Social Classes In Early Modern Europe

This imbalance is significant because it illustrates the growing tensions between the lower class and the upper class. The disparity between these social classes resulted in Marx and Engels ideology of a “new historical era,” in which the proletariats would rise and overthrow the urban elite and take a hold of the means of production. All inspired by the notion that the working class were wrongfully being exploited. It also sparked Marx’s communist ideals that he wanted to apply to society to rid of this class struggle. Similarly, this class division also resulted in many peasant rebellions against the social system of society. As Huppert reports, peasant rebellions were largely common and although many weren’t successful, they called for change and elicited fear in the city folk when they became violent. These classes also hold significance because it essentially created the modern industrial

The social stratification that was apparent in early modern Europe affected the lives of the peasants and proletariats greatly in the social, economic, and political sense. A society that only caters to the wealthy is seen as a social evil in Marx’s and Huppert’s eyes. It’s of utmost importance to analyze and understand this European society in order to grasp the change in Europe before and after the introduction of the industrial revolution, because European society didn’t only drastically change economically. It brought about a great social change and transformed the dynamic that existed between the social classes. The similarities and differences that exist between the lower class of the peasants and proletariats along with the bourgeoise and the urban elite and the relationship they shared together provides essential clues as to why European society operated the way it did back then, which is clearly apparent through the lens Huppert and Marx