The Industrial Revolution

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The Industrial Revolution in Western Europe provided the context for economists and political writers of the 19th century to promote three different economic plans designed to meet the needs of workers and entrepreneurs. Capitalism was first proposed by Adam Smith as a reform plan for the existing economic plan of mercantilism. The major tenants of capitalism included free competition, open enterprise, and capital is invested to make profits. Although there were many advantages to capitalism including economic growth there were also disadvantages to this system which included social inequalities. The economic system of capitalism was implemented in England during the 18th century. It was successful to a certain extent, but has shown that …show more content…
It was the period in history where societies began to urbanize. The revolution first began in England for specific reasons. It had a good population of skilled workers to operate machines. There were great natural resources found in England especially iron and coal. England had a stable political government, a large market, and they were ready to build factories. The industrialization was made possible by an expanding consumer market. People were demanding more goods however; the current domestic system or the making of goods in the home was too slow. As new machines developed, the middle class had the idea of renting buildings where the manufacturing of products could be done under one roof. This allowed goods to be produced at a much faster rate and at a lower cost for consumers. As this new economy began to take shape, things began to change in society. Transportation and communication methods began to develop. New technology was discovered and implemented. Competition began to increase among competing companies and large corporations developed. There were some negative effects of this revolution. For example, the life of workers changed. Urbanization occurred as people had to move to cities to find jobs. New machines began to take people’s jobs (Reill, 4). Another major impact the Industrial Revolution had on society was the development of new economic plans. Capitalism emerged, and was designed to strengthen the individual and improve the economy without any government

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