Reforming the Industrial
World
Section 9.4
The Philosophers of Industrialization
• Laissez-faire economics – ability of economy to function w/o gov’t interference
• Adam Smith– The Wealth of Nations –
free economy– Economic liberty =
economic progress, no gov’t
Adam Smith con’t
– Three Natural Laws of Economics:• Law of Self-Interest –
people work for own good• Law of Competition –
Competition forces people to make better product• Law of Supply and
Demand – enough goods would be produced at the lowest possible price to meet demand in a market
The Philosophers of Industrialization• Economics of Capitalism– Capitalism – factors of
production are privately owned and money is invested in business to make a profit
– Opposed helping poor because it’s gov’t intervention• Against minimum wage
and better working conditions
– Thomas Malthus• An Essay on the
Principle of Population • Population increased
faster than food supply• Needed wars and
epidemics to kill off extra people
The Philosophers of Industrialization
– David Ricardo• Principles of Political
Economy and Taxation• Valued free trade• Believed the
underclass would always be poor• Market System:
– Many workers + abundant resources = cheap resources and labor
– Few workers + little resources = expensive resources and labor
The Philosophers of Industrialization
The Rise of Socialism• Jeremy Bentham – Utilitarianism – people
should judge ideas, institutions, and actions based on utility
– Gov’t should promote the greatest good for greatest number of people
– Individuals should pursue own advantage
• John Stuart Mill– Questioned
unregulated capitalism– Wrong that workers
lead deprived lives– Ordinary working
people get equal division of profits
– Favored a cooperative system of agriculture and women’s rights
The Rise of Socialism
Utopian Ideals• Robert Owen – New Lanark, Scotland –
site of his new factory• Improved working
conditions • Built homes which he
rented at low rates• Prohibited children under
10 from working in the mills and providing free schooling
– New Harmony, India • Intended to be a utopia –
perfect living place• Lasted only three years
The Rise of Socialism• Socialism – factors of production
owned by public and operate for the welfare of all– Charles Fourier– Henri de Saint-Simon
• Dangers of industrialization- Gov’t should plan the economy- Gov’t controlled key industries
to end poverty and promote equality
Marxism• More extreme than
socialism• The Communist Manifesto– Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels– Society based on class warfare
• Bourgeoisie – owned means of production
• Proletariat – owned nothing but their labor
– Industrial Revolution enriched wealthy, impoverished poor• Needed revolution BEFORE the
proletariat could unite against bourgeoisie
Marxism• Industrial Revolution
would destroy itself– Ultimately leads pure
communism – when means of production are owned by the people
• Economic forces dominated society – Gov’ts kept wealth gap
from becoming extreme, avoiding communism
Labor Unions and Reform Laws
• Unions – labor associations to make working people politically active – Bargained for better working
conditions, more pay– Strike – refuse to work
• Skilled labor lead movement • Great Britain
– Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 – outlawed unions and strikes because they were a danger to society
– Repealed the Acts in 1824
Labor Unions and Reform Laws
• Great Britain– Factory Act of 1833
• Illegal to hire children under 9 • Children 9-12 only work 8 hrs• Children 13-17 only work 12
hrs
– Mines Act 1842 • Prevented women and
children from working underground
– Ten Hours Act 1847• 10 hr workday for women and
children in factories
The Reform Movement Spreads
• Abolition of Slavery– William Wilberforce, lead
fight for abolition – 1807 – Parliament passed
law to end slave trade in the British West Indies
– 1833 – slavery was abolished in the British empire
– Motivations:• Morally wrong • Economically dangerous • Industrialists preferred
cheap labor
• Women workers made a third of men
• Changes:– Reform movements– Safety inspectors where
other women worked– Women’s unions– Jane Addams – settlement
house that served the poor residents of slum neighborhoods
– International Council for Women (ICW – 1888)• Pushed for rights
Women’s Rights
Prison and Education Reform
• Horace Mann (US) – free public education – 1850s (US) many states had
public school systems– Europe followed in the late 1800s
• Alexis de Tocqueville (France) – Wrote about brutal American
prisons– Big deal because US claimed
modern status but Tocqueville pointed out major problems
• Wanted useful skills for when prisoners were released