The 'Industrial revolution' had a huge impact on society from the late eighteenth century onwards. Industrialisation was driven by innovation in technology and the use of steam power, and had an extremely significant impact on the economy and the demographic make-up of all countries. Industrialisation had gained the most ground in the United Kingdom by the nineteenth century, and so the social effects of industrialisation were felt there sooner than elsewhere. Urbanisation, the formal creation of class' as a concept, over-crowding, disease, political strife and labour movements were all a feature of the nineteenth century, and were often directly linked to the scale of industrialisation that had taken place in seemingly such a short time.
Technology and increasing levels of efficiency in the countryside meant that fewer workers were needed to work on farms, meaning that more and more people were moving to towns to find work. Increasingly work in urban centres was being concentrated in factories, with work generally involving the use of machinery, often requiring the completion of simple, monotonous tasks, rather than completing the whole process of manufacture. Working conditions were poor, hours were long, and workers were vulnerable to exploitation, particularly women and children. In the United Kingdom the government took steps towards reducing work hours and preventing children from being exploited by ruthless employers. Such actions may not have resulted from a hearty compassion for workers (although it may have been so with regards to children), but out of a fear that a socialist revolution would take hold of the country, particularly with such a high concentration of people in one area. This is partially why the idea of educating the working class was anathema to many middle- and upper-class individuals, as it was feared that they would be drawn to revolutionary texts, such as the Communist Manifesto.
The idea of class had indeed been formalised. Society was at its most divided. You were either a ruler or the ruled. Few working class children were able to attend school (at least not in the earlier part of the nineteenth century), and there was little chance of progression for such people. The period did epitomise a high point for the middle classes, though; the business and shop owners, the political figures and the intelligentsia. They were having increasing influence in public life, replacing the aristocracy at the higher echelons of society.
Whilst the middle classes were influencing society as political figures or writers, the working classes began arranging themselves into unions. The establishment was initially hostile to such organisations, but eventually realised it was better for workers to be fighting for their rights through strikes as opposed to open revolution. Working-class solidarity on issues such as work conditions and hours was the only way in which they could effect change. The industrial revolution had meant that their jobs were not assessed in terms of skill; these workers were basically disposable, meaning that they had an insecure existence and were forced to live from day-to-day. There was no safety net.
Consequently, social ills abounded. Mental illness was prevalent, as were the issues of homelessness, squalor, disease, prostitution and crime, and destitution more generally. The governing principles of the time revolved around laissez faire, and so the British government were not prepared to step in at this time to help those without work and those on the street. Often this responsibility fell to local authorities, who were unable to tackle such social problems on any meaningful scale. The industrial revolution had created jobs in towns, but during recession people were laid off, and there had been no preparation for such an event. The government seemed to believe that its main concern was to prevent revolution, not to tackle the underlying problems of the system.
There were also some social benefits to industrialisation; towns were being modernised and sewage systems developed, transport systems were being developed meaning it was easier to travel throughout the country as well across the world, plus there was a real belief in social mobility and in self-improvement, even if the reality was harder to live up to than the ideal.
The significance of the social effects of industrialisation comes not so much from the effects themselves, but rather in how governments had not prepared themselves for such developments, and were ill-equipped to deal with problems when they arose. The industrial revolution was a driving force for change, but it certainly did not provide all of the answers to the problems that it helped create.
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