Whether the Industrial Revolution gave most Britons absolutely or relatively more and better food, clothes and housing is naturally of interest to every historican. But he will miss much of its point if he forgets that it is not merely a process of addition and subtraction, but a fundamental social change. It transformed the lives of men beyond recognition. Or, to be more exact, in its initial stages it destroyed their old ways of living and left them free to discover or make themselves new ones, if they could and knew ho

The British Industrial Revolution experienced mass migration from the country to the town, the evaluation of which is every bit as complicated as the evaluation of the, in some respects similar, migrations of the present day.22 The majority of migrants do not regret the decision to move. Not all have burnt their boats, but return to the country is fairly rare.23 Yet tastes are altered by the city, and the possibility of return to the old life‐style can be forfeited

ecognize and respect a different view argued vigorously by Amartya Sen (see Sen et al.,  1987) according to which, to put it simply, the standard of living should embrace all aspects of the quality of life. Not only has this view great appeal but it also enjoys the advantage that it evades awkward delineation problems.