Final answer:
Industrialization and capitalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries led to increased wealth for some but worsened working conditions for many laborers. This era also widened income disparities and created inequalities between industrialized and non-industrialized nations. The GDP per capita ratios further highlight the economic divide that widened during this period.
Step-by-step explanation:
The advent of Industrialization and the underlying capitalism that fueled its progress brought about significant changes in the economic and social landscapes. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, business owners and middle-class professionals saw incredible increases in wealth due to advancements in technology and methods of production. Nevertheless, the proliferation of goods and the creation of new wealth were accompanied by less than favorable conditions for the workers. The shift to mechanized production meant that skilled middle-class artisans were replaced by low-paid unskilled laborers, who had to endure long hours and often hazardous working conditions.
Urban centers grew as a direct consequence of the need for workers in factories, leading to increasingly diverse city populations. Despite the rise in standards of living for many in the United States and Europe, not all nations enjoyed the same prosperity. While industrialized countries surged ahead economically and technologically, many regions, particularly in Africa and Asia, remained stalled at a subsistence level of living. Evidence of the growing gulf between nations is clear when comparing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita: in 1870, the most developed economies had, on average, 2.4 times the GDP per capita of the world's poorest economies; by 1960, this multiplier had grown to 4.2 times.
The consequences of industrialization under a capitalist system have been a topic of study and debate, noting the increasing income disparities and changes in social mobility. The transformative effects of this period are clear, as they inexorably changed the course of human history and the state of global economies.