Unit 2 - The Industrial Revolution

These flashcards cover critical concepts related to the Industrial Revolution, including its definitions, key figures, advantages and disadvantages of industrial systems, and foundational economic theories.

Industrial Revolution

A period beginning in the 1700s when power-driven machines began to replace manual labor.

Factors of Production

The resources used to produce goods and services: Land, Labor, Capital, and Management.

Cottage Industry Advantages

Benefits include set hours, higher quality products, working at one's own pace, and family involvement.

Cottage Industry Disadvantages

Drawbacks include vulnerability to destruction, the necessity of specific skills, need for physical strength, and longer production processes.

Factory System Advantages

Benefits include increased production, lower prices, creation of many jobs, and no specific skill requirements.

Factory System Disadvantages

Drawbacks include longer working hours, dangerous conditions, unsanitary environments, child labor, and repetitive tasks.

Labor Union

An organization aimed at improving working conditions and increasing wages.

Mass Production Advantages

Benefits include increased production rates, lower costs per item, and goods accessibility for more individuals.

Mass Production Disadvantages

Drawbacks include boredom in work and potential worker protests.

Assembly Line

A production method that allows products to be made at a faster pace with workers specialized in tasks.

Positive Effects of Industrialization

Included a wide variety of new products, increased availability of goods, lower prices, and improved standard of living.

Negative Effects of Industrialization

Included child labor, dangerous working conditions, slums, disease, and pollution.

Supply and Demand Law

Prices are determined by the relationship between the supply of goods and the demand for those goods.

Laissez Faire

An economic philosophy advocating that government should not interfere in business activities.

Adam Smith

A leading advocate of laissez faire economics; known for theories of supply, demand, and market economies.

Sadler Commission Report

Hearings that exposed abuses in British factories and led to regulatory reforms.

Middle Class Development

Emerged as demand for educated managers and professionals increased during the Industrial Revolution.

Types of Business Ownership

1. Sole Proprietorship: Total control and risk. 2. Partnership: Shared risks and liabilities. 3. Corporation: Easier fundraising but shared profits.

Capitalism Key Ideas

Characterized by private ownership, competition, and minimal government intervention leading to wealth disparity.

Socialism Key Ideas

Government ownership of major industries, regulation of distribution, and efforts to reduce income inequality.

Communism Key Ideas

A system in which the government controls every aspect of life, typically under a dictatorship.

Das Kapital

A critique of capitalism arguing that class struggles lead to conflict.

Communist Manifesto

A political text advocating for socialism and the abolition of capitalism.

Supply and Demand

The foundational principle determining the price of goods in a capitalist market.

Vladimir Lenin

A leader of the Russian Revolution who developed modern concepts of communism.

Thomas Malthus

Believed that population growth would always outpace food production, leading to chronic poverty.

Karl Marx

The father of communism; author of Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto.

Frederick Engels

Collaborator with Marx, who introduced him to economics and edited his works.