The development of the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of capitalism through the centuries brought about many kinds of historical changes that affected humans as well as their ways of life. This comparison of the features typical of these phenomena, such as technological progress, exploitation of labor, accumulation of wealth, and environmental degradation that followed, gives a general view of the impacts. The Industrial Revolution was the event that brought mechanization of the production process as well as the concentration of economic power that has been defining the present world since. Capitalism, the system that is based upon private ownership, maximization of profits, and market competition, is indeed very distinct. It has fundamentally shaped societies and structures. The two phenomena carried with them several chronic concerns that included labor exploitation, income inequality, and environmental degradation. The purpose of this essay is to identify issues raised by the two phenomena, examine their complexities, and show how they have so far impacted ancient human society. date.
Impact of the Industrial Age and the Rise of Capitalism
Industrial Age and Labor Exploitation
Industrial exploitation of labor, particularly child labor, increased dramatically with the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the late 18th century. There was a significant drop in neonatal mortality as the population increased, but the odds of surviving childhood remained the same. There were few options for working-class families to further their education, and children were expected to help with household expenses like adults. The early stages of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries, saw the widespread use of child labor in manufacturing. There were 143 water-powered cotton mills in England and Scotland in 1788, and the majority of the workers, 66 percent, were minors. Even though their output was equal, employers paid children less than adults (Galbi 358). No seasoned adult workers were available because operating industrial machinery did not require physical strength, and the technology was novel. Child labor was widespread among factory and mine owners, who saw the lower stature of the workers as an advantage. The textile industry sought out youngsters for their supposedly “nimble fingers,” and mines with low and narrow corridors were ideal for their small stature, making them ideal laborers.
Similar effects are observed in the current age of the Industrial Revolution, commonly known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to Soh et al. (95), the 4th industrial revolution, which is characterized by a number of overlapping types of disruptive technological change, is about to cause a paradigm shift in businesses, governments, and society. More and more people are becoming aware that the future holds new risks, even though innovations like nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI) are usually depicted as fantastic possibilities for financial gain for businesses, improvements in citizens’ quality of life, and the growth of national economies. The 2018 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights touched on artificial intelligence (AI), privacy (PI), and human rights (HR); however, the topics were often discussed in isolation from one another. Academics, especially economists, are deeply divided over whether or not automation and digitization will usher in a new era with many employment prospects or doom us all to a future without jobs.
Industrial Age and Technological Advancements
The Industrial Revolution, or the Industrial Age, is considered one of the most life-altering events in human history due to the far-reaching changes it brought about. The word “industrial revolution” is a concise way to characterize a time in history, beginning in the 18th century in Britain, when technological advancement seemed to accelerate. An explosion of new tools and machinery resulted from this quickening of technological innovation processes. The unusual combination of technology and industry throughout the Industrial Age was its most distinctive feature. Essential ideas and inventions shaped almost every human endeavor along industrial lines and created many new industries.
One of the key technological advancements was in agriculture. Agricultural practices in Western Europe have been steadily evolving for ages. A great leap in agricultural output occurred in 18th-century Britain due to a confluence of variables. This category (Industrial Revolution and Technology) included inventive tools like the seed drill, which Jethro Tull created in 1701. Other areas that saw improvement were animal husbandry, soil health, crop variety development, crop rotation, and land usage. As a result, yields have been steadily increasing to feed a rising population. Additionally, a variety of factors contributed to a shift toward large-scale commercial farming, which persisted throughout the nineteenth century and beyond.
The Industrial Revolution came because of a giant leap in technology, which reorganized the manufacturing sector and led to economic growth. The greatest inventions were steam engines, power looms, and assembly lines, completely transforming the old manufacturing procedure. These inventions served as the impetus for the rapid expansion of industrial manufacturing, which led to the practical coincidence of extreme efficiency and productivity. In the final analysis, the power supply from steam engines turned out to be a very reliable force that facilitated the unprecedented scale and speed of factory mass production. The invention of mechanized looms resulted in the automation of fabric production, which had a dual effect: 1) increased output and 2) reduced labor costs significantly. The assembly line equipment brought a new way of mass production, which, on the one hand, made it possible to standardize the process flow and produce a large quantity of non-customized goods.
Besides being the source of industrial productivity, they are the building blocks of our present infrastructure and transport systems. The arrival of steam locomotives was such a transit revolution that fast transfers of goods and people over great distances happened simultaneously. Not only this, but also the development of digital technology and automation that occurred in the 21st century could be considered outcomes of industrial-age innovation. The technological advances that occur day after day continue to characterize the current society, and these impacts on the functioning of society and the economic systems are mentioned.
Capitalism and wealth accumulation
A common perception is that in a capitalist economic system, individuals or groups own and manage assets according to their self-interest, and market forces such as supply and demand determine prices in a manner that benefits society. Making a profit is the driving force behind capitalism. “We expect our dinner, not from the kindness of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, but from their awareness of their interest,” remarked Adam Smith, a contemporary economics pioneer and philosopher from the 18th century (Jahan and Mahmud). Each participant in an unprompted transaction cares about the result for themselves, but they cannot get what they want until they consider the other’s needs. The path to economic prosperity can be found in this kind of reasonable self-interest. In a capitalist economy, private owners can own and manage capital assets like mines, railroads, and factories. Workers get paid a salary in exchange for their labor, and private owners also reap the benefits of capital gains. Prices determine how resources like labor and capital are distributed among competing uses (for more on this, see “Supply and Demand”). Even though capitalism, in one form or another, underpins almost every economy in the modern day, there were two primary schools of thought on economic structure for most of the last century. The alternative is socialism, which holds that the state should hold the means of production and that businesses owned by the state should prioritize the greater good over profit.
