Article 6: Ultimately, The Industrial Revolution contributes positively to society
As a result of improvements in agricultural technology, many of those who remained in the countryside went to the cities. The capitalist economy and its massive world trade enabled cities and factories to absorb these large populations, giving rise to the emergence of metropolitan areas. Industrialization led to the emergence of modern transportation, which made travel easier and made people more knowledgeable. The self-serving habits of the commodity economy led to many changes in people's thinking. The rise of liberal economism and the massive free trade in the world led to the emergence of a new class of rich people, which, together with the changes in people's thinking, made more people, mainly the middle class of the time, interested in democratic politics, which extended the right to vote and to be elected in European countries to more and more people in society. Then came the workers' unions, people knew how to fight for more rights, and people at the bottom had the right to vote. Those who came from the countryside to work in the factories received more stable wages and days off, more recreational activities, more amenities, etc.
The Industrial Revolution affected men, women and children in the family in different ways. The family workshop gradually disappeared, and the factory employment system emerged. In the past, the family workshop was self-sufficient and family members worked together in production. After the Industrial Revolution, family members were gradually transformed into wage laborers. The use of machines no longer required the strong muscles of men, but the nimble fingers of women and children, who began to be employed in large numbers in factories and became an indispensable part of social production. Women and children thus became economically independent and no longer had to depend on men. At the same time, the quality of products became uniform.
The industrial revolution absorbed surplus rural labor, spurred rural development, and improved the regional industrial structure. Promote scientific and technological progress and improve the overall development level of the region. Promote urban-rural exchanges and narrow the gap between urban and rural areas. The first industrial revolution, the emergence of large-scale machine production, human beings entered the "steam age" and Britain became the "world's factory"; this revolution led to a significant increase in productivity in Europe and America and completely changed the world economic landscape. Although the Industrial Revolution caused some pollution to the environment, its contribution to the progress of human society is indispensable. Without the Industrial Revolution, today we would not be able to watch TV with air conditioners, have cell phones, have nice and fashionable clothes, or travel to distant places.
The impact of the Industrial Revolution on Europe was to make possible an unprecedented growth of population. Despite the immigration of millions of Europeans in the 19th century, the population of the continent in 1914 was more than three times what it was in 1750. This population explosion was due to economic and medical advances. The dramatic increase in agricultural and industrial productivity meant an increase in the means of subsistence in terms of agriculture, food, housing and other necessities of life. Famine in much of Europe west of Russia is now a memory of the past. Even when crops failed, new means of transportation ensured adequate supplies from the outside world. Population growth was also due to medical advances, thanks to many public health measures. Although the birth rate barely increased, the death rate dropped dramatically due to the prevention and treatment of diseases. Vaccination, isolation of infected patients, protection of water sources, knowledge of antimicrobial agents-all contributed to a decline in mortality in Northwest Europe from at least 30 percent in 1800. down to about 15 percent ... in 1914. As a result, Europe's population rose dramatically from 14,000,000 in 1750 to 188,000,000 in 1800, 266,000,000 in 1850, 401,000,000 in 1900, and 46,300,000 in 1914. this growth rate in Europe was much higher than in the rest of the world, and it changed the world's population comparative situation.