1.3. Economic Problems and Social Consequences Throughout the interwar period, political life in the republic was marked by an unfavorable economic situation. In addition to the cyclic fluctuations in the market situation, which are characteristic of the crisis years of 1921-1923 and 1930-1934,

11. The Mystery of the Industrial Revolution So, the Industrial Revolution was the single most significant event in the economic history of the entire world. And you have no explanation for it. What is this theory? Irad Kimkhi (in conversation with the author, 2006) The question of why industrial

No. 19. Social consequences of the information revolution Case study This task is recommended to be completed in continuation of work on an essay in the social structure Western Society at the Turn of the 20th – 21st Centuries”. In addition, for

Dmitry PERETOLCHIN. A hundred years ago, it was noted that it is the level of science and education that ensures the success of warfare. Therefore, in our turbulent times, I propose to talk about the correlation of education with the level of technological development.

Olga CHETVERIKOVA. Let's just say that education is determined by the interests of technological development. But in Russia it was understood in a slightly different way: as a full-fledged development of the personality, intellectual, moral and spiritual. And now we are talking about education for the sake of training, which refers us to the ideas of the third or even the fourth industrial revolution.

This is interesting because the phenomenon of the new industrial revolution is based on robotization and automation of production, which is displacing humans. We talked earlier about transhumanism as a consequence of changes in the person himself, in his mind due to modern cognitive technologies, and why this concept is being introduced into the worldview systems of different countries. The term "fourth industrial revolution", updated after the Davos Forum, as far as I know, was first used by German economists. In general, this is rather just one area of ​​the third industrial revolution, affecting the digital economy and Computer techologies and talking about the creation of a "virtual person".

Unlike ordinary reality, virtual reality has no boundaries and frames, so you can do anything with a virtual person or a virtual thing. We have to abstract from the production process, because the phenomenon of the emergence of 3D printing has changed the view of the industry in general. Although, in my opinion, there is also “scientific verbiage”, which, as an instrument of influence on society, justifies serious changes in social sphere, both in politics and in human consciousness, because if a scientist wants to understand the processes of the third industrial revolution, then he simply does not have enough time and creative energy to understand the main thing: what consequences it led to.

Therefore, operating with such categories looks like an attempt to drive a person's consciousness into the framework of dogma, as was the case with the Marxist-Leninist teaching, in order to cover up the essence of the structural changes from this revolution. Among these changes, we single out two - in social relations between people and in the personality of a person. The industrial revolution, it turns out, affects ethics, aesthetics and many other components of a person's personality. Moreover, biologists specializing in the work of the brain, before sociologists began to pay attention to the phenomenon of “digital dementia”. "Mowgli effect" - in the event that the education of a child occurs during computerization, some areas of his brain do not develop.

Dmitry PERETOLCHIN. At the moment of communication, people simultaneously analyze up to seven parameters: intonation, gestures, and much more, and a certain part of the brain is responsible for each parameter. If children with early age get used to communicate with a “finger”, through a phone screen, for example, then only one area of ​​the brain is actively developing, while the rest begin to degrade. Our brain is an amazing phenomenon: the intraspecific difference in the brains of humans can be greater than the interspecific difference in animals.

Olga CHETVERIKOVA. Each person can develop into a spiritually and intellectually rich person if conditions are created for the internal, independent development of the brain. As a teacher, I can say that earlier social conditions had a very strong influence on education: some could, say, pay for education, others could not. Today, a person with an atrophied brain is deliberately created, but neither adolescents nor parents are told about this: if children do not start working until the age of 7-10 various areas, the consequences are irreversible. This is not a consequence of the objective laws of the development of technology, as they try to imagine, but a conscious influence on a person, because he somehow remains in the center.

