The Standard Of Living During The Industrial Revolution...

Henry Ziegler 10044371 Prof. Frank Lewis ECON 231 Thursday, November 20, 2014 Analysis on the Standard of Living in the Industrial Revolution Debate Before the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain’s economy relied heavily on agriculture, which at that point of time was based a flawed system dating back to the Middle Ages. This system, known as the open field system, showed agricultural inefficiencies, and was disallowing of innovation. These inefficiencies eventually led to the privatization of land for agriculture, in an effort to solve what is now commonly referred to as â€Å"the tragedy of the commons†. Great Britain was now moving forward, and as the country (and continent) began enclosing their land, Britain began a period of modernization, with new technologies that would increase productivity in industry to a level never before seen. This is the period commonly referred to as the Industrial Revolution, and was an era of unprecedented growth in industry from the middle of the 18th century until around the middle of the 19th century. In 1760, 53% of the British population worked in agriculture. By 1840, that had dropped to 29%. The evolution from water and wind power to steam engines, as well as the creation of many pieces of machinery for the textile industry (such as the Spinning Jenny, which reduced the production time on yarn) vastly improved British manufacturing of goods, and the reliance on agriculture continued to drop. The development from an agricultural focusShow MoreRelatedPrior To The Industrial Revolution, Which Began In Britain1542 Words   |  7 PagesPrior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing was often done in people s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. When the Industrial Market took a big leap and bound forward, it set off a big chain of events and changed many aspects of the era, people’s lives and the future of our nations. Many areas of industries, such as the big iron and textileRead MoreThe Consequ ences of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain (the Standard of Living Debate) and the Free Trade Era in Europe.1542 Words   |  7 PagesLecture 11: The Consequences of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain (The Standard of Living Debate) and the Free Trade Era in Europe. I. The Consequences of the Industrial Revolution: The Standard of Living Debate. What happened to living standards during the Industrial Revolution? From today’s perspective, over 200 years later, most people would say that industrialization has raised living standards dramatically from those that prevailed in the 1700s. In fact, there is general agreementRead MoreThe Effects Of Industrialization On The Standard Of Living Of The Laboring Population Of Britain Essay1062 Words   |  5 PagesFor countless years now, a debate over the effects of industrialization on the standard of living of the laboring population of Britain has been fought between the optimist and the pessimist. The optimists would claim that the living standards only improved during the industrial revolution, while the pessimists would say that welfare, plus the standard of living declined during the time period. The optimist argument gives the best description of the condition of the laboring population in EnglandRead MorePrimary Sources and Social Change of the Industrial Revolution1740 Words   |  7 PagesPrimary Sources and Social Change of the Industrial Revolution The impact of the Industrial Revolution on the standard of living of working class people is, and has been frequently debated. There is a mass of primary and secondary sources of evidence from the time of the Industrial Revolution available to support differing views of the debate, and there are also many novels available that were written at the time which criticise industrial society, but the difficulty of assessingRead MoreThe Era Of The 19th Century1135 Words   |  5 Pagesfaced an era of revolutions at the wake of the nineteenth century. Long-standing empires, which had traditionally controlled most of the world –including the Spanish, Chinese, French, and Holy Roman Empires –, collapsed at the beginning of the century, allowing the British Empire to rise to power and establish dominance over a fifth of the Earth’s surface. This political revolution was coupled with the industrial revolution. New manufacturing processes called for large industrial factories to replaceRead MoreTheories or Concept Practices of Developing Countries1234 Words   |  5 Pagesinfrastructure, economy and on human rights issues. Developing countries have utilized a lot of concepts and practices in order to meet society needs. Over the last decade, African countries had dictatorial leaders, but since the beginning of this century, revolutions have taken place, a very good example i s the fall of Gaddafis, Mubaraks governments in Libya and Egypt respectively. Democracy is  a process where people reach consensus in  regulations, policies on human rights, laws, and structure of the societyRead MoreThe Effects of the Industrial Revolution1508 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effects of the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution began in the eighteenth century marking the transformation of economic power and productivity. Not only was there concentration on agriculture, as their main source of an economy, and started to concern themselves with commerce, trade, and exploration of new technologies. Working toward great financial success to make a profit. Even though the machinery was new the main power source was human labor. Production took place in homesRead MoreThe Advent Of Industrialized Civilization Essay1718 Words   |  7 Pageshave intertwined themselves into the everyday culture of modern day industrialized countries.. These products have provided us enormous benefits compared to the types of lives our ancestors used to live. In the eyes of some, the consequences of industrial activities that have evolved around the world will not pose any problems in the future, however as most have realized, this is not true. Contemporary production processes use fossil fuels such as oil , which release dangerous amounts of greenhouseRead MoreAdvantages and Limitations of the Kyoto Protocol1404 Words   |  6 Pageshave intertwined themselves into the everyday culture of modern day industrialized countries.. These products have provided us enormous benefits compared to the types of lives our ancestors used to live. In the eyes of some, the consequences of industrial activities that have evolved around the world will not pose any problems in the future, however as most have realized, this is not true. Contemporary production processes use fossil fuels such as oil, which release dangerous amounts of greenhouseRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution Caused A Major Development During Social History2527 Words   |  11 PagesThe Industrial Revolution caused a major development in social history with major changes in manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture that had an intense effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Europe that then spread to North Americ a and eventually around the world, influencing almost every aspect of everyday life and society. Looking through sources from the time period, it is easy to see how lives were changed due to the advancements in technology that improved manufacturing,