Question

Industrial Revolution and the Capitalist mode of production might have been helpful in some ways, it also caused problems in other ways. Discuss its disadvantages under the following head:

Urbanisation and Increase in Slums

Answer 1

Urbanisation and Increase in Slums:
The introduction of machinery took the work out of the homes into newly built factories. Since most of the population lived in villages, people live in the countryside to work in factories. The domestic system of production came to an end, with considerable loss to rural England or rural France, as the case may be. Poverty in rural areas increased. Exodus to the cities led to an increase in Slums. Usually, the factories were situated in areas near the coal-fields or sea-ports. Not much care was taken to provide houses for industrial workers. They, therefore, were forced to live in slums. In the 1840s, more than 1/10th of the population of Manchester was living in the rooms in the ground underneath. The workers needed recreation and sometimes fell prey to harmful practices, such as drinks or gambling.