Industrialization: A Positive Or Negative Impact On British Society

Throughout Britain's industrialization, the debate of whether it left a positive or negative impact on British society is an ongoing question. The process of industrialization was a constant struggle between the upper class imposing unfair labor and social injustice, and the working class fighting for better working conditions and fairer wages. In the long run, however, industrialization propelled not only England, but the entire world into an era of change, discovery, enhancement, and communication.
Family life drastically changed due to the Industrial Revolution, and for the most part, not for the better. Families became more separated due to the boom in available employment, and the role of “family” shifted drastically in society. Children began to work as hard as their parents, furthering the gap between parent and child. Every member of the family had to work in order to provide a livable income; there was no choice for anyone. Children as young as five were put into the workforce, and parents, made to work ten to sixteen hour days themselves, were then not able to give their children the proper care they needed. This lack of parental supervision resulted in a lessening of family …show more content…
However, in comparison to how this revolution has changed our world, the positive outweighs the negative. Even though many working class people were subjected to long work hours, unsafe working conditions, and dismally crowded housing; without the Industrial Revolution there would be NO working class. This technologically driven boom in human production changed the very foundation of our civilization. It caused the output of products to not only increase, but allowed for them to be made faster, cheaper, and in greater quantity. We can now travel by way of railroad, or speak with a cousin across the country through telegraph. Man has never been closer to controlling his own