In economic history, industrialization is the social and economic transformation of the human group from an agrarian society to an industrial society. Environmental drawbacks include high pollution of air, water and soil that can result in significant deterioration of quality of life and life expectancy. Because of industrialization, there is a significant separation of labor and capital. Those who own the means of production become disproportionately rich, resulting in high income inequality. The migration of workers, the separation of family members, long working hours and overcrowding leads to social tension and diseases due to poor nutrition and stress.
Environmental Disadvantages
By far, the biggest negative effect of the industrialization is on the environment. Because many companies that participate in industrialization are typically not forced to pay damages for the environmental harm they cause, they tend to impose a major negative externality on human society in the form of deforestation, extinction of species, widespread pollution and excessive waste.
Financial Disadvantages
Financially, industrialization results in major separation between the rich and poor due to a division of labor and capital. Those who own capital tend to accumulate excessive profits derived from their economic activities, resulting in high disparity of income and wealth.
Social Disadvantages
Industrialization typically leads to the migration of workers to cities, automation and repetitive tasks. Due to these factors, factory workers tend to lose their individuality, have limited job satisfaction and feel alienated.
Rapid urbanization typically leads to general deterioration of workers’ quality of life and many other problems for society, such as crime, stress and psychological disorders. Long working hours usually lead to poor nutrition and consumption of quick and low-quality foods, resulting in increased incidences of diseases such as diabetes, heart attack and stroke.