Industrial Age and Rise of Capitalism - Essay Example

The Industrial Age and Rise of Capitalism

The industrial age began in Britain in the mid-18th century when people started shifting their modes of working from the cottage system to the factory system which enhanced production by a great deal. This came with a number of impacts such as increased productivity, and improved commerce since merchants wanted to gain more profit from the sale of extra produced items from the textiles and farmlands. The industrial age has led to the improved technology and plenty of innovations such as the steam engine which highly mechanized the factory system.The rise of capitalism came as a result of the industrial revolution which made individuals wealthy and increased the ownership of property. Capitalism refers to the manner in which people take up the ownership of property such as land and factories and use them to gain more wealth which is their private entity separate from the government and the public. This paper intends to examine the impacts of the industrial age and the rise of the capitalist era which is the modern industrial revolution.

The industrial age had many positive impacts in the field of commerce; however, it carried several social implications that were not favorable to the people. The positive impacts include strides in innovative technology which led to the development of improved transport systems, new power sources, and improved living standards for the employed, that had income from their places of work. When the manufacturing of products in industries became popular and widespread the profits earned led to the desire of more, hence, more focus was laid on production rather than agriculture regardless of the sacrifices made in the process.

The development of commerce as it is today is due to the revolutions which took place during the industrial age (Hudson, 2014). The use of money to trade in place of goods from the farm and textiles was introduced by merchants who increased demand for products that they sold in other regions drawing the individuals who worked in the family cottages to the factories. The mechanization of production led to increased quantity and quality of items produced. An example is the textile spinning mule which could spin and weave in a single machine thereby, producing more products at a single time.

The industrial age led to experiments which aided in the discovery of new power sources ranging from steam to coal and eventually electricity. The steam engine was highly used in the initial days where the power of highly boiled water was used to turn turbines that ran the machines in the factories. The coal power was already in use but not in the large scale capacity experienced during the industrial age where mining was done in large quantities to support the high demand of power to run machines. In the long run, the use of electricity was included in the industrial age when motors were rotated at a high speed by the steam to produce electric energy.

The use of a factory system meant that people had to work as a team and in a specialized manner where people performed the task they were good at. They were placed in different parts of the factory according to their art and craftsmanship enabling the employer to capitalize on each and every one’s skill. Those that were good in the fields cultivating for the raw materials were left in the farms while those skilled in the handwork were taken into the factory to do other jobs.

The use of specialization in the factory setting led to the rise of capitalism when individuals accumulated their own wealth based on the duties they performed (Hawken & Lovins, 2013). The rise of capitalism at the moment was advantageous to everyone since the workers could create their own capital from the jobs they performed and controlled their properties free from the influence of the government. Capitalism allowed people to control their property independently and they could manage it to the best of their ability making more profit as they can.

Capitalism made it possible for individuals to improve their lives due to the wealth they had accumulated and this made the formation of towns another development during the industrial age. The wealthy people in the society build luxurious houses for themselves in places where they found attractive and with the increase of more buildings other ancillary buildings such as banks were created. In this way, towns with residential buildings and commercial buildings came to be as other services such as schools and hospitals were constructed by the government.

The rise of capitalism ensures that individuals have economic independence from the government which in any other setup would control the means of production within the state. When individuals control their assets and the factors of production they are able to focus on improving quality and cutting costs which will increase their costs. Production in the industrial age was vital to the profits earned and with capitalism, individuals were able to focus on production as they pay their taxes to the government and improve the state of the economy as well as the gross domestic product.

The social implications involved in the industrial age are, however, not easy to neglect since they carry a substantial weight on some of the present deterioration states we witness in the modern world (Stearns, 2013). At the onset of the industrial age demand for products gradually increased and it eventually led to a decline of the raw materials available for the factories in production. Most countries in Europe shifted to capturing of colonies in Africa to produce the extra resources for use in their industries. The shift of attention to Africa for more resources led to the development of slavery since the European traders took slaves in addition to the raw materials they carried.

The slaves were made to work for free on the farms and industries in their colonizer’s countries. The rest of the employees worked for a petty fee in poor working conditions and they worked for long hours. The extra production from the industrial revolution became a negative advancement since it required plenty of workers who were not skilled or trained to perform the functions they were expected to undertake. Child labor was introduced as young kids were allowed to work in the industries earning for their families the little they could despite the exploitation they faced.

As for the machines used in the industries, they were not secure and injuries happened to cause the employees great harm or even death and they were not compensated. The use of some new energy sources involved the production of plenty of smoke that polluted the environment and caused health challenges to those exposed to these conditions. The mining of coal left the natural state of the environment in a depreciated state which was unattractive and risky for those around the mining areas.

The introduction of capitalism also carried some implications with it as people became more selfish and exploited others for personal gain. Creating of individual wealth to improve one’s state is a good thing, although at the cost of hurting other people and even grabbing their property is an unjust and unethical action that should not be allowed (Bishop, 2000). The owners of the factories made a great amount of profit from the efforts of the employees in production but they paid them a small amount that was not as fair to the efforts they applied.

Capitalism can, therefore, be blamed for the great economic inequality experienced in most countries which have the rich people in society having so much wealth for them while the poor suffer in deplorable conditions of life. The disparity between the rich and the poor is responsible for crimes and social vices experienced in towns and cities up to date since everyone seeks a mode of survival. The poor in society target the wealth of the rich and they intend to acquire it in any possible way regardless of the legal consequences when they are caught.

The government has also been affected by the rise of capitalism which means that the privately individuals and entities control the price of their commodities at the expense of the economic welfare. When prices of commodities are raised too high for the sake of increasing profit by the private owned companies the rate of inflation may rise and the economy may become unstable due to the low income earners who cannot afford the high-priced commodities. Capitalism is also responsible for corruption in countries since it allows people to acquire wealth in unscrupulous ways in an attempt to acquire economic independence.

The industrial age may have brought the world plenty of impacts both negative and positive while capitalism still experienced in the modern day economy a necessary evil to live with. The negative impacts brought by the two historical developments have posed a challenge to the world but some of them have been handled and completely dealt with while others remain a recurrent challenge. The abolishment of the slave trade is one of the vices of the industrial age that has been completely resolved and made illegal in every part of the world.

In the case of the employees working conditions and terms, child labor was also abolished with some factory acts put in place to restrict the age at which an individual can be allowed to work in industries and companies of today. The workers have also come up with societies and unions which fight for their rights and ensure they are not exploited in terms of payment or working hours. The environment is also protected by strict environmental laws that harshly fine any company which violates the laws and causes pollution.

Capitalism remains the modern challenge with economic disparity still a factor to combat despite the efforts by some governments which strive to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor by ensuring every citizen has an income per homestead. It would, therefore be wrong to demonize the industrial age or the capitalism era which is responsible for the current state of advancement in transport and power sources. Capitalism should not motivate selfishness but hard work by every citizen to ensure they have a better-living standard. In conclusion, the industrial age and the rise of capitalism along with their features discussed in the paper is evidence of their contribution to the present world.