Modern World History
Chapter 9, Section 4
Reforming the Industrialized World
Laissez faire
• As industrialization created
a wide gap between the
rich and the poor, some
defended it and others
demanded reforms
• Laissez faire – economic
policy of letting owners of
industry and business set
working conditions without
regulations from govt. to
create a free market
Capitalism
• Adam Smith – Scottish
professor who wrote “The
Wealth of Nations” that
defended laissez faire, saying
that it guaranteed economic
progress
– Laws of self interest,
competition , and supply
and demand lead to
economic growth
• Capitalism – economic system
in which factors of production
are privately owned and money
is invested in business ventures
to make a profit
Increasing
Populations
• Thomas Malthus – argued
that population tends to
increase more rapidly than
the food supply, and
without wars and disease
most are destined to be
poor and miserable
• David Ricardo – believed a
permanent underclass will
always be poor, and that
population growth leads to
an abundance of low paid
workers
Criticisms of Industrialization
• Utilitarianism – philosophy that
states that people should judge
ideas, actions, institutions on the
basis of their usefulness
– Questioned unregulated
capitalism because if was wrong
that workers received starvation
wages while others profited
greatly
• Utopian communities – attempts to
create perfect societies where the
needs of everyone are considered
Socialism
• Socialism – a new
economic system that
sought to offset the ill
effects of industrialization
by having the factors of
production owned by the
public and operated for
the welfare of all
• Supporters believed it
would end poverty and
promote equality
Communism
• Marx and Engels, two German
philosophers, wrote the
Communist Manifesto outlining
their ideas about how economic
forces dominate society
• They described two warring
classes that emerge throughout
history:
– Haves (Bourgeoisie) – the
employers who control the
means for producing goods
– Have-Nots (Proletariet) – the
workers who perform backbreaking labor under terrible
conditions
• Marx believed that the capitalist
society formed during the
Industrial Revolution would
collapse
– Small producers would be
driven out
– Small number of
manufacturers would control
all of the wealth
– Proletariat would rebel , seize
the factories and mills and
take control of government,
and share future profits
• Communism – form of complete
socialism in which the means of
production (all land, factories,
mines, railroads, and businesses)
would be owned by the people
Workers Fight for
Improved Conditions
• Factory workers faced long
hours, dangerous working
conditions, and threat of
being laid off
• Workers joined voluntary
labor associations called
unions that tried to address
these problems
• They attempted collective
bargaining negotiations
with employers, but often
resorted to strikes to try to
make gains
British Reform
Laws
• Factory Act of 1833
– Restricted child labor
• Mines Act of 1842
– Women and children
couldn’t work
underground in mines
• Ten Hours Act of 1847
– Limited work day for
women and children
to 10 hours a day
Reform
Movements
• Women’s rights
– Women could earn more
in factories than at home,
but were paid far less than
men
– Women’s right groups
began to form
• Abolition of slavery
– Ended in British Empire in
1833, and in US in 1863
• Public education
– To train a well-educated
work force for factories
• Prison reform