Module 1

In what respects did the roots of the Industrial Revolution lie within Europe? In what ways did that transformation have global roots?

• The Industrial Revolution began in Europe. Europe wanted to develop and be more innovative. Europe has many small but highly competitive states. The Europeans states and their monarchs’ were desperate to collect taxes that made out for an alliance. Because of this, there was an unusual alliance formed between the monarchs and the merchant class. The merchants were given special privileges and therefore it encouraged the government to continue encouraging commerce and innovation. The government would be giving out prizes and money to scientific societies and other organizations were being formed in order to continue the image of innovation. Later, the Western Europe societies were commercialized and and were more supportive of private commerce. Japan, India, and especially China were commercialized and market driven. Europe was considered the hub with the largest most varied network of exchange in history. Europeans were then going to the Americas. The Europeans extracted metals such as silver and sold them in the markets. Europeans also found fish, maize, potatoes, and timber. The selling of the metals helped make silver very valuable and very demanding. Later, there was the slave-produced cotton that the Europeans were being supplied with cheap labor. Commerce and cross-cultural exchange sustained the technological changes and industrial societies. 

How did Karl Marx understand the Industrial Revolution? In what ways did his ideas have an impact in the industrializing world of the 19th century?

• Karl Marx would combine the impact of the industrial, political, and scientific revolutions aspects in his writings. Marx was against the social conditions That the industrial revolution had made.  Marx believed that the enormous amount of wealth could be distributed and make socialism possible. Marx wood see that there was two types of people the oppressor and those that were oppressed. The bourgeoisie would be the oppressor and the working class would be the oppressed.  This would believe that the distribution of wealth and socialism would and poverty and created a utopian type of society. Marx had not foreseen the development of this into immediate social group nor had he imagined the workers could better their standard of living within the capitalist framework. Marx would believe that socialism would create a perfect utopian society that would improve labor conditions but also and poverty. Marx was very against capitalist frameworks. Marx would state that capitalism would not be able to end poverty because of private ownership of items class hostility therefore not allowing for the equal distribution of items.  Marx would later predict the collapse of the capitalist system. The ideals that marks established with later on echo decades later and would be adopted by different political parties by different countries.  socialism was promoted in Germany and also and Britain the British party would later advocate and support socialist views and would also reject any kind of class struggle.

What did humankind gain from the Industrial Revolution, and what did it lose?

• The industrial revolution had many gains and losses throughout its time.  the Industrial Revolution gained many goods and an incentive for innovation,  technology, and manufacturing. The gains were mainly focused on technology. There was the creation of the steam engine that would help power and easily transport new items. There were new ways to get electricity from new and different sources. There were railroads that were built both in Europe but also in the Americas such as Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Technology was greatly advancing as there was the power loom, and the cotton gin. There was a focus on the production of steel and iron. Later the focus would shift into the other technologies such as the telegraph, telephone, and even printing. Mechanical reapers were made and refrigeration transformed the agriculture industry. There were also many negatives coming from the Industrial revolution. There was a constant search for new resources that natural resources were used. There was an extraction of oil and other resources that would lead to pollution. Smoke was prominent as coal was burned a lot especially in steam engines. The living conditions also were not healthy in the cities as there were formations of cesspools. The labor conditions were horrible and many workers were upset about the conditions leading to them being vocal.