Under capitalism, the value of a commodity is made up of fixed capital (the funds themselves), variable capital (expenditure on wages), and profit. In the post-war years, the main part of the cost was determined precisely by variable capital, and it was profitable to spend huge amounts of money on maintenance work force. But the rate of profit tends to decrease, and when this happened, an interest arose to reduce costs as much as possible: the denationalization of capital, the privatization of resources, and, most importantly, the exclusion of the maintenance of labor resources from the general cost formula, in other words, the person must be removed from the formula. Not only from the production process, but also from the service sector, which is actively robotized. He becomes a cyborg with minimal needs, which he will implement in virtual reality. In most developed countries, the market for basic needs is full, and therefore the manufacturer begins to dictate new, artificial ones that are not characteristic of a normal person.

According to various estimates, in 40 years from 50 to 70% of workers from production will be removed and replaced by robots. Now 10% of all goods are produced exclusively by robots, by 2025 the forecast speaks of 40%. Not only blue-collar workers, but also white-collar workers are at risk: managers, car drivers, pharmacists, insurance agents, sellers, collectors. Outside this zone - psychologists, detectives, artists, photographers, social workers, priests. That is why show business is developing so actively - people ousted from production and the service sector are “placed” there. And the requirements of such people are minimal, and they are not interested in spiritual development (if only the phone was more fashionable), and it is very easy to manage them.

The British scientist Guy Standing, having borrowed the term from his French colleagues, built an interesting concept about social change. He talks about the emergence of a new class - the precariat, the basis of which is instability, instability, unreliability. The elite, people with social guarantees and the old proletariat (the number of the last two strata of society is declining) are followed by the precariat, which includes people working on temporary contracts, migrants, skilled youth who cannot find work because the specialty they have received does not have time adapt to rapidly changing technological conditions. This provides an easy radicalization of the precariat: for migrants, these are Islamist or pseudo-Islamist groups, for young people (especially in Europe) - the growing popularity of right-wing radical movements and parties. And instead of trying to fight the TNC elite, which started such a rift in society, these people begin to solve problems among themselves, being simply pitted.

What happens to a person? Back in the 60s, the term "human capital" was introduced - how much money needs to be invested in a person so that he starts to make a profit. At first, economists invested in this concept education, upbringing and the development of professional qualities, and then expanded it by adding elements of consumption (food, entertainment, etc.) to it. capitalism. The term "human capital" is even used in all educational programs, in the concept of education of our country - the same attitude. Spiritual development and other personal things in a person become unnecessary, because it increases costs in the very formula of the cost of goods. Alas, in these conditions it is impossible to have any other education than that which works for a technological business. And this is objective, and loud words about patriotism are an empty phrase. We simply cannot say to pupils and students: “You will integrate into society, and therefore we need you only as a function, a controlled biological object.” For today’s student, there are generally few opportunities to discuss some topics that were relevant for education in the past.

An interesting statement is made by Elon Musk, the founder of Space X and Tesla Motors, who joined the Donald Trump Policy Strategy Forum in December 2016. He believes that the introduction of new technologies must be skillfully managed so that there are no serious consequences. To do this, in his opinion, it is necessary to achieve the fusion of the biological brain with the digital one. Main problem - throughput, the speed of connection of the real brain with the digital one. About social issues: “Human-machine fusion is the future, and the immediate effect of technology is autonomous cars. They can replace drivers. Such a process could take up to 20 years, be fast and destructive. 12-15% of all working people will be out of work, so they need to find new roles.” In the end, he plans to come up with the idea of ​​a universal basic income. “Automation will be followed by an avalanche of cheap goods and services, but you need to understand what to do with the purpose of a person and what this person will matter if for many it is inextricably linked with work. If your job is not needed, what's the point in you? Therefore, the future is a serious test for us.”

By minimum basic income, he means a certain amount of money that the state will pay to everyone, regardless of a person's role in society and whether he works or not. In fact, this is an attempt to justify the total demolition social policy(why is it needed, if they pay anyway?), which will be followed by the abolition of this income, because there will be no one to resist.

