Second Industrial Revolution: Transformation and Innovation
The Second Industrial Revolution
The Second Industrial Revolution was a period of significant technological innovation between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, typically between 1870 and 1914. This era saw the rise of chemical, electrical, oil, and steel industries. Notable advancements included the internal combustion engine, airplane, automobile, mass production of consumer goods, refrigeration mechanics, and the telephone.
The Rise of Monopoly Capitalism
The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed the development of monopoly capitalism alongside a new cycle of expansion and growth in productive forces. Capital and production centralized, leading to monopolies that controlled product sales, set prices, and achieved higher profits. However, competition persisted both within and outside these monopolies, intensifying in domestic and international markets. Banks played a crucial role in transforming capitalism into imperialism—the pursuit of formal sovereignty over other entities.
Germany’s Industrial Rise
During this period, the German Empire rivaled Great Britain as Europe’s leading industrial nation. Several factors contributed to this shift. Germany, industrializing later, adopted newer technologies while Britain relied on outdated ones. Germany also invested more heavily in scientific research, particularly in the chemical industry. The German cartel system (Konzern) facilitated efficient capital use. Additionally, some believe that reparations from France after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) funded public infrastructure investments, creating a market for steel and improving transportation. The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine also transferred part of the French industrial base to Germany.
The Second Industrial Revolution in the United States
In the United States, the Second Industrial Revolution is often linked to electrification pioneered by Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and George Westinghouse, and to scientific management as implemented by Frederick Winslow Taylor.
Taylorism and Its Impact
Taylorism, developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, involved dividing production tasks to increase productivity and control worker output. Taylor’s system, detailed in his Principles of Scientific Management (1912), applied scientific methods to the worker-machine relationship. It aimed to maximize efficiency through systematic task division, rational work organization, and timed operations, incentivized by performance-based premiums. Taylor’s methods reduced production costs by minimizing unnecessary movements and lowering wages. This system required worker supervision, leading to a new class of employees responsible for oversight and organization. Taylorism emerged during a period of market expansion and colonialism, culminating in the World Wars. Taylor’s focus on production time introduced the concept of timing to the production process. Taylorist work organization transformed the industry by:
- Increasing worker skills through specialization.
- Enhancing control over time, leading to greater capital accumulation.
- Promoting individualism and mechanization of technical roles.
- Applying scientific study to movements and uptime.
While Taylorism reduced costs and reorganized work, it faced growing resistance from the proletariat. This, combined with the structural crisis of market expansion, led to the reformulation of Fordism in the twentieth century.