Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was an enormous transformation, which altered the methods of production and distribution in society. It revolutionized all the economic functions of society and paved the way for production without total dependency on human energy. In this paper, I will examine the preconditions and key factors that contributed to the Industrial Revolution. I will also discuss the impact, both economic and social, that the Industrial Revolution had on society. In addition, I will endeavour to demonstrate that the Industrial Revolution, while it did have some positive aspects, has ultimately had a negative impact on a global scale, which in turn has created a number of humanitarian and ecological problems that are still encountered in the present day.

Up until the 18th century, the landowning class had been the dominant class in political and social life. England was considered a relatively wealthy country and was the first nation to develop a mass consumer market in order to satisfy the needs of the bourgeoisie class. The rising pressure of demand inspired many to seek out new techniques of increasing production. As an incentive to encourage the development of the arts, prizes were awarded to those who discovered new inventions.

In 1760, three quarters of the workers in England were agricultural labourers (Beard, 1969: p. 4). Agricultural life during this period in England was considered good. Feudal serfs had protection of their feudal lord, food was abundant and wages could be earned during the winter months by spinning, weaving and lace making. Virtually all the necessities of life at that time were produced without the assistance of machinery. Villages were self-sufficient because they were able to produc...

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... outweigh any positive technological advances that arose. I strongly believe that the Industrial Revolution set society on a path of self-destruction. In order to save ourselves and future generations from further harm, radical changes will have to be made to the way in which we produce.

Works Cited

Beard, C. A. (1969). The industrial revolution. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Heilbroner, R. L. (1999). The worldly philosophers :The lives, times, and ideas of the great economic thinkers (Rev. 7th ed. ed.). New York : Simon & Schuster,.

Heilbroner, R. L. (2008). In Milberg W. S.,1957- (Ed.), The making of economic society / (12th ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson Prentice Hall,.

More, C. (2000). Understanding the industrial revolution. London, GBR: Routledge.

Weinstein, M. (June 9, 2011). Lecture notes – industrial revolution