Essay about The Industrial Revolution, Capitalism, and Socialism

Two of the world’s most popular and diverse economic systems are Communism and Capitalism. Capitalism, or a free enterprise economy, is an economic system constructed by the freedoms of the marketplace. The capitalist economy has several promising advantages. The capitalist government subtly changes and adjusts to the current conditions with ease. A communist system can be defined as an economic system where many, if not all, factors of production are controlled and owned by the government.

The socialists, believing everyone is equal, saw that the proletariat was being treated poorly and knew that would have to change. The cruel working conditions and little civil rights made a gap that no single man could cross without help. Many believed that socialism was the key. Socialism grew from the problems of the Industrial Revolution. The relationship of the Revolution to socialism was that of a problem to a solution, respectively. If not for the Industrial Revolution, the problems between the classes would never have grown so apparent. Then again, without the Industrial Revolution the world would be stuck in the past.

The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was arguably the most important turning point in history. It transformed the manufacture of goods from craftsmanship to commercialism, exponentially increasing output and decreasing production cost leading to prosperity and an unprecedented supply of goods for the markets of the world. Industrialization and mass production was the fuel which ignited the flame of capitalism which was already established creating bringing sweeping changes in wealth and its distribution. Within a few generations the very fabric of society was virtually remade as millions left the farms and villages of the countryside for jobs in the cities. This monumental change did not immediately sweep

Communism started around the mid - nineteenth century. It is a political and economic belief. Communists work toward getting rid of any privately owned property or any businesses that make a profit (“Communism”). In Communism, there is no personal ownership, because the government owns everything. Since the Government owns everything, the only people eligible to earn money are people with high paying jobs. It appeared there were no middle or poor class, but only a rich class. Communists used the class system to try to work on eliminating any properties owned or profit’s made. But it didn’t work. In a communist society, the class system is the main reason why the society failed.

     Throughout history, there have been many systems developed in order to have a better society. Two of the most analyzed, and debated systems that have tired to change an economy for the best are communism, and capitalism. Communism, and capitalism have been compared on many levels, such as why they will or will not work, and which one works better. Throughout this essay I will concentrate on the differences, and similarities of how each operates, along with the benefits, and problems that each of them produces.

Capitalism is an economic system which has now embedded in our roots and mindset. Communism on the other hand has not been successful for the countries that were trying to impinge upon the idea of communism have now themselves been proponent of capitalist system of economy, just because of an overwhelming expansion of capitalism throughout the world. Adding on, the capitalist system has entrenched so much in the world and in the minds of people that it has transformed into a behavior rather than just a system of governance or economic growth. Sigmund Freud has written a seminal book, ‘Civilization and Its Discontents’, which directly deals with the mindset of societies and countries with regards to their adaptability and rigidness of a system of phenomenon into their lives as a part of their

The Industrial Revolution brought so many advances in the beginning of the 18th century and spread throughout the world. Even though we’ve become modernized by the cause of the Industrial Revolution, we’ve encountered so many hardships, creating instability in society around the world. This advancement at the time has created the rise of capitalism, affected labor among the people and lead to horrible living conditions in the early days of the Industrial Revolution.

Capitalism and Communism are both economic systems, adopted by different regions, which has played a major role in how society has been shaped in the 20th century. Capitalism, is simply an economic system where things like property and/or businesses are owned and controlled by individuals instead of the government. The United States was one of the first majorly developed regions to adopt this philosophy and it has had a huge impact on the global economy by allowing free market competition and by promoting the culture of work. Communism, is an economic system in which things like businesses and property are own and controlled by the government. Communism was adopted by the Soviet Union and played a critical role in global politics and social classes.

Firstly, a brief explanation of some of the terms I will be using. Capitalism is an economic system where businesses and the means of production are owned by private individuals for profit. In a socialist economy, the means of production are owned by the community as a whole and individuals get rewarded for their work based on the following principle: from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. In communism, items are divided up based on, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Finally, I will use the terms proletariat and bourgeoisie.

Throughout the Cold War the United States circulated the idea that communism was not just the enemy of capitalism, but would lead to the undermining of American democracy. Under the propaganda communism was written off as a structure that would take the power from the individual and give it to the state allowing for the rise of totalitarian oppression. Communism was made to be a threat to the freedom our government and the free market system provided. Marx’s considered socialism however, as the necessary step to communism, true democracy, equality and freedom in releasing the individual from exploitation at the hands of the bourgeois. In the following paper, I aim to demonstrate that socialism is more compatible with the values of

Communism, by definition, is the anti-capitalism, “a way of organizing a society in which the government owns the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) and there is no privately owned property” (Merriam Webster). Communism is the belief that everyone in a society receives the same benefits from labor. The key ideas behind communism is that society should not have class stratification (proletariat, bourgeois, and upper class), and that the poor should be freed from poverty and endless labor. The “father” of communism is Karl Marx (1818-1883), who authored the Communist Manifesto with Friedrich Engels. The purpose of the Communist Manifesto was to separate communism from socialism, and was meant to arouse the proletariat class into action, “Let the ruling classes tremble at the Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!,”(1.4). Marx wanted to encourage the working class to rise up against oppression and take control. Countries which participate in communism are China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam (About). “Communist leaders like

Capitalism and Socialism are two major different types of systems used in societies throughout the world that have a similar goal in end. Each system handles economics, political protest, and problems of diversity differently. Socialists believe economic inequality has a negative effect on society, and the government is responsible for reducing poverty through free education and other programs, social security for the elderly, higher taxes on the rich. Meanwhile, capitalists believe that the governments do not need to have complete control over the economy, and therefore society is better off to with free market allowing private enterprises to compete for economic

The cause and effect of capitalism, is to allow rich people to invest their money in projects and make more money. This system uses the investment of money to produce profit. The cause was to allow people with more money to advance themselves in business and make more money. Capitalism is based on “free enterprise” and individual rights. This misleadingly suggests that capitalism is economically and socially progressive. However, it rather benefits the selfish interests of a few, the privileged elite of the developed world, and damages the interests of everyone else. When a capitalist makes profit, they are essentially stealing value which is produced by labor.

From Capitalism, came an opposing theory known as Communism. Communism is "the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat." (3) The proletariat is best described as the working class. Their formation was precipitated by the Industrial Revolution, which took place in England during the 18th century. Communism promoted the empowerment of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, in order to gain class equality.

During the second half of the 17th century, there were a drastic breakthrough in mainly Great Britain’s, but gradually the rest of the worlds development, that would lead to radical changes in peoples lives, working relations and environment.