If we talk about education and the changes that have taken place during this year: the processes mentioned above have only intensified, and the change in leadership turned out to be decorative. The Science and Technology Initiative project was quietly adopted and just as quietly passed. They started talking about it actively in 2013, when the question of how we should respond to sanctions was being decided.

Dmitry PERETOLCHIN. Interestingly, an attempt to reduce a person to a “function” or “competence” leads to personality degradation, because in order to discover or create something new, a person must have a level of basic knowledge about the world around him in all areas, and then, perhaps , at the intersection of sciences, there will be a discovery. It turns out that the capitalist system does not develop that much.

Olga CHETVERIKOVA. The Science and Technology Initiative project was supposed to create new export markets for high-tech goods. In this regard, the following areas have been developed: unmanned aircrafts, a driverless vehicle control network, a distributed energy and finance system, a food and water production and delivery system, life extension and individual medicine, an individual transportation system, brain mapping and the creation of a new generation of the World Wide Web. This excludes industrialization and the revival of industry for import substitution.

Today is actually created new system influence technology centers. The first thing to highlight, speaking of these changes, is the emergence of two subgroups within the groups of developed and developing countries: the zone of technological superclusters for the former and the zone of controlled instability for the latter. A product of technology leaves the zone of superclusters, but what is taken from others? - a talent that is becoming a staple today.

At the opening of the Science and Technology Initiative, it was said that Russia should become a generator of meanings and cultural codes. The idea was also voiced that it is necessary to capitalize talents from childhood, turning groups of children into companies that develop technological solutions. It was proposed to regulate people's behavior with the help of games (for example, "Pokemon"). According to the speakers, new methods of collective thinking can also be exported.

The current first-graders are the personnel reserve of the future, so the situation of a systemic shift in education should happen now. Speaking of this, at the opening of the program it was openly said that talented children this moment– only 10%. This is considered a "breakthrough group", and the rest "need psychotechniques"

higher educational establishments should also be rebuilt according to a specific program, in which great attention is paid to knowledge in English and opportunities to integrate knowledge into world experience.

in winter out news agencies It became known that the Minister of Education appealed to the Government with a request to reduce funding for non-basic universities by 20 billion. The rectors of these universities took this calmly and not because there are other sources, but because it made them think about how to earn money themselves and make breakthroughs in the rankings. This is a purely American position, in which a commercial university is essentially a venture company that produces and sells. In my opinion, this project is not well known, it should be brought to the discussion of the general public.

The industrial revolution brought about profound changes in the social sphere as well. First of all, finally approved economic type social stratification: position in society was determined by the level of income, the material condition of the individual. The desire to have money now largely determined the way of life and behavior of people in Western society. Since the material condition of people can change, the emerging industrial society was characterized by a high degree of social mobility.

In this regard, a class-based social structure has developed. Society is divided into classes - social groups, differing from each other in relation to the means of production, the place and role in the production process, the method of generating income. The main industrial classes, the factory bourgeoisie and the proletariat, acquire leading importance in economic development. Commercial and industrial activity is becoming the most profitable area.

Under the new conditions, the social structure of Western society has undergone major transformations. The upper layer (elite) of Western society was still represented by the landed aristocracy and the top financial bourgeoisie. However, the big commercial and industrial bourgeoisie also gradually entered this circle. At the same time, the ratio between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie in the process of the industrial revolution changed in favor of the latter. The leading trend at that time was the strengthening of the class of the industrial bourgeoisie, the assertion of its dominant position in society. The big commercial and industrial bourgeoisie had already either merged with the landowners or ousted them from the economic and political life. On the other hand, the class of landowners gradually transformed into an element social hierarchy bourgeois society, since he was already receiving part surplus value in the form of rent (land, mountain, forest, water). At the same time, the aristocracy during the years of "industrial capitalism" still retained the leading social political positions. This was due to three main factors: I) the presence of noble land ownership, which allowed the aristocracy to hold strong economic, and, consequently, political positions in society;

2) the relative weakness of the bourgeoisie, which did not yet have sufficient material resources, experience, and ability to govern independently without the help of the aristocracy;

3) the growth of the working class, primarily the factory proletariat, which represented a serious opposition to the industrial bourgeoisie. The last factor especially inclined the bourgeoisie to the side of the aristocracy as the defender of the institution. private property, stability and order in society. Proceeding from this, the industrial bourgeoisie did not even think in those years of sole domination. She needed the patronage of a strong state and wanted only complicity in power.

