Differences between the first and second industrial revolutions: how are the two historical moments that changed the concept of production similar and different?
The First Industrial Revolution and the Second Industrial Revolution are two very important moments in world history, because they changed not only the way of producing, giving a turning point to the economy, but also many aspects of society – just think of the transport revolution or urbanization.
Let us now see in more detail what the similarities and differences were between the two moments.
FIRST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The First Industrial Revolution covers the period from the end of the 18th century to 1870-75 .
It is a “revolution” because it marks the definitive transition from a subsistence economy to a market economy, with irreversible changes not only in the economic but also in the cultural and social fields.
The transport revolution , the population increase , the revolution caused by the use of iron and coal and the agrarian revolution , which led to the rational and intensive exploitation of the land, to the application of industrial products to agriculture and to the liberation of agricultural labour following the introduction of the machine, have certainly favoured this revolution.
The First Industrial Revolution is characterized by capitalism , that is, the accumulation of capital in the hands of a few, based on free trade, therefore on economic liberalism . Furthermore, the distinction between capital and labor, means of production and wages, capitalists and proletarians is accentuated .
We can identify urbanism as the main consequence of these changes; in fact, the social question is closely linked to this, since with urbanism, the transition from the patriarchal family to the nuclear one also occurs, the first cases of alcoholism, crime and work-related diseases occur.
The social question begins to be solved when the proletariat acquires class consciousness and organizes itself into associations and unions.
SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Second Industrial Revolution lasted from after 1870 to World War I. It brought about a new revolutionary transformation in the life and prospects of man.
Imperialist politics undoubtedly favored general stability and widespread economic development ; the major European states, in fact, in search of prestige and raw materials, launched themselves into the conquest of the African and Asian continents, strong in the power of their armies. Power politics favored industrialists both for the abundance of raw materials and for the ease of trade and for the amount of state orders, especially in the armaments sector; and it was also identified with protectionism , whereby national industry, especially in sectors such as the iron and steel industry or mechanized agriculture , grew favored by customs duties. In fact, the State, in order to protect industrialists and farmers and their production from foreign competition, applied protectionist customs tariffs on competitive foreign products.
Both the discoveries of scientists and their work played a central role in this integral renewal.
The cause and consequence of industrial development is the notable technological development: steam is replaced by the internal combustion engine , powered by petrol, and by the electric one; electricity guarantees night-time lighting, upsetting the rhythms of life in cities; the development of the chemical industry is of no small importance, with the related repercussions on the textile industry and on agriculture.
Significant improvements also occurred in the field of transport (rail and sea) which, obviously, favoured trade .
At the beginning of the new century, large companies transformed into multinational corporations .
The American Taylor, observing industrial processes, formulated the first principle on the rationalization of factory work, that is, the principle of the assembly line . This principle was based on the systematic observation of the movements of the workers and on the chronometric recording of the times employed by the workers to carry out their tasks. In this way it was possible to establish the right salary for a right day’s work. The automobile industrialist Ford was the one who better than others understood the potential of this method.
