Why did many regions of the world industrialize during the nineteenth century? Why did some areas industrialize before others? What were the consequences of industrialization for the societies that industrialized?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but correct responses should include: Militarization and industrialization were linked to the mid-century fat crisis: armies and industries needed intense concentrations of energy for sustenance and transport and lubricants for munitions and machines. The explanation for mechanization lies in the geography of industrialization. On the whole, it happened earliest and fastest in regions where labor was relatively expensive: in areas such as Europe and Japan, where the size of the workforce was relatively modest compared with, say, that of China and India; or in the United States, which, despite the huge increase in its population, was still seriously underpopulated in the nineteenth century. Second, and perhaps more significant, industrialization was a function of demand. Population increase accounted in part for increasing demand, but so did the multiplication of sources of wealth—the new resources unlocked from the soil, the enormous expansion of financial institutions, the growth in the money supply as governments took on increasing responsibilities and minted cash to pay for them. The West did have a commercial advantage. Commerce makes specialization possible. Without extensive systems of long-range trade, large concentrations of labor dedicated to manufacturing particular items or producing particular primary products are impossible. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western Europe and North America were excellent environments for banking and what would now be called financial services industries, thanks to the climate of economic liberalism and the commitment of states to foster commerce. Europe was not unique in this respect. "Capitalism" and commercial entrepreneurship were also ingrained in many communities and ruling elites in Asia. In China, however, commerce did not enjoy much support from the state until late in the nineteenth century. The pace of commerce is a function of the size of the market, and it is worth noting that European populations experienced exceptionally high growth rates in the nineteenth century. Although mechanization stripped workers of employment in traditional industries and in unindustrialized parts of the world, it generated new wealth and, therefore, new employment opportunities in other activities and other areas. Trade and capital were essential extra spokes in the cycle that linked food, population, and industry. They provided incentives to mechanize and money to invest in mechanization. Industrialization was more than just economic. It also had an appeal that industry was a form of enchantment and a way for imagination to triumph over nature. Although mechanization stripped workers of employment in traditional industries and in unindustrialized parts of the world, it generated new wealth and, therefore, new employment opportunities in other activities and other areas. Technical improvements gradually liberated even the machine workers to enjoy increased leisure. Industrialization impacted on the rest of the world—by creating global inequalities of wealth and power and by linking unindustrialized regions in a grid of high-speed communications. Industrialization was disastrous for many of the people who took it up, with adverse consequences for nutrition, health, and what we would now call quality of life. Industrialization impacted on the rest of the world—by creating global inequalities of wealth and power that would affect the global community for the future.