AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.
In Victorian Britain, poor peasants and vagrants migrated to cities in large numbers searching for work. This created an abundant labour supply, which kept wages low. Since industrialists faced no shortage of labour and no high wage costs, they had no reason to replace human workers with expensive steam-powered machines. Additionally, machines required large capital investment, were expensive to repair, and often broke down. In contrast to countries like America where labour was scarce, British factory owners found it more economical to simply hire more workers.
Source: Chapter 4, Section 2 – Hand Labour and Steam Power
The examiner expects three clear points: (1) surplus labour kept wages low, (2) no incentive to replace cheap workers with costly machines, and (3) machines required large capital investment and were unreliable. Mention the contrast with labour-scarce countries like America to show understanding of the economic logic. Avoid writing more than 3–4 sentences.