Development of industry in the context of social consciousness evolution: analytical approach

Understanding the prospects for industrial development is a central theme in economics, explored by scholars within the context of technological, value-based, production, and institutional changes. In our view, however, all of these are reflections of a more global trajectory: the evolution of social consciousness, which determines the overall vector of industrial development. The theoretical foundation of this study draws on the key tenets of historical materialism, the technological paradigms, the concepts of industrial and post-industrial society, the theory of noonomics, systemic and sociocultural economics, as well as philosophical, behavioral, and managerial ideas concerning the evolution of humanity, its consciousness, potential, and needs. Based on general scientific methods of inquiry (analysis and synthesis), we formulated an original classification of industrial development stages and defined the evolution of its content in the context of changes in the dominant qualities of social consciousness. We proposed assessing the ongoing transformational shifts using the NHD-Index, which accounts for changes in the material, technological, social, and value foundations of society. Its current value suggests that preconditions are now emerging for a new stage of civilizational development based on digital production and creative industry, driving a qualitative transformation of the noosphere through the holistic crystallization of human potential. The practical significance of the study lies in identifying the key fundamental trends and conditions for the further evolution of industry, expressed in the harmonization of technological progress, socio-economic growth, and creative self-realization. This work may be of interest to academic community, as well as ministries and agencies engaged in research on industrial policy formation at the federal and regional levels.