Industrial Revolution Reactions to Revolution

1. Industrial RevolutionReactions to Revolution

2. Industrial Revolution began about 1760 in England- it would make England the dominant power in the world Results of the Revolution were: • the substitution of animal and human labour by machines • Urbanization • tremendous increase in production of goods • improved standards of living • world dominance for industrialized nations • changing ideologies

3. British Textile Industry-Cotton clothing was in great demand, it was produced using the cottage system- workers were given raw cotton which they carded, spun and loomed into cloth- it was a slow process Centralization of this process in a factory coupled with newly invented machines greatly increased production

5. Water power was used to operate the new machines, later steam power would replace water power • The Factory System employed mechanization and required workers to move near the factory giving rise to rapid urbanization

6. Displaced agricultural workers would provide the new workforce – Improvements in agricultural production techniques required less labour while significantly increasing agricultural production • Revolution in Transportation- Increased production of goods led to the need for improved transportation

7. The invention of the steam engine by Newcomen and Watt was a major breakthrough leading to the railroads and steamships • These developments led to an increased demand for steel and other products causing a new explosion of industrialization

9. Urban Culture- The growth of cities was a true phenomenon - almost overnight huge cities sprang up to house workers • Social problems emerged as people adjusted to a totally different lifestyle • Working conditions were horrible- characterized by low wages long hours, child labour and unsafe factories

10. Cities lacked proper sanitation, were crowded and miserable • Many people called for drastic reform of this system • Relief for Workers-The British government acted to end the worst abuses, age limitations, minimum wage laws, work hours and child labour all were subject to government legislation

11. Nationalism- as we have already seen, grew at the same time as industrialization, making European countries even more powerful. • Romanticism- grew up as a reaction to the cold logic of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.

12. Characteristics of Romanticism were: • Imagination as a potent force • an attempt to reach beyond the senses in order to discover life’s meaning • renewed spirituality • a new appreciation of nature

13. Conservatism-believed that the elite should determine the direction of society • They believed the French Revolution was a travesty and did not fulfill it’s lofty goals • Sir Edmund Burke was a leading Conservative believed individuals left to their own devices would not do good for society • Conservatives favoured the status quo

14. Liberalism- Liberals believed in personal freedom, private property and freedom from government interference • Liberals believed that by striving for one’s own good society would also benefit

15. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were leading liberals who would mark the transition between Classical Liberalism and Modern Liberalism • They both supported government legislation to protect the workers from undue exploitation

16. Socialism- wanted to end exploitation of the working class and bring about economic equality • Theysaw massive intervention by the state as essential to this goal • Over the years different visions of how to achieve these goals would emerge, some more radical than others

17. Karl Marx- wrote a book called The Communist Manifesto • Marx believed that economics were the main determinate of all of the human condition • Whoever had control of the Means of Production (land, labour and capital) controlled all of society

18. Marx believed this was characterized by class struggle • He believed that the only way the workers could better their lot in life was to rise up and stage a revolution to seize the means of production

19. Marx justified the violent overthrow of the capitalists by his theory of Surplus Value- workers were forced to produce goods from which the capitalist made a profit- Marx called this surplus value, which rightfully belonged to the worker • The only real value of a good being the labour needed to produce it

20. Marx believed that once the workers won the revolution they could set up a classless society where equality would be possible • Private property and profit would be abolished and eventually the state would wither away as people lived in collective harmony

21. Other Socialists- Utopian Socialists, most notably Robert Owen, believed, by setting up ideal communities and paying workers a fair wage, society could overcome the evils of the Industrial Revolution • The Fabian Society in England rejected Marx’s violent revolutionary approach to reform, suggesting people could be democratically persuaded to bring about a more equitable society-this marked the beginning of the Democratic Socialist Movement

22. Other like movements soon followed in other European Countries • Today Democratic Socialists form the governments of many countries including the Labour Party under Tony Blair in Britain • In Canada the Democratic Socialist Party is the New Democrats • These Political Parties advocate Social programs as a way to bring more equality

23. Social Darwinism- Advocates of this philosophy argue that some people succeed because they are superior to those that do not • According to this theory people who are poor are lazy, improvident or plain stupid • This theory is loosely associated with Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection and Survival of the fittest