obal IndustrializationIndustrialization changed the world. Few places on earth have escaped its impact. However, the nature of the impact varies from place to place. Understanding the global consequences of industrialization requires an understanding of how industrialization differed in each place.
Industrialization is always initially a regional, not a national, phenomenon as demonstrated by the long industrial lag of the American South. Many other parts of Western Europe plus the United States followed Britain in the early 19th century. A few other European regions -- Sweden, Holland, northern Italy -- began serious industrialization only at mid-century. The next big wave of new industrialization, beginning around the 1880s, embraced Russia and Japan. A final round (to present) included the rapid industrialization of the rest of the Pacific Rim (especially South Korea and Taiwan) by the 1960s.
Various factors shaped the nature of industrialization in each place. In Britain, for example, industrialization succeeded when it depended on individual inventors and relatively small companies. It began to lag, however, in the corporate climate of the later 19th century. In contrast, Germany surged forward when industrialization featured larger organizations, more impersonal management structures, and collaborative research rather than artisan-tinkerers. In Germany, the state was also more directly involved in industrialization than in Britain.
French industrialization emphasized updated craft products. This reflected not only earlier national specialties, but also less adequate resources in coal, a factor that held heavy industry back. Furniture workers, for example, used pre-set designs to turn out furniture quickly, but they resented dilutions of their artistic skill. The United States´ industrialization depended on immigrant labor. Unlike Germany, however, the United States introduced laws that combated businesses big enough to throttle competition, though the impact of these laws was uneven. The United States with its huge market also pioneered the new economic stage of mass consumerism that ultimately had a worldwide impact.
The consequences of industrialization are, ultimately, global. By the early 19th century, Europe´s factories pushed back more traditional manufacturing in areas like Latin America and India. At the same time, industrial centers sought new food resources and raw materials, prompting these sectors to expand in places like Chile and Brazil.
Gradually, however, other societies copied industrialization or at least developed an independent industrial sector. Much of 20th-century world history, in fact, involves efforts by societies like India, China, Iran, or Brazil to reduce their dependence on imports and mount a selective export operation through industry. Industrialization´s environmental impact has also been international. Industrialization quickly affected local water and air quality around factories. Industrial demands for agricultural products, like robber, caused deforestation and soil changes in places like Brazil. These patterns have accelerated as industrial growth has spread more widely, creating modern issues such as global warming. The world impact of industrialization, in these senses, remains an unfinished story as the 21st century begins.
Given the global impact of industrialization, it is increasingly important that we understand its nature and its consequences. Whereas the impact of industrialization is easy to understand on a personal level -- how it affects where and how we work or live our lives -- it is more difficult to understand its nature on a global level, particularly when its global pattern is so complex. History provides a means toward this understanding. By understanding the causes, the variations, and the historic consequences of the Industrial Revolution, we can better understand our present circumstances and, hopefully, shape future industrializations for the good.