Activity

Complete the following notes. They will give you an outline of the information contained in the passage. The main points, relations of cause-effect, illustrations etc. are clearly indicated in the text by logical connectors. Look out for them. 

•  (par. 1) The essence of the Industrial Revolution

Is the change between a medieval economics method and a new way of controlling the production and distribution of wealth in the society.

It led to the growth of two systems of thought:

1) Economic science                    

2) Socialism

Economic science developed in England thanks to four great economists and their works :

 • (par. 2-3) Facts of Industrial Revolution. 

• (par. 4) Decrease in rural population.

causes:     1) The distruction of common system of cultivation.

     2) The enclosure of common and waste lands.   

     3) The consolidations of small farms into large ones

• (par. 5) Agricultural advance.

cause - more scientific approach:

e.g.  

• (par. 6-7) Growth of industry.

causes;

1) mechanical inventions in textile industry

e.g.  

ther most importantwere:

2) mechanical revolution in iron industry

e.g.  

3) improved means of communication

e.g.  

results:   1) Increase of commerce

     2) substitution of factory system for domestic system.

• (par. 8) Revolution in distribution of wealth:

rise in rents caused by

social changes in country life:

• (par. 9) Social changes in the manufacturing world:

the class of great capitalist employers made a lot of money but they did not take part personally to the work in their factories.

consequences:

 1) The relationship between masters and workmen disappeared

2) The workmen rebelled to their condition

3) class conflict was born

• (par. 10) Misery of working people often caused by:

Conclusion

To sum up, the positive effects of the Industrial Revolution, such as the increase of wealth did not necessarily create also good conditions for workers and general well-being.

Brief summary of main points of the text:

The Industrial Revolution started in England and contributed to the development of two main systems of thought: Economic Science and its antithesis Socialism.

The essence of the Industrial Revolution was the changefrom a medieval domestic system of production to a factory one. It implied  new way of controlling the production and distribution of wealth in society. Four great economists  are worth quoting:  Smith, Ricardo, Malthus and Mill. They analysed the industrial revolution and its consequences in their studies.

the decrease of rural population, caused by the distruction of the open field system of cultivation and the consolidations of small farms into large ones. As a consequence the system of cultivation disappeared because of the enclosures. People started to move from the country to the cities, where they could work in the factories. It followed that the size of the cities began to grow. The phenomenon is called urbanization. Furthermore, during the revolution there were a lot of changes in agriculture  such as the crop rotation, the invention of the steam- plough  and the birth of agricultural societies. In the texile industry the spinning gentry and the water-frame became basic for  production.

Other important inventions were the steam engine and the power loom. As regards the means of communication, the railroad, the turnpike and the canal system appeared for the first time. In the iron industry, important iventions regarded the smelting by pit-coal and the application of the steam-engine to blast furnaces.

Nevertheless, even if the Industrial Revolution brought lots of advantages it also caused a lot of disadvantages such as the fall of salaries, the bad conditions of workers in the factories and the rise of prices. In particular, the rise in rents was caused by the money invested in improvements, the enclosure system, the consolidation of farms and the high price of corn.

The Industrial Revolution was based on the substitution of the factory system of production for the previous domestic system. For this reason, employers lost a relationships with workers, who often rebelled against the situation, and  class conflict started to increase. The poverty of working people was basically caused by the fall of salaries, the work conditions in the factories and of course by the rise of prices.