Discuss the political, social, and economic effects of the Industrial Revolution between the 1700s and the 1900s. Be sure to include one specific example for each effect.
The industrial revolution happened when the industries in Europe stopped using labour based production methods and started machine based production methods. It was a time when the use of wood to produce energy stopped and the use of coal and steam started. This led to increased production of the commodities manufactured and marked the beginning of today’s civilization (Dickens, p67). This significant change also marked the beginning of many others changes in the society.
The industrial revolution led to urbanization of the centres that had industries, as people flocked there to offer their labour in exchange for wages. This led to immense social effects like; there was establishment of shanties and slums as the labourers could not afford better housing. There was increase in the population of people in these urban centres, as everybody came from the rural area in search of greener pastures. There was also the spread of water and air bone diseases like tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid that spread due to poor sewerage systems in the shanties (Dickens, 117). There was also moral decay as crime increased due to the increase in the population yet the labour required could not take them all in. The young men would get involved in crimes of violence like mugging, robbery with violence while the young women were involved in prostitution. Industrial revolution also marked the beginning of modernization as it was the point when all inventions were tested. It led to the building of roads and railway systems that opened up the rural areas to exploitation in terms of labour and resources.
Economically the industrial revolution changed the economy from agriculture dependent to manufacture dependent. The small scale agriculture that was once practised was abolished as there was need for those lands to be put to other uses like provision of inputs for manufacture. There was also introduction of women and child labour, this is because some of the industries paid very little money, and yet expect people to work for long hours under poor conditions, most men refused and so women were hired together with the children. There was introduction of large scale trade due to increases in the quantity produced. This finally led the current international trade.
Politically, the industrial revolution marked the scramble for and partition of Africa which finally led to colonization of Africa. This is because the bourgeois were looking for places where they can acquire cheap raw materials for their companies (Pratchet,, 87). The bourgeois affected the politics of the land, as they wanted to have policies that only favoured them and their businesses. There was formation of labour unions to fight for the rights of the labourers later on these unions would turn into political parties. This was also the birth period of feminism as women became empowered at the work place and decided to seek equal opportunities for both men and women (Pratchet,, p96).
Industrial revolution spread to other countries and finally reached America. It was rampant because America had great deposits of coal that was used at that time. There were also technological advancements during the 1800’s that helped the revolution to continue, this included the discovery of use of steam engines and wind energy to run big machines.
During the period of industrialization was when different scholars came out and wrote about the society. This led to improvement in the education system, one of those scholars was Max Weber who believed in rationalization and introduced the bureaucracy as a method of management of workers. Bureaucracy involved outlining of roles of every individual so as to avoid conflict at work and create responsibility and accountability. This method is still used for management up to date. There was also Karl Marx who favoured socialism rather than capitalism. This is because he believed that capitalism in itself had the seed of its own destruction (Marx, 33). He argued that capitalism created inequality in the society and this led to exploitation of the proletariats by the bourgeois and this led to the official establishment of sociology as a science of the society and its effects on the people. Socialism however is not applicable in the current society and it failed when it was implemented by the former USSR.
Work cited
Dickens, Charles, Hard Times, Paper Back; Industrial Revolution, 2000, Orthodox Press Print, New York
Pratchet, Terry, Monstrous Regiment, 2003, Oxford University Press, New York
Marx Karl. class cohesion through conflict, (1843),
