RESPONSES TO INDUSTRIALIZATION: The “isms”

“SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM” (MARXISM) CAPITALISM CLASSICAL LIBERALISM COMMUNISM “SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM” (MARXISM) Adam Smith Thomas Malthus David Ricardo Karl Marx Friedrich Engels When the industrial revolution happened, a lot of both good and bad social and economic issues resulted. There were two ways of looking at this new Industrial world. Adam Smith founded the idea of capitalism in 1776 with his book On the Wealth of Nations and his idea of laissez-faire (gov’t doesn’t regulate economy). In contrast, socialists and communists came up with OTHER ways of thinking about the economy and felt that government had a really important role to try and help the workers, and make sure businesses didn’t have a focus only on profit, but stayed in line in terms of not polluting, paying workers enough, etc.

Definitions Capitalism: An economic system that is controlled by private individuals who invest excess money and profits (capital) into business. The goal is profits. The government follows a laissez-faire system where they don’t intervene in economic affairs. Socialism: An economic system that is controlled by the workers inside the factories and directed not by owners but by a centralized government planning committee. The goal is to make the people who do the work more powerful than the owners of the factories. You can still make more money based on how productive (or unproductive) you are. The government intervenes a lot. Communism: Like socialism, but the goal is complete equality of condition. (Instead of equality of opportunity)

Capitalists

Adam Smith

First describer of the economic system of capitalism that was developing in England in the 1700s. Described capitalism in his book On the Wealth of Nations Believed that governments should keep their hands off the economy “Laissez-Faire” Said people’s pursuit of their own interests would result in the right products being made for the right price (because businesses WANT to be profitable!)

THOMAS MALTHUS AND POPULATION Malthus was a clergy man who saw a huge problem looming – people

Said the largest problem facing society was population growth

MALTHUS’S THEORY STARVATION! Population increases geometrically STARVATION! If population was not controlled, people would die Food supply increases arithmetically Malthus believed that food supply would not increase as quickly as population. Therefore, lots of people would starve and we needed to work hard to keep population levels low.

MALTHUS’ CHECKS ON POPULATION GROWTH Growth of population cannot be stopped without “misery or vice”! POSITIVE CHECKS WAR FAMINE DISEASE NEGATIVE CHECKS LATE MARRIAGES CELIBACY/ RESTRAINT CONTRACEPTION One way or another, population would HAVE to fall. Either through positive checks, which take out people already living, or negative checks which prevent births from happening. Malthus wanted to be PROACTIVE and encourage “Negative Checks” so that fewer people would be born (instead of being born and then dying in horrible ways.) In Malthus’s view, poor workers will have babies if there is enough food. They will not have babies if there isn’t food.

Poor workers will have children if there is food and money to buy the food

RICARDO AND THE IRON LAW OF WAGES

RICARDO’S CYCLE THE IRON LAW OF WAGES Population Increase GOOD TIMES Higher Wages THE IRON LAW OF WAGES Ricardo believed that poor people would have babies if their wages were high. In order to prevent births and overpopulation, keep workers’ wages low! BAD TIMES Lower Wages Population Decline

IMPLICATIONS OF MALTHUS & RICARDO’S IDEAS? Low wages Suffering among workers Trying to help poor people would only HURT them long-term: Social Darwinism, or the idea that the “fittest” people should control the world, develops What is the inherent problem with Social Darwinism? Social Darwinism is the idea that natural selection applies to human society. However, human society isn’t really a “natural” setting…so the strongest don’t really survive and some people have “unnatural” advantages.

“Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” - Karl Marx Karl Marx saw capitalism as very flawed. He came up with a new idea, called Communism, building on the ideas of the Utopian Socialists.

Communism: MARXISM Karl Marx Friedrich Engels 1818-1883 1820-1895 Marx and Engels came up with their idea and published the “Communist Manifesto” in 1848. Karl Marx Friedrich Engels 1818-1883 1820-1895

The ideas of Karl Marx and Fredrich Engles were outlined in their book The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx said: History is a series of conflicts between classes that control “means of production” (owners) and those which do not (wage-laborers). vs.

How does the ruling class keep control? Society (government, religion, moral values) are ALL designed to support the interests of the dominant economic class. Religion “is the opiate of the masses.”

COMMUNISM: MARXISM Believed that history is moving through a series of stages … FEUDALISM SLAVE EMPIRES CAPITALISM Marx believed that human history was about PROGRESS…society would constantly change and get better.

COMMUNISM: MARXISM Industrialization has created a new conflict between the owners of factories (bourgeoisie) and factory workers (proletariat): CAPITALISM PROLETARIAT vs. The industrial Revolution set up a new conflict between the bourgeoisie and the workers (called the Proletariat)

COMMUNISM: Marxism Increased suffering among Proletariat would INEVITABLY lead them to revolt against the Bourgeoisie, owners of the “means of production” aka: factories.

THE PROLETARIAT THE BOURGEOISIE Uh-Oh THE PROLETARIAT THE BOURGEOISIE

COMMUNISM: Marxism Workers would create a society without social classes where no one had any private property and all needs were met. From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO (1848) “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!”