Today I read Chapter Eight in “The Ascent of Man,” by J. Bronowski, titled The Drive For Power. I really enjoyed reading it and learning about the events described in it — The Industrial Revolution, for one, but also the French and American revolutions. Although both the French and American revolutions were political, while the Industrial Revolution was a scientific revolution, they all — according to Bronowski — made huge impacts on the social structure of society. However, unlike the previous chapters, which were about specific individuals who contributed to mankind’s development, The Drive for Power is about how people in general, though mostly people who lived in the countryside, changed how construction happened. People went from rural areas to the city and worked in factories instead of farms, using machines to produce items far more quickly than before. This chapter also explained how things such as tableware, before made out of porcelain and highly expensive, became cheaper as white earthenware pottery replaced them, easily affordable at a shilling a piece. I would recommend this interesting chapter to anyone interested in the Industrial Revolution, evolution, or simply looking for an account of how the trio of revolutions changed everyday life and rate it 9.4/10.
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