Impact of industrial revolution rise of capitalism
Answers
Answer:
Industrial revolution led to the rise of industrial capitalism and finance capitalism. Though the industrial revolution was majorly an economic phenomenon, it greatly affected the social and political life of the countries it was prevalent in.
Impact of Capitalism:
- Loss of Traditional Jobs
- Exploitation
- Stress and Strain
- Overcrowding
1. Loss of Traditional Jobs:
The movement of people away from agriculture and into industrial cities brought great stress on the labour force. Women in households, who had earned income from spinning, found the new factories taking away their source of income. Traditional handloom weavers could no longer compete with the mechanised production of cloth. Skilled labourers lost their jobs as new machines replaced them.
2. Exploitation:
In the factories, people had to work long hours under harsh conditions. Factory owners and managers paid the minimum amount necessary for a workforce, often recruiting women and children to tend the machines because they could be hired for very low wages. Soon critics attacked this exploitation, particularly the use of child labour.
3. Stress and Strain:
The nature of work changed as a result of division of labour. This idea in the Industrial Revolution called for dividing the production process into basic, individual tasks. Each worker would then perform one task, rather than a single worker doing the entire job. Such division of labour greatly improved productivity, but many of the simplified factory jobs were repetitive and boring. Workers also had to labour for many hours, often more than 12 hours a day, sometimes more than 14 hours, and people worked six days a week. Factory workers faced strict rules and close supervision by the managers. Safety was not a matter of concern, and workers often suffered serious even fatal accidents. The clock ruled life in the mills caused lot of stress among the workers.
4. Overcrowding:
People moved from small villages and towns to work in factories located in cities. Cities became overcrowded and unsanitary. The working poor lived in crowded areas in the centre of cities in shoddy houses.