StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The Evolution of Capitalism - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Industrial revolution began in the late 18th and continuing to the 20th century in Britain then spread to other parts of Western Europe and United States. It was prompted by the availability of coal deposits, high population and international trade which Britain having the…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.5% of users find it useful
The Evolution of Capitalism
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Evolution of Capitalism"

Download file to see previous pages

Industrial revolution is believed to be the source of capitalism. Economists such as Adam Smith in his book “The wealth of nations” explained how division of labor produced new wealth beneficial to the society but this could only be achieved if the economy was left to operate on its own without government intervention through the invisible hand mechanism. However, economists such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels while acknowledging the advantages of capitalism were very critical of this system as it was based on class antagonisms and advocated for overthrow of capitalism and replacement with communism.

He was supported by Andrew Carnegie in that capitalism created new classes of the rich and the poor but differed on how to handle the problem. For him, the main problem was the administration of wealth and instead of overthrowing capitalism; it should be left to continue but the rich to help the poor so as to bring “peace on earth, among men of good-will.” The economists thus agree on the importance of capitalism but differ on the impact on society and how to deal with its negative consequences.

This paper will discuss the evolution of capitalism and its impact on society through the works of Adam Smith, Marx and Engels and Andrew Carnegie. Adam Smith is considered as the father of free market capitalism. Capitalism which was a consequence of industrial revolution in Britain brought a lot of changes to the society. The emergence of the factory system changed work patterns such that instead of individuals producing food for own use; they were now produced commodities for exchange in the market (Sanders et al. 203). Due to lack of other means of obtaining subsistence food and keeping their race going, they opted to offer their labor to factory owners in exchange of wages.

As such, labor became a commodity exchangeable in the market like other

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Evolution of Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1620228-the-evolution-of-capitalism
(The Evolution of Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1)
https://studentshare.org/history/1620228-the-evolution-of-capitalism.
“The Evolution of Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1620228-the-evolution-of-capitalism.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Evolution of Capitalism

Germany during WWII

Around the time when Industrial revolution had settled into a norm and capitalism had taken firm roots, many countries began noticing the trouble with overpowering influence of capitalism on lives of ordinary people.... World War I was seen as the main driving force behind strengthening of capitalism since it war economy was seen as the best way to "create a German Gemeinschaft in the service of the national welfare" (Feldman 1981: 164).... According to the main proponents of capitalism, this system can survive where political economic stability is present....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Today's World and Our Search for Ultimate Meaning

This essay "Today's World and Our Search for Ultimate Meaning" claims that date is referred to all decisions and all praises on the development made by the proletariat in these last fifty years.... nbsp;… Particularly now that Marxism is no longer the restricted property of any group, organization, or state, there is no reason for not returning to these writings if the object is not only to understand but also to change the world (Katz 2001)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Why did Capitalism first appear in Britiain rathen than any other area in the world

Although England already had characteristics of the rudimentary form of capitalism by 1815, it did not immediately take hold because the wealth and power structure of the country had not changed yet.... There were a number of factors which combined together to make capitalism take hold in England than in any other place and this is the subject of this… It was the early version of what we now call the perfect storm, a confluence of events to make a certain event happen in a place instead of in another place....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Capitalism and the Revolution Required to Overcome It

The specific doctrines of capitalism comprise of wage labor and property rights, and… Capitalism is highly associated with the growth of an economy, since the price and production processes are influenced by the market other than the government.... Today, it capitalism has emerged as one of the major economic systems that drives the most advanced nations.... Rights to private property give individuals However, capitalism has often been criticized for the emphasis that it lays on profit generation, and the manner is contributes to both economic and social inequality....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Did the Progressive reform substantially restrain the power of American capitalism

This essay describes captures the essence of the progressive reforms and their impacts on American capitalism.... Response: Did the Progressive reform substantially restrain the power of American capitalism?... Response: Did the Progressive reform substantially restrain the power of American capitalism?... Following the industrial revolution, American capitalism perforated in dimensions never seen before, and this exposed the ills inherent in the system....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Why Did Capitalism First Appear in Britain, Rather than Any Other Area of the World

The share of a particular investor in the stock of the company could be sold at the price that is agreed upon by the two parties bargaining and this formed The Evolution of Capitalism in Europe.... hellip; The History of capitalism cannot be complete without the mention of Britain as its origin as every evidence of capitalism was first seen in Britain before anywhere else in the world.... The ideals of capitalism were deeply rooted in the practice of the Britons in the wake of the industrial revolution that took place in Britain....
6 Pages (1500 words) Article

The Historical Evolution of Geography through Various Ages

This paper demonstrates the relationship between space and human behaviour with reference to the evolution of geography through various ages.... The paper "The Historical evolution of Geography through Various Ages" describes that space and human behavior are highly interrelated as shown through the analysis of the history of geography through various ages....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Contemporary Capitalism - Law Suits against MNCs

Contemporary capitalism entails the periodization of capitalism and The Evolution of Capitalism.... The continuous search for money can be referred to as the laws of motion of capitalism.... he laws of motion of capitalism state that the capitalist always has a compulsion to accumulate more, has a tendency towards continued technological revolutions, has an insatiable thirst for surplus value extraction, gravitates towards growing concentration and centralization of capital, has the tendency for the organic composition of capital to increase, has a tendency of the rate of profit to decline, the inevitability of class struggle under capitalism, has led to the growth of social polarization, has a tendency of growing objective socialization of labour and the inevitability of economic crises under capitalism....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us