Industrial Revolution Capitalism and Communism - Essay Example

Running Head: Industrial Revolution: Capitalism Industrial Revolution: Capitalism and Communism NameDate of SubmissionIndustrial Revolution: Capitalism and CommunismIntroduction: Two Major Social Consequences of Industrial Revolution Industrial revolution can be regarded as the culmination of the transition period between the medieval and modern ages of human history. Two of the major social consequences of the industrial revolution are:1. Organization of laborers in the society to challenge unbridled laissez faire.2. Mechanization of production processes leading to extensive urbanization.A. Reasons behind Selection of these Consequences First, significance of the organization of laborers against laissez faire has to be discussed.

According to Marxism, a distinct class of laborers always existed in our society and they were the have-nots (Ingham, 2008; Lansford, 2008). Industrial revolution further led to the construction of modern factories, ports, railroad, etc., which demanded industrial labor force. Subsequently, this labor force could not be made to fit itself inside the dimensions of medieval economy that used to be fully controlled by the monarchs, businessmen, and noblemen. Hence, labor organization against the medieval structure of laissez faire led to significant change in industrial and economic relations influencing the society as a whole (Goloboy, 2006).

In examining that how the workers’ lives were altered by industrialization, we must say that the workers had to acquire newer skill sets, work for longer, and function production oriented without rest and entertainment. Factory owners chose to exploit them and society changed rapidly. Workers were now underpaid, they lived in factory system, and state became a managing committee of the business owners (Carlton, 1920). Second, mechanization of production processes the number of people working in the factories.

The lifestyle in agrarian economy was drastically different from that in the industrial economy. This led to extensive urban development since changes in lifestyle increased ambition and consumption of the masses. After initial hurdles, urban development led to social mixing, abolition of obsolete traditions, and innovation of shorter and simpler social customs, rituals, formalities, etc. But the economic differences between the owners and the workers began to become steeper along with these developments.

Owners continued to become richer and workers continued to become poorer.B. Industrial Revolution and Development of Capitalism During and after industrial revolution, a new class of businessmen emerged who have enough capital, which they could use to build factories and experiment with different methods production engineering and fund research. This weakened the economic control of monarchs, although no significant political change took place. Hence, a powerful business class – the capitalists emerged, who established the system of capitalism (Goloboy, 2006).

Relationship between the working class and the owners was (and is still) a crucial instrument in capitalist functionality. Initially, this relationship involved limited interaction. Capitalists almost randomly exploited the workers. They forgot that it were the workers who would ultimately consume the finished goods. Hence overproduction and economic depression were the results of this unequal relationship. Overtime by the workers and technology helped mass production, but economy did not always welcome this (Blumer, 1990).

The working class reacted to this sort of system by unionizing, protesting, and demanding more political power.C. Rise of Capitalism and Development of Communism Capitalism is not directly responsible for the development of communism. Considering Keynesian perspective, capitalism is not an entirely exploitative system (Ingham, 2008). However, capitalists turned out to be generally greedy and corrupt ones obtained more political powers. They now wanted to capture more natural resources, produce arms, and ultimately geared towards war.

Hence, Marx and Engel held capitalism almost entirely responsible for the plight of the working class and advocated for an alternative socio-economic and political order – the communism (Lansford, 2007). Communism viewed capitalism and imperialism as inseparable phenomena of the modern world, and it stated that it opposed the consequences of imperialism and capitalism, which were held to be misery of workers, war, and colonialism. Instead of eradicating specifically the greedy capitalists, masses began to assemble with the slogan of ‘Workers of World Unite’ and development of communism began.

It aimed at the destruction of capitalism altogether. Workers felt communism was better than capitalism – the system that communism advocated was people oriented. Further when Lenin appeared in the scene and Bolshevik Revolution was successful, communism become more appealing. Its extreme stance against capitalism popularized it while other ideologies like syndicalism, democratic socialism, etc. almost failed.D. Two Significant Differences between Capitalism and Communism In the following table, two significant differences between capitalism and communism are shown:CapitalismCommunismNo significant challenge to religious freedomPursues atheism and does not allow religious freedomScope for private enterpriseNo scope for private enterpriseTable – 1The differences mentioned in the table above are justified for being considered as significant because:i) The issue of religious freedom has been pivotal in the movements against the communist states during the 1980s (e.g. Solidarity Movement in Poland).

Dominance of political ideology over religious practices suffocated the air of freedom. In erstwhile USSR, all religious institutions along with the Orthodox Church had been closed. Belief in God and other supernatural powers was almost banned. In a communist state it is still dangerous to practice religion overly (Lansford, 2007).ii) Complete ban on private enterprise has rather been an impractical socio-economic idea. In fact, even the puritan Soviets adopted a mixed economy in practice. Ban on private enterprise lowered the quality of industry, caused entrepreneurial enthusiasm to subside, and profound frustration even among the powerful bureaucrats.

Collectivization in all fields led to the rule of mediocrity, eradicated competition, and undermined the importance of meritocracy.ReferencesBlumer, H. (1990). Industrialization as an Agent of Social Change: A Critical Analysis. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., KG.Carlton, F.T. (1920). The History and Problems of Organized Labor. Lexington: D.C. Hearth and Company.Goloboy, J.L. (2008). Industrial Revolution: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.Ingham, G. (2008). Capitalism. Malden: Polity Press.

Lansford, T. (2007). Communism. Selangor Darul Ehsan: Marshall Cavendish.Riemer, N. and Simon, D. (1997). The New World of Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.