Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of change for the entire world which has largely shaped today’s society. The industrial revolution brought the machine which changed life and economy for generations to come. Whether this change was for better or for worse was widely debated throughout Europe. Thomas Babington Macaulay understood and agreed that industrialization came at the price of many, however he also believed it was only a natural procession of society. Despite lower class citizens having to pay the consequences of machines taking over their jobs in nearly every occupation, quality of life for all citizens was dramatically improved because of this mechanization. Technological advances made every aspect of life easier from the clothes worn to transportation, and medical advances resulting from mechanization lengthened life spans and made it capable to cure the sick quicker. Macaulay realized that all of this positive change was worth the sacrifice. “History is full of signs of this natural progress of society. We see the wealth of nations increasing and all the arts of life approaching nearer and nearer to perfection, in spite of the grossest corruption and the wildest profusion on the part of rulers.” (493) This quote from “A review of Southey’s Colloquies” shows how Macaulay felt towards the mechanization. Just as any major change society has ever under gone it carried both good and bad. Macaulay unlike other writers of the time felt that the good outweighed the bad.
Macaulay was more unique in his opinion of the Industrial Revolution. The majority tended to believe that mechanization brought uncivilized change for the lower class citizens. They felt it was unjust and citizens were being treated worse then any time in previous generations. Charles Dickens made his negative feelings towards Industrial Revolution very apparent in several of his novels. Dickens focuses his arguments on mechanization on the growing trend of railway systems. Dickens spoke against the railways because he saw them as tearing apart communities, splitting neighborhoods, and creating environmental hazards to citizens. In Dickens novel “Dombey and Son”, he describes the construction of the railways as the “shock of a great earthquake” (496). Dickens, unlike Macaulay, could see nothing positive resulting from the construction of the railways. “Nothing the better for it, or thought of being so. If the miserable waste ground lying near it could have laughed, it would have laughed it to scorn, like many of the miserable neighbours.” (497) He felt that the destruction of the neighborhoods and the disruption of daily life had no benefit to the community. Dickens failed to understand how something as destructive of the railway system could have such a positive and influential difference on future generations ways of life.
Just as the French revolution before it, the Industrial revolution sparked many debates over opposing viewpoints of the changes which were occurring. At the time, it was hard to understand how much influence the changes of the time would have on our technologically advanced civilization today. All writers of the time could see was how drastically these changes affected their society. Dickens and Macaulay were just two voices of the debate but both had very valid points. I think reflecting back mechanization was very necessary in order for all of us in today’s society to live the technologically advanced lifestyle we sometimes take for granted.