<aside> <img src="/icons/bookmark-outline_gray.svg" alt="/icons/bookmark-outline_gray.svg" width="40px" /> In this lesson, you will…
Big Question: How did Marxist thought come to prominence in the Industrial Revolution?
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Capitalism is an economic system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
Under capitalism, there are three key assumptions:
IIn their practical application, capitalist economies are characterized by two key features:
Free trade plays an integral role. Without restrictions, trade can flourish and result in a more active and dynamic economy. This unrestricted exchange of goods and services facilitates economic growth and encourages competition, driving businesses to innovate and improve.
Private ownership of factors - include land, labor, factories, and capital - of production is another crucial element. In a capitalist economy, these resources are owned and controlled by individuals or corporations, not the state. This private ownership allows for a higher level of economic freedom and encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.
During the Industrial Revolution, however, urban factory workers were subjected to a multitude of abuses which significantly impacted their quality of life. These abuses encompassed low wages that barely met their basic needs, the prevalence of urban poverty that resulted from economic disparity, and the unsafe working conditions they were forced to endure. These conditions were often harsh and hazardous, posing a threat to their health and safety.
In 1846, Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels published the Communist Manifesto, a pamphlet that explains the communist theory of historical materialism.
Marx went further and critiqued capitalism in Das Kapital (1867)
Marxism puts forward historical materialism as a lens to look at history through – a theory of history.
Marxism is a theory that sets forth the idea of a society divided into two distinct classes. The two classes, namely the working class who sell their labor and the owning, or bourgeois, class who own the means of production, are in a constant state of competition and conflict. This theory of history, as presented by Marxism, proposes that the struggle between these two classes, driven by opposing interests, is a fundamental force in the shaping of society. The working class, often referred to as the proletariat, and the owning class are locked in a perpetual battle for resources, power, and control over the means of production, thus resulting in the constant evolution and transformation of social structures.
Bourgeoisie
1.Those with lots of money & power
2.Control the means of production
3.Oppressor
Proletariat
1.The “have-nots” - those who have little money and no power
2.the working class—oppressed
Marxists posited that the Industrial Revolution, a transformative period in history, gave birth to an inherently unstable economic system that celebrated greed. This system, they contended, was built upon and sustained by the relentless pursuit of wealth by the few, often at the expense of the many. This vast majority, often referred to as the common people, found themselves living in increasingly impoverished conditions as a direct result of this system.
They believed that the capitalist system would eventually destroy itself & the lower classes would rise up against their oppressors in a worldwide revolution.
Instead of capitalism, communism should take over with: