Using simple logic, we can see that given that industrialization is part of progress and that progress is inevitable, industrialization is inevitable. However, to people living in the early 18th century, industrialization was a disaster. During the industrial revolution, most people worked in factories. The conditions were terrible. The people had 14 hour work days with only a 30 minute break at tea time. During the time they were working, they were locked up in rooms with an average temperature of 82 degrees. The machines were powered by coal so the workers were breathing in smoke. Also, in textile factories, small particles of cotton dust would mix with the air. Because of these horrible working conditions, the average age of death for the workers was 15.

Unfortunately, the living conditions weren't much better. Most people lived in crowded tenements which were also very dirty and dusty. Since their salary was so low, they couldn't afford better places to live. They couldn't quit their jobs to try to get better ones because they knew that there were other people who would be willing to take their job for less money.

Eventually, in the mid 19th century, there were benefits to industrialization. Workers were getting paid better wages and were able to afford to buy food and clothes and to pay their rent. The factories produced necessities in mass production so prices were lower than for those that were handmade. Coal raised from pits helped warm homes and cook meals. There was a greater variety of foods. Workers could eat meat, potatoes, sugar, grain, coffee, tea, and "flower of wheat". In the rare times when they weren't working, people could go to the theater, the opera or concerts. There were automobiles, sewers and electric lights.

Though it got off to a rocky start, in the long run, the benefits of industrialization far outweighed the negatives. If it wasn't for industrialization, we'd all be milking cows and farming the land from sunrise to sunset. Industrialization was the key factor in the progress that brought us to the modern conditions of longevity and a good working environment.