The text " The
Chief features of the Industrial Revolution" written by Arnold Toynbee is an
argumentative text which analyzes many aspects of the Industrial Revolution. It
is divided in paragraphs each one having a specific function, with argumentations
and different contents.

The Industrial
Revolution is one of the most important facts of the English history because it's
an important event which brought to radical changes and discoveries. The
Revolution, for example, led to the growth of two systems of thought: Economic
science and Socialism, as
asserted by four famous economists and politicians (Smith, Malthus, Ricardo and
Mill) quoted in Toynbee's text.

The birth of the
Industrial Revolution coincides with the invention of the steam-engine,
patented by James Watt. The invention of that new machine was revolutionary
because it was used for different aims and it contributed in the improvement of
 industrial production and transports,
which became faster.  Besides this, other
inventions were made, such as the power-loom, the spinning-jenny, the
self-acting mule and others.

Thanks to the
growth of industry many factories were created and so also many work places.
The production shifted from an artisan manufacture to an industrial one. These
facts involved a decrease in rural population that moved from the countryside
to the cities. In addition, the destruction of the common-field system of
cultivation, the enclosures of common lands and the consolidation of small
farms into large promoted this migration.

The growth of
production led to a greater expansion of trade, which was made possible also by
the improvement of the ways of communication ( such as canal system, railroad
and roads) and transports. So industry was a new source of wealth for the
society of the time which saw, as a consequence, a sudden growth of the population.

Therefore the
Revolution had a great impact also on society. For example, the rents in the
countryside rose rapidly. So farmers and landowners made large profits, became
richer and improved their social status. Meanwhile in the cities, the conditions
of the labourers were miserable because of the high prices in opposition to
their low wages and the fluctuations of trades.

 There was a great difference in life's
conditions also between the new class of capitalists and the workers. The
former made enormous fortunes even if they didn't take part in the process of
production, while the latter had to work hard for a little wage. This fact had
consequences on the relations between the class of capitalists and the one of
workers: they were linked only by money interests and not by human relations (
being the workers almost unknown by their masters). This led to a class
conflict.

History and, in
particular, the English Industrial Revolution show us that wealth doesn't
really mean well-being for everyone. In order to avoid such social discrepancies,
the supervision of the government on free competition and trade is necessary.