Chapters 16-18

The industrial revolution marked the beginning of society as we know it today. While it was an amazing time of technological advancement, it was also a time of conquest and exploitation of the rich against the poor. By exploiting new technology and abusing the working class, wealthy industry moguls were able to produce products at crazy new rate. Being a computer science major and trying to pursue a career in innovation, I definitely support technological advancement however, unchecked innovation for the sole purpose of hoarding wealth (especially at the great expense of others,) seems to really miss the mark for me. I get that then they were just figuring things out and trying anything and everything but, in my opinion the role of technology should improve peoples life and make things easier. Sure factories created jobs, but workers were basically exploited to the degree that slaves were. So did the general population really benefit? The people who owned the factories definitely benefited, but weren’t they in most situations already doing pretty well?

I found it outrageous to read that one major reason for Britain’s colonial practices was that they were producing too many goods for its population and needed to flood foreign markets to justify their output. I don’t remember reading anything about a ‘Great Cotton Shortage’… The book says that they (and most European and white ethnic majorities) developed a notion of racial superiority, which they justified with science (i.e. they probably paid a scientist to publish a study,) but I think that was just propaganda for the masses to keep everyone in their place. I don’t think anyone could profit like the wealthy minority did from exploitation of other people across the globe without knowing exactly what they were doing. If white people are the superior race, why ban colonized people from education or restrict areas of study? They don’t (sorry didn’t) want people to know what they were up to, which basically looks like worldwide economic domination. I severely doubt that even most of the people of Britain directly profited from these conquests. Sure they got access to more ‘stuff,’ but they had to buy this stuff from the wealthy minority. I’m sure if you looked at the amount of things the average person could consume before and after the industrial revolution it would be astonishing. Creating this capitalist consumerism symbiosis makes the individual feel included in whats going on but in reality its just wool over the eyes as the real people profiting shape the world in their image--one where they stay wealthy.