The Rise of the Industrial “Class” and a New Way of Thinking

Origins came from the concept of “private ownership”. Adam Smith wrote, “The Wealth of Nations” (1776) – Individuals should own the means of production and sell their products and services in a free and open market, where the demand for their goods and services would determine their prices and availability. – A free-market system (a.k.a. capitalism), Smith argued, would best meet the needs and desires of individuals and nations as a whole. – When governments remove themselves entirely from regulation, the process is called:

Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations To him, the "wealth" of a nation wasn't determined by the size of its monarch's treasure or the amount of gold and silver in its vaults, nor by the spiritual worthiness of its people in the eyes of the Church. A nation's wealth was to be judged by the total value of all the goods its people produced for all its people to consume.

While Adam Smith believed that free market capitalism would lead to better opportunities for everyone, a man named Karl Marx disagreed entirely.

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto To some people, the Industrial Revolution only seemed to cause greater separation between the classes—while factory owners made good profits, workers sunk into poverty. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, two radical thinkers from Germany, wrote The Communist Manifesto, a 23-page pamphlet that eventually would trigger revolutions around the world.

CapitalismCommunism Founder Adam Smith Karl Marx Books The Wealth of Nations The Communist Manifesto Das Kapital

CapitalismCommunism View of Government Government should not interfere with economy: laissez- faire Everything is owned by the government Government closely regulates the economy

View of people: People become wealthy because they offer a good or service that people want to buy People should cooperate to achieve success, no competition Everyone should have an equal share of the wealth/property

How to improve social conditions? If people work hard enough, they can lift themselves out of poverty Government ownership of the economy will end hunger, poverty, and slave-like working conditions

Individual Freedoms People are free to choose their own careers People are free to choose their own careers Freedom of religion Freedom of religion Freedom is more important than security Freedom is more important than security Government determines job placement Government determines job placement Religion is the “opiate of the masses” and should be done away with Religion is the “opiate of the masses” and should be done away with Sacrifice freedom for security Sacrifice freedom for security

On the future Capitalism is the only efficient economic system “It’s not perfect, but it’s the best we can do” Capitalism will destroy itself Capitalism will destroy itself Workers will eventually rise up in a violent revolution and take power Workers will eventually rise up in a violent revolution and take power The future of the world is communism The future of the world is communism

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