Reasons behind the alienation of an individual with the emergence of industrial revolution (original) (raw)

Real Changes made by the Industrial Revolution

Many historians feel that the word "revolution" should not be associated with the industrial breakthrough of the 18th and 19th century. This paper looks at the revolutionary nature of the Industrial Revolution with emphasis on how it changed not just industry but politics, business and society on a global scale.

Conditions for Alienation: Technological Development and Capital Accumulation

Sustainability beyond Technology: Philosophy, Critique, and Implications for Human Organization, 2021

Both capital accumulation and technological development need each other, but are also conditioned and defined by each other: to develop technology, capital is needed; to be able to accumulate capital, new investment opportunities are constantly needed (see also Heikkurinen et al. 2019b, 4– 5). As Marx and Marxist scholars would point out (e.g. Marx 1973; Wendling 2009), capital’s relation to technology is specific and instrumental in a certain way, that is, capital investments foster and steer technology and its development in a direction that favours further capital accumulation. Indeed, within capitalism, technology reflects capital’s self-image, i.e., it is instrumental, dynamic, and expansive. In addition to being an investment opportunity, technology clearly is a commodity within capitalism—a means of exchange, and a source of revenue, and profit. In practice, these things entail that technology and its development, in capitalism, are about endlessly producing and marketing new technologies involving a profit motive. In other words, in this organization, technology and its development do not have a purpose apart from the creation of monetary value. Technology is thus an instrument of capital accumulation, but capital accumulation is also an instrument for developing complex technological appliances and systems. In this chapter, this modern-day assembly is framed as the alliance of capital and technology, to highlight the intertwined relation of capital accumulation and technological development, and how they both produce conditions for alienation. Since the days of Hegel and Marx, critical scholars and philosophers have tried to understand the experience of alienation from nature, society, and the self. Although questions of technology have been incorporated into these analyses to some extent, the relation between modern technology and alienation has remained understudied until today. In this chapter, technological development and capital accumulation are discussed as key conditions for alienation. This is because both of them contribute to the lack of control and freedom in personal and communal lives, albeit in somewhat different ways, and generate personal and communal detachment from fellow humans and from the rest of living nature.

Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in England and what factors led to the “Great Divergence?

In a little over a century from around 1750 to 1850 Britain went from being a largely pastoral, farming population to a country of industrialized cities and factories. This tremendous transition, usually referred to as the Industrial Revolution, marked a big turning point in history as it was the first time a country was able to escape from the Malthusian constraints and experience large continuous economic growth and massively increase productivity. However, while there is great consensus for when the Industrial Revolution took place and that it first occurred in Britain, there is heavy debate over its origins and why Britain was first. Although, this essay will acknowledge the wide and complex variety of possible explanations, it will focus on institutions as they have played a crucial role as a foundation for the Industrial Revolution to take place in Britain. The British institutions were important in creating a more egalitarian society, supporting economic growth and encouraging technological innovation and the industrialization that eventually occurred around the world significantly explains the great inequality among nations today. This essay will refer to institutions as sets of informal and formal rules and organizations that impact the distribution of power, and by aggregations of ethics, morals, procedures and guidelines stabilize interaction (Hall, 1986, North, 1990; Peters & Pierre, 1998; Wiens, 2012). Firstly, this essay will argue that British institutions played an extensive part in decreasing the powers of the executives as education increased and a growing middle class emerged which resulted in a relatively freer and more equal society than elsewhere in the world. Secondly, institutions were imperative for Britain’s economic growth and for the maintenance of comparatively high wages at the time. Thirdly, high wages, as well as institutions such as the patent system, guilds and commons motivated industries and individuals to innovate. Lastly, the great inequality among nations in the world today can be highly explained by the onset of industrialization around the world. COURSE: 1003GIR Globalization the Asia-Pacific & Australia. 10.09.12