They moved from the oppressed, under the feudal system, to the oppressor. Marx claims that with each advancement made by the Bourgeoisie in modern industry, it was followed by political progression also. "Each step in the development of the bourgeoisie was accompanied by a corresponding political advance of that class" (McIntosh 1997:40). With each political advancement, the Bourgeoisie gained for itself more and more power, and finally, exclusive political sway.
Due to a massive influx of population, where there were once towns there were now cities, and the rural population depleted correspondingly. This influx of people were then dependent on the bourgeoisie for employment and housing, as most properties were owned by these industrial millionaires. This led to political centralization, and the formation of the nation-state. "It has agglomerated population, centralized means of production, and has concentrated property in a few hands. The necessary consequence of this was political centralization" (Mc Intosh 1997:42). With this political centralization, independent, self-governing regions were joined together to become one nation, abiding by one set of laws, under one government, which was put in place to serve the interest of the bourgeoisie. With the formation of the global economy, the bourgeoisie created a society where every person could be associated with a monetary value, according to their profession. "It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science into its paid wage-labourers" (McIntosh 1997:41). As modern industry is based on exactly that, industry, the demand for unskilled labor grew exponentially due to the use of machinery. This massive demand for unskilled labor without doubt led to the exploitation of the working class, where, as the level of skill required decreased, so too did wages. This led to the proletariat becoming poorer, and the bourgeoisie gaining immense wealth.
