Question

Using key concepts that articulate the impact of industrial technology on society as found in your reading materials and other elements of our course, 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.

The Industrial Revolution brought fundamental changes in the British way of life. Scientific innovations and technological improvements contributed to the advancement of agriculture, industry, shipping and trade and to the expansion of the economy. With the increase of capital and the need for credit, banking developed not only in London but also in the countryside. Industrialists, shipbuilders, merchants and other private manufacturers established provincial banks and issued paper money in the form of bills of exchange and notes, primarily in order to provide payment for labour and for the purchase of raw materials.

The 20th century also witnessed a revolution in economic productivity. Between 1900 and 2000, the world's population roughly quadrupled--from almost 1.6 billion to 6 billion people. But global production of goods and services rose 14 or 15-fold. In 1900, the Standard & Poor's 500 index stood at 6.2. In 1998, the index was 1085.

Technological improvements shrunk the average work week by a day and a half. Technology also opened the workplace to increasing numbers of women, especially married and older women.

Equally important was the rise of mass communication and mass entertainment. In 1900, each person made an average of 38 telephone calls. By 1997, the figure had grown to 2,325 phone calls. In 1890, there were no billboards, no trademarks, no advertising slogans. There were no movies, no radio, no television, and few spectator sports. No magazine had a million readers. The 1890s saw the advent of the mass circulation newspaper, the national magazine, the best-selling novel, many modern spectator and team sports, and the first million dollar nationwide advertising campaign. In 1900, some 6,000 new books were published. By the end of the century, the number had increased more than 10-fold.

The 20th century also brought about a revolution in health and living standards. The latter part of the 19th century was an era of tuberculosis, typhoid, sanitariums, child labor, 12-hour work days, tenements, and outhouses. In 1900, more Americans died from tuberculosis than from cancer. Each day millions of horses deposited some 25 pounds of manure and urine on city streets. Life expectancy increased by 30 years. Child mortality fell 10-fold. In 1900, families spent an average of 43 percent of their income on food; now they spend 15 percent.

Technology helped make the 20th century the bloodiest in history. World War I, which introduced the machine gun, the tank, and poison gas, killed 10 million (almost all were soldiers). World War II, with its firebombs and nuclear weapons, produced 35 million war deaths. The Cold War added another 17 million deaths to the total.

Technology made mass killing efficient; ideologies and ethnicity justified it. Underdeveloped countries driven to modernize quickly were often scenes of repression and sickening mass killing, whether they were communist or non-communist.