Individualism During The Enlightenment Era

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The enlightenment era brought on several ideas and concepts that influenced societies around the world. These ideas being Rationalism, Relativism, and Individualism. In this paper I will address the idea of Individualism. Not only Individualism but how it was changed throughout England during the Industrial Revolution. When thinking about individualism and where it falls in the global context, we see it as another term called, Nationalism. Nationalism is defined as “a feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country often with the belief that it is better and more important than other countries.” As the Industrial Revolution crept its way from England into other parts of the world, competition between nations were on …show more content…
Englanders lived by the general way of life we call today the “Biological Old Regime.” A concept of living life to the maximum capacity based on what is provided by the sun: all aspects of life are linked to the sun. As population numbers continually climbed, the resources in the area were being used significantly faster than they would be able to replenish. People began looking for alternate sources of energy and fuel. When coal was discovered buried, in the ground, a huge window of opportunity was opened to the people of England. With the supply of coal, it would be possible to increase the amount of work being accomplished; increasing productivity and therefore increasing the income for factory owners. In addition to population growth and new fossil fuels (such as coal), are the advancement in technologies. Along side the unheard of numbers of workers working in factories, was the ability to create and improve such technologies and create even better productivities. Technological advances joined with large numbers of workers and with coal at their finger tips, England was able to begin the Industrial Revolution all on their