ABSTRACT
Industrialization may be defined generally as the substitution of animate by inanimate sources of energy in production: The replacement of human and animal muscle by equipment typically powered (so far) by fossil fuels. It also has a narrower meaning: The expansion of modern (machine-based) manufacturing to become – for a time – the largest sector of the economy, in terms of contribution to output. Since the late 18th century, industrialization in both senses has spread around the world, but unevenly over time and space, and with highly uneven consequences within the populations concerned. Indeed, the incomplete process of global industrialization continues to transform the world, delivering immensely higher living standards along with episodes of labor exploitation and the dislocation of older patterns of work, and the growing challenge of climate change. This chapter examines the history of industrial growth and industrialization beyond the West, from the 19th century to the present. The chapter is organized in six sections. The first introduces the major debates about the history of industrialization. These ideas run through the four chronological sections that follow, which outline the uneven spread of industrialization from the mid-19th century, the aftermath of the British Industrial Revolution, to the present. The concluding section reflects on these historical experiences in relation to the questions and theories introduced at the start.
