New Ways of Thinking
Thomas Malthus
• 1. Saw effects of population explosion: hunger
slums, misery
• 2. Wrote the Essay on the Principle of Population
• 3. Thought population would outpace food
supply
• 4. Urged poor to have fewer children
• 5. He was wrong-food supply grew even faster
• 6. By 1900, population growth no longer a factor
in West
Laissez-Faire Economics
• 1. In 1800s, business leaders embraced
Laissez-Faire economics
• 2. Adam Smith wrote about it in The Wealth
of Nations
• 3. Said free market would help everyone-not
just the rich
• 4. More goods would be produced for less
money for everyone.
Thomas Malthus
David Ricardo
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1. Laissez-Faire economist
2. Wrote Iron Law of Wages
3. Held dismal view, like Malthus
4. Was against wage increases because the
poor would have more children
• 5. Was against government assistance for the
poor.
Utilitarians
• 1. Utilitarianism-The goal of society should
be the greatest happiness for the greatest
number.
• Jeremy Bentham
• John Stuart Mill
Jeremy Bentham
• 1. Said all laws and actions should be judged
by their utility.
• 2. Strong supporter of individual freedom,
which he believed guaranteed happiness.
• 3. He saw the need for government
involvement
John Stuart Mill
• 1. British philosopher and economist-influenced
by Bentham
• 2. Wanted the government to improve the
working class.
• 3. Thought government should prevent the
business class from increasing their own
happiness at the expense of the working class.
• 4. Wanted women and workers to be able to
vote.
• 5. Mill’s ideas have been used by democratic
governments today.
Socialism
• Some thinkers condemned industrial
capitalism which they thought had created a
huge gulf between the rich and the poor.
• Socialism-the people as a whole rather than
private individuals own and operate the
factors of production.
• -Would include farms, factories, railroads and
other large businesses.
Utopians
• Utopians-Early socialists dreamed of a society
in which all work and property is shared
• Robert Owen• 1. Set up a model community in New Lanark
Scotland putting Utopian ideas into practice.
• 2. He was a successful mill owner who refused
to use child labor.
• 3. He campaigned for laws limiting child labor
and encouraged unions.
Robert Owen
Karl Marx
• 1. German philosopher-formulated “scientific
socialism”
• 2. Teamed with Friedrich Engels and wrote
The Communist Manifesto
• 3. Communism-a form of socialism which
would create a classless society where all
means of production would be owned by the
community.
Karl Marx
• 4. He argued economics was the driving force
in history
• 5. Argued there are “haves” and have nots”
• 6. The “haves” control society and its wealth
• 7. The “haves”-the bourgeoisie. The “have
nots –called the proletariat-the working class
• 8. Predicted the proletariat would triumph
over the bourgeoisie
Karl Marx
• 9. Workers would set up a classless society
• 10. Marx despised Capitalism-he urged
workers of all countries to unite.
Marxism
• At first Marxism gained popularity around the
world.
• Marxism adapted by Germany in 1860sformed a social democracy-a gradual
transition from capitalism to socialism.
• Russian Revolution in 1917 set up a
communist inspired government.
Marxism
• Independence leaders in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America would turn to Marxism
• Marxism lost its appeal when nationalism won
out over class unification
• People felt stronger ties to their own
countries.
• By the 20th century, few nations remained
with communist governments.
Definitions
• Means of production-farms, factories,
railways, and other large businesses that
produce and distribute goods.