"Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own"

By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Joan Miro

Neo Industrialism?

We all have heard several things about industrialization. In fact, thanks to Industrialization is why we’re still progressing technologically, economically, and socially. Even though we’re still living times of change and growth, there are certain things that are not changing yet. Indeed, we’re still sharing some characteristics from modernity. Before I make comparisons and similarities, I’m going to explain what Industrialization means.

We need to be clear about the fact that Industrialization belonged to modernization, in which “modern states would be wealthier and more powerful, and their citizens freer and having a higher standard of living”[1]. Unfortunately, the prize for having progress was a task that lower classes should do.

The transformation of the Industrial Revolution started in the late part of the 18th century and early 19th century in Great Britain. Then it spread to some countries from Western Europe and North America. Other countries also go into the process of Industrialization, but after the most important nations.

The characteristics of those times are tremendous: there were huge social and economical changes. For example, workers preferred to migrate to industrial towns[2] than being in a city. Of course this brought more than one consequence: another working class was created. At present, people think they could have better life conditions if they migrate in a city, because towns have: hospitals, schools, universities, police stations, and places to work. That means that people preferred to live near to their jobs, regardless of which can the possible consequences be. For example, in those times, “the countryside was healthier. A baby born in a large town with a population of more than 100,000 in the 1820s might expect to live to 35 - in the 1830s, life expectancy was down to a miserable 29”.[3]

They also received low salaries, and they had to work 14 hours per day (approximately). Nowadays, people should work 9 hours per day. There is obviously a huge difference in terms of time, but: Do you think we take advantage the rest of the day without being working? Not actually. The rest of the day people are still working, in fact, at lunch time, people spend these 40 minutes doing other stuff, neither eating something healthier but fast-food, nor having moment for relaxing and forgetting that there is more in life than being working.

Another thing that it must be considered is that women and children were incorporated in the working environment, because industries and factories needed more and more people for a better productivity. As conditions of working and sanity were horrible, several diseases appeared such as: Cholera epidemics, the 'Great stink ’, miasmas ”[4] , and other illnesses caused by pollution in towns. Evidently, these issues have been almost resolved through these last two centuries, but if we think in our recent years, many people who live in the city have suffered illness, especially related to air pollution.

Finally, and the most important subject that must be focused is about how children and adolescents had spent being educated, which has been a very progressive process. As it was explained before, children were used as slaves for industries, because as families were numerous and needs were many, so as a difference from nowadays, is that education was indeed a privilege. Although the educational system is still a privilege, at least the majority of children have the right to enter into a school. But we can’t confuse quantity/quality, due to that many schools have been opened lately, and I think that those school’ missions are to incorporate children, but not more than that.

As a way of conclusion, I would like to mention that it’s intrinsically important this subject for students, because:

1) It is really interesting to know about History.

2) We might know where we belonged to, because what they were is what we are.

3) To make them conscious about the things that are repeating now, what kind of things we’re provoking, and the possible consequences, due to that nobody would like to live their entire life on strikes, economical crisis, poverty, and massive illness because of “pollution” (we already know that we are responsible to produced it).


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Sources:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernization

[2] http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/victorian/topic_1/welcome.htm

[3]http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/social_conditions/victorian_urban_planning_01.shtm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Stink

[4]http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/social_conditions/victorian_urban_planning_01.shtml

We're Still Living Modernity

"Modern Times" was a really interesting movie directed by Charles Chaplin, in 1936. This "silent" movie was based in the result of industrialization, in which many people tried to survive the consequences of this huge change.

Chaplin was a modest worker. He suffered a breakdown because of the machine age. As he got mad working efficiently and quickly, he was transferred into a mental hospital. When he finished his treatment, doctors advised him to stay relaxed, but when he got out of the hospital, he discovered that this was really impossible: He saw people struggling against factories (all of them got unemployed). Unfortunately, police caught him, because he was holding a red flag (which meant he was communist) and he was abruptly sent into jail.

Life in jail was better than being outside, and Charles preferred to stay in prison, than being poor and unemployed. As everything has an ending, he had to confront the cruel reality, but he suddenly met a lonely girl who was trying to survive too. They both were fighting very hard, because they wanted to live a “normal life”, and many times they took risks. At the end of the movie, they had to leave their city for having better opportunities and expectations.

“Modern times” has clearly expressed that changes could be tremendous; if they wanted to get success, capitalism, consumerism and efficiency, they had to work hard, without having time for break, and for themselves.

If there is something that called my attention, was that hierarchy was highlighted: you were a worker or a consumerist, even though it was very easy to become poor, due to competence among factories were evident. I also noticed that workers were becoming as human machines, due to the fact that they couldn’t get neither tired, nor “wasting” time. In spite of everything, we’re still living the same epoch, but with a different context. Do you agree with me?