case of industrial society, which emerged in the 20th century and gradually gained dominance during World War II.
The author once added a subtitle "The Conservative Way" to this book because it contains two key concepts, "identity" and "function," which are fundamentally conservative terms. These terms can be traced back to Edmund Burke or James Madison, rather than John Locke, let alone the French Revolution or Karl Marx. The third key term in this book is "legitimacy," which is essentially also a conservative term. If this term had been created back then, Alexander Hamilton might have used it, and Benjamin Disraeli certainly did. This term recognizes that legitimate power has become a social reality, but it requires that this power must be based on universal justice, obligations, and consensus.