Negative Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

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The Inevitability of Negative Consequences of the Industrial Revolution The perception of the industrial revolution as a key factor in changing the way of life is a fair statement. It is termed a “revolution” because the changes it produced were great and sudden. This revolution first appeared in Britain in the 1700s, fostering attitudes toward capitalism and modern industry everywhere. New traditions replaced old traditions, machinery replaced people, and people moved to urban cities from rural areas; simply, the way of life had been changed forever. The industrial revolution introduced mass production and greater markets. The world was slowly transpiring into a global village, with all the new machinery and technology being produced. Ultimately, the industrial revolution was a turning point in history that paved the way for technological, scientific, and cultural advancements. However, with all these advancements, there are negative consequences to be faced. This can be demonstrated through the examination of urbanization, the rise of new classes, theories (by Smith, Malthus and Ricardo), and factory conditions. The industrial revolution began with tinkers introducing new inventions that were going to dramatically improve the way people produced goods. These new machines (such as the water frames, cotton gins, power looks, and the spinning jenny) enabled different industries (like the Textile industry to produce products in mass quantities. In consequence, these new methods of production made other approaches such as the cottage industry obsolete. These new techniques may have allowed for ample production of goods and prices of goods to drop, ultimately increasing consumerism; inevitably though, it had a destructive effect on the old-fashioned methods of production. These “outdated” techniques consisted of small scale, traditional local
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