Title: The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution
The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution
The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution
Overview
Background
Impact
RICHARD D. FITZGERALD
Further Reading

Content: Initially this was met with resistance on the part of the peasants. Eventually, the increase in the supply of food tempered much of the anxiety, and significant changes began to occur within preindustrial society. The reliance on science and technology, the questioning of traditional methods of agriculture, and the centralization of factors of production set the stage for the onset of industrialization. Also, at this time the traditional peasant-lord relationship began to dissolve. The quest for large profits undermined the bond that once existed between the two classes, and at the same time the gradual acceptance of a market economy began to take root. This moved the aristocratic class to change its view of the peasant class. The highly religious and land-based society of the medieval world believed that social structure was ordained by God. The deep belief that all souls were equal in His eyes produced a social system where all classes had both rights and responsibilities. With the onset of a profit-oriented market economy, the wealthy landowners began to perceive the peasant as just a source of labor. It was the fruit of their labor that was of the greatest interest and importance in this entrepreneurial economy.