Industrialisation And How The Industrial Revolution Helped...

At the beginning of the 21st century, Spain was recognised as an affluent, industrialised and democratic country among Europe however, its path to getting there was not the same as other European countries (Countries Quest, (no date)). Prados de la Escosura is correct in saying that Spain’s route to modernization was much closer to the advanced countries of Western Europe than that of today’s developing nations in the Third World and there are various reasons for this. Spain’s route to modernization experienced numerous setbacks. These setbacks consequently led to Spain falling behind the advanced countries of Western Europe as whereas the Industrial Revolution had a positive impact on them, it did not have much of a positive impact on Spain as such. In order to assess and discuss Prado de la Escosura’s statement critically, this piece of academic writing will look at the concept of Industrialisation and how the Industrial Revolution helped Spain’s route to modernization. It will also bring in comparisons to show how today’s developing nations are still on the route to modernization. What is meant by the word ‘modernization’ and how can one define a ‘developing nation’? The word modernization can have different meanings depending on what context it is said in. Sorensen (2001) defined the word modernization as, ‘a term used for the transition from the traditional society of the past to modern society as it found in the West’ (no pagination). Shubert (1992) asserted that,