Industrial revolution is a gradual development process which led to the transformation of early man’s way of living through sound innovation in various sectors of the economy (Ashton, 1948). Industrial revolution totally transformed not only the way things are done but also the way man operates.
Agrarian revolution changed the lifestyle of humankind. Prior to 18th century, the early man used to survive on hunting and gathering, more often using crude weapons in his day-to-day activities (Eric, 2009). The practice of hunting and gathering was tedious and time consuming as individuals had to cater for their daily needs and those of their immediate families.
Industrial revolution totally alienated individuals from their traditional working modes. This has largely transformed the agrarian society in a number of ways. First, there was mitigation of time wastage as persons worked on the fields to produce their products that they were sure of harvesting.
This replaced the uncertainty of capturing something to eat, thus enhancing food security. Early man used to cover wide area hunting but with revolution he was able to operate in a small location while increasing his output. This was because of development of enhanced hunting tools which were more effective.
Textile manufacturing was in small scale before the revolution; it was termed as cottage industry (Clark, 2007). This mostly was done by individual workers and missing on innovation and division of labor.
The mode of transportation could only accommodate the small-scale production since it was not highly developed. With the wave of revolution, textile industry had a massive shift into large-scale production (Clark, 2007). However, at the beginning the working conditions at the ginneries were not human. Dim lighting and working for long hours were problems that were realized at the early stages. Child labor was also a common issue during this progress.
Industrial revolution led to the development of advanced machines, which replaced human activities in many aspects (Eric, 2009).With the help of these machines, production was always on the rise although less labor was in operation. The transformation of labor from man to machine power necessitated other inventions to allow massive transportation of these products to the market.
Bernal (2006) pointed out that spinning jenny and the flying shuttle that were later replaced by spinning mule were the first innovations that transformed the textile industry. Some expertise on the how to run these machines was required, this additional training increased the efficiency hence increased production.
These developments changed how work was being done as it accommodated increased number of individuals. It also advocated for division of labor, which enhanced productivity and innovation. Moreover, iron folding and steam power are other 18th century sectors that transformed the agrarian life. The early man through these sectors was able to develop advanced weapons that were used for various purposes (Ashton, 1948).
According to Bernal (2006), industrial revolution was a blessing to the early man; this is because the daily dues from wages and salaries outweigh the struggles of hunting and gathering. In addition, working in these firms is dignifying enough as work environment has been greatly improved to make them as favorable as possible. Moreover, the source of food in the industrial generation was more stable as individuals could work more efficiently in one location and produce surplus to help sustain them as well as sell the surplus.
References
Ashton, T. S. (1948). The industrial revolution (1760-1830). UK: Oxford University Press.
Bernal, J. D. (2006). Science and industry in the nineteenth century. London: Routledge.
Clark, G. (2007). A farewell to alms: a brief economic history of the world. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Eric, H. (2009).The age of revolution: Europe 1789–1848. United Kingdom: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd.