Impacts of and Responses to Classical Liberalism

Responding to Liberalism The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Charlie Chaplin

ADAM SMITH CLASSICAL LIBERAL THE WEALTH OF NATIONS (1776) market forces: Supply, demand, competition, guide the economy… consumer is in charge

THE PURSUIT OF SELF-INTEREST (PROFIT MOTIVE) WILL RESULT IN COLLECTIVE WELL-BEING

Industrial Revolution (Smith’s ideas…economic liberalism in action) 19th century….period of profound change new technologies impact on social organization meaning and purpose of life…money??

Efficiency…mechanization

Assembly line…Profits

Workers as a commodity

Robber Barons or Captains of Industry?

COLLECTIVE GOODINDIVIDUAL INTEREST

Factories and Workers’ Housing

Poverty, hunger, disease, crime

WORK IN THE MINES Coal crucial to the Industrial Revolution Before 1842 there were no protection laws regarding age limits, hours or conditions of work Teams of women employed to use windlass to lift coal and workers. Men refused to do such work.

CHILDREN WORKING IN MINES “I have been down six weeks and made 10 to 14 trips from the face to the top each day. I carry a full 56 lbs of coal in a wooden bucket. I work with sister Jesse and mother. It is dark the time we go” (girl 6 years old) “I have a belt around my waist, and a chain passing between my legs, and I go on my hands and feet. The road is very steep and we…hold onto anything we can…I am not as strong as I was…I have drawn til I had the skin off me…” (32 year old woman)

IN THE TEXTILE MILLS youngest children usually employed as scavengers and piecers SCAVENGERS picked up loose cotton from under machinery extremely dangerous, children were expected to carry out the task while machines were still working PIECERS children had to lean over spinning machines to repair broken threads might walk 20 miles per day

UNCOMPLAINING ACCEPTANCE Life, work conditions brutal and degrading poverty, periodic unemployment, over-crowded and inadequate housing, bad work conditions, restricted opportunities high incidence of dismemberment, disease, death human existence is a struggle, survival is an end in itself fatalistic attitude, ‘God gives and God takes away’

CRIPPLED

PARISH (PAUPER) APPRENTICES Many parents -unwilling to allow children to work in textile factories. labour shortage - factory owners had to find other ways of obtaining workers. solution - buy children from orphanages and workhouses. Pauper apprentices - children signing contracts that virtually made them property of the factory owner Apprentices who ran away were in danger of being sent to prison…potential runaways were sometimes placed in irons

Orphanges

Impacts of Classical Liberalism People began to see that they didn’t have to live in poverty and started working for change Capitalism, which Smith theorized would distribute wealth throughout society, did not do so evenly, and while the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and an increasing gap began to develop between the classes.

Income Gap and Standard of Living Income Gap- the difference in income between different social classes; during the industrial revolution and period after, the rich became very rich, while the poor remained poor Standard of living- the amount of goods and services a person can afford to buy; it is related to the cost of living. As the cost of living goes up, a person’s standard of living will go down if their wages do not also increase. Calgary’s boom

Response to Classical Liberalism New regulations were put in place by liberal governments to counter-act the effects of classical liberalism on their ctizens. Factory Acts, Labour Unions Welfare State Citizens start to take action against society’s injustices Feminism Human Rights

Reforms put in motion by the Government….. MINES ACT (1842) no females employed underground no boys under 10 years old underground nothing regulating hours of work

FACTORY ACT (1833) to improve conditions for children working in factories no children under 9 years of age reduced hours for children 9-18 children not to work at night 2 hours schooling per day four inspectors appointed for entire country

NEW POOR LAW (1834) provide refuge for ailing & helpless anyone accepting relief in ‘repellent’ workhouse must lack moral determination to survive principle of ‘less eligibility’ – conditions inside workhouse should never be better than those of an independent laborer of lowest class reduce cost of looking after the poor encourage poor people to work hard to support themselves workhouse intended to replace all other forms of relief

Reactions to industry LUDDITES The Luddites, a band of nineteenth century English handicraftsmen, were rioting in protest to the textile machinery that had taken them out of business. Luddites destroyed thousands of pieces of machinery until they finally met their own demise around 1817 and the government was able to control Luddites riots. During the Industrial Revolution, the laws and customs, which had been installed to protect the working class of England, were ignored and eventually abandoned. For example, the Minimum Wage Bill of 1808 decreased minimum wage and the Combination Acts, banned trade unions, as well. These were just some of the many sparks which drove the Luddites to rebellion.

CHARLES DICKENS ( ) SOME OF HIS GREAT BOOKS Oliver Twist Christmas Carol Hard Times Great Expectations Is the good Samaritan a bad economist?

Labor Unions…Winnipeg 1919 For six weeks in the summer of 1919 the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba was crippled by a massive and dramatic general strike. Frustrated by unemployment, inflation, poor working conditions and regional disparities after World War I, workers from both the private and public sectors joined forces to shut down or drastically reduce most services. The workers were orderly and peaceful, but the reaction from the employers, city council and the federal government was aggressive. The strike ended in "Bloody Saturday" when the Royal North-West Mounted Police attacked a gathering of strike supporters. Two strikers were killed, 30 wounded and many arrested. Workers won little in the strike, and it was another 20 years before collective bargaining was recognized in Canada.

Welfare capitalism depended on the efforts of capitalists and government; ordinary citizens had little power or influence in society, thus, equality rights had still to be achieved During the 19 th -century, labourers who wanted to improve their standard of living and their quality of life began to attempt to form unions What this involved was a recognition of a new right—the right to organize As a result of the struggles' of the 19 th -centry, unions exist even today.

The Value of Unions… Unions could significantly strengthen the achievement of labour’s goals by acting collectively to negotiate equitable wages and decent working conditions—all of which undermined the capitalist’s control of the workplace They could also threaten a strike if their desires were not met Unions were regarded as subversive of classical liberal principles and capitalism, and were fiercely opposed Unions did not become legal in Canada until 1872

Classical liberals gradually came to see the merits of some of their opponents’ views and modified the expression of some of their values and beliefs Rather grudgingly, classical liberals began to recognize that some modifications were necessary. The basic premise for these modifications was an acceptance of the fact that those who believed in the pursuit of industrial efficiency— laissez-faire capitalists--needed to develop a social conscience and more concern for the equality rights of workers Welfare Capitalism: a classical liberal economic system combined with a government that used legislation to give workers protection. Examples: limited working hours, minimum wage, pensions and medical insurance.

Britain, for example, passed a series of Factory Acts, beginning in 1810 Each Act gradually improved the working conditions in factories, decreased working hours, regulated the ages at which children could be employed, and regulated the number of hours women and children could be required to work Germany passed similar acts starting in 1883 Still, capitalists did not gladly or easily give way to new ways of thinking about society’s responsibilities

He was a reformer who recognized some of the problems associated with classical liberalism When the United Mine Workers of Pennsylvania walked off the job, instead of calling in the army against the workers as owners had hoped, Roosevelt threatened to use the army against the owners should they refuse to negotiate. He called this a “square deal” and eventually forced the arbitration. In 1912, T. Roosevelt went on to form the National Progressive Party because he felt the Democrats and Republicans were too resistant to change. What three principles did the party hope to implement that challenged classical liberalism?

The move from welfare capitalism to the welfare state was motivated by the Great Depression. The problems that arose during this period made it obvious that the existing political, economic and social order had failed. What began to emerge was as we know it today.

Great Depression..1929

March to Ottawa…Regina Riot 1935

Over time rights of workers have improved…capitalism provides excellent products at fair prices …but the economy is subject to inflation and unemployment

Classical to Modern Liberalism Classical LiberalismEffectsModern Liberalism Involves no government intervention in the economy (hands off) Proposes that the only function of government is to protect individual’s natural right to life, liberty, and property Emphasizes economic liberalism and promotes the freedom of risk takers, such as business owners Allowed people the freedom to innovate and increase production Contributed to the development of great wealth for some Contributed to the wealth gap between people who were rich and those who were poor Contributed to the development of ideologies that opposed capitalism, such as fascism, and led to the development of new (modern) liberalism Contributed to the Depressions of the 1930’s. Involves significant government intervention at times (hands-on) Proposes that people’s rights should be included as a part of the political and economic systems in a society, including that all individuals should be valued equally. Proposes the development of government programs to help disadvantaged individuals and eliminate the causes of poverty, crime, and abuse Promotes sharing the benefits of economic development and having some consideration for the environment Examples: Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” capitalism, free-market systems, laissez-faire policies Examples: new businesses, inventions and technology, the success of the “nouveau riche” (e.g. business owners and merchants), the rise of child labour, the extreme poverty of the working class Examples: the creation of public education, welfare, public housing, unions, rights movements, civil rights legislation, labour standards and labour laws, protection of the environment.

Alberta…winners and losers

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SELF INTEREST OR GREED?

High Degree of government intervention Low to ensure the well—being of individuals Society, through the state, is responsible for everyone’s well being. CommunismDemocratic socialism Modern liberalism Classical liberalism Individuals are responsible for their own well- being.