Introduction
In the mid-18th century, the world witnessed a rebirth of knowledge that radically changed the methods of production. Among the sectors of production that witnessed this change included manufacturing and processing. This radical change was caused by the fact that the world shifted from manual production to machine driven economies. This is because the advancement of technology led to the creation of production methods that made work easier while at the same time increasing the output of various industries.
Other important sectors of the economy that experienced a major transition what the transport and the communication sector. Before the industrial revolution, people and goods would only move across small distances meaning that mobility was highly curtailed. This means that before the industrial revolution the availability of goods and services across territories created a constraint such that trade was only confined to a certain geographic region. However, the increased advancement of technology during the industrial revolution led to the construction of better methods of transportation like steam engines which at the time ran on locally available raw material like coal (Horn 62).
One important thing to realize is that though industrial revolution has been hailed for making life easier and facilitating the flow of goods and services across territories. It also led to adverse effects on other major sectors of the economy. First of all it is important to note that many people lost their jobs because the manual labor that they provided to various firms was substituted with machinery in order to boost the level of production. In addition, the massive production that was made possible by the industrial revolution led to the massive exploitation of natural resources (More 57). The corporate world was interested in boosting production and was not in any way concerned with the effects that they caused on the immediate environment.
Research Problem & Major Objective of Paper
The industrial revolution was a profound shift within the global economy. Major shortages of goods and services that were witnessed before the industrial revolution were highly reduced. However, one thing that is important to look at is the effects that the industrial revolution had to the economy, society, and how it transformed the political terrain. This paper takes the position that the industrial revolution increased the per capita income in economies globally. In addition, the industrial revolution led to the reduction of corporate responsibility because various industries led to massive environment degradation as they struggled to exploit more resources with the aim of increasing their level of production. In addition, the industrial revolution can be attributed the growing world population (Held 29). Many people were able to live longer because many of the factors that led to increased mortality was reduced due to the advancement of technology in key areas like healthcare. In addition the industrial revolution created a political organization where law makers created an avenue for the corporate market to lobby for their interests. This means that lawmakers would be funded by the corporate market so as to protect their interests in the legislative assembly.
Methodology
The methodology used in substantiating the claims discussed above is through conducting research and analyzing some of the shifting paradigms that are identifiable in the market today. Some of the resources used for this research include books, periodicals, and journals that support the claim that the industrial revolution had both positive and negative effects to the global economy (Horn 53). It is also important to understand that some of the effects of the industrial revolution can be felt even today. For instance, some of the massive incidences of over exploitation of resources have led to the shortage of resources today. Massive deforestation for example is a major problem that faces many places in the world today. It is due to the increased demand for resources like timber that many forests underwent massive cutting. Though the logging of these forests was a justifiable thing to do at the time in order to meet the growing demand of the market, the fact remains that many corporate firms that conducted the cutting did not take social responsibility for their actions. Bearing in mind that the demand for timber was something that would continue for a long time, it would be plausible for these companies to replant more trees so as to substitute the number of trees that they cut down at the time.
Findings
Some of the key findings from this research are the fact that the industrial revolution led to increased production. This is because the adoption of machinery in the production process increased the amount of goods of services that were produced by these industries (King 46). Though machinery that was used in these companies had the positive effects of offsetting the global demand of key goods around the world, the fact remains that machinery substituted manual labor which over time led to increased unemployment among people who initially worked in these firms as manual laborers (Mancall 39). In addition, it is important to realize that the industrial revolution led to environmental degradation due to increased exploitation of resources by the corporate market which did not offer major attention to social responsibility.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the industrial revolution had both positive and negative effects to global economies. First of all the industrial revolution led to increased production of goods and services. In addition, the industrial revolution led to technological advancements in both the transport and communication sector. On the other hand, the industrial revolution is attributed to the massive environmental degradation that was experienced after many industries increased their production levels.
Works Cited
Held, David. Global transformations: politics, economics and culture . Stanford,
CA: Stanford University Press, 1999. Print.
Horn, Jeff. Re-conceptualizing the Industrial Revolution. Boston, MA:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2010. Print.
King, Steven. Making Sense of the Industrial Revolution. Manchester, UK:
Manchester University Press, 2001. Print.
Mancall, Peter. Industrial Revolution: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara,
CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2008. Print.
More, Charles. Understanding the Industrial Revolution. New York: Routledge
Publishers, 2000. Print.
