INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: Essay #16-17

A better taste is coming -

A belief in order, efficiency and social discipline.

The industrial Revolution caused a big impact on the English society and it really influenced people´s attitude towards social matters. After this period, people began to think more critically about the politic institutions and the social conflicts that they used to take for granted ad accept as their reality.  The administrative class and the new industrial magnates, who were the leading figures of the industrial revolution, increased their belief in order, efficiency and social discipline.

   Firstly, people adopted a new attitude towards the old problems of society, such as poverty, crime, debt, disorder and waste. They also became more critical to the inefficient constitutional machinery. Satire or self-satisfaction among people was replaced by analysis and constructive criticism. As a consequence, there was a growing moral imperative, which held that human virtue could be measured only by its immediate social value. This new moral outlook did not affect the aristocracy since they had always lived in a golden age of power, privilege and wealth.

    Secondly, there was a rivalry between the Whig and Tory squires. However, the political animosity had already started to weaken since the hard times affected both of them. For instance, the problems of rural poverty touched both big and small landowners. The industrial expansion and the threat of the new world were weakening the antagonism between old Whig and old Tory.

  Thirdly, the new industrialists were concerned about law, order and efficient administration of towns. It was highly necessary to reform the local government. After the industrial towns became modern towns, the lack of local government and local administration became unbearable. The government wanted to maintain the immense privileges and profits that they enjoyed at the expense of citizens.

   Finally, people started to fight for their rights and the proper living conditions which they deserved. They also claimed for powers to run social services in their towns. As a result, between 1761 and 1765, a body of enterprising citizens secured Private Acts of Parliament by which they were enabled to charge a house rate in exchange for providing paving and lighting to each house. They would intervene in case any anarchist citizen refused to pay for those improvements. This marked the end of a long local struggle. Citizens in charge of bringing those changes received different names, such as Paving Commissioners, Lighting Commissioners or Improvement Commissioners. Those groups were formed by people with different religions who gather to achieve the same goals of contributing to England’s social development.

  To conclude, people of different social classes, Whigs and Tories, people with different religions put their differences aside to reach a common purpose together. They all wanted to achieve development and improvements on society, to make authorities respect people’s rights and to have a more efficient local government and administration.