Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was arguably the most important turning point in history. It transformed the manufacture of goods from craftsmanship to commercialism, exponentially increasing output and decreasing production cost leading to prosperity and an unprecedented supply of goods for the markets of the world. Industrialization and mass production was the fuel which ignited the flame of capitalism which was already established creating bringing sweeping changes in wealth and its distribution. Within a few generations the very fabric of society was virtually remade as millions left the farms and villages of the countryside for jobs in the cities. This monumental change did not immediately sweep the entire globe, instead it remained concentrated in the countries of western Europe and the United States, thus setting the stage for the hierarchy of nations in the world, which as changed only slightly since. While there are several contributing factors which facilitated this state of affairs, the overwhelming reason for its existence can be compared to a crooked poker game with the West was dealing a stacked deck of cards to the rest of the world. The industrialized countries used restrictive trade legislation, military force at times, and most importantly exploited regional conflicts between ethnic groups to create a hierarchy or class system of nations, the effects of which can still be seen today. Westerners thought themselves superior both culturally and intellectually to the people of places like Egypt, India and the rest of Asia. Thus rather than seeing themselves as exploiting foreign populations and cultures, they instead saw as serving the greater good for humanity by uplifting...

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...lerstein's dependency theory, with its core, periphery, and semi-periphery nations and to a large extent has made the world what it is today. Western factories could produce products of equal quality as locally produced goods for a lower price. For start up industries to thrive they must produce goods which they can sell at a profit, the flood of cheap import goods from the west made this unlikely.

Industrialization has had a monumental impact on the world order and the hierarchy of nations. Western Europe and the United States which were to first to follow this path became the undisputed economical leaders of the world.. Mechanization allowed their economies to grow monumentally by devouring raw materials from ports around the world. They exploited internal conflicts in other nations and used restrictive trade regulations to maintain their superior status.