Right from the title, this essay deals with the chief features of the Industrial Revolution. This text in an argumentative text, in which the writer, Arnold Toynbee, states that the Industrial Revolution brought about such radical changes in nineteenth century in England and in the rest of the World.
After he gives a definition of what this revolution is: it's a substitution of competition for medieval regulations in matter of production and distribution. The word competition means the economic law according to which price is established by offers or demands. In addition to this he explains how in that period grew two systems of thought: the Economic Science and Socialism. To support his thesis, he quotes 4 economists: Adam Smith, Malthus, Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. In 1776 A. Smith wrote "Wealth of nations", in which he investigates the causes of wealth. Later on, in the 1798, Malthus wrote his famous book "Essay of Population." In this case Malthus analyzes the causes of poverty. Going on, the third economist is Ricardo, who showed how wealth is distributed under such a system, a problem which couldn't have occurred to any one before his time. The last but not least, John Stuart Mill published his book in 1848, in this case Toynbee support his thesis with this writer to demonstrate something it can't avoided. To explain the process, Toynbee gives a detailed quantity data, through percentages. In order to support it, he explains the historical process, including the agrarian Revolution, some changes in manufactures, the independence of machinery, and finally all the consequences that these changes have brought.
With the Agricultural Revolution there are three agricultural changes: the destruction of common field system of cultivation, the enclosure of common and waste lands and the consolidation of small farms into large. In addition to these facts, a lot of unemployed people had to move to cities in order to find an employment. Another issue was the growth of industry especially mechanical inventions in textile industry. And thanks to these discoveries Agrarian Revolution was developed and influenced. In this period were introduced the spinning jenny, the Crompton's mule, the self-acting mule and the water frame. But the most important was, as well as the steam engine, the power loom. These discoveries marked the introduction of the factory system. After these period of invention, the condition of the workman was very different. Meanwhile the iron industry was equally revolutionized by the invention of smelting by pit-coal, and by the application of the steam engine to blast furnaces. In consequence, thanks to these revolutions, there was an expansion of trade, an expansion which was itself due to the great advance in the means of communication. In fact the canal system was developed throughout the country, turnpike roads were constructed and people saw the opening of the first railroad. These improved means of communication caused an increase in commerce.
In conclusion: distinct classes grew; in fact there were the class of poor people and the class of rich people. The high prices of the war demoralized poor people, while rich people didn't know how to spend their money. In matter of this fact Toynbee espresses the conclusion that the Industrial Revolution produced wealth for rich people but it didn't garantee welfare for poor people.