A new phenomenon in the social structure of Western society is the formation of the so-called middle class. At that time, it was represented mainly by the middle commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, as well as by the wealthy part of the intelligentsia and officials. There was also a rapid growth of the urban petty bourgeoisie - small traders, owners of service enterprises (various workshops, small restaurants, hotels, hairdressers).

At the other extreme of the social structure in those years were the working classes, the hired workers. Among them, the leading position was occupied by the rapidly emerging factory proletariat. The latter, due to its relative homogeneity and high concentration, was the most organized and conscious force. The rest of the mass of workers employed in small enterprises (manufactories, handicraft workshops) was very diverse and disunited.

Special processes were going on in the countryside: the peasantry differentiated rather quickly. It distinguished a layer of the rural bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie (independent owners) and landless farm laborers (rural hired workers).

The organization and working conditions have noticeably changed: its intensity has increased, a strict regime has been established, subordinating a person to the rhythm of a machine. The introduction of simple mechanisms has created opportunities for the widespread use of female and child labor (cheaper). Throughout the industrial revolution, there was a decline in the standard of living of the majority of the population, worsening financial situation people. The low wages of the proletarians, the lack of job security and labor protection led to the impoverishment of the working masses, gave rise to many social problems. The process of migration intensified - the movement of many ruined and impoverished Europeans across the ocean.

While noting the cardinal changes in the Western countries during the era of the industrial revolution, it should be borne in mind that, on the whole, economic development in these years was still predominantly extensive in nature. On average, 60--65% of GDP growth was obtained at the expense of quantitative inputs of production resources. During this period, production increased at relatively high rates only in new industries. As before, the role of traditional industries (food, woolen, linen, silk, leather, etc.) and technologies remained very impressive. Even in the 1860s, on the eve of a new technological revolution, in Western countries, 69-77% of those employed in the manufacturing industry worked in semi-handicraft enterprises. The industrial revolution was characterized by the rapid growth of light industry, primarily textile industry. In general, it was based on the development of three industries: cotton textiles, iron foundries and coal mining. The Industrial Revolution in the first half of the 19th century covered only the epicenter of the world economy. The world as a whole remained pre-capitalist and agrarian: in the middle of the 19th century. England was the only industrial power.

Thus, in the first half of the XIX century. Western countries were undergoing profound changes. As a result of the industrial revolution, a large-scale machine industry arose, a radical technical reconstruction took place in the main branches of industry in the period of mature capitalism - textile and metallurgical. The industrial revolution gave rise to continuous technical, economic and social change, often outstripping the ability of people to change themselves. He marked the beginning of industrialization - the process of extensive mechanization of the entire economic complex, the creation of a system of large-scale machine production. The essence of industrialization is not only an increase in the role of industry in the sectoral structure of the economy, but also the introduction of advanced equipment and technology into various areas of public life, including everyday life, science, education, etc.

Thanks to the achievements of the industrial revolution, industrial society in the middle of the XIX century. entered the mature stage of development. By this time, the growth rhythm that existed under the “old order” (pre-industrial era) had finally broken down. As F. Braudel notes, constant growth has become the main trend in the socio-economic development of Western society. It was expressed in a simultaneous rise in population, prices, GNP, living standards. This growth became constant and interrupted only for a short time.

The Great Industrial Revolution, the achievements and problems of which will be discussed in the article, began in England (mid-18th century) and gradually embraced the entire world civilization. It led to the mechanization of production, the growth of the economy and the creation of a modern industrial society. The topic is covered in the eighth grade history course and will be useful to both students and parents.

