Industrial Revolution and the Development of Politics and Political Institutions in Britain and France

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Factors/Changes that led to the industrial revolution
Why the industrial revolution began in England
Impacts of the industrial revolution
Political impacts on Britain and France
Economic impacts of the industrial revolution on the rest of the world
Conclusion
References

Abstract

The duration of time during which the industrial revolution happened still happens to be a point of dispute between various historians. No one can identify the period that it took place, but there is little consensus that it happened during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Before the industrial revolution, much of Europe was still an agrarian economy while some other parts of the world still happened to live as if they were still in medieval times.

The world today is increasingly industrializing. As this process of industrialization, goes on many more and more goods and services are being produced, using advanced industrial processes and using human labor, as was initially the case.

It is surprising to note that people in ancient and medieval times had no such complex mechanisms for mass production yet they were able to survive. This paper aims at looking at some of the features or reasons that led to the emergence of the industrial revolution. In addition, we shall also look at some of the political, social, and economic changes that were associated with the industrial revolution. Finally, we shall look at the impact of the industrial revolution in Britain and France as well as one or two newly industrialized nations.

Introduction

The industrial revolution was a period in time during the late 18^th century and early 19^th century. During this period, major changes in agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing had significant impacts on the cultural, socioeconomic, and political conditions in Britain. Later these changes and innovations spread to the rest of Europe and North America. They were later felt in the rest of the world much later. The industrial revolution has immensely changed the shape of the world not only politically but also industrially as well as socially.

Factors/Changes that led to the industrial revolution

Within the last part of the 1700s, the mainly labor-intensive British economy started to be characterized by the use of machinery and industrialization. This process started with the mechanization of, mainly the textile industry. It was also characterized by increased use of refined coal for industries as well as the enhancement of iron-making technologies.

As a result, among the major changes that marked the onset of the industrial revolution included; the invention of different machines capable of doing work that was previously done using hand tools. These included John Kay’s invention of the flying shuttle in 1733 as well as James Hargreaves spinning jenny.

Secondly, there was the increased application or use of the factory as a point for mass production of goods. The third factor that influenced the industrial revolution was the use of steam (steam engines), and later on other kinds of sources of power to replace animal and human power. In the fourth place, there was the advancement of British overseas commerce that required more goods as markets were increasing at a very fast rate.

Another reason, which led to the industrial revolution, was the increasing desire for scientific innovation and investigation. The major proponents or persons involved with this view included Fredrick Taylor. Taylor is commonly associated with Taylorism. His works are best portrayed in his work ‘principles of scientific management. The works of Taylor in this analysis are closely related to the works of Adam Smith on his views of division of labor.

The classical perspective or Taylorism is a method involved in management theory and it is deeply concerned with the determination of changes that improve our labor productivity. In his analysis, Taylor believes that decisions arrived at through the application of the rule of thumb and/or tradition should be dealt away with and instead replaced with a system of precise procedures that should be arrived at after careful study of the involved workers at the workplace.

The basic elements and the general approach to Taylorism involve the following Labor should be defined and authority and or responsibility should on its part be legitimized. In addition to this job, Positions should be placed in a hierarchy and under a central authority of a higher level to enhance discipline; furthermore, the process of Selection in any organization should be based upon technical competence compounded by training and/or experience.

Within the organization, Actions and decisions have to be recorded to allow memory and continuity (Taylor, 1911).

The combination of these features gave rise to industrialization and the concept of mass production. After this initiation of the industrial revolution in Britain, the effects later started to spread to other parts of Europe, North America, and later the rest of the world.

The process of the industrial revolution happened in two phases. The second phase followed the first phase and it involved the use of new technologies to produce better machines like the railways and steam-powered ships. This phase started around 1850.

Economic, social, and political set up around the time of the industrial revolution:

Before the industrial revolution, much of Western Europe experienced a rather stable economy. Since capitalism was not that entrenched in their lifestyles, there was rather political calmness as well as a favorable degree of social equity or wealth distribution. With the onset of the industrial revolution and the promotion of a capitalist mode of production conflicts soon started to spring up as the desire for more wealth and the emergence of different social classes started to take their toll.

Why the industrial revolution began in England

Since as early as 1400, the role of commerce was very crucial to the success of Britain as an economic, maritime, and military power not only in Europe but also globally. Due to the increasing volume of business transacted by British merchants, the need for more goods increased. In addition, this increased trade led to the accumulation of necessary capital to invest in the process of industrialization (Hayek. 1963).

Secondly, the growing interest within Britain for scientific invention and investigation aided the process of the industrial revolution in Britain. In addition to this the works of Adam Smith “the wealth of nations”, strongly advocated for laissez-faire, which was of paramount importance in allowing and guiding industrial expansion.

In addition, the process was accompanied by the development of liberalism and international capitalism. Liberalism: This broad field encompasses many different ideas and theories concerning the roles of governments. Liberalism generally advocates for individual liberty, mixed market systems, liberal democratic governments (transparent) as well as the application of the rule of law.

