I believe that the Industrial Revolution has positively impacted all of Europe's citizens. Obviously, the wealthy people benefited by being able to produce more goods more cheaply and quickly. At first, I did not think that the working class could escape poverty but the Industrial Revolution greatly helped. The government is not involved. Families are able to earn money to pay for some of life's necessities. They aren't earning a lot of money but they can use whatever they earn to buy items they need or want. And, if they want more, they can work more to earn additional money to pay for things for additional family members. The production lines produce more goods more cheaply so the cost of items is more reasonable. A family might not be able to afford to pay for custom made shoes for each family member, but if the shoes are made more cheaply, each person can have a pair. They might not be as comfortable and durable as custom shoes but they are certainly better than no shoes at all. By limiting the size of their families, individuals can improve the living situation for all family members.
Female textile mill worker (M. Rodrigue)
ReplyDeleteYou say that if a family wishes to gain more money, they can work longer hours. What if a family is already working 16-hour work days and the money is still not enough. The money is never really enough to cover expenses, to properly feed a family and pay for medicine. Mill workers also are in constant fears of being let go for not being able to keep up with pace or even making a minor mistake. We risk disease from living in small, cramped tenements. You may believe a simple fix is to work longer hours, but in reality, we are already suffering to our cores.
Adam Smith (K. Lavan) I could not agree with you more. With the government not involved we are allowed to grow and prosper. I agree with your point that the rich are still rich and the poor are still poor but with the free market we are allowing the poor to have access to goods. The prices are lower and are available for all classes of people. People may not get the best goods but they are still getting goods which is better than what they had before.
ReplyDeleteThomas Malthus (Lauren Chapski)
ReplyDeleteYou must be crazy to think that the Industrial Revolution benefited everyone. The only people who benefited from it was the Upper class. The middle class, which makes up majority of society was did certainly not benefit from the industrial revolution. The farmer were pushed out of their land, and forced into the cities to work factory jobs where they had little experience. Also you say that if they need more money they can just work longer hours, but what if everyone wants to work longer hours? Then there will be one person working two shifts, when the unemployment level is already way to high. Way to many people are entering the city hopeful to work a factory job, and start a family, but instead end up starving in the street waiting for a job to become available. The Industrial Revolution has certainly not benefited everyone, in fact it did the exact opposite.
London Factory Worker (I. Iannotti) It is exactly the type of people like you that make the suffering of the lower working class so brutal. People of the nobles and even the middle class must get an education and maybe even step foot in one of the factories where I spend all of my time. I can guarantee that if people of the higher class tried to work the jobs that my kind of people do, they would have a different opionion of the Industrial Revolution. This Revolution has changed my life and many others, and not for the better.
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ReplyDeleteAdam Smith (Amin Rajaee)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with that statement. The people who have spoken out to spread their ideas with others in order to create new inventions have greatly helped the society. There inventions help make others jobs easier. One of the main factors that allow this to happen is because the government is not involved in any type of way. More goods are being produced quickly, and at a low price. This allows for more families to be able to afford they're necessities. The Industrial Revolution had such a great impact on all citizens of Europe.