Basic concept

A detailed definition of the concept can be seen in the picture above. It was first used by French economist Adolphe Blanqui in 1830. The theory was developed by the Marxists and Arnold Toynbee (English historian). The industrial revolution is not evolutionary process, associated with the emergence of new machines based on scientific and technical discoveries (some already existed at the beginning of the 18th century), and a massive transition to a new organization of labor - machine production in large factories, which replaced the manual labor of manufactories.

There are other definitions of this phenomenon in the books, including the industrial revolution. It applies to the initial stage of the revolution, during which they are distinguished by three:

• Industrial revolution: the emergence of a new industry - mechanical engineering and the creation of a steam engine (from the middle of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century).
• Organization of in-line production through the use of chemicals and electricity (from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century). The stage was first identified by David Landis.
• Use in the production of information and communication technologies (from the end of the 20th century to the present). There is no consensus in science about the third stage.

Industrial revolution (industrial revolution): basic prerequisites

For the organization of factory production, a number of conditions are necessary, the main of which are:

• The presence of a labor force - people deprived of property.
• The possibility of selling goods (sales markets).
• The existence of rich people with money savings.

These conditions were formed first of all in England, where the bourgeoisie came to power after the revolution of the 17th century. The seizure of land from the peasants and the ruin of the artisans in fierce competition with the manufactories created a huge army of destitute people in need of work. The migration of former farmers to the cities led to a weakening of subsistence farming. If the villagers themselves produced clothes and utensils for themselves, then the townspeople were forced to buy them. Goods were also exported abroad, as sheep breeding was well developed in the country. In the hands of the bourgeoisie profits accumulated from the slave trade, the robbery of the colonies and the export of wealth from India. The Industrial Revolution (the transition from manual labor to machine labor) became a reality thanks to a number of serious inventions.

Spinning production

The industrial revolution first affected the cotton industry, the most developed in the country. The stages of its mechanization can be seen in the presented table.

Edmund Cartwright improved the loom (1785), because the weavers could no longer process as much yarn as they produced in the factories of England. A 40-fold increase in productivity is the best proof that the industrial revolution has arrived. Achievements and problems (table) will be presented in the article. They are associated with the need to invent a special propulsion force that does not depend on the proximity of water.

steam engine

The search for a new source of energy was important not only in but also in the mining industry, where the work was especially hard. Already in 1711, an attempt was made to create a steam pump with a piston and a cylinder, into which water was injected. This was the first serious attempt to use steam. The author of an improved steam engine in 1763 became In 1784, the first was patented steam machine double action used in a spinning mill. The introduction of patents made it possible to protect the copyright of inventors, which contributed to their motivation for new achievements. Without this step, the industrial revolution would hardly have been possible.

Achievements and challenges (table shown in the picture below) show that the steam engine contributed to the industrial revolution in the development of transport. The appearance of the first steam locomotives on smooth rails is associated with the name of George Stephenson (1814), who personally operated a 33-car train in 1825 on the first railway for citizens in history. Its 30 km route connected Stockton and Darlington. By the middle of the century, all of England was surrounded by a net railways. A little earlier, an American working in France tested the first steamboat (1803).

Advances in mechanical engineering

In the table above, one should highlight the achievement without which the industrial revolution would have been impossible - the transition from manufactory to factory. This is an invention of a lathe that makes it possible to cut nuts and screws. Henry Maudsley, a mechanic from England, made a breakthrough in the development of industry, in fact creating a new industry - mechanical engineering (1798-1800). In order to provide machine tools for factory workers, machines must be created to produce other machines. Planing and milling machines soon appeared (1817, 1818). Mechanical engineering contributed to the development of metallurgy and the extraction of coal, which allowed England to flood other countries with cheap manufactured goods. For this she received the name "workshop of the world."

