This term describes the time when means of production changed across North Western Europe. Similarly, the term also describes the way the mentioned change occurred and where it began. Basically, industrialization entails the use of machines in economic production and has the benefit of increasing production rates and lowering costs, a key component of mass production (Kottak,2011). Industrial revolution started in England due to the presence of wealthy sea merchants, navigable waterways, and a need to change the means of production. Therefore, the merchants provided the capital required to develop the machines and technology necessary to create the new production means(Kottak, 2011).
Changes in production equally meant changes in English society. Industrialization changed the creation of cities as new ones were established along navigable water bodies or around iron ore and coal mines, which were the initial backbone of the revolution(Kottak, 2011). Moreover, the move to manufacturing ended the traditional village or small town small-scale family based and owned cottage style industries that were dependent on family labor and simple technology for production. The large size of the industries meant that they required labor on an equally larger scale(Kottak, 2011). Initially, this caused rural to urban migration as the young went to work in the new production systems, a trend that changed the composition of villages, cities, and towns across England.
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The production of goods at lowered prices facilitated dramatic population growthsin 18 th century England(Kottak, 2011). The resulting demographic changes spurred the creation of new production technologies to keep up with the demand changes from the growing population. On the other hand, European industrialization developed from the same domestic production systems abandoned by Britain, making European industrialization more of an evolution unlike the revolution synonymous with Britain(Kottak, 2011). The change towards mass production and industrialization also created socioeconomic changes.
As mentioned previously, industrialization led to growth, both in population and in the creation of cities with the former located around natural reserves of iron ore, coal, and cheap labor(Kottak, 2011). Initially, factory workers enjoyed wages that were better than those of domestic workers, however, this changed once the factory owners recruited labor from areas with poor living standards. Worse still, the owners employed both women and children with the objective of managing labor costs(Kottak, 2011).
Population growth and migration inspired by industrialization worsened social ills mentioned above as the growth of industrial towns continued and factory owners sought to reduce their labor costs(Kottak, 2011). Consequently, housing became both unsanitary and overcrowded, environmental pollution and degradation from both the industries and crowded houses in the form of smog and poorly developed water and sewerage systems were common place in the cities(Kottak, 2011). Meanwhile, the popularity of industrialization spread to agrarian, rural based communities who also adopted the use of machines in their production processes, further supporting the industrialization inspired rural urban migration.
According to both Marx and Weber, industrialization also led to a socio-industrial stratification. Marx observed that industrialization had created two social groups with diametrically opposed interests: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the former owns capital and means of production while the latter only has labor(Kottak, 2011). Notably, Marx and Weber observe that industrialization separates the working class from the owning the means of production. Moreover, the bourgeoise used their economic influence to control other critical societal elements like schools and political leadership(Kottak, 2011).
Learning about the industrial revolution and its attendant socioeconomic implications allows a deeper understanding of the modern capitalist set up. The ability to access knowledge pertaining to the series of events that created the modern economic systems facilitates a more accurate understanding of both the past and possibly, the future. Notably, learning about the industrial revolution is critical for a better understanding of world systems theory.
Reference
Kottak, C. P. (2011). Cultural anthropology: Appreciating cultural diversity . New York:
McGraw-Hill.
