Rondo Cameron The Industrial Revolution Analysis

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The third paper, by Rondo Cameron (Cameron, 1985), argues for a de-centering of the industrial revolution. In this paper he uses the term industrialization to describe economic, social, and political changes and human capital is described as literacy, and educational resources. Cameron distinguishes between an old view and a new view of the industrial revolution. He states that there are two elements of the old view, and identifies Rostow as one of the main proponents. The first element of the old view is that there was such a phenomena as the so-called industrial revolution, and the second is that this so-called revolution started with a British model from which other European countries followed. Cameron then identifies two main problems with …show more content…

The second critique he offers is that the industrialization of Europe cannot be seen as a follow-up of the British model. He calls this claim so oversimplified as to be seriously misleading (Cameron, 1985). Instead Cameron argues that the industrial revolution is a differentiated process. In order to back up this claim he states that this is not only the case between countries in Europe, but also within countries. As an example Cameron uses Germany in which certain states, or provinces, are located in a way that the process of industrialization was different from their neighbouring provinces, due to the availability of natural resources. Cameron distinguishes between countries that are coal rich and coal lacking. He uses this distinction to demark the way in which the countries industrialize. Cameron describes a discontinuity between the way Britain and other European countries industrialized. Britain is singled out as a country that industrialized quickly, mostly because of their abundance of coal. As an example of a country that industrialized late Cameron presents the …show more content…

According to Cannadine, this was the first period that which self-conscious economic historians investigated the industrial revolution. The historians in this period were influenced by the working condition of the commoners, and a complex background of hopes and fears about the society and economy. The characteristic of this period is the revival of the question of what is the condition in England. Mainly concerning housing, health, and unemployment. The second time period is from the year 1920 until 1950, and is marked by the fluctuations of extreme unemployment, and uncertainty of the economic system. The “pessimism”of the period from 1880 until 1920 can still be seen in this period, but has risen from a national state to a global state. Economists in this period are mainly concerned with the effects of the war and high unemployment. Economists with interest in history tried to trace back the cycles of inflation to the industrial revolution. Historians with an interest in economics were most likely to apply the cycles of inflation to the industrial revolution in order to see what answers come out of it. The main question asked in this period of time is about what the effect of industrial revolution is for the current problems. The third time period is from the year 1950 until 1970, and is marked by economic growth and the flourishing of capitalism. In this

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