The Pros And Cons Of The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution was a period of time where major technological advances took place in Europe in the middle of the 1700s. Without the advances of the Industrial Revolution our world would not have progressed the way it did. This revolution was net positive. With everything, there is going to be some faults. But, in this case, the pros outweigh the cons. Like, discovering new ways of harnessing energy, textile production, and the steam engine all impacted how fast technology advanced in our world today.

The revolution can be broken up into three phases to better understand what advances took place when. The first phase was from 1750-1820 in Britain, the United States, and France. People were focused on creating new ways to harness

energy. The steam engine made its debut by running on coal and was used to pump water out of mines. After the water is pumped out, the machine can easily be used to power textile spinning.

Through this, textiles could be produced more efficiently. Later in 1794, Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin that made cotton production much more affordable and took less time to make. In the second phase from about 1840 to 1914 (Germany and Eastern Europe) the steel industry was born. The steel industry is how urbanization flourished. It helped people move into cities because they needed apartment buildings to live in. People were now able to live near all of the resources they needed to survive. The steam engine that was created in phased one was then used to create electricity in the cities. All of this influenced European nations to stretch out their horizons to retrieve more goods and resources because their populations were growing. So around 1884 Europe began to colonize places in Africa and Asia. The third phase occurred in 1945 and is still present. Industries and factories are the highlight of this time period. It encouraged trade because Europe was mass-producing consumer goods like cars and clothes. As you can see, each phased helped influence the next. In all of these phases the advances are positive because they helped all these countries establish themselves and progress as a society. Advances in science lead

to longer life expectancies and population rise. In terms of ideology, people began to look at the world as something they can use to their benefit. Many philosophers during the team began to form ideas on the way society was progressing. Adam Smith talked about supply and demand, which we still use to this day. Thomas Malthus discussed his views on the way food production and population grows, which is not equally. He said that poverty and famine is inevitable. Karl Marx writes, The Communist Manifesto in 1840.
The few downsides to the revolution have to do with the working conditions. The factories were very dangerous environments due to the machines and smoke. Children were to put to work in these poor conditions too. Wages were low and were put to work many hours in the work. However, these difficulties only influenced people to come together and stand up end the abuse. Women and children were earning the lowest wages. This is not because of the revolution; it is because of people’s mindsets and preconceived notions. These are issues that are greater within society that see women and children as lower than men. This only created Social Security later on in time. Unions were also formed to protect workers from their employers. They aimed to increase wages and end the poor conditions. Which helped us get to where we are today. Without suffering, no improvements are going to be fought to progress society.