Regulation, Reform, and Revolutionary Ideologies

Attempts to solve the problems caused by industrialization and urbanization took a variety of forms. Some governments passed laws to abolish child labor, provide insurance for workers, ensure safe housing, prevent air and water pollution, and regulate prostitution. Middle-class reformers sought to improve society by altering personal behavior. They stressed the importance of morality and often attempted to restrict or prohibit the consumption of alcohol. Many also advocated for women’s rights. Members of the working class tried to better their lives by forming unions to force employers to reduce their hours, raise their wages, and provide safer working conditions. Many also turned to politics as a way to protect their interests. Influenced by the ideology of socialism, which theorized that the destruction of capitalism was the solution to social ills, they joined social democratic parties that organized unions and forced governments to pass legislation to protect workers. Other socialists advocated the violent overthrow of the ruling elites, as did some anarchists.            All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/10-5-regulation-reform-and-revolutionary-ideologies            Welcome to A Journey into Human History.    This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.       The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.     Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction    Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.

Om Podcasten

Welcome to a journey into human history. This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story. You may be asking yourself what is history? Is it simply a record of things people have done? Is it what writer Maya Angelou suggested—a way to meet the pain of the past and overcome it? Or is it, as Winston Churchill said, a chronicle by the victors, an interpretation by those who write it? History is all this and more. Above all else, it is a path to knowing why we are the way we are—all our greatness, all our faults—and therefore a means for us to understand ourselves and change for the better. But history serves this function only if it is a true reflection of the past. It cannot be a way to mask the darker parts of human nature, nor a way to justify acts of previous generations. It is the historian’s task to paint as clear a picture as sources will allow. Will history ever be a perfect telling of the human tale? No. There are voices we may never hear. Yet each new history book written and each new source uncovered reveal an ever more precise record of events around the world. You are about to take a journey into human history. The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. For more information please review the links and resources in the description. Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a creative common sense production.