Reactions to the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution led to negative effects on the working class due to factory work conditions (long hours, low pay).
The working classes began to call for various reforms:
- Political Reform: With increasing voting rights for the population in Western nations, mass-based political parties emerged to represent the interests of workers.
  - Established parties (e.g., Conservatives and Liberals in Britain and France) had to incorporate social reforms into their platforms to appeal to the working-class voters.
- Social Reform: Harsh conditions for the industrial working class led to the organization of social societies.
  - These societies provided insurance for sickness and organized social events to alleviate the bleakness of their existence.
- Educational Reform: Between 1870 and 1914, European governments introduced compulsory education laws for children (ages 6-12).
  - This prepared children for increasingly technical and specialized jobs during the Second Industrial Revolution.
- Urban Reform: Industrial cities suffered from intense crowding and inadequate infrastructure, leading to unsanitary and dangerous conditions.
  - Governments passed laws and invested in sanitation infrastructure, such as sewers, to address these issues.

Labor unions emerged as a significant manifestation of reform among the working class.
A labor union is a collective of workers who join together to protect their interests.
Previously, labor unions were often illegal, concentrating power in the hands of wealthy capitalists and factory owners, who were inflexible to workers' needs.
Collective power of labor unions allowed negotiation and bargaining with employers for improved conditions.
Unions grew rapidly in Europe, the United States, and to a lesser extent in Asia and Africa, advocating for:
- Higher wages
- Limited working hours
- Improved work conditions
By the end of the 19th century, British labor unions had nearly 2 million workers, while German and American unions had about 1 million each.
Some unions evolved into political parties seeking to enact reforms at the highest levels of government.
- Example: The German Social Democratic Party, formed from the General German Workers Association, advocated for Marxist reforms.
  - Aimed to transform the capitalist system of private ownership of the means of production to social ownership.

Karl Marx observed the suffering and injustices endured by the working class under capitalism in Great Britain.
Marx believed that capitalism was inherently unstable due to:
- Sharp class divisions
  - The upper class (bourgeoisie) thrived on the suffering of the working class (proletariat).
He predicted a violent revolution of the lower classes against the upper classes, resulting in a classless society.
Marx and Friedrich Engels published these ideas in the "Communist Manifesto" in 1848, terming their approach "Scientific Socialism."
Marx argued that history follows laws and patterns, with class struggle as the major driving force, ultimately leading to a classless society.
The Industrial Revolution exacerbated the division between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
- Bourgeoisie: Owners of the means of production (e.g., factories, land) who exploit the proletariat.
- Proletariat: The working class who would eventually rise up in revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie.
The revolution would end class struggle, leading to a socialist society.

In the late 18th century, China rejected British traders, leading to a trade deficit for Britain.
Britain began importing illegal opium from British-controlled India to address the trade deficit.
Chinese authorities cracked down on the opium trade due to its negative consequences, leading to the Opium Wars.
Britain's industrial might easily defeated China, resulting in unequal treaties that opened trading ports against China's will.
Other industrialized nations exploited China's weakness, carving it into spheres of influence with exclusive trading rights.
China responded with the Self-Strengthening Movement (1860s-1870s), aimed at limited industrialization and revitalizing traditional Chinese culture.
Chinese conservatives resisted the reforms, hindering full industrialization, as the reforms threatened the power of the landowning class.
The Sino-Japanese War exposed the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement, with China suffering a crushing defeat.

By the mid-19th century, the Ottoman Empire was known as the "sick man of Europe" due to territorial losses and inability to raise tax revenue.
Like China, the Ottomans were subservient to powerful nations due to a lack of industrialization.
Ottoman authorities initiated defensive industrialization through the Tanzimat Reforms.
These reforms were more aggressive and transformative than China's Self-Strengthening Movement.
The Ottomans:
- Built textile factories
- Implemented Western-style law codes and courts
- Developed expansive, more secular education systems
The Young Ottomans emerged, seeking political change and advocating for a European-style parliament and constitutional government to limit the Sultan's power.
In 1876, the Sultan accepted a constitution and parliament but later rejected it to maintain power during a potential war with Russia.
The Ottoman reforms and industrialization were more effective than China's but ultimately failed to prevent the empire's collapse in the early 20th century.