One beautiful night, Lunstrum (1023), during her visit to South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park, the thumping of helicopters overhead kept her from rest. Finding individuals guilty of the poaching of rhinos for their horns was their objective, and their presence reflected that seriousness. Underneath the loud hum and sharp chopping of the aircraft engines could be heard the cries of animals, which generally dominated Kruger’s nighttime soundtrack. The parent organization of Kruger National Park, South Africa National Parks (SANParks), has used helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for game counts and park patrols for quite some time. However, defense businesses have recently contributed more aircraft to bolster anti-poaching operations. These are just a few more prominent offerings; other military contractors provide paramilitary ranger training, canine teams, and drones. Another anti-poaching system is set up as one travels north to the Botswana border. The intertwining of conservation efforts, militarizing, the government, and the economy is a common thread that binds these unrelated instances. According to Lunstrum (1023), the activities and interests of for-profit military businesses and private wealth manifested in sizeable financial contributions are evidence that the economic system, specifically capitalism, is primarily responsible for conservation-related or green militarization. These economic forces energize the state in this way. In this context, vitalization includes three interconnected steps. In order to begin, the state can better control its territory and resources with the aid of these economic forces. On a more fundamental level, vitalization signals biopolitics. The state may more effectively step in and act in the cause of life and death, i.e., safeguarding rhino life even if it means killing the poacher. Third, the state can increase or deepen its vitality or relevance through this biopolitical interference in life (and death), which is once again made possible in part by connections between the economy and the state. In the end, these make it possible for states to be militarized. Because of this, the state must now be considered central to any analysis of the interplay of conservation, the economy, and the natural world.
Industrial Age and Environmental Degradation
The Industrial Age marked the early period of the long-running boom pace of economic growth, not only almost impossible to imagine but also seemingly constant, thus creating an almost utopian but real problem of the environment and pollution, where these problems are more complicated and graver than ever. Pollution of air, water, and soil began to be widely diffused in the 18th and 19th centuries when factories began turning the atmosphere into greenhouse gases, rivers were used as ways of throwing trash water, and the forest was destroyed for industrial purposes (Mikhaylov 2898). Through this, the focus on global forests and other resources is drawn towards insatiable consumption and acquisition by capitalists who do not mind satisfying their self-interest. Growing concerns about the environment during industrialization are felt even more after the rise of mass consumerism, globalization, and intensive agricultural practices. These negative factors further aggravate the issue and, therefore, contribute to the fast deterioration of ecology.
Environment-related issues, such as industrial emissions, which are the main contributors to global warming and have a definite impact on ecosystems and their stability all over the world, will soon haunt the earth. There is a heightened sea level, powerful weather patterns, and the challenge of preserving the biodiversity situation as signs of a human capital resource and economy-driven situation. Thus, there is a need for an immediate atmospheric response to the situation. Yet, the fact that there is no limit to technological advancement will never be sufficient. To point this out, they can cite concrete instances such as renewable energy technologies and sustainable practices in the management of resources that could improve the environment, but be aware that the green economy and sustainability will remain an uphill task.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Industrial Revolution and capitalism are among the most influential landmarks of human history that made human life on earth unchangeable. These aspects of this system can be studied under this approach, such as technological progress, labor exploitation, wealth accumulation, and environmental depletion, which collectively make up a comprehensive investigation of its sustainability in the long run. The essay revolving around this topic highlights the many destructive impacts of industrialization and the advancement of capitalism on society. The mechanization and monopolization of production processes by machines have turned society into a period that has not completed a series of purposeful reforms. While capitalism, as a global trend and an evolutionary tendency, creates opportunities for progress and riches, it also leads to ceaseless crises comprising labor exploitation, inequality, and environmental deterioration. The interdependence could be comprehended by uncovering the complexities, resulting in the discovery of solutions for the existing situation of inequality in the world and also the prospects where justice and equity excel. As much as economic prosperity is included, other socially responsible and environmentally conscious elements also hold the same weight.
Works Cited
Galbi, Douglas A., “Child labor and the division of labor in the early English cotton mills.” Journal of Population Economics 10 (1997): 357–375.
“Industrial Revolution and Technology.” National Geographic, 2024, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/industrial-revolution-and-technology/
Jahan, Sarwat, and Ahmed Saber Mahmud. “What Is Capitalism?” IMF, 10 May 2018, www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Capitalism #:~:text=Capitalism%20is%20often%20thought%20of,motive%20to%20make%20a%20profit.
Lunstrum, Elizabeth. “Capitalism, wealth, and conservation in the age of security: the vitalization of the state.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers 108.4 (2018): 1022–1037.
Mikhaylov, Alexey, et al., “Global climate change and greenhouse effect,” Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues 7.4 (2020): 2897.
Mohajan, Haradhan. “The First Industrial Revolution: Creation of a New Global Human Era.” (2019): 377–387.
Soh, Changrok, Minwoo Kim, and Daniel Connolly. “The fourth industrial revolution, human labor, and human rights.” Journal of International and Area Studies 27.2 (2020): 95–112.
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