Social Consequences Of The Industrial Revolution

Social Consequences
The First Industrial Revolution is the name given to the years between 1780 and 1850 when agriculture was replaced by industry as the main wealth source in the Western world. With this major shift also came considerable societal disadvantages. I will justify my choice for the two most significant social consequences, the changes in family life and the penalties of child labor
The role of the family was forever changed during the Industrial Revolution. When agriculture was the primary source of survival families worked the land together tending to the fields. The women would raise children as well as crops. Mother, Father, and child all played a role in producing food for the family and to sell for household needs. The Industrial Revolution separated the family unit and emphasized the roles of the sexes. Fathers now left their homes to go and work in factories and earn money for their families. Mothers no longer had a role in the family’s financial well-being,
they needed to cook, clean, and raise the children. While women did work in the factories, most of them were temporary workers who left as soon as they married (Bellarmine College Preparatory, 2013).
Children’s roles also had changed as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
Children had helped out around the farm before the Industrial Age, but their roles were always appropriate for their age. Now young children went to work in the factories where they were exploited by their bosses and given dangerous tasks. R.D. Fitzgerald writes in the article titled The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution “The most dangerous assignment for children in the factories was unjamming the great textile machines that wove cloth. Since their hands and arms were so small, they could reach into small spaces where the fabric tended to jam. The foreman would not turn the machine off but would insist the child reach in to dislodge the jam. If he were not quick enough, his hand or arm would become caught in the mechanism, and this could result in severe damage to the child. Children were eventually looked upon as interchangeable parts.” This was the case until the Factory Act of 1833 (Fitzgerald,
2000).
Capitalism
Capitalism is for all intents and purposes the investment of money with the expectation of making a profit. Using this definition Capitalism has been around since the 1600’s when investors would finance trade voyages of merchant ships expecting to make large profits from the sale of goods the ships brought back (Fulcher, 2004). During the Industrial Revolution we see the birth of "Laissez Faire" which is French for "leave alone” which means that the government “leaves people alone” concerning all economic pursuits. “It is the separation of economy and state” (Landauer, 2001). Before the Industrial Revolution, wealth followed a policy of mercantilism. This form of capitalism had government regulations, such as tariffs. During the Industrial Revolution the theory of laissez-faire economics developed. With the rise of factories, entrepreneurs needed large amounts of investments. This was achieved by selling stocks or shares in their companies to investors. Adam Smith wrote Wealth of Nations in 1776 promoting laissez-faire economics. This system became known as capitalism (Hyland, n.d.)
Communist Theory
Communism according to Dictionary.com is a theory of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state (Dictionary.com, n.d.). Communism Theory was born from the unfair treatment of the working class, as well as the unjust realization that the workers creating the goods could not afford or benefit the products they were making. Communism is commonly associated with theories written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. According to Marx, capitalism creates profits for the wealthy class at the expense of the working class. Marx believed capitalism system would collapse and society would suffer due to machines replacing workers. Marx stated that since only the working class can produce profit they should benefit from the wealth instead of living in poverty (New World Encyclopedia Contributors, 2013).
Differences
Communist Theory and Capitalist Theory are two extreme theories on opposite ends of the spectrum. Capitalism is all about the “what do I get” mentality here Communism is all about the “share and share alike” mentality. There are many differences between the two theories, but the two important differences I will discuss are who owns the goods produced and how society should look.
Communist Theory says that society has ownership of all. The community should own the land, resources, and goods produced and everyone will earn the same wage. On the other hand, capitalism theory believes in private ownership. Wages are decided by the person who owns the rights of production. Land and resources belong to the people who can afford to buy them.
Capitalist society embraces different. It likes separated classes for the rich and the poor. The rich have the power and control so they set the rules. Decisions are made by the owners and they get the lion’s share of the profits. Communist society has no room for differences. There are no classes, no race, and no different religions. Men and woman are equal. Society will share in everything and all decisions will be made by everyone for the good of the community. (Gillis, 2013).