+1
One interesting feature of Indonesia where I am right now is that unlike any other nation I have ever been to, handicrafts are used for everyday things. If you remember, this is what Barak Obama's mother was studying when she moved here so many years ago. The fact that handicrafts are still valued, and that hand-woven (and decorated) tablecloths still decorate my mother-in-law's table, or that much of the furniture is hand-made (though this is sadly changing as Cheap Plastic Crap(TM) is replacing it) gives the country a sense of vibrancy that wouldn't exist otherwise. Even today, while mass-produced T-shirts (a major Indonesian export) are used for every-day wear, for particularly important gatherings, hand-dyed batik is still a status symbol every bit as much as hand-made suits are in the US (I have seen shirts sell in boutique markets for $500 USD!)
What we are missing is quite frankly a sense of place.
But on to your bit about the industrial revolution in England, let me suggest reading "The Servile State" by Hillaire Belloc (you can find a PDF on-line for free since it is out of copyright). He suggests that the industrial revolution, which began in England, occurred specifically because of Protestant efforts to get peasants off their land, and thus unable to earn a living other than working in the factory. While his writing style is very early 20th century, his views on history and slavery are backed solidly by everything I have ever studied directly and while the book is a sort of cult classic for Libertarians, it is hard to see why since the book is as uncomfortable with liberal capitalism as it is with socialism.