Global Industrialization
Industrialization changed the world. Few places on earth have escaped its impact. However, the nature of the impact varies from place to place. Understanding the global consequences of industrialization requires an understanding of how industrialization differed in each place.
Industrialization is always initially a regional, not a national, phenomenon as demonstrated by the long industrial lag of the American South. Many other parts of Western Europe plus the United States followed Britain in the early 19th century. A few other European regions - Sweden, Holland, northern Italy - began serious industrialization only at mid-century. The next big wave of new industrialization, beginning around the 1880s, embraced Russia and Japan. A final round (to present) included the rapid industrialization of the rest of the Pacific Rim (especially South Korea and Taiwan) by the 1960s.
Various factors shaped the nature of industrialization in each place. In Britain, for example, industrialization succeeded when it depended on individual inventors and relatively small companies. It began to lag, however, in the corporate climate of the later 19th century. In contrast, Germany surged forward when industrialization featured larger organizations, more impersonal management structures, and collaborative research rather than artisan-tinkerers. In Germany, the state was also more directly involved in industrialization than in Britain.
French industrialization emphasized updated craft products. This reflected not only earlier national specialties, but also less adequate resources in coal, a factor that held heavy industry back. Furniture workers, for example, used pre-set designs to turn out furniture quickly, but they resented dilutions of their artistic skill. The United States' industrialization depended on immigrant labor. Unlike Germany, however, the United States introduced laws that combated businesses big enough to throttle competition, though the impact of these laws was uneven. The United States with its huge market also pioneered the new economic stage of mass consumerism that ultimately had a worldwide impact.
The consequences of industrialization are, ultimately, global. By the early 19th centur3r, Europe's factories pushed back more traditional manufacturing in areas like Latin America and India. At the same time, industrial centers sought new food resources and raw materials, prompting these sectors to expand in places like Chile and Brazil.
Gradually, however, other societies copied industrialization or at least developed an independent industrial sector. Much of 20th-century world history, in fact, involves efforts by societies like India, China, Iran, or Brazil to reduce their dependence on imports and mount a selective export operation through industry. Industrialization's environmental impact has also been international. Industrialization quickly affected local water and air quality around factories.
Industrial demands for agricultural products, like rubber, caused deforestation and soil changes in places like Brazil. These patterns have accelerated as industrial growth has spread more widely, creating modern issues such as global warming. The world impact of industrialization, in these senses, remains an unflushed story as the 21st century begins.
Given the global impact of industrialization, it is increasingly important that we understand its nature and its consequences. Whereas the impact of industrialization is easy to understand on a personal level - how it affects where and how we work or live our lives - it is more difficult to understand its nature on a global level, particularly when its global pattern is so complex. History provides a means toward thus understanding. By understanding the causes, the variations, and the historic consequences of the Industrial Revolution, we can better understand our present circumstances and, hopefully, shape future: industrializations for the good.
答案
工业的全球化
工业化改变了整个世界，影响了地球上几乎每一个角落。然而，这种影响的性质却因地而异。要了解工业化的全球性后果，就必须了解各地工业化的差异。
工业化总是发端于某个地区，而不是整个国家，美国南方的工业长期落后于北方的事实便是明证。19世纪初，其它西欧地区和美国先后步英国后尘，开始了工业革命。欧洲的其它地区如瑞典、荷兰和意大利北部则迟至19世纪中叶才进入真正的工业革命。19世纪80年代左右开始的第二波工业革命，卷入了俄罗斯和日本。从20世纪60年代起延续至今的最后一波工业革命，则波及了太平洋沿岸的其它地区(尤其是韩国和台湾)。
影响各地工业化性质的因素纷繁复杂。英国工业化的成功依靠的是发明家们和小公司的力量。但是在19世纪下半叶大公司形成气候之后，英国便开始落后了。与此相对照，当更大型的机构、更客观的管理结构和合作研究取代了传统的手工艺人后，德国便迅速崛起了。
在德国，政府对工业的干预也比英国更加直接。
法国的工业革命更为注重手工艺产品的更新换代。这不仅反映在法国早先一些特有的行业上，而且还因为法国相对匮乏的煤炭储量阻碍了重工业的发展。家具工人按照预先设计好的图样能很快生产出家具，同时又对不能施展自己的手艺痛恨不已。在美国，工业化的发展依赖的是移民劳工。不过，与德国不同的是，美国用法律制约了扼杀竞争的大公司，尽管这些法律的影响并不均衡。享有巨大市场的美国，率先进入了大众消费的经济阶段，并最终影响了整个世界。
工业化的结果最终必然是全球性的。19世纪初，欧洲的工厂把过时的传统制造业转移到拉丁美洲和印度等地区。同时，在工业中心寻求新的食品和原料来源的过程中，智利和巴西等国的相关产业因而得以发展。
其他非欧洲国家也在仿效欧洲的工业革命，或者至少发展自己独立的产业。在20世纪的大部分时间，印度、中国、伊朗和巴西等国都在致力于减少对进口产品的依赖，并有选择地发展自己的出口工业。工业革命对环境的影响也是国际性的。工厂周围地区的水和空气的质量都很快受到了影响。工业对橡胶等农业产品的需求，导致了巴西等国森林的减少和土壤的变化。随着工业化的扩展，这种现象也在变本加厉，从而引起了全球变暖等现代问题。在这些意义上，工业化的全球影响并没有随着21世纪的到来而结束。
鉴于上述工业化的全球影响，我们必须尽快了解工业化的本质及其后果。在个人的层面上，工业化对我们的日常生活的影响自然不难理解，但是，在全球的层面上理清它如此复杂的本质并非易事。好在历史为我们提供了理解工业革命的手段。我们可以从工业革命的起因、其不同的形式及其历史后果中，更清楚地看到自己所处的环境，并且有望更好地塑造工业化的未来。
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