Aim Identify thinkers and ideas that supported industrialization

Aim: Identify thinkers and ideas that supported industrialization

The Philosophers of Industrialization 19 th Century: Industrial Revolution opened a wide gap between the rich & poor n Business leaders believed that governments should stay out of business & economic affairs n n Laissez Faire: Refers to the economic policy of letting owners of industry & business set working conditions without interference n Policy favors a free market unregulated by the government n Stemmed from French economic philosophers of the Enlightenment n Argued that government regulations only interfered with the production of wealth n Philosophers believed that if government allowed free trade, then the economy would prosper n

Adam Smith & The Wealth of Nations Professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland n Defended the idea of a free economy or free market n n 1776: Writes the Wealth of Nations Claims economic liberty guaranteed economic progress n Result: Government should not interfere n Smith’s argument rested on what he called the three natural laws of economics n Law of self-interest n Law of competition n Law of supply & demand n

The Economists of Capitalism Smith’s basic ideas were supported by British economists Thomas Malthus & David Ricardo n Believed that natural laws governed economic life n Important ideas were the foundations of laissez-faire capitalism n n Capitalism: Economic system in which the factors of production are privately owned & money is invested in business ventures to make a profit n Laissez-Faire thinkers such as Smith, Malthus, & Ricardo opposed government efforts to help poor wages n Thought that creating minimum wage laws & better working conditions would upset the n