How Economic And Social Forces As Well As Social Stratification Have Shaped The History Of The Western World Since The Industrial Revolution (Essay Sample)

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE WESTERN WORLD
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Social Stratification in the Western World
Industrialisation has been taking part in the world in the last three centuries and has led to so many changes. Some of the changes that are evident are the development of industries and the invention of different scientific equipment. This paper will be discussing the social and economic forces and how they have helped in shaping the history of the Western nations since the Industrial Revolution.
The industrial revolution took place between the 17th and 19th century. During this period, the rural societies, and the agrarian in both Europe and America became urban, before this period, manufacturing of different products was done in people’s homes by the use of simple handmade tools. Industrialisation marked a change in special-purpose powered machinery, mass production and factories. Both the textile and iron factories and steam engine development played a great role in making the Industrial Revolution occur. During this period, there was a significant improvement in the transport, banking, and communication systems. There were a variety of manufactured goods, and the standards of living were improved. Before the Industrial Revolution took place, people used to live in rural communities, and their lives existed around farming.
Britain was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution since it had great coal and iron deposits that were necessary for industrialisation. Britain was also stable economically and politically and was the leading colonial power in the world. Britain’s colonies were its primary source of raw materials and also a market for their manufactured goods. High demand for the British goods led to mechanisation of the industries so as to produce more.
Today, social stratification is evident as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Social stratification is the hierarchical division of the society according to class, caste, or rank. It can also be defined as the systematic unequal distribution of power, status, and wealth (Lenski, 2013). The technology and industrialisation of the higher income nations have hurt the predicament of the poorer countries in the world. The rich industrialisations has encouraged child labour, and horrible living conditions, since they get the benefit of material things. The industrialisation of the Western countries in the early 1800s was fast while that of the low-income states was slow. Today, the low and middle-class countries in the world are busy trying to catch up with the growth and development of the world powers. This has led to many families sending their children to do forced labour, and all they get is little pay.
There is gross sociological inequality that is demonstrated by the living standards of people in the world, and it is astounding. For instance, in the U.S, children spend most of their summer enjoying their life and watching television, swimming of playing computer games. On the other hand, children from low-income countries spend most of their time working in factories for little pay and no food. The least Industrialised countries in the world make up almost seventy percent of the global population. These countries are faced with extreme poverty and they are mainly agricultural.
The Western nations tend to be the most economically stable since they were able to exploit the less developed countries, most of which were their colonies. The powerful Western nations still sell goods to the third-world countries, and some of them take them on debt and the pile up debts that take years to pay. This way, the Western nations gain economic advantage over the less-developed countries that owe them a lot of money.
Stratification by economic status has led to the formation of social classes. Social stratification and socialisation have positive and negative effects in our lives. The Western nations have created multinational companies that have branches in different countries (Kerbo, 1996). The multinationals often exploit the developing countries for cheap labour and raw materials. What they give to these countries is just a fraction of what they would offer to employees in their countries doing the same jobs. The countries where the multinational companies are based are the ones that receive the most profit and benefits from the businesses. These multinational corporations have helped shape the global stratification and keep it in place.
All the modern societies we see today are stratified due to the unequal distribution of resources. Stratification led to job specialisation. Some were involved in pastoralism and other in horticultural farming. It clearly indicates that not everyone in the society needs to be involved in the same activities. A rise of the industrialised societies contributed to increased stratification that distinguished between the rich and the have-nots. The technological advancements led to the formation of a new social group of skilled workers. These people had knowledge in computers and different ways of using the gadgets. The technology that is being utilised in the post-industrial societies, which are mainly the Western nations has contributed to an increased stratification in the world.
During the Industrial Revolution, the elites in the Western nations took people from the low-income countries as slaves. These people worked as slaves in the farms and industries that belonged to these rich, an...