Question

describe the social and economic repercussions of inventions during the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century and the social and economic repercussions of the revolution in technology at the end of the 20th century.

Answer 1

The industrial and economic developments of the Industrial Revolution brought significant social changes. Industrialization resulted in an increase in population and the phenomenon of urbanization, as a growing number of people moved to urban centres in search of employment. Some individuals became very wealthy, but some lived in horrible conditions. A class of prosperous industrialists, ship owners and merchants dominated, accumulating great wealth, but at the same time the working classes had to live with minimum comforts in overcrowded environments. Children were sent to work in factories, where they were exploited and ill-treated; women experienced substantial changes in their lifestyle as they took jobs in domestic service and the textile industries, leaving the agricultural workforce and spending less time in the family home. This period also saw the creation of a middle class that enjoyed the benefits of the new prosperity. People started spending their free time entertaining themselves in theatres, concert halls and sports facilities or enjoying the countryside in long promenades.

Most important, however, 19th-century Britain experienced political unrest as the industrialization and urbanization of the country created a need for social and political change. There were increasing demands for improved social welfare, education, labour rights, political rights and equality, as well as for the abolition of the slave trade and changes in the electoral system. As a result, the slave trade was abolished in 1807 and the Great Reform Act was passed by Parliament in 1832. After this Reform Act, manufacturing cities such as Birmingham and Manchester could be represented in Parliament for the first time, thereby substantially changing the character of parliamentary politics.

There were profound political changes in the 20th century related to technological capacity and leadership. It may be an exaggeration to regard the 20th century as “the American century,” but the rise of the United States as a superstate was sufficiently rapid and dramatic to excuse the hyperbole. It was a rise based upon tremendous natural resources exploited to secure increased productivity through widespread industrialization, and the success of the United States in achieving this objective was tested and demonstrated in the two World Wars. Technological leadership passed from Britain and the European nations to the United States in the course of these wars. This is not to say that the springs of innovation went dry in Europe. Many important inventions of the 20th century originated there. But it was the United States that had the capacity to assimilate innovations and take full advantage from them at times when other countries were deficient in one or other of the vital social resources without which a brilliant invention cannot be converted into a commercial success. As with Britain in the Industrial Revolution, the technological vitality of the United States in the 20th century was demonstrated less by any particular innovations than by its ability to adopt new ideas from whatever source they come.