In this essay, which is divided in ten paragraphs, the writer explains the causes, the development and the radical changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century.

In the introduction, the writer presents the topic. In the second paragraph he explains that the Industrial Revolution was one of the most important facts of European history because it allowed the birth of  two systems of thought: Economic Science and Socialism.

Responsible for the  development of Economic Science in England were works like

Adam Smith’s Wealth Of Nations, Malthus’ Essay On Population, Ricardo’s Principles Of Political Economy And Taxation and  John Stuart Mill’s Principles Of Political Economy.

In the fourth paragraph percentages about the growth of population are reported and the paragraph is followed by a further one where the essayist provides the reader with the opinion of three important thinkers of the period : Laurence, Eden and Cobbet.

He also exposes the main consequences of the agrarian revolution in England namely the destruction of the common-field system of cultivation, the enclosure of common and waste lands and the consolidation of small farms into large ones were the three most effective causes that marked a noticeable decrease in rural population.

The improvements brought about by agricultural advance are explained in the coming section and the essay carries on with the seventh paragraph illustrating the five great inventions which altered the character of cotton manufacture: the spinning-jenny, the water-frame, the self-acting mule, the steam-engine and the power-loom.

In the eighth paragraph some data aboutrents rise and  price variations through time  are provided.

The trransformation occurred and their consequences are illustrated in the last part of the essay, together with the reasons why the workers were miser and the going-on  social change.

In the conclusion, the writer’s point of view on the Industrial Revolution is provided: he judeges that such process had brought wealth but noy well-being.