For generation upon generation, dating back thousands of years, mankind has lived within the confines of an agrarian economy. It wasn't until the late eighteenth century that things began to change, as the Industrial Revolution started to take hold and shift the economy from agricultural to industrial. That shift continues today as developing nations industrialize while industrialized nations become more efficient. It's a shift that continues to open up new doors and new problems.
Industrialization defined
Industrialization is defined as the large-scale introduction of manufacturing into a society. It shifts an underdeveloped agricultural economy focused on human labor to an industrial economy based on machine labor. It's a process whereby individual labor is replaced by mechanized mass production and specialized laborers, which boosts productivity.
This boost in GDP has increased the standard of living of Chinese citizens and the profits of is businesses.
The pitfalls of industrialization
While industrialization has many benefits, it has its pitfalls as well. One of the big pitfalls is the rise in pollution. An industrialized economy requires lots of energy, and that energy is typically provided by fossil fuels, which, when burned, add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that are thought to be contributing to climate change.
We can see a picture of this rise in greenhouse gasses by taking a look at the dramatic jump in China's carbon emissions as it has industrialized.
China Carbon Dioxide Emissions data by YCharts .
On top of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, industrial pollution from factories has led to contaminated drinking water, toxins being released into the air, and damage to the soil from spills.
In addition to the environmental issues, industrialization also breeds a number of social issues, Urbanization can become a problem as people move away from family farms into the cities to find work in factories. That leads to cities becoming crowded and littered with problems including pollution, sanitation issues, and crime. Meanwhile, many workers went from working long hours on the farm to even longer hours in factories. Further, early working conditions as countries industrialize are often unsafe, and the wages were low, with businesses blamed for exploiting their workforce for profit.
Many of these issues of industrialization can be addressed as society adjusts. For example, regulations can be put in place to halt the growth of pollution and to protect the environment. Further, working conditions can be improved as workers and management teams work together to improve the situations on the factory floor. While these changes take time, meaningful improvements can be found to the pitfalls of industrialization.
Takeaway
When we add up the promise of industrialization, it far outweighs its pitfalls. That's because farms can now produce so much more food with fewer inputs that it has freed up the population to pursue other business opportunities. These opportunities have increased the standard of living and the life expectancy of the population, enabling so many to enjoy years of retirement instead of working on a farm until they expire .
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The article What Is Industrialization? originally appeared on Fool.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
