Question

3) “The evils traditionally associated with the Industrial Revolution were temporary and, viewed from a long-term perspective, relatively trivial compared to the extraordinary blessings that it conferred on the British people.” Discuss the validity of this quote.

Answer 1

Evils of Industrial Revolution were addressed in many ways. One way was that people were enslaved. Poor people from various parts of the country were forced to work for almost 16 hours per day with very less pay. Children were exploited the most as they were small and didn't have the power to go against the system. This led to tremendous increase in child labor. Apart from this, another viewpoint is that the environment was greatly affected by the development of industries in Britain and the livelihood of people was greatly affected. Industrial Revolution was considered evil until the previous century.

But the given statement is completely valid in the present situation. The drawbacks of Industrial Revolution were a lot a century back. But without Industrial Revolution, life would have become difficult in the long run. Now, the availability of products for our day to day living has increased because of Industrialization. Life has become easier. People who are employed in industries don't have terrible living conditions anymore. Lives have become better in households because of industrial revolution. Industries generate employment. While there are a few drawbacks like environmental degradation, the success of Industrial Revolution has definitely proved to be more than the failure.