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.
Do you think that capitalists had a huge impact on the industrial revolution?
ReplyDeleteYes, capitalists played a huge role in the Industrial Revolution. The shift to less government control allowed inventors and entrepreneurs to start new businesses, and employ more people. Capitalist ideas and concepts were vital to the Industrial Revolution. It would not have even been possible had the capitalists not given people an opportunity to further themselves and society.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think the industrial revolution and the capitalists would've been affected if it was a marxist society?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Industrial Revolution would have been at all possible if it had been a marxist society. What allowed the Industrial Revolution to begin and thrive was the idea of capitalism; where one individual could make personal gains. This encouraged people to invent new machines and start factories and businesses. Capitalists in a marxist society would not have fared well, or at least not as well as they otherwise would have. Because marxism involves much more government control, business owners would not have been allowed to run their factories how they wanted, and, therefore, would not have made as much profit, nor employed as many people.
DeleteCapitalism improved the economy a lot and had many benefits. Did capitalists have any disadvantages during the Industrial Revolution?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, there were very few, if any, disadvantages to the capitalists during the Industrial Revolution. The time period promoted their ideas and views and allowed their factories to thrive. One disadvantage could be that they faced opposition from governments and from people who didn't feel like the new capitalist society benefitted them. But there is no one form of government that everyone agrees with, so opposition would be a natural thing. Capitalists were the true "winners" during the Industrial Revolution, though it did benefit most people in some way.
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