Industrial Revolution Is Worth It Essay Example

I am sure sometime in the past you have heard of the phrase short term pain, long term gain. These words in effect sum up the entirety of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution had many long term benefits but towards the beginning there was a short term pain to the working class citizens. The Industrial Revolution from 1750 to 1850 was worth the pain it caused as it set the foundation for the modern economy and improved the quality of life for people all over the world as well as overshadowing the improper conditions and immoralities towards the proletariat.

Industrialization led to a higher quality of life and more production as it came with many life changing inventions and also brought a flood of eager-to-work people to the factories. Document 7a talks about the increase in railroad tracks all across Great Britain during the industrial revolution; in 1840 there were 2390 railroads built all across the country however in 180 there were 14,603. Later in the 1900’s there were 30079 railroads. Through the new increase in transportation cities and towns grew noticeably. In 1800, Britain had one major city, London, with a population of one million. Fifty years later, London’s population was 2.3 million. This demonstrates the constant increase and production across the industrial revolution. In the song “Something New Starts Every Day” by Leonard Deming, the people sing, “bran new plan and speculations: [...] Every day brings something new,” (Document 10). During the industrial revolution many ideas were brought into reality, the spinning jenny, cotton gin, the flying shuttle, and the steam engine were all invented during this period. Revealing that many new luxuries and previously rare items are now common and mass produced. Andrew Ure in the Philosophy of Manufactures talks about the leading invention in the industrial revolution, the steam engine: “Steam-engines furnish the means not only of their support but of multiplication. [...] While they lend their powerful arms to drain the pits and to raise the coals, they call into employment multitudes of miners, engineers, ship-builders, and sailors, and cause the construction of canals and railways,” (Document 6b). Many factories for various industries were made during the industrial revolution which in turn made many wealthy and sped up production. Through an increase in job opportunities and people the industrial revolution made many wealthy and led to higher production levels.

Due to the large influx of new resources and people, the increase in the wealth and size of the economy as well as accelerating the speed at which items were produced helped skyrocket the industrial revolution to a whole new level, eventually leading to a positive feedback loop. Document 6a shows the measurement and the drastic increase in iron production; In 1796 125,079 tons of iron were produced, going to 1839, 1.248 million tons were produced. And to demonstrate the continuous increase, in 1900, 9 million tons of iron were produced. Factories with the aid of the new technologies of this time could mass produce goods which would lead to their price going even lower. Also, the production of iron didn’t slow at all, only increasing the positive feedback loop. This is a huge step forward in terms of efficiency and the wealth of the economy. In an excerpt from Andrew Ure, he talks about the effectiveness of steam engines: “Steam-engines moreover, by the cheapness and steadiness of their action fabricate cheap goods, and procure in their exchange a liberal supply of the necessaries and comforts of life...” (Document 6b). The steam engine was 5 times more efficient than someone doing manual labor and used 75% less coal. Leading to a further increase in efficiency and further reducing the price of now normal and readily available commodities. Document 8 gives many examples of the changes of the transportation system through the industrial revolution, in 1836 just to go from London to Edinburgh it would take an incredible 43 hours, in 1850 it would only take 12.25 hours. Also, going from London to Brighton in 1836 would take around 6 hour. However, in 1850 this time was reduced to only 1.25 hours. The industrial revolution resulted in a huge increase in wealth and the size and scale of the production, this was directly linked to the new speed of the transportation system as supply chains would be quicker and trade would occur more easily. This fueled industrialization and helped improve the quality of life. As a result of the healthy economy, the growing middle class brought a huge increase in the quality of life and standards for the many people.

Through the newfound wealth and many new job opportunities created through industrialization, many people now had a higher standard of living and quality of life as well as an increased individual wealth. In an excerpt from Charles Knight in the Working Man’s Companion, he outlines the luxuries they gained: “You are surrounded, as we have constantly shown you throughout this book, with an infinite number of comforts and conveniences which had no existence two or three centuries ago; and those comforts are not used only by a few, but are within the reach of almost all men,” (Document 5). The key to all of this newfound luxuries and wealth was all due to an increase in the food supply which meant people were better fed and could afford more food, also making them more resistant to disease. Many people would have now been considered rich as of many years ago, demonstrating the higher quality of life. Document 9b outlines the drastic change in the life expectancy of British workers, during 1851 in Bristol the life expectancy was 39 years. This rose to 47 in 1891, this is a similar effect to Newcastle. Along the same time frame, it started at 35 and rose to 43 later. Also, profits derived from industrialization produced tax revenues leading the government to provide more support to the urban workers and mainly industrial areas. This leads to more developed infrastructure for work as well as better conditions for everyone. In the same excerpt from Charles Knight he talks more about the newfound luxuries of life, “you can travel cheaply from palace to place, and not only travel at less expense, but travel ten times quicker than the richest man could travel two hundred years ago. Above all, you are not only advancing to the same level in terms of many comforts with the rich but you are gaining knowledge, which was formerly their exclusive possession,” (Document 5). Once again showing the wealth of the nation which would have been considered impossible a while ago. The middle and upper class prospered immediately from the industrial revolution. Laborers eventually won higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.

All of this culminates to prove that the industrial revolution was worth the pain it caused as it led to a long term positive feedback loop and set the foundation for the modern economy. We also do have proof of the positive feedback loop as we right now are in the 4th industrial revolution! Lastly, this relates back to the idea of “short term pain, long term gain,” as the industrial revolution did start out unfairly subjecting children to factories but also later increased the average life expectancy and increased production speeds and drove down prices of previously expensive and exclusive products and most of all brought a higher quality of life and standard of living to everyone.