The ability to raise the funds (Capital) to buy the machines and built the factories in the Industrial Revolution.  Capitalists would not want to invest in these endeavor if they did not gain from these improvement.  Individuals or governments could steal the private property of these investors.  Having legal system that protect individuals property was necessary for the Industrial Revolution to flourish. The United Kingdom had for many centuries built up a functional legal system that gave rights to individuals.  This might be why the Industrial Revolution began in the UK.