Industrial Revolution Overview

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What is the Industrial Revolution?

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The Industrial Revolution refers to the transition, beginning in Britain and spreading around the world in the 19th century, to new factory-based manufacturing processes.

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How did the Industrial Revolution affect industries?

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It affected almost every industry, including textiles, ironworking, transportation, and agriculture.

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What was the life expectancy around 1750?

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Life expectancy in 1750 was around 38 years at most.

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How does the living standard of the lower middle class today compare to historical figures?

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The lower middle class in Western and Asian industrialized societies today has a higher living standard than the pope and emperors of a few centuries back.

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What do historians generally agree on regarding the Industrial Revolution?

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Historians broadly agree that extraordinary gains in standards of living were associated with the Industrial Revolution.

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What does Muehlhauser emphasize about historical metrics?

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He emphasizes that many metrics are missing from the picture, as we don’t have good data on them going back for centuries.

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What does Muehlhauser's chart suggest about the correlation between historical events and human well-being?

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It suggests a remarkable lack of correlation between forms of progress and gains in human well-being.

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What was the impact of the 1918 flu epidemic on the overall trajectory of human well-being?

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The 1918 flu epidemic shows up as a brief blip in a general upward trajectory of well-being.

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How did World War II's death toll compare to the overall trend of human well-being?

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World War II surpassed the death toll of the 1918 flu epidemic but is not even visible on the graph of human well-being.

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What misconception might one have about the human experience in 1800?

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One might conclude that it’s impossible to really change anything about the human experience, as changes up to that point had not significantly affected life span, political freedom, or wealth.