The Industrial Revolution

Question 1

What precondition leads to the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 1

1. Technological changes: the use of new basic materials (e.g. cotton, steel.)
   The role of technology: machines vs. people. People have to adapt to the speed of the machine.
2. The use of new energy sources. The energy you were holding determined your capabilities for industrialization.
3. The invention of new machines. e.g. Railways: factories work faster and more efficiently for transporting workers and goods.
4. A new organisation of work. (Factory system)
   Workers become replaceable and value quantity over quality rather than true craftsmanship.
   The increasing application of science to industry.

Question 2

What signified the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 2

1. Lots of technological and societal changes. Complete reorganization of the social classes. (upper class, middle class, working class)
2. Working class movements
3. The lifestyle of people changed. Urbanization and the factory system.
4. Start of globalization: telegrams, radio, and telephones, the world become smaller (relatively)

Question 3

What was the cause and outcome of the Industrial Revolution? (political, economic, and social)

Answer 3

1. Political
   - Free market theory: capitalism
   - New bank system
2. Social
   - New inventions.
   - From agricultural to urban society.
   - Specialization and more independence. The community became less important than individuals. (Take care of your own business cause no one’s gonna help you)
   - Social mobility. You can move up and down the social ladder.
   - Gender relations get redefined. Women stay at home and take care of the kids. If a woman was willing to work, it is legal for them to earn less.
3. Economic
   - Crisis. Local production could not be sold because the imported things were way cheaper.
   - Competition.
   - Imperialism: taking land to trade with other parts of the world and also to take more…stuff.

Question 4

The social questions

Answer 4

Quality of life for the workers. This was important because they became unionized. They could harm the upper classes.

1. Liberals: blamed the poor workers for being poor. A free market and the competition in it is the solution. If you work hard you will get better.
   - People without property should not vote. The vote should depend on wealth and power.
   Solution: Working hard is the only way out.
2. Conservatives: paternalism: it is up to the nobles to protect the workers who are working for them.
   - Against industrialization and the rise of the middle class. They thought it was a moral decline.
   - Rely on the rich, the lord cares about the poor and the factory owners don’t. Work for the lord he loves you.
3. Socialists type 1: reformists: the worker owns the means of production. The state has to help the poor.
   - Gradually capitalism will grow into the perfect socialist state.
   - Communism
4. Socialist type 2: revolutionists: Capitalism will never stop so kill them all. Eat the rich and give it to the poor.
   - More radical.
5. Darwinism: factory owners used Darwinism to justify their cruelty. If nature is harsh, then so are we.
   - We need to provide the best nation for humans.
   - Competing of nations and factories is alike survival of the fittest.
   - The free market resembles the way Darwin described nature