International capitalism: international capitalism is the system of processes that allow for the growth of globalization. It is the practice of capitalism from a global perspective. Thus, it involves the international ownership of modes of production by individuals and the unrestricted transfer of international funds and investment projects globally.

In addition, the role of the works of Adam smith. Adam smith’s work and influence on modern-day economics mainly started after the publication of his book ‘The Wealth of Nations published in the year 1776. This book which was compiled for around ten years has come to be one of the most influential books in the field of modern economics. He appraised the idea of a free market system where he argued against government intervention in economic affairs. This is what came to be called laissez-faire economics.

In addition to this Europe, especially Britain tended to marry later on in life as compared to other regions of the world like Asia. As a result, Europe ended up having a small population growth rate as compared to Asia. This led to the accumulation of capital necessary for the advancement of the industrial revolution.

Impacts of the industrial revolution

The advent of the industrial revolution had many impacts on different perspectives. Firstly, it affected the political setup and institutions in many economies. In addition, the industrial revolution has greatly affected world economies even today. The revolution was also characterized by a change in the type of lifestyles that people live (Desmond, 1970).

Political impacts on Britain and France

By the time the industrial revolution began, Britain had already become a constitutional monarch. As a more politically aware middle class emerged during this period compounded by the fact that industrial strength was increasing, there was a need to undertake electoral reforms to balance the British society’s new balance of power.

Among the issues addressed was the fact that by the year 1832 only about 6% of the male population could vote. To make matters worse this group could vote consistent with the society’s aristocrats. This issue was addressed and a new bill that allowed for 20% of the male population to vote was enacted (Moore, 1966).

In addition, to this, the people’s charter drafted by Lovett called for the following changes to the parliamentary system. Firstly the charter demanded universal male suffrage, secondly, they demanded that voting in parliamentary elections be done through the secret ballot system, the installation of annual parliaments, the abolition or removal of the property requirements for members of parliament amongst other requests.

In addition to these, the number and strength of workers’ unions became an active political force in Britain during the time of the industrial revolution. As a result, the ongoing worker’s demands for better pay and better working conditions led to some of the worker’s unions becoming political parties. The British labor party is one perfect example.

Economic impacts of the industrial revolution on the rest of the world

There was a time when Robert Malthus had predicted that the world population would come to a terrible demise. When Robert Malthus predicted that the world would not be able to feed itself in decades to come since populations grow geometrically and food production arithmetically in his essay “the principles of population” he had ignored a very critical factor(technological progress), that has since ensured that the world has the potential to produce in surplus.

In addition to this, the exploitation of non-renewable resources has widely led to the industrial manufacture of renewable substitutes for these non-renewable resources.

On top of this fact, it is surprising to note that the rate of discovery of new non-renewable resources is higher than the rate at which the same resources are being exploited.

Historically it has been proven that as the stock of non-renewable resources dwindles then the unit price of the same products keeps on rising. This thus means that it will always come a time when people will opt for new sources other than utilizing non-renewable resources. All this has come about because of the industrial revolution.

The industrial revolution had tremendous impacts on the whole world. Among these impacts, including the increase in the volume of goods traded internationally. The introduction of factories had a great impact on increasing the number of goods produced. For example, the introduction of mills in the textile industry had a great impact on increasing textile products. In addition to this, the increased production was met with an increase in demand for the same products. This was a result of increased commerce with other parts of the world including the North Americas, Asia, and Africa. In addition, the pride associated with the increased produce paved the way for many countries in Europe to seek colonies overseas.

In petite, the industrialization of Europe had tremendous consequences for the rest of the world

Conclusion

It is surprising to realize that almost all industrial goods that are consumed today are as a result of the industrial revolution. In addition, it is surprising to note that neo-liberalism emerged during the industrial revolution although by then it was still in the early phases of liberalism. The industrial revolution had a revolutionary impact on the world. Regardless of the negative impacts of the industrial revolution, liberalism and international capitalism, the benefits of the industrial revolution are remarkable.

The issues of globalization are all a result of the industrial revolution. The industrial changes that have taken place from the end of the First World War to date have been claimed by some to be another revolution in its making.

References

Jay M. Shafritz, Philip H. Whit beck Classics of Organization Theory, Moore Pub Co, (Original from the University of Michigan). 1978
Smith Adam (1776), an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations, online version.
Sutton, Robert I, and Staw, Barry M. what theory is not? Administrative Science Quarterly. 40(3): 371-385, 1995
Taylor Frederick principles of scientific management, Harper and brothers, 1911
Weick, Karl Theory Construction as disciplined imagination Academy of Management Review 14(4):516-531, 1989
Barrington Moore, Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World, pp. 29-30, Boston, Beacon Press, 1966.
Berlanstein Leonard R. The Industrial Revolution and work in nineteenth-century Europe Routledge, 1992 online edition
Bernal, John Desmond, Science and Industry in the Nineteenth Century, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970.
Hayek, Friedrich A., Capitalism and the Historians, the University of Chicago Press, 1963
Landes, David S the Unbound Prometheus: Technical Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present second Ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003

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