Section 4 New Ways of Thinking

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Section 4 New Ways of Thinking

• Setting the Scene
• In Britain, Thomas Malthus saw the effects of
  the population explosioncrowded slums, hungry
  families, unemployment, and widespread misery.
  Malthus believed that poverty and misery were
  unavoidable because the population was increasing
  faster than the food supply. Malthus was one of
  many thinkers who tried to understand the
  staggering changes taking place in the early
  industrial age. As heirs to the Enlightenment,
  these thinkers looked for natural laws that
  governed the world of business and economics.

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I. Laissez-Faire Economics

• Middle-class business leaders embraced a
  laissez-faire, or "hands-off," approach

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I. Laissez-Faire Economics

• In The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith, asserted
  that a free market would help everyone, not just
  the rich

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I. Laissez-Faire Economics

• Thomas Malthus predicted that population would
  outgrow food supply - the poor would suffer

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I. Laissez-Faire Economics

• Economist David Ricardo proposed an iron law of
  wages, and believed the working class would
  never escape poverty

David Ricardo (1772 1823)
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I. Laissez-Faire Economics

• Ricardo and Malthus believed the poor had too
  many children, but opposed government help for
  them

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II. The Utilitarians

• Jeremy Bentham preached utilitarianism - the goal
  of society should be "the greatest happiness for
  the greatest number" of citizens

Bentham also is known for an odd request in his
will he ordered that his remains be preserved
and kept in a box, to be displayed on occasion to
friends and followers. This "auto-icon," dressed
in Bentham's own clothes, is kept in a special
cabinet at University College London to this day.
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II. The Utilitarians

• John Stuart Mill called for giving workers and
  women the vote and sought other reforms

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III. Socialism

• Socialists condemned the evils of capitalism and
  believed the people should control the means of
  production

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III. Socialism

• Socialists wanted a world in which society would
  operate for the benefit of all members

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A. The Utopians

• Early socialists built communities where work was
  shared and property was commonly owned

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B. Robert Owen

• Owen insisted that the environment in which
  people lived shaped their character

Owen was convinced that if he created the right
environment, he could produce rational, good and
humane people. Owen argued that people were
naturally good but they were corrupted by the
harsh way they were treated.
Robert Owen (1771 1858)
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C. Marxism

• Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The
  Communist Manifesto, claiming economics was the
  driving force of history

Karl Marx (1818 1883) Friedrich Engels
(1820 1895)
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C. Marxism

• The entire course of history was "the history of
  class struggles between the "haves and the
  "have-nots

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C. Marxism

• The "haves were bourgeoisie owning the means of
  production the "have-nots were the proletariat,
  or working class.

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C. Marxism

• The class struggle pitted bourgeoisie against
  proletariat in the end the proletariat would
  triumph

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C. Marxism

• A classless, communist society would emerge and
  wealth and power would be equally shared

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• Workers of the world unite you have nothing to
  lose but your chains.
• The theory of Communism may be summed up in one
  sentence abolish all private property
• The production of too many useful things results
  in too many useless people.
• From each, according to his ability to each,
  according to his need
• The first requisite for the happiness of the
  people is the abolition of religion