Mental or Physical?

Abstract:
In this paper, I will show how the industrial revolution was a material revolution. I will support this thesis with David S. Lands’ The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and Eric Hobsbawm’s The Age of Revolution. This thesis is important because the Industrial Revolution changed the way people worked and earned a living.
David S. Landes states that, “revolution is an instance of great change or alteration in affairs or some particular thing.” The Industrial Revolution caused changes due to huge numbers of developing industries, new machinery, a population in need of jobs, inventions, increasing population and the beginning of a middle class coming together to create constant, rapid and unlimited multiplication of man, goods and services. A goal no previous society had been able to obtain. Unlike the Renaissance period that was primarily based on the change in knowledge and beliefs, thus a mental revolution, the Industrial Revolution was a material revolution based on goods and economy.
There were many inventions and improvements in machinery that aided the development of industries, pushed toward mass production and improved agriculture. Some of these machines included the spinning wheel, reverberatory furnaces, the steam powered engine and steam powered plow. These machines helped increase the productivity of goods and agriculture.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution people used a system called the cottage industry to produce fabric. This was an industry where people would spin and weave wool at their own house and at their own pace. There were constant issues between bosses and weavers involving accusations of stealing and misuse of materials. Thus when the industrial revolution eliminated the cottage industries employers were happier to have the weavers under their roof and more control over the materials, rate of production and products. The cottage industries were replaced with spinning wheels in factories. The spinning wheels increased the efficiency of carding, twisting, spinning and rolling the wool into yarn which then increased the supply of yarn that supplied the weaving industry. By the end of the revolution, steam power was used to power the machines creating mass production of yarn for weavers.

A second piece of machinery that was essential in the Industrial Revolution was the reverberatory furnace also known as a cupola. This was a machine that melted coke pig iron into cast iron goods. This produced pots, pans, fire backs, pipes and kettles that were thin and cheap. Therefore, the cheaper iron became a major material used to produce goods during the revolution. The cheap iron also helped development of steam engines and railways.

A third revolutionary machine was the invention of the steam engine. The steam engine took about two hundred years to completely develop. Until the 1800’s, the steam engine was only used to pump water from mines, this allowed mines to ascend deeper into the earth. The steam engine was invented and a solution was found for the pistons that were limiting the power of the machine. This solution allowed the steam engine to be put into ships, such as the Dreadnought. These ships were faster, cleaner and they rarely had to stop into port for more than a day.

The fourth invention that was extremely effective was the steam engine plow. These plows had two engines on each side of the field with a plow connected by a cable to the engines. These new plows reduced the cost of plowing and the number of people needed to run the farm. These four machines all worked together to create mass production of goods such as yarn for weaving, cast iron goods for cooking and agricultural goods. The machines were the base of the industrial revolution, without them there would have been no need for factories and industries. These machines and many others worked together to produce a material change in society.
The Industrial Revolution rapidly fed the supply and demand economic cycle. This cycle started with the idea of new machines an idea worthless unless acted upon. This led to the creation of new machinery. The new machines are the base for factories, where there would be mass production of all sorts of goods. These factories would create a need for people to run the machines, creating new job
opportunities. The advancement in farming machinery allowed farms to produce crops more cheaply with less labor, freeing people to work in the factories. All of the people who were unemployed, not only from the farms but also the people who were on the streets moved to the city where there was an abundance of jobs that needed filling. These workers now had money to spend on goods, creating higher demand. This causes the cycle to start over with the need for machines and products, to creating even more jobs and production of goods.
Every revolution has an effect on all parts of P.E.R.S.I.A. The political, economic, religious, society, intellectual and aesthetics of a society. The materials in the Industrial Revolution effected all parts of PERSIA. First, the machines had an effect on the political power of nations. The countries of which took part in the revolution of machines and factories had the most money, therefore giving them power. The countries that did not take part in the revolution fell to the bottom of the economy and political power. Spain for example, showed this with their power from wealth found in the Americas before the revolution. When the revolution hit, Spain’s money was gone, they were not able take part in the revolutionary inventions, materials and fell to the bottom. The economics were effected greatly by the new machines and industries. The first economical change was the change from a feudal to an industrial society with huge economical growth. The industries introduced mass production and more jobs for society. In return, it gave people more money to buy products and demand more. The effect on religion was that employment of the people took them from their religious studies. The impact on society was huge. There were many new opportunities for jobs in the factories which brought more people form the country to the city in search of work. This also changed the lifestyle of society, they changed from agricultural extended families to city dwellers. The machines changed the intellect of the people. Before the revolution, people had to know how to spin or weave wool by hand. With the new machines of the revolution, the people no longer had to know the art of spinning or weaving but simply knew how to use the machines that spun and wove the wool for them. The last part of P.E.R.S.I.A. is aesthetics, the machines had great effect on the aesthetics of society. The picture of society changed tremendously from the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the revolution in the picture you saw little homes where people worked and farmed. In the new picture of society, you see industries, increased factories, major cities and agricultural land; all caused by the joining of industries, development of machinery, inventions and the beginning of a middle class.
The Industrial Revolution was primarily a material revolution. When you have a revolution that changes the way people think, it would be considered a mental revolution such as Humanism. When thinking of a material revolution, it relates to tools, machinery and the money that is available and brought about changes. What came from the Industrial Revolution is a change in machinery, mass production and industries bringing more work not a revolution of philosophical thinking. The revolution built the economy of anyone who took part, it produced goods using the economic cycle of mass production and increase in jobs and income of society driving the supply and demand. There is no question that this revolution was driven by material and physical changes of Europe.