Final answer:
The guild system had the advantage of promoting skill development but limited social mobility due to restrictive practices. Over time, industrialization shifted work from skilled artisans to factory production, leading to a loss of control over working conditions and the pursuit of profit overshadowing worker welfare.
Step-by-step explanation:
The guild system of labor that dominated manufacturing during the Middle Ages had a profound impact on the structure and quality of work during that time. An advantage of this system was the emphasis on skill development. Within a guild, artisans could receive extensive training and hone their skills to a high level, contributing to the production of high-quality goods and ensuring that knowledge was passed down through the generations. However, a disadvantage of this system was that it often limited social mobility. The guilds could implement restrictive practices, making it difficult for apprentices to rise to the level of master craftsmen, and often they favored members' relatives, thus impeding newcomers from advancing within their trade.
The lack of laborers in towns and cities led to adjustments within the guild system, such as the relaxation of membership rules and the shortening of apprenticeship periods, but advancement opportunities remained restricted under the guild hierarchy. The shift from handwork by skilled artisans to industrialized production in the 18th and 19th centuries transformed the nature of labor once again. Workers transferred from having control over their working conditions to becoming part of a system driven by the pursuit of profit, often at the cost of long hours, low wages, and challenging work conditions.