Collective work with the development of machine tool industry has become a necessity. A new type of worker has emerged - one who performs only one operation and is not able to produce the finished product from start to finish. There was a separation of intellectual forces from physical labor which led to the emergence of qualified professionals who formed the basis of the middle class. The industrial revolution is not only a technical aspect, but also serious social consequences.

Social Consequences

The main result of the industrial revolution is the creation of an industrial society. It is characterized by:

• Personal freedom of citizens.
• Market relations.
• Technical modernization.
• The new structure of society (the predominance of urban residents, class stratification).
• Competition.

New technical possibilities appeared (transport, communications), which improved the quality of life of people. But in the pursuit of profit, the bourgeoisie was looking for ways to reduce the cost of labor, which led to the widespread use of the labor of women and children. Society split into two opposing classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

The ruined peasants and artisans could not get a job due to a lack of jobs. They considered the machines that replaced their labor to be the culprits, so the movement against machine tools gained momentum. The workers smashed the equipment of the factories, which marked the beginning of the class struggle against the exploiters. The growth of banks and the increase in capital imported into England in early XIX century, led to the low solvency of other countries, which caused a crisis of overproduction in 1825. These are the consequences of the industrial revolution.

Achievements and challenges (table): results of the industrial revolution

The table about industrial revolutions (achievements and problems) will be incomplete without taking into account the foreign policy aspect. Most XIX century, the economic superiority of England was undeniable. It dominated the global trading market, which was rapidly developing. At the first stage, only France competed with it thanks to the targeted policy of Napoleon Bonaparte. The uneven economic development of countries can be seen in the picture below.

The second stage of the revolution: the emergence of monopolies

The technical achievements of the second stage are presented above (see picture No. 4). Chief among them: the invention of new means of communication (telephone, radio, telegraph), the internal combustion engine and the furnace for steel smelting. The emergence of new energy sources is associated with the discovery of oil fields. This made it possible for the first time to create a car on petrol engine(1885). Chemistry came to the service of man, thanks to which strong synthetic materials began to be created.

For new industries (for the development of oil fields, for example), significant capital was required. The process of their concentration has intensified through the merger of companies, as well as their merging with banks, whose role has increased significantly. Monopolies appear - powerful enterprises that control both production and marketing of products. They were created by the industrial revolutions. Achievements and problems (table will be presented below) are associated with the consequences of the emergence of monopoly capitalism. are shown in the picture.

Consequences of the second stage of the industrial revolution

The uneven development of countries and the emergence of large corporations led to wars for the redivision of the world, the capture of markets and new sources of raw materials. During the period from 1870 to 1955 there were twenty serious military conflicts. A huge number of countries were involved in the two world wars. The creation of international monopolies led to the economic division of the world under the dominance of the financial oligarchy. Instead of exporting goods, large corporations began to export capital, creating production in countries with cheap labor force. Within countries, monopolies dominate, ruining and absorbing smaller enterprises.

But the industrial revolutions also bring a lot of positive things. Achievements and problems (the table is presented in the last subheading) of the second stage is mastering the results of scientific and technical discoveries, creating a developed infrastructure of society, and adapting to new living conditions. Monopoly capitalism is the most developed form of the capitalist mode of production, in which all the contradictions and problems of the bourgeois system are most fully manifested.

Results of the second stage

Industrial Revolution: Achievements and Challenges (table)

The industrial revolution, the achievements and problems of which are presented in two tables (according to the results of the first and second stages), is the greatest achievement of civilization. The transition to factory production was accompanied by technological progress. However, the risk of military and environmental disasters requires that the development of modern technologies and the use of new energy sources be under the control of humanistic public institutions.

