Video: Industrial Revolution (Capitalists)

Capitalists: Who Were They?

Capitalism is the social system that has the means for producing and distributing goods, that are owned by a small minority of people, known as the Capitalist Class. It is based on private ownership and the creation of goods for services. Capitalists were the people that owned a large portion of land and had money. Aside from the Upper Class people being the capitalists, the inventors and entrepreneurs were also a part of the Capitalist Class.

The capitalists/inventors during the Industrial Revolution were people who changed the world with new innovations. Thomas Newcomen, an English inventor, was born in February 1664, and created the Newcomen steam engine in 1712. James Watt, who was born January 19th 1736 in Scotland, created the Watt steam engine. This was an improvement to the previous model, the Newcomen steam engine. This was a fundamental step to bring the necessary changes during the Industrial Revolution.

The Newcomen steam engine was created to make life easier for miners in England. This made it possible for the miners to pump water out of the mines, in order to find and receive the coal. This was a revolutionary step used to create a better steam engine. James Watt used those ideas to create his own version of a steam engine. The Watt steam engine was a much more efficient model, therefore able to be used in cargo trains for trading coal and other natural resources between different cities and countries across Europe.

Advantages of the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was not only beneficial for capitalists, but for all members of society. It not only improved the economy, but also the standard of living. It increased quality of life for all classes, namely because there was an increase in imported goods. This then caused a rise in the consumption of “luxury foods” such as meat, fruit and coffee. It is obvious that the standard of living significantly improved, because there was a noticeable increase in population, due to the decrease in mortality rates. Increased life expectancies are owed to the Industrial Revolution, which promoted capitalist ideas and theories. Not only that, but real wages rose, allowing individuals to better sustain themselves and their families.

The Industrial Revolution was extremely helpful to business and land owners. The time period saw a shift from tyrannic government control, to minimal government involvement, which then allowed business owners to conduct their operations as they saw fit. This allowed them to employ more individuals and increase their productivity by using assembly-line systems. This allowed workers to specialize in small areas of production, which greatly improved efficiency.

Finally, the shift from seasonal, agricultural jobs, to year-round manufacturing jobs provided employers and employees with stable work. The Industrial Revolution was also a time that encouraged innovation, which gave inventors a chance to flourish and gave way to a new group of society, the middle class. Capitalism was the driving force of the Industrial Revolution, and is the basis on which modern politics are founded. It gave citizens political freedom, which then gave each and every one of them an equal chance to benefit themselves and society.

Adam Smith: Case Study

Adam Smith was an economist and philosopher born in Scotland in 1723, although the exact date of his birth is not know. He is considered to be the father of capitalism and published one of the most influential books ever written: The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith believed that rational self-interest in a free-market economy leads to economic well-being, which is the basis on which capitalism was founded. His written works focus on the study of political economy, and are the foundation for classical economics.

In his book, The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith proposes that a nation’s wealth should be based on the total of production and commerce, commonly known as gross domestic product (GDP). He also talks about the division of labour and explores the idea that specialization can lead to an increase in productivity. An example he uses is that that of a person making a small pin: “One man undertaking the 18 steps required to complete the tasks could make but a handful of pins each week, but if the 18 tasks were completed in assembly-line fashion by 10 men, production would jump to thousands of pins per week.”

Adam Smith was also an advocate for minimal government involvement. He believed that the “invisible hand” should guide businesses as opposed to government input. The theory is that the “invisible hand” guides supply and demand and, therefore, price. It places the power in the consumer’s hands, which can increase quality of products. Adam Smith was integral part of the Industrial Revolution and modern economics. His ideas encouraged governments of the Industrial Revolution to allow businesses to conduct themselves and helped them to get the most efficiency out of their workers. Adam Smith inspired change in an era that desperately needed it.