Social Inequality, the Proletariat, and Christian Social Action

Social Inequalities: Causes and Consequences

The Industrial Revolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was a major cause of social inequalities. Key factors contributing to these disparities included:

• Establishment of factories and mass migration from the countryside to the city.
• Excessive working hours (14 to 16 hours).
• Low wages and inadequate housing.
• Lack of insurance and medical rights.

A new social class, the proletariat, reacted to these inequalities and injustices through strikes. As a result of this movement, the proletariat gained the right to association and trade unionism, although the working class remained exploited by the interests of capital.

Global Division Resulting from Industrialization

Due to the Industrial Revolution, some countries developed significantly while others did not, dividing the world into two distinct parts:

1. Rich Countries: Characterized by technological advances, more resources, and a better quality of life.
2. Poor Countries: Characterized by over-exploitation, lack of resources, and high illiteracy rates.

The Christian Engagement with the World

The Church acts in the world through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The two primary organizations are Caritas and Manos Unidas.

Caritas

Caritas arose in 1942. It is the instrument of charity undertaken by the Christian community, performing a gospel of love in solidarity with the poor, marginalized, and exploited. Its purpose is to restore hope to the poor, fight injustice, and change personal and social behaviors.

Caritas achieves this through programs focused on:

• Populations excluded from society.
• International cooperation.

Manos Unidas

Manos Unidas emerged in 1960. It is a Catholic volunteer Non-Governmental Organization for Development (NGOD) dedicated to fighting poverty, hunger, malnutrition, disease, lack of education, and underdevelopment. It also fights the root causes of these issues: injustice, the unequal division of property, ignorance, and lack of solidarity.

Manos Unidas works in two main areas:

1. The North: Sensitizing public opinion and government organs regarding the Third World.
2. The Third World: Funding development projects.

Other Christian-Inspired Organizations

Following Caritas and Manos Unidas, two other organizations inspired by Christian principles emerged:

• Justice and Peace
• Intermón-Oxfam