One of the most prominent effects of industrial society has been the growing sense of individualism. It is not only reflected in abstract proclamations in democratic constitutions, granting individuals rights over communal norms, but also in real life settings where neighbourhood have become individualistic to an extent that they barely know each other. However, this has very less to do with people’s personal indifference, because it is just a consequence of a larger problem, which is, the change in nature of neighbourhoods.
Neighbourhoods throughout the history mostly constituted families who had lived together for generations. These families usually shared a common line of work or communal identity. For example- the caste system in India led to neighbourhoods composed of people belonging to same caste or vocation. Families and their members relied on community to get education regarding particular line of work and get references for jobs. The neighbourhoods had difficult entry barriers for people of other communities, this resulted in lesser movement of indivduals across neighbourhood. Furthermore, families also relied on others in their community for loans and other financial help, something that other communities did not trust them with. Consequently families lived together for generations, helped each other and developed a strong sense of community and culture over time.
However, ever since the advent of industrial revolution, the state and industries have intervened in the working of communities and social fabric. Individuals no longer have to rely on community for education as they can easily attain it in public funded schools. Industries are more than welcoming to people from all strata of society as long as they have required skills. Institutions like banks provide financial help on much more lenient terms. In short, individuals no longer need community for basic survival and its much easier to move to a different place, or keep moving among different places and neighbourhoods. Simultaneously, they dont have to care about people living beside them, their existence is inconsequential to them.
We might never have neighbourhoods and sense of community as vibrant as the ones during pre-industrial society, since there are very less reasons for people to connect with each other in the first place. However there are several things we can do to make neighbourhoods more colorful and less gloomy. We can organise cultural events so families can be exposed to each other and can make connections. Sport events can also be organised in this regard. Groups or clubs related to particular interests like music, books etc can be created so neighbours with same likings can find friends over a common interest. Additionally, societies can have community funds so neighbours can help each other out and develop better sense of community. All of these tactics are already employed in many neighbourhoods.
I would like to conclude by saying that neighbourhoods have lost their vigour because they no longer have families co-dependent on them for their survival. Tragically, this change is irreversible. Depreciating sense of community has probably been the most prominent effect of state and industries on the society. However we can still improve the situation by giving families incentives to connect with each other, like organising community events and creating clubs.