Reactions to the Industrial Economy
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| labour unions/ˈleɪbə ˈjuːnɪənz/ | Organisations formed by workers to represent their shared interests and negotiate with employers. |
| socialism/ˈsəʊʃəlɪzəm/ | A family of political and economic ideas advocating social or collective control of productive resources and a more equal distribution of their benefits. |
| communism/ˈkɒmjuːnɪzəm/ | An ideology seeking common ownership of productive resources and ultimately a classless society. |
Workers organised
- In industrialised states, many workers organised themselves, often in labour unions 工会, to improve working conditions, limit hours and gain higher wages.
- Three concrete demands, and all three concern the terms of work rather than its ownership.
- Workers' movements and political parties emerged in different areas, promoting alternative visions of society.
Select all the demands the CED says workers organised for.
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Ownership is what socialism and communism proposed — a different response.
Governments reformed
- In response to the social and economic changes brought about by industrial capitalism, some governments, organisations and individuals promoted various types of political, social, educational and urban reforms.
- Four kinds of reform in one sentence — and the CED credits governments, organisations and individuals.
- Urban reform is the one students forget: sanitation, housing and water are answers to 5.9's public health crises.
Four responses split by one question: correct industrial society, or end it?
Select all four kinds of reform the CED names.
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Urban reform is the one students forget — sanitation, housing, water.
New ideologies
- Discontent with established power structures encouraged the development of various ideologies, including those espoused by Karl Marx, and the ideas of socialism 社会主义 and communism 共产主义.
- These are not reforms of the industrial economy but alternatives to it — the difference matters in an exam answer.
- A union asks for shorter hours; an ideology asks who should own the factory.
Which kind of response is this?
Sort each reaction to the industrial economy.
Select all the states the CED names as seeking reform and modernisation.
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Britain and Belgium were already the industrialising states being responded to.
A union and an ideology are different responses. Unions sought better conditions, hours and wages — the terms of work. Socialism and communism proposed alternative visions of society — who should own production. Treating them as the same reaction blurs a distinction the CED states in two separate bullets.
Reform efforts in the Ottoman Empire and Qing China were resisted mainly from outside.
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The CED says some members of government or established elite groups resisted.
Reform outside the industrial core
- In response to the expansion of industrialising states, some governments in Asia and Africa, including the Ottoman Empire and Qing China, sought to reform and modernise their economies and militaries.
- Reform efforts were often resisted by some members of government or established elite groups.
- So reform was internally contested — the obstacle was frequently inside the state, not outside it.
Match each response to what it changes.
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Naming the kind is the difference between listing events and explaining a reaction.
Sorting the responses
- Four different responses sit in this subtopic, and an answer should say which kind it is describing.
- Organise (unions), reform (governments and individuals), replace (socialism, communism), catch up (Ottoman and Qing modernisation).
- Naming the kind is the difference between listing events and explaining a reaction.
Ottoman and Qing reformers face the same obstacle: the changes needed to build modern arsenals and railways threaten the position of the very elites who would have to approve them. That is why the CED writes that reform was often resisted by some members of government — the fight was inside the palace.
Workers organised in labour unions for conditions, hours and wages; workers' movements and parties promoted alternative visions. Governments, organisations and individuals promoted political, social, educational and urban reforms. Discontent encouraged socialism and communism. Ottoman and Qing governments sought to reform and modernise, and reform was often resisted from inside.
Write from a union strike
- Factory hands formed a union.
- They stopped work to demand a shorter day.
What kind of reaction to industry was the strike?
Workers acted together rather than only as individuals.
What did the union do?
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Collective action targeted factory hours.