Responses to Industrial Revolution

RESPONSES TO INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Classical Liberal Responses

Classical Liberalism: Politics & Society
  • Individualism: An ideology which emphasizes the moral worth of the individual.
  • Individual Freedom: The concept that individuals have the right to act and make choices independently.
Classical Economic Liberalism
  • Laissez Faire: The economic principle stating that the government should not intervene in the economy, allowing the forces of supply and demand to self-regulate.
  • Classical Economists: Economists who laid the foundational principles of classical economics, advocating for minimal government intervention.
Key Classical Economists

  1. Adam Smith (1723-1799)

    • Major Work: The Wealth of Nations (1776).
    • View on Government Regulation: Argued that government should not attempt to regulate the economy because such interventions disturb the natural laws of economics, which he epitomized with the phrase:

    “The Invisible Hand” - Refers to the self-regulating nature of the marketplace, where individuals pursuing their own self-interest inadvertently contribute to the greater economic good.

  2. Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)

    • Major Work: An Essay on the Principles of Population (1798).
    • Population Dynamics: Malthus proposed that population increases Geometrically (i.e., exponentially), while food supply only increases Arithmetically (i.e., linearly), leading to inevitable misery for humanity.
    • Population Control Methods:
      • War
      • Famine
      • Disease
      • Moral Restraint: Included practices like:
      • Later marriage.
      • Chastity until marriage.

  3. David Ricardo (1772-1823)

    • Major Work: The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817).
    • Iron Law of Wages: This theory posits that wages naturally hover around the subsistence level, correspondingly influenced by labor supply and demand as follows:
      • Labor decreases → wage increases.
      • Wage increases → population growth → labor increases → wage decreases → cyclical nature leading back to wage decreases.
      • Conclusion: Efforts to raise wages to improve workers' lives are futile due to this cyclical nature.

The Shift Away From Laissez Faire

  • Movement from strict laissez faire approaches towards a more involved governmental role, especially for the poor.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
  • Major Work: Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789).
  • Utilitarianism: Introduced the concept where utility is defined as the amount of happiness an action or institution generates. Key definitions:
    • Happiness: The presence of pleasure and the absence of pain.
  • Role of Government: To ensure the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people through individual freedom.
    • When the suffering of many outweighs the pleasure of a few, government’s role is to correct this imbalance, leading to the concept of the welfare state.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
  • Offered criticisms of classical economists, advocating for:
    • Control over distribution of wealth by society.
    • Support for workers forming unions.
  • Major Work: Principles of Political Economy (1848) included:
    • Advocacy for child labor laws.
    • Laws protecting women's rights.
    • Support for universal suffrage.
    • The establishment of state-supported elementary education.
    • Implementing income and inheritance taxes to prevent wealth concentration.

Socialism

Differences from Liberalism
  • While liberals advocate for wealth redistribution, socialists seek a fundamental change in the nature of ownership, emphasizing:
    • State ownership of the means of production (factories, farms).
    • State ownership of the means of distribution (railroads, steamship lines).
    • A cooperative approach rather than free competition, aiming for mutual well-being.
Variations in Socialism

  • Utopian Socialists:

    • Advocated for reform-focused, ideal communities rather than systemic change.
    • Key figures include:

    1. Robert Owen (1771-1858):

      • Founded successful New Lanark, Scotland, and attempted the New Harmony, Indiana which failed.

    2. Saint-Simon (1760-1825):

      • Authored The New Christianity (1825) promoting government interested in economic rather than political matters.
      • Advocated for leaders being scientists and technicians who could effectively manage the economy.

    3. Charles Fourier (1772-1837):

      • Proposed cooperative communities called phalanxes, with:
        • Around 1600 individuals working cooperatively on farms and workshops.
        • Job rotation to enhance productivity and satisfaction.
      • Attempted to gain benefactor support for these ideas but faced failures.

    4. Louis Blanc (1811-1882):

      • Major Work: The Organization of Work (1840), advocated for the competition to end competition.
      • Proposed a multi-step plan:
      • Step 1: Establish a French republic with universal male suffrage and a Workers' Party.
      • Step 2: Workers' Party to nationalize railroads and create social workshops funded by taxes and railroad revenues.
      • Step 3: These workshops would be owned and run by workers, sharing profits collectively.
      • Step 4: Abolishing private factories by bankruptcy, transitioning to social workshops.
      • Goal: To base all industry on cooperative, social workshops.
Revolutionary Socialism
  • Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881):
    • Advocated for direct revolutionary action against capitalism through the violent takeover of power to eliminate private ownership.
    • Envisioned a temporary dictatorship that would reorganize the economy to serve workers' interests.
  • Christian Socialism:
    • Promoted reforms rooted in Christian ethics without detailing specific ideologies.
    • Encouraged equitable wealth sharing, supportive organizations, and educational opportunities particularly for women and industrial laborers.
    • Notable support from both Catholic and Protestant communities, including contributions from Pope Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum (1891), which criticized both laissez faire capitalism and Marxist socialism for various ethical reasons, particularly surrounding labor being treated as a commodity.

Anarchism

Definition and Ideological Perspectives
  • Anarchism: An ideology advocating for the violent overthrow of all forms of government, denouncing capitalism for the exploitation of workers and advocating for the abolition of private property.
Beyond Socialism
  • Anarchists assert that true liberation requires the total destruction of the state, which they view as an instrument of oppression.
Key Anarchist Figures

  1. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865):

    • Well-known for his statement:

    "Property is theft."

    • Advocated for the end of all private property and proposed creating small, commune-based communities.

  2. Michael Bakunin (1814-1876):

    • A radical who believed in revolutionary violence and led movements seeking the seizure of power by radical groups.
    • His strategy included forming loose organizations of independent communities rather than a centralized government.
Anarchists’ Actions and Historical Impact
  • However, anarchists have historically not led successful revolutions, often resorting to violent methods, mostly assassination, and causing significant disruption rather than sustainable change.