Working Conditions During The Industrial Revolution: A Comparative Analysis

The Beginnings of the Agrarian Revolution

The agrarian revolution started in Great Britain around the 18th century. It was a result of social, economic, and farming technology changes. The main innovations of this era were crop rotation and convertible husbandry, which improved crop and animal production. Crop rotation improved soil structure and fertility. On the other hand, convertible husbandry applied field alternation between pasture and grain. A significance of this method is that it introduced pasture into the rotation hence improving the soil quality, which consequently improved production. On the other hand, the industrial revolution began in the late 18th and 19th centuries. This marked the introduction of power-driven machinery, which replaced the use of land tools.

Comparisons in Methodology: Agrarian vs. Industrial

There are several comparisons between the agrarian revolution and the industrial age; for instance, the agrarian revolution applied crude farming methods, and the farm output was significantly low. On the other hand, in the industrial age, machinery that used external energy sources, such as fossil fuels, was used. This led to efficiency and increased productivity of farm produce.

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Labor Dynamics: From Fields to Factories

Another comparison is that during the agrarian revolution, there were a lot of skilled labors since most of them were farmers. Because of this unskilled labor, the rate of production from the farms was low. The industrial age, on the other hand, led to the training of people who were to work in these factories. The use of skilled workers led to increased factory output and increased wealth creation.

Quality of Life: A Tale of Two Revolutions

The other comparison is that, during the agrarian revolution, most farmers were poor since the farm produce was mainly for their own consumption, and only a small surplus was left for sale. The quality of life was significantly low during this period. The industrial revolution, on the other hand, led to an improved quality of life. This was because the factory output was only for sale, and some products were even exported, leading to increased profits. Education and quality of health were also more emphasized in this period compared to the agrarian revolution.

Environmental Impact and Health

Another point to note is that during the agrarian revolution, the farming pieces of equipment used were manual and therefore didn’t use any fuel. Because of this, environmental pollution was at its minimal. On the other hand, the industrial revolution saw increased use of machinery that used fuel. This included land, water, and air pollution. This led to adverse effects on people’s health.

Financial Security and Livelihoods

During the agrarian revolution, farmers lived with the fear of losses. This is because their main activity, which was farming was entirely dependent on the weather conditions. If the rain failed, these farmers would be prone to drought and starvation. Another threat to these crops was the fear of crop diseases. On the other hand, during the industrial revolution, most people were financially independent, and they, therefore, did not depend entirely on farm produce. This meant that they could also import food when drought or animal diseases struck.

Working Conditions: From Fields to Factories

The working conditions during the agrarian revolution were better compared to that during the industrial era. During the agrarian revolution, people used to work together in a communal way. This meant that they were not overworking. On the contrary, during the industrial age, the working conditions in the factories were not favorable. This is because most of the people working in these factories were subjected to working for long hours so as to maximize profits at the expense of the welfare of the workers. This made workers suffer from stress-related illnesses, and the pollution from the factories affected the health of workers.

References

  1. Overton, M. (1996). Agricultural Revolution in England: The transformation of the agrarian economy 1500-1850. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Allen, R. C. (2009). The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
  3. Pomeranz, K. (2000). The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the making of the modern world economy. Princeton University Press.
  4. Ashton, T. S. (1948). The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830. Oxford University Press.
  5. More, C. (2000). The Industrial Age: Economy and Society in Britain 1750-1995. Longman.

What Does Social Justice Mean To You: Personal Reflections

Feminism and social justice have been a sidestream topic for as long as I’ve known about it. I have always heard different things from different people and was never sure which was the right assumption. I originally came to this course with the premise that feminism was working to actively change the traditional roles placed on women and replace patriarchy with equality for all. But because of this, I also saw feminism as a violent act towards men. This assumption stemmed from my experiences, my position in society, and my beliefs. In my reflection, I will expand on my assumptions about feminism and how I arrived at these assumptions, and how my social identity plays a role in my belief in feminism.

Origins, Experiences, and Beliefs

Taking a look at my childhood, my experiences influenced and informed my beliefs because I grew up in a household where my mother raised me and my siblings. She did almost everything because my parents were divorced, and my mother had full custody of us. When the word feminism arose, I immediately thought of my mother and how everything was always left for her to do. This put the image in my head that feminism was merely about women being angry at men for abandoning them when they had nothing. I believe this ongoing experience with my mother shaped how I perceived feminism because not only was I I believe my social identity contributes to these ideas because I am a woman and have always experienced some sort of divided behavior towards who I am. There are many examples I could state that pertain to my assumptions about feminism, but a clear example is at my workplace. I always notice the district managers have the men do the ‘harder’ jobs like taking out the trash, climbing the ladders, or even doing something as little as lifting mannequins. This leaves the women ‘easier’ jobs that take less effort. I have had three jobs since I was 15, and each job has contributed to putting these ideas into my head that the feminism act has still not achieved what we need it to. This connected to how I perceived social justice as I imagined this as violent acts towards what I had coming into the course, which was that feminism was a way for women to express how men in their lives have negatively impacted them.

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Social Identity/Positionality

Social identity describes the many things that contribute to our social and personal identities. These work together to create and shape our experiences. (Brockbank, 2023. Lecture 1) My social identity plays a role in this as a female of color because every day, I am unconsciously surrounded by acts of dividedness. Being a female in this society plays a role in how hard it is to find a job, get respect from others, and more. But I have found my positionality as an african american woman has an effect that stems deeper than just being a female. Being a female in this society also biases my outlook on feminism, and I have actively seen this when speaking with men who don’t agree with the beliefs of feminists. 

Challenges against my false assumption

Lastly, I want to expand on how my assumption of feminism changed as I grew older. This course largely changed how I viewed feminism now, but something that stood out to me the most was second-wave feminism and how it worked to change how we thought about women’s place in the social world.

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