"Are we at the beginning of a movement leading to a worldwide industrialization, stuck in the middle of a world permanently divided into rich and poor countries, or approaching an end of an environmentally unsustainable era?"
If you ask me, I think that we're way past the beginning of a worldwide industrialization. Are we stuck in the middle of a permanently divided rich and poor countries? Yes, we are currently stuck in that situation but I wouldn't say permanently because there is certainly an awareness and effort to help struggling countries. Are we approaching an end of an environmentally unsustainable era? I would like to think so and from the level of awareness that we have now, I think that we have a big chance on heading towards that direction.
Another interesting idea that I found from the reading is that Europe is not the initiator but it is the center of the Industrial Revolution. The surge in industrial productivity in Britain started between 1750 and 1900, with the invention of steam engine, enabling them to produce locomotive machineries and oceangoing ships. Way before this event, the Islamic world and China had already experienced technological and scientific expansion but declined for some reason at the same time that Industrial Revolution began in Europe. We can see here that once again, the author was making an effort of pulling away from Eurocentrism.
The key for their success was the "culture of innovation". It was the obsessive belief that there is an infinite ways to make things better. Their Scientific Revolution did not focus much on logic and reasoning but more on observation and experimentation, invention of mechanical devices and practical commercial application. This is almost like comparing people that are book smart and street smart and in this case, those that are street smart became more successful because they were able to apply to their knowledge in real world.
As the first Industrial Society developed, each social class experienced its effect differently. Landowning aristocrats did not get most of the benefits as they lost political power from the rising middle class that eventually abolished high tariffs on foreign agricultural imports. In other words, they were not the only that had access on lavish textiles and food. And just as middle class business became successful, they were also able to send their children to Oxford or Cambridge University and eventually earned nobility titles from Queen Victoria.
I find it interesting that during this time, women suddenly became the center of middle class families. Men found the capitalist world as cutthroat and heartless, and home is the one place where they can find refuge. The idea of domestication was preferred by women because they were given authority to take charge at home and to manage the family's food expenses. We can still see this type of family setting in many parts of the world. Women are the homemaker, in charge of taking care of the house, children and feeding the family. But we are also in the transition of a change in family roles as more men become stay home dads.
To end this blog, I thought I'd show the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony in London.
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