Sessions with Professor Young - 4

Sessions with Professor Young - 4

by Team D (David, Claire, Fleur, Julie, Jared)

There is a recipe for success in industrialisation, whether the change occurred in Victorian England or 21st Century China, the elements remain the same; food, resources (both skill and natural), export markets and unique capital.

How this occurred in China is often contrasted with the Industrial Revolution in the West. In England, fuelled by food grown and imported from the US Great Plains, workers shifted from traditional agricultural roles.

It kicked the West onto a development path that was intensive in capital and resource, and ultimately had significant impact on Western living standards.

However, the approach was flawed and didn’t enable Westerners to diversify their activities and move their outputs up the value chain.

Additionally it was significantly impacted by private ownership and capitalist issues. The industrialists got richer to the detriment of many workers.

By contrast, whilst China did have the technology to drive a similar revolution, it didn’t have resources (skills and natural resources) to support it.

Instead, China grew its population significantly to drive the increase in its GDP. This approach was supported by mobilisation of, and investment in, its human resources. It improved education supported by a traditional national belief of self-cultivation.

Another significant tool was its emphasis on human relationships, with the metaphor of the extended family known in the West being extended to the order of thousands.

Finally China had inherited a strong, responsible government who focused on building infrastructure and reclaiming land, and in addition to the ownership changes brought on by Mao Zedong, the revolution did not suffer from the private ownership issues of its industrial counterpart.

However the rapid expansion brought upon by the Industrious Revolution has generated environmental sustainability and human ethical issues, which will need to be addressed to ensure that China’s Industrious Revolution does not suffer the same issues of longevity that its Western equivalent did.