WW Chapter 17: Revolutions of Industrialization

June 15, 2019

Album Cover: Pink Floyd's "Animals"

Chapter 17: Revolutions of Industrialization

1750 - 1914

I often find gems of wisdom in Strayer's "Reflections" at the end of each chapter. In chapter 17, he suggests that historians and students of history often view history in terms of "winners and losers". It's easy to do, and I find myself sometimes falling into that trap. When the Agricultural Revolution happened, it happened almost simultaneously accross the globe - but when the Industrial Revolution took place, it happened in a very short time span - in Western Europe - Britain to be precise. What matters though, is why? In the case of the Industrial Revolution - Why Europe? And, for that matter, Why Britain? He tackles both of these questions without difinitive answers, probably because they are so complex. In the case of why Europe, he offers a couple of viewpoints I hadn't thought about before. First of all, when huge influential things like the Industrial Revolution happen, its usually a result of fertile ground in the first place. Prior decisions, cultural elements and world events that took place out of the context of the Industrial Revolution were all factors in bringing it about.

The availibility of textiles from India resulted in large scale textile mills being constructed with new technologies and machinery powered by steam. While in the past, the human race could make a mess of things over a generation or two, we could now do it with machinery at an alarming pace. The formation of the middle class was a definate step in the right direction - putting checks on the aristocracy and creating newfound wealth and raising standards of living. But not for everyone. The social cost of Industry was staggering, since 70% of the population were the labor force used to keep the machines running for low wages with long hours.

The Governments of Europe were sympathetic to the merchant class and, in fact, the merchant class was the government in some regions such as Venice. The governments gave merchants the freedom and backing (via laws and titles) to innovate, creating more taxable revenue and supporting a greater population giving nations a bigger and more powerful footprint on the world stage.

Other countries began to follow suit - most notably the United States, which surpassed Britain in production. The US became a destination for semmingly boundless opportunity to displaced Europeans in the later part of the 19th century and early 20th. Most of the labor force was from Europe at the time, and it fueled the engine of early commerce.

All of this makes me draw comparisons to the digital revolution, whereby old ways of doing things no longer exist. Just like the with industrial revolution, the people that used to do them needed to learn new skills and innovate or die. The biggest diference though, is that the middle class that grew out of the Industrial Revolution seems to have dwindled in the digital one - the gap between the extremely rich and poor is widening all the time, squeezing the middle class into insignificance.