The government has played a vital role in resolving the problems of this Revolution. Also, the writers Marx and Engels portray their views through their book, The Communist Manifesto. An excerpt from this book states, “Let the ruling class tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to loose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries unite!” Marx and Engels believe that the only way to solve the evils of the Industrial Revolution is through a forcible communist revolution.
Aesop a once famous philosopher quoted "Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin." This quote closely relates to the Industrial Revolution because this revolution had brought many evils and needed a way in which to eradicate them. The Industrial Revolution had resulted with many disadvantages, but have been addressed in the right manner and time to support the upcoming eras.
The Industrial Revolution was a period in history, which lasted from 1800-1850, whereby drastic changes in agriculture and factories took place. Industries found methods to ameliorate their production; hence, factories had gained more importance. This revolution was associated with major changes in agriculture, transportation and production. It demonstrated an important alteration, which strengthened countries economically and politically. To this day, historians debate whether this revolution had only had good impacts in England. By accessing a wide range of perspectives, it is clear that the Industrial Revolution had both positive and negative effects.
The Industrial Revolution brought many hardships to the majority of the population. Factories began to mass-produce, due to a large labour force. Additionally, pollution throughout Europe during industrialization increased rapidly. Factories had poor working conditions, while offering low wages for a full sixteen hours a day of manual labour. An excerpt from William Cooper’s testimony in Document 1 proves that labour hours were to long for the workers. “We begin working at five in the morning and stopped at nine in the night.” Additionally, Many machines and equipment were not safe to function near large crowds of worker; as a result, this led to many fatalities and injuries. This element caused an alarming decrease of life expectancy at the time.
On the other hand, factories began to provide a better quality of life for the workers. They offer a sophisticated, modern and hygienic working condition than that of the average workers homes. With damp, ill-aired and cold dwellings, workers were bound to want to work in factories. Moreover, living conditions became so bad that many believed “children would thrive better when employed in our modern factories.” Andrew Ure’s views also depict that by allowing children as well as factories to benefit from the given situation the Industrial Revolution would have been more of a success.
Furthermore, factories supply many external services for the working class in England. In the little town of Hyde, factories have maintained a clean and safe environment for its inhabitants. In addition to preserving order and comfort, factories have sustained the workers essential needs. The population of the Industrial Revolution were granted with many amenities by capitalists “The young women have been decently clothed. Mr. Ashton has built 300 houses inhabited by the work people, which he lets [rents] for…75 cents” With basic the necessities at hand, workers wanted to work in these factories.
With supporting evidence by many historians it is liable that the Industrial Revolution has addressed all its evils. From a general overview one can depict that this revolution brings the human race to our modern world. According to The Working Man’s Companion, “An infinite number of comforts and conveniences which had no existence two or three centuries ago and those comforts are not used only by a few, but are within the reach of almost all men. Your Houses are better, your clothes are cheaper and you have an infinite number of domestic utensils.” This portrays that without this revolution, daily comforts and a variety of other modern goods would not be present today.
The Industrial Revolution has brought about many evils; however, with the help of factories, writers and philosophers the majority of these evils were addressed. By providing better working conditions, humanly maintaining health and improving our world to what it is today, the Industrial Revolution to many can be considered a success. Aesop a once famous philosopher, preached of addressing evils, "Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin." The Industrial Revolution did exactly this. Looking in retrospect, the Industrial Revolution gave birth to a new era of modernisation, which has been the foundation of the economic world we live in today. Thus, it is evident that the Industrial Revolution’s benefits outweighed the costs.
