What is Industrialization?


Industrialization is the broad-scale development of industry in a country or an area. Additionally, it is at this time that human societies transition from being primarily agrarian to being more focused on manufacturing. The marketplaces for various consumer goods and services grow as worker salaries increase. This has the effect of stimulating industry investment and economic growth even more.


In the middle of the 18th century, the first steps toward industrialization were taken. Specific regions of North America and Europe were initially the focus, with Great Britain paving the way for this new economy. Changes in class consciousness, technical advancement, and shifts away from rural labour were some of its early hallmarks.


Advantages and Disadvantages of Industrialization


List of Industrialization's Benefits


1. The existing import-export market is a result of industrialization.

Businesses exploit the ideas created by industrialization to have a more plentiful supply of specific goods and services available. When domestic demand was insufficient to support the optimization of production levels, global corporations started to emerge. For the items being produced, countries could widen their import and export markets.


2. It enables us to increase our productivity.

We acquired a number of novel and practical products, hand tools, and additional means of productivity as a result of industrialization. This benefit swiftly spurred the creation of new shipping lines and techniques that could transport more goods and people from one location to another. As a result, roadways that could handle more traffic were built.


3. The cost of goods and services decreases as a result of industrialization.

For the majority of sectors, labour is the most expensive component of the manufacturing process. People needed to be paid for their labour when they produced goods by hand, such as clothing and literature. The cost of labour per unit decreased as machines assisted people in producing goods more quickly.

4. It raises everyone's and every household's standard of living.

Before the globe became industrialised, wealth, nobility, military generals, and powerful politicians were often the only ones who could enjoy luxury and convenience. The advent of mass production altered the way that everyone could obtain goods or services. It was a change that brought about the mass manufacturing of many things, lower prices, and better accessibility for the typical household. The "poor" or "middle class" would be able to save money while still being able to meet their necessities for the first time in history as a result of this event.


5. Our medical care was enhanced by industrialization.

Industrialization was responsible for the technological developments that gave rise to our present method of practising medicine. Without this development, diagnostic tools like MRIs and CAT scans, which we frequently take for granted today, would not be feasible. More people were able to pursue careers as doctors, nurses, and carers because to factories, which made it simpler to produce anything from scalpels to brand-new laboratory equipment.


6. It enables an employee to concentrate on specialism.

The only specialists in the pre-industrial economy were monoculture farmers and persons with specialised talents. As nations turned their attention to manufacturing, a new opportunity opened up for families to start preparing for better-paying careers. Anyone could change their stars by putting in enough hard effort, rather than having to complete a protracted apprenticeship or be born into the "correct" family.


7. It altered our viewpoint on needs versus wants.

Prior to the advent of industry, humans produced goods by hand, which meant that each object needed to serve a certain function. We created things based on their use, which constrained our capacity for invention. Clothing might be produced more quickly in factories while also lasting longer. It enabled individuals to experiment outside of the family business. This benefit would eventually result in a more robust free market economy where those that innovate the most might be rewarded for their originality.


8. For the global economy, industrialization led to more jobs being generated.                                  Each community needed more employment prospects as a result of new manufacturing equipment. New workers needed to be placed on the production floor in factories with increased production quotas to satisfy. Every new idea or best practise that industrialisation produced resulted in additional jobs for the world economy.

List of Industrialization's Drawbacks


1. As industrialization progressed, labor conditions deteriorated.

People had better access to goods and services and more money because of industrialization, but there was also more danger involved. Employees were expected to work long hours, frequently putting in 12-hour days with just Sundays off for a family time. You would probably lose your job if you fell ill or were hurt.


2. Child labour was a crucial part of the industrial revolution.

The current regulations against child labour are frequently taken for granted. These laws were created as a result of how society dealt with this problem in the early stages of industrialization. Because they would labour for less money than adults, many factories preferred to employ children to work in hazardous situations.


3. The quality of life in the areas near the new factories wasn't always better.

It was well known in factory towns like Hershey that residents had access to good homes and other necessities. This result wasn't always the case. When that many individuals coexisted in an unclean environment, diseases frequently began to spread quickly. Early on in industrialization, there was minimal medical treatment available, hence it was common for families to lose many relatives in an effort to improve their lot in life.


5. It laid the groundwork for climate change and global warming.

Before the 19th century, there were fewer than 300 ppm of carbon in the atmosphere. CO2 levels increased after industrialization and reached 400 parts per million. The pH is more acidic in oceans. Plastic pollution is widespread, and because animals eat these tiny pieces, microplastics are finding their way into the human food chain.

Our air quality, water quality, and soil composition have all changed as a result of this drawback. While our economy are expanding, biodiversity is being lost. We will eventually reach a tipping point where a recovery might not be feasible if nothing is done to stop this problem.




6. Industrialization changed the global political environment.

The effects of industrialization are still seen today in world politics. Fewer than 40 nations have fully embraced these technologies through a modern economic revolution, providing those that have a huge advantage over the "developing" world. These nations offer more prospects for achievement, therefore those who want an advanced education must travel there to get it.


7. As a result of industrialisation, agricultural production techniques have changed.

Because of the ways that industrialization altered our approach to food production, there are now fewer farmers working than at any other time in the history of our planet. In contrast to homesteading, the agricultural business relies on automation, products with extended shelf lives, and other innovations. There are times when the quality and safety of the foods we eat as a result of these processes are in doubt, particularly when GMOs, herbicides, and pesticides are brought up.


8. The industrial revolution altered how we view work.

The current wave of automation is a result of industrialization. The way we think about productivity has changed as a result of the automation of many repetitive tasks by artificial intelligence and machine learning. We can drive there, therefore we don't walk to work. We use little gadgets rather than stirring food by hand. People are now working primarily indoors, in cubicles, as opposed to having most of their occupations outside in the fields.


We now engage in a type of sedentary production where we prioritise convenience over health.












Conclusion


It is evident from looking at the results of our industrialization efforts that without this innovation, the world would be considerably different. Almost all of the products we use now are available to us thanks to the labour that past generations invested in developing new concepts, factories, and products.


When evaluating industrialization's main benefits and drawbacks, it is important to be objective about the results. Desperate people who wished to improve the lives of their children and grandkids helped the wealthy build our modern society. In many civilizations, this led to the emergence of a Middle Class, but it also strengthened the aristocracy's position of power.