In the Early 17th and 18th century, England made moves forward to becoming a more industrialized nation. Better technology which was being developed at the time allowed this to happen. It is not quiet the technology that we first think of when we think of the word "Technology", their technology of that time were new plows. These plows and other newly developed farming equipment made it easier for farmers to plant and harvest more crops. With this being said, the need of so many farmers were no longer needed.
"The percentage of farmers in Northwestern Europe passed from around 80% to some 3% of the population. Two groups in England had largely freed themselves from institutional constraints on change." -Appleby pg.75-76
If 3% of the population is now able to grow just as much if not more, these other 77% of the population still needs to find work. More and more people began moving in to the major cities in England. This led to common people of the time working and some even began somewhat wealthy. This was the first point where we are introduced to a true "middle class".
Now that there are ways of making money without it being back breaking labor, more and more people are starting to realize that the monarchs, clergy, and Aristocrats are nothing other than titles and there is truly no difference between any of them. England began to come out of the dark ages of oppression by the King and the belief of divine right. People are wanting to have a say in what is going on within their society, they eventually become a "Constitutional Monarchy". The class structure they once had is no more, this really levels out the playing field for the growth of production.
Appleby says with the the erosion of the traditional class system, the means of competition is within all of us. "The development of capitalism cannot be forced, it is evolutionary.
What does all of this mean to you? How do you feel about the how England began to industrialized?
It's really interesting how the invention of the plow and other farming technologies largely impacted a revolution in the world that eventually led to ideas like a constitutional monarchy and democracy. We all know how important technological innovations can be and we witness it almost every day but to what extent can we really see the impact it has? I never realized how important farming technology advancements were. If the majority of the population had to farm to live and now can't do this, they now have a lot of free time. This time eventually allowed for many to get an education and/or a new job in which new ideas and philosophies bloomed. Like you said, people had the time to change the world and their live because they no longer had to work (farm) to feed their families. I think that people finally had the chance to really examine their lives and the world around them and realize that the system of government and equality were unbalanced. A simple plow, something we take for granted, really changed the course of the future.
ReplyDeleteI think you help to break down how capitalism begins to take root within a society. One of the key elements is when a society begins to advance, or to develop better technology. Specifically this week's readings did well with giving technology a meaning that is different than what we would think of today, as you mentioned. Ultimately technology could be anything that is used to help people produce goods easier or to help them work more efficiently. But as you included within your post, with these changes, and capitalism taking its routes, it also begins to bring a change in the mentality of the people who find themselves being wrapped up in the system. I think that is the most unique characteristic about capitalism. It is not just a system that affects the economy, but also people's relationships. With the rise of individualism the working class could have higher hopes for their own advancement. That being said, if they were to advance nothing would separate them from the upper class rich people, which would further shift their society.
ReplyDeleteWith new technology comes new changes to the society. In your blog it talked about new technology in the way of the invention of plows. Which made it so the demand for hard labor for farming jobs decreased. So for people to make money to feed their families they had to move to the cities were work was available I like your point when you state this was the first point of a middle class. The statement the development of capitalism cannot be forced it is evolution. I think it means that once capitalism gets started it starts to snowball into something greater. Like how some of the little guys can get wealthy.
ReplyDeleteWhat this means to me is that the world is a big place that needs everyone in order to function. with new technology came a lot of changes, both good and bad; good because it helped them get the job done faster, and it didn't not cost a lot, and with all the people moving in the city they had the opportunity to get wealthy. the Bad is that almost 77% of the people did not farm, most of them that was their only source of income.
ReplyDeleteThis weeks readings really helped explain how technology helped societies advance. When someone today thinks of technology, they probably wouldn't think of a plow. As people mentioned above, it allowed people to get more work done at a faster pace with smaller amounts of workers. The increase in individualism, letting people have a chance to succeed and advance if they wanted too did help lead to the creation of a "middle class"
ReplyDelete"The percentage of farmers in Northwestern Europe passed from around 80% to some 3% of the population. Two groups in England had largely freed themselves from institutional constraints on change." -Appleby pg.75-76
ReplyDeleteThis is where we can see the Labor of value theory of Adam Smith. He argued that the true wealth of a country comes from the labor force. The 77% of people that were no longer in agriculture were now in the expanding industrial industry. These industries also used new techniques which helped bring out the most productivity of their workers. One technique was for each worker to master one part of the process and repeat it to the next guy in line that mastered their step in the process. This was similar to Henry Fords Assembly line. When these workers realized their worth is when they started to challenge the authority of noblemen.