Concetti Chiave
- Economic liberalism, emerging in the 17th century, led to the acceptance of laissez-faire policies in the 18th century, promoting free trade and economic freedom.
- The Industrial Revolution marked a transformative shift from agrarian economies to industrialized societies, driven by machine manufacture and industry.
- Key innovations included the use of new materials and energy sources, a new work organization through the factory system, and the invention of groundbreaking machines.
- The textile industry and agriculture were among the first sectors to embrace mechanization, facilitating global trade via steamships and railways.
- The Industrial Revolution spurred infrastructure development, enhancing roads, canals, and railways, and advanced agricultural practices through new techniques.
What is the relationship between liberalism and laissez-faire?
In the 17th century the new ideas of freedom gave rise to the philosophy of economic liberalism, and in the 18th century the free trade and some economic activities summed up in the expression laissez-faire (let do) were accepted.
The Industrial Revolution began in England in the second part of the 18th century. It was a process of change from an agrarian, handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture.
Fundamental to the Industrial Revolution were some technical innovations: the use of new materials like iron and steel; the use of new energy resources like coal, petroleum, electricity and the steam engine; a new organization of work: the factory system; the invention of new machines.
Inventions and global trade
The first machines were introduced into the textile industry and agriculture. Jethro Tull had invented the mechanical seed-drill, James Hargreaves the spinning Jenny (a weaving machine), James Watts the steam engine. The worldwide diffusion of industry and trade was made possible by the invention of steam ships and steam trains. (In 1818 the first steamship crossed the Atlantic, in 1825 Stephenson inaugurated the first railway line and in 1830 the first locomotive-operated public line opened.)
Infrastructure and agriculture
The Industrial Revolution was also characterized by the development of the network of roads, canals and railways, by the introduction of a regular postal service and by the mechanized textile industry.
Agriculture also developed thanks to new techniques like fertilization, crop rotation and draining.
The concentration of capital necessary to the industrial growth and the world-wide trade favored the formation of the first international credit banks like Rothschild Bank.
Domande da interrogazione
- How did the philosophy of economic liberalism influence the Industrial Revolution?
- How did infrastructure and agriculture evolve during the Industrial Revolution?
Economic liberalism, which emerged in the 17th century, promoted ideas of freedom and laissez-faire, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. This shift allowed for free trade and economic activities that supported industrial growth and innovation.
The Industrial Revolution saw the development of roads, canals, and railways, alongside a regular postal service and mechanized textile industry. Agriculture advanced with techniques like fertilization, crop rotation, and draining, supported by the formation of international credit banks.
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