Two reactions to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution
"While many contemporaries were amazed and impressed by factory production of goods and watched and rode trains in wonderment and appreciation, others were shocked at what seemed to be the hyman costs of such transformation."
The false start of the first Industrial Revolution
"Most industrial work still was organized traditionally, using nonmechanized production. Rural industry and female labor remained essential components of manufacturing. Not until the second third of the nineteenth century, when steam power came to be used in many different industries in Western Europe, did industrial manufacturing leave behind traditional forms of production."
The impact of the IR on society and politics
"Regardless of whether goods were produced in homes or factories, by hand or steam power, more goods were certaintly being produced in the early nineteenth century. This could not have occured without increased agricultural productivity, which sustained a dramatically larger population. In turn, an increase in population generated greater consumer demand for manufactured goods. And with the introduction of new modes of transportation, such as trains and steamships, even more goods could be produced and exported to markets that were far beyond the local bounds. The timing and degree of economic change in Europe during the first half of the century may be debated, but the impact on European society and politics over the long run seems undeniable."
Railroads reshaping societies
"Railway stations became the centers of urban life. An industrial underscored the economic and social consequences of the railroad when he wrote that 'the locomotive is the hearse which will carry absolutism and feudalism to the graveyard.'"
Why IR started in Britain
There were numerous advantages for entrepreneurs in Britain that allowed them to flourish and kickstart the first Industrial Revolution. The most important factors were access to capital (mechanization was a capital-intensive endeavor), less government interference, and a more robust entrepreneurial spirit (coupled with fewer social constraints that made the path less problematic).
Class consciousness
"During the first half of the nineteenth century, many workers began to consider themselves members of the working class. They began to think of themselves as having interests that were different from those of their employers. They began to have a sense of community based on a belief in the dignity of labor."
Times of rapid changes
"In 1900, the French Catholic writer Charles Peguy expressed the opinion that Europe had changed more in the previous thirty years than it had since the time of Jesus Christ. The period of 1870-1914 was indeed one of rapid economic and social change in much of Europe."
The French Utopian Socialism project saw the miserable conditions of the working poor in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution. These sub-human conditions gave rise to a tradition focused on equity in society, which is now known as "Utopian Socialism." The tradition significantly influenced important social thinkers such as Karl Marx.
"utopian socialists agonized over the living conditions of the laboring poor. They doubted the willingness of those enriched by the Industrial Revolution to solve what was often called 'the social question,' that is, the miserable living conditions of most workers. Rejecting the 'egotistic' individualism of the spirit of acquisition, utopian socialists envisioned a gentle world of cooperation. In some ways children of the Enlightenment, utopian socialists were optimistic champions of the power of science and technology to construct new social and political institutions."
"The phalanx would channel the 'passions' of each period in socially productive ways, while individuals would benefit from the opportunity to express their deepest proclivities."