At consequences of the industrial revolution were the formation of the working class, urbanization, cheaper products, increased environmental damage, among others.
This process concentrated wealth in the hands of an elite and with it, the misery and unhealthy conditions in which the less favored populations lived increased significantly..
In the first phase of the Industrial Revolution, factory workers lived in precarious conditions, with long working hours and low wages. Women and children also worked in factories and were paid less than men.
Main Consequences of the Industrial Revolution: Summary
- Division and specialization of work
- Strengthening of two classes: industrial bourgeoisie and the factory proletariat
- high economic growth
- Concentration of income in the hands of industry owners
- Political and economic strengthening of the bourgeoisie
- Formation of an industrial elite
- Emergence of assembly lines (Fordism and Taylorism)
- Decrease in handicraft-related corporations (manufacturing)
- Manufacturing replacement for machinery
- Creation of companies and industries
- Dynamization of the industrial process
- Increased labor income
- Production cost reduction
- Increased competition
- Expansion and consolidation of the capitalist system
- Emergence of Socialism
- Scientific and technological progress
- Advancement of communications and transport systems
- industrial and urban development
- Increased rural exodus
- Growth of cities and population
- Disorderly growth of cities
- Cities become large industrial centers
- Expansion of trade and industrial activities
- Increased productivity and consumer market
- Emergence of a new working class (proletariat)
- Increased worker struggles
- Emergence of tradeunion (unions)
- Expansion of imperialism
- Increased social inequalities
- Advancement of environmental impacts
Causes of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a movement that began in England in the 18th century, and that directly influences the world social, economic and political system to this day.
It began for several reasons, including: strengthening the bourgeois class in England, various inventions (spinning machine, mechanical loom, steam engine, etc.), the use of modern energy sources (coal and oil) and the improvement of production techniques based on technological advances and scientific.
See also the Causes of the Industrial Revolution
Phases of the Industrial Revolution
It is worth remembering that the expansion of industrialization was divided into three periods:
- First Industrial Revolution (1750 to 1850)
- Second Industrial Revolution (1850 to 1950)
- Third Industrial Revolution (1950-to date)
Want to better understand each period of the Industrial Revolution? Access the article: Phases of the Industrial Revolution.
Learn all about the Industrial Revolution in this text: Industrial Revolution