• Foreign policy European countries in the 18th century
  • International relationships in Europe
    • Succession Wars
    • Seven Years' War
    • Russo-Turkish War 1768-1774
    • Foreign policy of Catherine II in the 80s.
  • Colonial system of European powers
  • War of Independence in English colonies North America
    • Declaration of Independence
    • US Constitution
    • International Relations
• Leading countries of the world in the XIX century.
  • Leading countries of the world in the XIX century.
  • International relations and the revolutionary movement in Europe in the 19th century
    • Defeat of the Napoleonic Empire
    • Spanish Revolution
    • Greek uprising
    • February Revolution in France
    • Revolutions in Austria, Germany, Italy
    • Education German Empire
    • National Unification of Italy
  • bourgeois revolutions in Latin America, USA, Japan
    • Civil War in the USA
    • Japan in the 19th century
  • Formation of an industrial civilization
    • Features of the industrial revolution in various countries
    • Ideological and political currents
    • Trade union movement and the formation of political parties
    • State monopoly capitalism
    • Agriculture
    • Financial oligarchy and concentration of production
    • Colonies and colonial policy
    • Militarization of Europe
    • State legal organization of capitalist countries
• Russia in the 19th century
  • Political and socio-economic development of Russia at the beginning of the XIX century.
    • Patriotic War 1812
    • The position of Russia after the war. Decembrist movement
    • "Russian Truth" Pestel. "Constitution" by N. Muravyov
    • Decembrist revolt
  • Russia of the era of Nicholas I
    • Foreign policy of Nicholas I
  • Russia in the second half of the XIX century.
    • Implementation of other reforms
    • Transition to reaction
    • Post-reform development of Russia
    • Socio-political movement
• World Wars of the XX century. Causes and consequences
  • The World Historical Process and the 20th Century
  • Causes of World Wars
  • First World War
    • The beginning of the war
    • The results of the war
  • The birth of fascism. The world on the eve of World War II
  • The Second World War
    • Progress of World War II
    • Results of World War II
• major economic crises. The phenomenon of the state-monopoly economy
  • Economic crises of the first half of the XX century.
    • Formation of state-monopoly capitalism
    • The economic crisis of 1929-1933
    • Ways out of the crisis
  • Economic crises of the second half of the XX century.
    • Structural crises
    • World economic crisis 1980-1982
    • Anti-crisis state regulation
• The collapse of the colonial system. Developing countries and their role in international development
  • colonial system
  • Stages of the collapse of the colonial system
  • Third World countries
  • Newly industrialized countries
• • Formation of the world system of socialism
    • Socialist regimes in Asia
  • Stages of development of the world socialist system
  • The collapse of the world socialist system
• Third scientific and technological revolution
  • Stages of modern scientific and technological revolution
    • Achievements of scientific and technological revolution
    • Consequences of scientific and technological revolution
  • Transition to post-industrial civilization
• The main trends in world development at the present stage
  • Internationalization of the economy
    • Integration processes in Western Europe
    • Integration processes of North American countries
    • Integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region
  • Three world centers of capitalism
  • Global problems modernity
• Russia in the first half of the 20th century
  • Russia in the XX century
  • Revolutions in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
    • Bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1905-1907
    • Russia's participation in the First World War
    • February Revolution of 1917
    • October armed uprising
  • The main stages in the development of the country of the Soviets in the pre-war period (X. 1917 - VI. 1941)
    • Civil war and military intervention
    • New economic policy(NEP)
    • Formation of the USSR
    • Accelerated construction of state socialism
    • Planned centralized management of the economy
    • Foreign policy of the USSR in the 20-30s.
  • Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
    • War with Japan. End of World War II
• • Russia in the second half of the 20th century
  • Post-war restoration of the national economy
    • Post-war restoration of the national economy - page 2
  • Socio-economic and political reasons that made it difficult for the country to reach new frontiers
    • Socio-economic and political reasons that made it difficult for the country to reach new frontiers - page 2
    • Socio-economic and political reasons that made it difficult for the country to reach new frontiers - page 3
  • The collapse of the USSR. Post-communist Russia
    • The collapse of the USSR. Post-communist Russia - page 2

Social Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

In addition to the technical and economic aspects, the industrial revolution had a real side, which was expressed in the transformation of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie into the main classes of capitalist society. The rate of formation of the bourgeoisie, the degree of its influence on public life, the destruction of feudal relations were not the same in different countries. In the 19th century in England the bourgeoisie occupied a leading position in economic life.

