capitalism vs socialism

“for lower costs and higher prices” mr birling

act 1, mr birlings business strategy is pure capitslist greed, he wants to charge lots and pay little

“unsinkable, absolutley unsinkable” mr birling

act 1, mr birlings comments about the titanic reflects the ignorance and blind faith of his generation in capitalism

“… its better to ask for the earth the to take it” inspector goole

act 1 the inspector uses mr birlings own selfish words against him to highlight his selfishness

“i wasnt satisfied with the girls claim- she seemed to me to be not a good case” mrs birling

act 2 mrs birling equates money with ones claim as though money only belongs to the deserving

“we dont live alone. we are members of one body. we are responsible for eachother” inspector goole

act 3 the inspector uses the metaphor of a body to show that the people depend on one another

presented through the inspector

embodies socialism, his investigation and moralistic speeches condemn how the poor and impoverished are victims of capitalist greed.

presented through mr birling and gerald croft

represent the greedy industrialists who treat workers like eva as cheap labour and refuse to raise wages

presented through eva smith

her tragic fate shows the destructive potential of capitalism, she was fired fir seeking a living wage, and denied chairty on the basis of her percieved worth