Did the Industrial Revolution make life better

Did the Industrial Revolution make life better – or worse? We’re often told a simple story: before factories, people lived peaceful, rural lives. Then industry arrived, bringing smoke, slums and suffering. But Professor Emma Griffin reveals in this video that the truth was far more complex We’re often told a simple story: before factories, people lived peaceful, rural lives. Then industry arrived, bringing smoke, slums and suffering. But as this episode reveals, the reality was far more complex. In this video, Emma Griffin, Professor of History and Head of School at Queen Mary, University of London, explores how most people – even at the height of industrialisation – never worked in factories. Rural life was already harsh, wages were low, and poverty was widespread. Cities brought overcrowding and pollution – but they also offered steady employment, higher wages, education, entertainment and political engagement. Did industrialisation make life better or worse? It certainly made society more complicated, more unequal, more dynamic, and more modern than ever before. Authors Professor of History and Head of School at Queen Mary, University of London