The industrial revolution meant new technology; changes in organization and scale of production, and their social consequence were very dramatic for the working class. A comparison between Britain's Industrial revolution and France's Industrial revolution both has very different realities and responses. Great Britain was the homeland of the industrial revolution, which began in the middle of the eighteenth century. Yet the French were the unquestioned leaders in the development of socialism and working class consciousness. After 1750, Britain predominated first in the Cotton Industry and later in the Iron & Steel industries. By 1850, manufacturing was the dominant form of economic activity, agriculture declined and service increased, contrary to France's movement, which had been a lot more gradual. The French lacked iron and coal resources but had predominated in the handicraft production movement thus farmers were still very crucial to France's agricultural sector of economy. There was a relatively slow growth of factory industry and there had been low rates of population growth. France was late with their industrial improvements and was behind Britain by forty years. They already had a nation to model their own revolution from and their coal output doubled in the early 1850's. Inevitably France was better for the working class that did not have as much dependence on the government because of their independent family units in terms of realities, and Britain was better in responses toward the urban working class who depended on the consistent demands made to the government for social change.
The nation of Britain developed several political responses to protect the rights and improve the terrible conditions of the urban working class. The policy that they had adopted of laissez-fair made the government reluctant to pass regulations of hours and conditions for the workers that became a new social group, "the industrial working class".
