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The Industrial Revolution took place during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a
time when the predominantly rural, agrarian societies in Europe and North America
began to become more urban. There was a focus on manufacturing and product
development thanks to new technologies and ideas to increase efficiencies, which
moved the world away from the use of hand tools in the basement to large
factories in the city.
The Industrial Revolution began in the 1700s in Britain, creating a shift to special-
purpose equipment that led to the mass production of items. Textiles, iron
industries, and many others saw surges of improvement during this era, which
contributed to better systems in the banking, communications, and transportation
sectors.
When we look at the pros and cons of the Industrial Revolution, we can see that it
created an increased variety and volume in the availability of manufactured goods.
It is a process that helped to create an improved standard of living for some. This
era also created challenging employment opportunities and living conditions for
the working class.
Have we truly benefitted from the processes and technologies that came from the
Industrial Revolution? Should the developing world go through this process as
well?
2. It helped to create the import and export markets around the world.
Businesses could use the ideas created from the Industrial Revolution to have a
greater supply available for specific products. When domestic demand was not
enough to help maximize production, the rise of the multinational firm began.
Countries could expand their import and export markets for the goods that were
being made. The world began to see that the balance of trade was shifting to the
producer, increasing the wealth of businesses and adding tax revenues to society.
3. Companies were creating inventions that could save on labor and time
investments.
Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, there was a rapid production of useful items
and hand tools. This process quickly led to the development of new vehicles and
tool types that could carry more items, including people, from one place to
another. We began to create roads once again that could support higher levels of
traffic. The telegraph came about during this time to improve our communication
processes, which eventually led to the telephone and fiber optics.
Even machines like the Spinning Jenny, which was a multiple spindle item that
could spin cotton or wool, allowed us to make more things in less time. When
electricity became available, then refrigeration and home appliances increased our
standard of living even further.
5. The Industrial Revolution improved the quality of life for the average person.
Until the Industrial Revolution swung into action full force, it was typically the
aristocratic people in society who benefitted from comfort and convenience.
Thanks to mass production, lower costs, and greater availability, people in the
working class could obtain more items while still having money left to save for
other things. Even though there were some poor working conditions at the time, it
became possible for a majority of families to start building wealth of their own.
That meant people could own a home without being a farmer. They could have
enough food to get by for the week instead of limiting themselves to one meal per
day. Some companies were even building towns and giving away homes to those
who were willing to work in the factories. This event helped to shape our modern
infrastructure.
Some workers even took a portion of their wages to invest in other companies,
leading to a growing middle class around the world. It created a new pool of
economic power that started to limit the influence of the aristocracy. This
advantage eventually led to a shift in local laws that helped to give more rights to
the average person.
Some workers began to transport raw materials for processing. Others worked on
specific machines. There were people in maintenance, marketing, or charged with
making improvements to the overall operations of each facility. As each task
became more skilled, there became a need to have more trainers to pass on what
had been learned.
9. Anyone had the opportunity to make it big during the Industrial Revolution.
Charles Goodyear is credited with the discovery of rubber vulcanization, a process
that allows it to withstand heat and cold. This process revolutionized the industry
in the middle of the 19th century. It was also a journey that almost ruined his life.
Goodyear put his family into substantial debt to finance his rubber experiences. He
moved anywhere to find investors and laboratory space.
At one point, he sold his furniture, begged for money, and even sold the textbooks
of his children. After the financial panic of 1837, he lost almost everything. Then, in
a miracle accident, he combined rubber and sulfur on a hot stove. It hardened
when it got hotter. Many people pursued a similar path without finding the same
success, but it was one of the first times in history when anyone could invest into
themselves to change their stars.
Before his divorce proceedings in 2019, the estimated net worth of Jeff Bezos was
about $157 billion. His finances, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Elon
Musk are all the subject of modern wealth inequality conversations. If you look at
the American Industrial Revolutionists like Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller,
they had $310 billion and $340 billion at a time when the money was worth more.
This disadvantage led to problems with sewage and sanitation, which caused
contamination of the local drinking water. With lots of people all living in the same
area, worn out by challenging working conditions, and consuming unsafe fluids,
there were numerous disease outbreaks. Smallpox, cholera, tuberculosis, and
typhus were all significant problems in the industrialized cities until urban
planning and medical care could improve the environment.
As more countries began to pursue wealth through this process, then the adverse
ecological transformations increate. One of the drivers of this problem is carbon
dioxide. Before 1750, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere was about 290 parts per
million. It was 400 parts per million by volume in 2017.
4. The Industrial Revolution appropriates materials for natural use to human use.
Humanity is now using about 40% of its planetary land-based net primary
production to create items through manufacturing processes because of the
Industrial Revolution. This measurement is the rate at which plants convert solar
energy for nutrients and growth. As populations rise, more of our resources go
toward human use instead of allowing nature to run its course. That means there
are fewer ecosystem services, such as clean water and air, that plants and animals
can use.
Our biosphere depends on these elements for our survival. Unless we are willing
to make changes to our manufacturing processes that reduce the threat of habitat
destruction and resource consumption, the future of our world could look very
different than what we have today.
The equipment in the factories was usually dirty as well, expelling soot and smoke
that led to breathing issues, accidents, and injuries. Although this disadvantage
would eventually lead to the formation of labor unions, there were a lot of family
sacrifices made before this societal transformation.
That led to entertainment options that became sedentary as well. Our eating
choices became more about convenience than nutrition. It has led to a culture
where many people eat items that are heavily processed with sugar and salt to
maintain shelf life, increase sweetness, and lower cooking times. This
disadvantage has led to lifestyle-related diseases like heart disease, obesity, and
even some forms of cancer.
If it happened at sea, the oil was harvested on the ship, and then the remaining
carcass was thrown into the ocean to catch the next one. This disadvantage
caused a significant reduction in the population of baleen, bowhead, and right
whales. They were hunted almost to extinction.
Instead of growing crops and raising livestock to meet the needs of each family,
agriculture became a business that focused on profits and losses. This
disadvantage is what eventually led us to the world of genetically modified foods,
potentially harmful pesticides, and similar problems in our food chain.
We must also recognize that the countries who went through the Industrial
Revolution are the ones which benefitted the most financially from this process.
Societal wealth was built on the backs of the working class, which allowed the
aristocracy to remain in power – just in a different way. Instead of controlling the
entire market, those in charge helped to determine who could have access to the
new economy.
The pros and cons of the Industrial Revolution are essential to review today
because we are going through a new process. We are in the middle of the Data
Revolution, where every action we take in person or online allows companies to
develop insights into our behavior. This process creates targeted marketing
mechanisms which we continue to support through our own labor while the
environmental consequences begin to build.
Unless we learn from the lessons of the past, we will repeat the same mistakes in
the future.
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