Its number in the middle of the XIX century. was 8.1% in total strength population. As capitalism developed and competition intensified, profound changes took place in the alignment of forces within the bourgeois class.

The petty and middle bourgeoisie periodically went bankrupt. The big bourgeoisie began to play a decisive role, which included large manufacturers and breeders, merchants and bankers. The commercial and industrial bourgeoisie strove for more radical state transformations.

The proletariat began to stand out from the mass of working people in the 18th century. With the creation of conditions by capitalism for the transformation of the formal subordination of labor to capital into a real one, workers begin to form into an independent social class, a class deprived of ownership of the means of production.

The source of its existence is the sale of labor power. The textile workers were the first detachment of the factory working class. The number of workers with the growth of production is constantly increasing. In the middle of the XIX century. there were 10 million workers in the world, of which in England - 4.1 million (1851), in France - 2.5 million (1848), in the USA - 1.4 million (1850), in Germany - 0, 9 million (1850).

By the 70s. in the three largest industrial developed countries(England, France and the USA), the number of industrial workers - the core of the working class - was 12-13 million, and together with workers employed in agriculture, 20 million. Of the total number of workers, almost half were in England. To late XIX in. in terms of the size of the working class, the first place was taken by the United States, where there were 10.4 million industrial workers.

The working class has undergone not only quantitative but also qualitative changes. The proportion of factory workers employed in the production of means of production increased. In the 70s and 80s. 19th century the most numerous detachment of industrial workers were workers textile industry. But by the beginning of the 20th century the situation has changed: machine builders, metallurgists, railway workers have become the most numerous detachment of the working class.

The position of the working class until the 60-70s. 19th century was extremely difficult. The working day was 14-16 hours, working and living conditions were inhuman, low wages, women's and child labour. For example, in the first half of the XIX century. 50-60% of those employed in English industry were women and children. Such was the reality, and the picture of the position of the workers presented in the writings of the Marxists is quite objective.

The freedom, equality and fraternity proclaimed by the bourgeoisie turned out to be only a declaration. The situation of the workers became especially difficult during the period of economic crises, which, as a rule, affected the entire industry and Agriculture and affecting the economies of many countries. Crises lead to the closure of many enterprises, rising unemployment, falling wages and living standards of workers. The first economic crisis arose in England in 1825.

Complete political lack of rights, exhausting work, life in slums, hunger, disease, high mortality caused discontent and resistance of workers to employers, led to the intensification of the struggle of the working class. However, at first, the protests of the workers against exploitation were expressed in spontaneous forms of food riots, arson of enterprises, destruction of machines.

The struggle of the workers was growing, rising to a qualitative level. new level. The first major demonstrations of the workers took place in Manchester (England) in 1819, in Lyon (France) in 1831 and 1834, the uprising of the Silesian weavers (Germany) in 1844, the Chartist movement for the political rights of workers in the 30-40s. in England.

In the 19th century the number of cities increased, the nature of their development became different. The process of urbanization has sharply intensified. If in 1750 there were only two cities in England with a population of more than 50 thousand people, then in 1831 there were already eight. By the end of the XIX century. the urban population accounted for 75% of the total population of the country.

In France, by 1870, the urban population had increased one and a half times compared with 1780 and amounted to one third of the population.

In the United States, urbanization especially intensified during the industrial boom in the 1960s and 1970s. 19th century

In the post-reform years, the urban population increased significantly in Russia. From the 60s to the 90s. it has doubled. largest cities were St. Petersburg with a population of 1.2 million people. (1847) and Moscow - more than 1 million people. Cities grew rapidly in industrial centers: Warsaw, Lodz, Kyiv, Baku, etc.