Emergence of Modern Political Ideologies - Research Paper Example

Industrial Revolution and the Emergence of Modern Political Ideologies The world has seen much improvement and changesover the past few centuries. Some of the things that have occurred on this planet have shaped how people lead their lives. Among them is industrialization. After the French revolution, the world saw industrialization and a development of many political ideologies that were supposed to curve the path people would take. The industrial revolution brought many changes to the society. The doctrines affected a significant part of the 19th-century West. This paper will explore the three of these ideologies and how they relate to the industrial revolution citing materials studied in class. Before delving deeper into the ideologies and how the industrial revolution changed the face of the West, it is cardinal that the paper briefly describes what industrialization is. Simply put, industrialization is a process in which a country or a region, in this case, the West, transforms from primarily agricultural society to one that is based on manufacturing of goods and services. During this period, many scholars came up with ideologies that were in part conceived from the changes that industrialization brought to the region and the world over. Socialism In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx elaborates on communism and describes its goals and underlying motivation. On how socialism relates to the industrial revolution, it is inarguable that the relationships between the social classes in the society rely on the present means and methods of production and industry. Inherent to all systems of class in every society is that there is an oppressor and the oppressed (Marx 12). With how industrialization occurred. Its speed and support from the people, Marx supposes that such drive can only be achieved if there are classes being oppressed by others. During the industrial revolution as discussed under socialism, one class takes control of the society thus becoming the ruling class. Karl Marx argues for the uprising of a group he calls the proletariat, which is essentially the working class, and which is against the factory owners, a group he calls the bourgeoisie. This group also consists of the industrialists and the landlords who, through regulations of both the prices of commodities and rent, continually oppressed the laborers. According to Marx, this problem was not one that was compatible with capitalism and that the only way it could be solved was through communism (Marx 14). Marx postulates that the bourgeoisie have exploited the proletariats in search of cheap labor that denies the country self-sufficiency. The bourgeoisie will then look for labor from other poorer countries so that they can lower production cost. The increased demand for raw materials in the foreign countries brings about industrialization in that country which in turn nurtures a breed of both the bourgeoisie and proletariat as the rich want to exploit the poor for profits (Marx 13). Liberalization This is a very common ideology that sprouted after the industrial revolution. It was supposedly about the enjoyment of individual freedom of every individual in the society and the fact that the minority were free to air their ideas without being coerced (Mill 6). They would be allowed to speak out of their thoughts, speech, and even take or participate in the action, as long as they brought no harm to other people. After industrialization, people engaged in numerous economic activities. As it occurred to most of them that capitalism was better than socialism, people were now engaging in every possible activity that would be profitable. Industrialization also brought about a sense of freedom as the society was developing economically. To be able to reduce the likelihoods that people would harm each other, they were supposed to have their liberty restrained. As people adopted manufacturing of goods and services during the industrialization process, there were those that believed that it was better sticking to the traditions. Unfortunately, they would preach false information and brand people who had diverted away from the tradition as criminals. While it was not illegal to air opinions, such information could bring harm to others. If, for example, a maize-dealer, who is, in fact, an entrepreneur, was said to be a starving the people, then that would not be wrong if the story just circulated among the people (Mill 8). It would, however, bring harm to the person if there were a group of starving men that were around the house of the maize-dealer went the words were said. With globalization, however, people had endorsed rationality, and there were very few instances of victimizing those that engaged in commerce. Liberalization believed that people were working towards happiness and not the destruction of the community. This ideology endorsed industrialization. Conservatism Conservatives agree to the fact that there has been much advancement that the world has seen over the past few one century. It also states that the rapid development that humans sought so quickly also brought about many evils to the planet (Metternich 2). Initially, the society was rich in diversity, and it was a good world to live in. The French and the American revolutions brought about countless changes to the society. After the revolution and the industrialization that came before that, there were a several field of thoughts philosophers developed. Conservatism supposed that the nature of man is immutable and that the first needs of the society were not to bring about cage but to remain the same (Metternich 2). It is because of the belief that the progress that man had witnessed over the past years that the Conservatives thought that the changes cost the community. The West had reached civilization, and they were in the midst of enjoyment. Conservatives believe that people were already enjoying the current state of affairs and that it did not make any sense that that state was disturbed. The industrialization is termed as evil if the reasoning of the conservatives is anything to go by (Metternich 3). Conservatism believed that the rapid progression toward reaching perfection was responsible for having led so many individuals astray as it had become a universal sentiment (Metternich 3). This ideology also purports that people should have a desire to maintain the stability of the political institutions that govern them, instead of having a disorganized excitement that could cost the people the security. The industrial revolution is blamed for a number of issues. Among them are slavery, colonization, and its contribution to climate change. Without industrialization having taken place, it would have been difficult to develop the ideology since there were not even the changes to counter in the first place. From the above three doctrines, a real question to ask is whether the society was shaped by the ideologies that came up as a result of industrialization or the development of material well-being of the people. The socialist ideology by Karl Marx can be a good example to use to explain whether the society was shaped by the ideologies or the material situation. The bourgeoisie and the proletariats came into existence not because they knew Karl Marx had developed a doctrine to describe them, but because they were of different social classes in terms of material wealth. The society had to reflect this wellbeing by having the rich exploit those who did not have leverage. However, it should be understood that the having there been capitalism as a result of industrialization contributed to shaping the society too. Still, this was as a result of material development. What the above discussion has highlighted is the relationship between the ideologies and the industrial revolution. Works Cited Mill, J. S. Selections from On Liberty (1859) Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto (1848) Editing, introduction, and notes by: http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/world_civ/worldcivreader/world_civ_reader_2/marx.html Metternich, Klemens von. Selection from Political Confession of Faith (1820) Tushnet, Mark. "Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations By Craig Nelson." Historian 70.1 (2008): 118-120. Read More