WHEN THE WORLD TOOK OFF.

(Notes on the Industrial Revolution - Originally written by me as teaching notes many years ago. I have revised them a little.)

When did the so called Industrial Revolution happen?

This implies a rather specific point in time and, of course, there have always been ‘industrial’ elements in any human society. However - the Industrial Revolution is a PROFOUND shift in the nature of society and it is possible to point to a time when society was not ‘industrial’ and to a time when it was, and measure the changes that had occurred.

Three ‘phases’ can be identified (it is important to remember that it was NOT a planned event or sequence of events)

1. INITIAL PHASE (the ‘Textile’ phase) - From mid/late 18th century to 1820’s

2. HEAVY INDUSTRIAL PHASE - From c.1820’s - 1850’s.

3. Diversification/'Massification' Phase/s - After the 1850’s

The crucial period is, I would argue, the first two phases - this fundamentally altered many aspects of society and set a sort of ‘pattern’ for future developments.

Where did Industrialisation begin?

No arguments here, no doubt at all - It began in ENGLAND. England was the worlds first industrial society.

This was more a matter of chance and various crucial factors coming together at a particular time and place than anything else. If one looked at the world in, say, 1500, one would not have thought that England was going to become the first industrial nation. Places like China, the Arab world or India would have looked much more likely.

What is ‘INDUSTRIALISATION’?

The simple definition is - Where a society based on agricultural production changes into one based on the manufacturing of goods and artefacts. Since about 1850 over 70% of ALL the artefacts the human race has made in 6,000 years of civilisation have been manufactured.

There is a very profound shift from PRIMARY economic activities (extracting a living from nature in a very direct way - farming, forestry, mining etc.,) to SECONDARY economic activities (manufacturing items from the raw materials of nature). In essence industrialisation is a change in the basis of a societies economy - how a society produces and distributes to meet needs. It is, then, an ECONOMIC phenomenon.

But it has an enormous impact, eventually, on every level and sphere of social life leading to a total transformation of that life in a deep and permanent manner.

What sort of impact?

1. The rise of MACHINE DRIVEN PRODUCTION - encouraging and driving TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. This has its own series of long reaching effects too, in so many aspects of life. It is important to note that the Industrial Revolution was not caused by technology, but it created the demand for more and better technology.

2. The rise of ‘The FACTORY’ (the ‘manufactury’) as a special location where production takes place. This has follow on effects on the type of labour and skills required; the nature and organisation of work; the meaning of ‘work’; social organisation (by the impact on communities and family structures).

3. URBANISATION:

This is a process that is INEVITABLY linked to industrialisation. The rise of the factory system creates new urban concentrations.

Rural communities are dislocated and de-populated.

The population becomes very unevenly distributed - heavily concentrated in a few urban centres.

The population - especially the working classes - and their customs, behaviours and problems therefore become much more visible.

Demand is created for better communications - roads, canals, rail.

A growing proportion of the population (eventually the vast majority) no longer have any connection with primary production.

The urban environment creates many new opportunities, new patterns of interaction, new types of community, new cultures

4. New social classes are created:

The emergence of the new industrial middle-classes of owners and managers and the Industrial working classes.

Decline and increasing marginalisation of both rural aristocracy and rural labouring classes.

This has a major impact - creating new social conflicts, new sub-cultures and new politics.

5. A rapid rise in material living standards:

From relatively early (say 1870’s), when the worst phases of industrialisation were being brought under control by various means there seemed to be an apparently inevitable improvement in living standards with each passing year. This, too, was new and shifted expectations and changed cultural values and norms.

6. Other effects follow - think of the shifting demands for education for example. There are many threads flowing from what seems to have been a simple economic change.

A few general points about the Industrial Revolution:

Why was England the FIRST society in the history of human civilisation to industrialise Why there? There is no easy answer to that - but it was, essentially, an HISTORICAL ACCIDENT whereby a cluster of key ‘ingredients’ came together.

The ‘Agricultural Revolution’ of the 17th Century had several significant results -

1. A growing agricultural surplus;

2. A declining demand for rural labour resulting in a growing pool of unemployed/underemployed workers (potential employees);

3. A vigorous level of commerce – trade.

4. Trade and surplus = a growing surplus of capital = a growing demand for goods and services and a growing incentive to invest.

5. Plenty of natural resources (coal; ironstone; water power etc.)

6. Because it was the first time such a process had taken off anywhere, it was relatively ‘easy’ in the sense that the level of skills, capital and technology required to ‘set the ball rolling’ were not that great.

This is not a very lengthy or exhaustive list - but a situation was growing where a small element of the population were generating surplus wealth. This created demand. A large section of the population were under employed. This created a pool of labour power.

It was a painful experience - the impact on the living standards and life chances of the early industrial working classes was terrible. No one disputes that, but one must escape both our modern outlook and the horrified reactions of Victorian reformers. Life was ALWAYS hard for the poorest and the labourers. And they couldn’t wait to get away from rural poverty and into the industrial towns where work was regular.

The early entrepreneurs did have it fairly easy - they imposed costs on society but didn’t bear any of them themselves.

Finally, it is very important to realise that growth was VERY SLOW (about 3% per year). But the key point is that for the first time in history positive growth was sustained for a very long time - this was new!

It was not experienced as a sudden change then - but slow, sustained growth leads to very large changes in a relatively short time. For example, 3% growth every year DOUBLES in 25 years.

I am a fan of industrialisation and the liberating effects it has. I will add more to this theme later and try to deepen some of the points made here.