After the Industrial Revolution began in England, it gradually spread to Europe and America. The cotton textile industry became a leading industry in 1820. Iron and steel and chemical industries opened in France, Russia, Germany, and Japan. In Russia, industries were nationalized after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The impact of the Industrial Revolution was as follows:
Impact of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution brought tremendous changes in human thinking, the living conditions of people, and the world economy. Two significant effects of the Industrial Revolution were the rise of Capitalism and Socialism.
Impact of the Industrial Revolution #1
The Industrial Revolution gave rise to the theory of capitalism. Money is required for purchasing land, labor, and machinery which are important means of production. When the money is invested to generate more money, it is known as capital. The people who own capital are known as capitalists.
Capitalism
- The economic and political system in the country where trade and industries are controlled by private owners for earning profit is known as capitalism. The capitalists provide money for purchasing machines, tools, implements, and raw materials.
- To earn a profit is the main motive of the capitalists
Factors Leading to the Rise of Capitalism
Increase in Population:
The Industrial Revolution increased the national wealth and improved the purchasing power of people. An increase in income led to the improvement in health care facilities, which led to the country’s increase in population. People moved from rural to urban areas in search of job opportunities. The rural population rose sharply as new sources of food became available and death rates declined because of the decreasing number of wars and epidemic diseases like plague.
Growth of Towns:
Many new cities and manufacturing sectors came to be located close to the coalfields and supplied fuel to the factories. Factories came to be located near the source of raw materials. This further led to the rise of capitalism.
Mass Production:
In factories, machines helped in producing and manufacturing goods on a large scale. People living in the rural areas shifted to towns in search of employment. Mass production enabled the capitalists to amass huge wealth and gave rise to capitalism.
Disappearance of Small Farmers:
Many small farmers shifted to new industrial towns. Because their lands were appropriated by the big landlords, they were forced to seek employment in factories. The availability of abundant labor for factories helped in the development of the Industrial Revolution.
Impact of Capitalism
The impact of capitalism was as follows:
Loss of Traditional Jobs:
The movement of people from villages to urban cities resulted in the loss of traditional jobs. Women who were engaged in spinning lost their livelihood as weaving became highly mechanized. Skilled laborers also lost jobs as machines replaced them.
Exploitation:
The workers in a factory lived an extremely hard life. They were paid the minimum wages. Women and children were also employed in large numbers as they could be employed for very low wages. Soon people began to criticize this system of exploitation.
Overcrowding:
The workers were paid low wages, and they lived in enclosed overcrowded spaces. This resulted in the spread of various diseases. Although the economy of Britain developed at a fast pace, vast inequalities existed between the rich and the poor.
Longer Hours of Work:
The workers were exploited by the industrialists. They were supposed to work for longer hours. The workers were expected to work for about 12−14 hours per day.
Impact of the Industrial Revolution #2
Socialism was one of the important effects of the Industrial Revolution. Adam Smith in his work, ‘Wealth of Nations’ stressed that the state should not interfere in the nation’s economy. Socialism developed as a reaction against the theory propounded by Adam Smith. Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are not controlled by individuals but by the state or by a community of people. Socialism believes in the fair distribution of wealth among the people.
Principals of Socialism
- It is opposed to private capitalism.
- Socialism reflects the voice of all workers and the working classes.
- It aims at equal distribution of wealth.
Early Socialists
In the early twentieth century, many political thinkers favored the rise of the social system in which the means of production are not owned by private individuals but by the State. Some first socialists were Babeuf, Saint Simon, and Robert Owen. Robert Owen owned a cotton mill in Scotland. He reduced the working hours of the laborers and paid them good wages.
Causes Leading to the Rise of Socialism
Reaction against Capitalism:
Socialism developed as a reaction against capitalism. The Industrial Revolution divided society into capitalists and socialists. The capitalists exploited the laborers by forcing them to work for longer hours and by paying them extremely low wages. This made rich people richer and poor people poorer. The socialists fought for the rights of the workers.
Trade Union Movement:
The trade union developed after the Industrial Revolution to fight for the rights of the workers. Systematic protests by the members of the Trade Union forced the British government to recognize the basic rights of workers.
The Chartist Movement:
The condition of workers in Britain between 1836 and 1848 deteriorated. The workers wanted social and political freedom. Their leaders put forward their demands before the Parliament in the form of a charter. This movement came to be known as ‘The Chartist Movement’.
Marxist Socialism
- Karl Marx was a German political philosopher and an economist. Along with Frederick Engels, he wrote the ‘Communist Manifesto’ which was published in 1848. Karl Marx wrote another famous book ‘Das Capital’.
- Marx believed that the capitalist society is divided into two classes—the working class, which toils and does all the work, and the capitalist class, which owns all the resources. He said that the capitalists exploit the working class.
- This results in conflict between the two classes. This class struggle leads to a crisis resulting in the collapse of the capitalist system. The means of production will then pass into the hands of the working class. The working class would own all the resources, and profits would be equally divided among the people. This system came to be known as ‘Marxist Socialism’.
- In socialism, when production takes place not for earning profits but for satisfying human wants, it establishes a communist society.
- Bernstein, another socialist, advocated that socialist objectives should be achieved through democratic means.
Socialism in the World
Socialism was one of the important effects of the Industrial Revolution. Adam Smith in his work, ‘Wealth of Nations’ stressed that the state should not interfere in the nation’s economy. Socialism developed as a reaction against the theory propounded by Adam Smith. Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are not controlled by individuals but by the state or by a community of people. Socialism believes in the fair distribution of wealth among the people.
Also, Read Modern age in Europe – Industrial Revolution