Introduction This study provides a critique of an article by Stephen Nicholas, and Jacqueline Nicholas titled Male Literacy, “Deskilling”, and the Industrial revolution . The article was published in the summer of 1992 and appears in the Journal of Interdisciplinary studies. The piece seeks to investigate the economic wellbeing of individuals during the industrial revolution with a keen emphasis on the wage rate differentials and the standards of living (Nicholas 1). The first part of this study provides a detailed summary of the technique used by the author in coming up with the conclusions to the article but the second part of the study shows the appropriateness of the study for use in the existing literature. Article Review The author’s aim was to establish whether real wages were the only determinant of the standards of living. With this goal in mind, the authors analyzed the development of industrial wages and prices during the period of industrial wages. Other parameters of determining the standards of living such as the health, morbidity and the nutritional status of the population were also analyzed comparatively to establish whether they also affected the standards of living (Nicholas 1). In so doing, the authors used the model of working class wage differentials where different groups were analyzes with regard to their different wage movements. The data used to arrive at the final conclusion was majorly centered on wage rates among the working class population. However, commodity prices were also used complimentarily because it affected the standards of living among the working class population as well. The empirical context of this study can be depicted in the analysis of real wages among British workers. In the findings, it was established that with the persistent increase in wages; there was a clear cut difference of the winners and losers. In other words, there was a variation in the living standards of the working population. It was also established that there was a clear variation in geographic development and an equally varied wage rate differentials. Contextual Analysis There is an existing link between male literacy levels, the standards of education and the standards of living (State University 1). Evidently, high literacy levels are usually characteristic of high standards of living. The British industrial revolution best explains this fact through the surge in industrial activities. It created the working class population which was stratified along literacy lines thereby defining existent classes. During the industrial revolution abundant resources were needed to spur growth and this was inclusive of human labor. In fact, with the advent of the industrial revolution, there were increased employment opportunities but much of the existent slots were discriminative on the level of literacy especially in operating certain machinery and in the production of specific goods (Mokyr 2). Also during this period, the creation of social classes developed with certain parameters like morbidity, nutritional wellbeing, health status and educational achievement being some of the most common distinguishing parameters of social life. People who were perceived to fair better or enjoy higher standards of living were observed to fair better