The Interaction of Capitalism and IndustrializationCapitalism is one of the oldest economic systems in the world today and is founded on the concept of private ownership: what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours. It is also founded on the private ownership of all aspects of production, such as investment capital, land, and labor that is employed to create profits. Many scholars view capitalism as being synonymous with the free market system. Some have argued that capitalism is the protection of individual rights and property rights.[footnoteRef:1] Industrialization is a term very closely connected with the industrial revolution. Industrialization refers to the journey/procedure via which a region or local economy metamorphosizes from one founded on the dependence of agrarian pillars (such as farming) to one that is founded on the manufacture of goods. Via industrialization, manual labor on the small scale is replaced by mass production through mechanized means, and lines of people working in an assembly replace individual crafts people. While not perfect, industrialization is often connected to things like an economic boom, the division of labor in society, harnessing technological innovation as a means of solving problems, rather than keeping a primary focus on using individual control or strictly human-centered solutions. This paper will examine the interaction between capitalism and industrialization in America comparatively with these forces in China and discuss why the manifestations were so different. [1: Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands, 2001. Retrieved from http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Politics_Capitalism.html]
In America, there was a very clear relationship between capitalism and industrialism: the two supported one another in a symbiotic way. They both helped spur one another’s...
Even though industrialization can exist within any economic system, in America in the late 1800s, the economic system in place was capitalism, one which is very individualistic and which corresponded well to the pioneer spirit and the belief of forging a better life for oneself through grit and determination. As the textbook clearly states, entire new industries helped push the economic growth forward, and more and more regions and were able to export crucial raw materials to America for use in their rampant industrialization.[footnoteRef:2] Working symbiotically, these two forces were able to reinforce one another, making direct contributions to one another’s development. However, these forces weren’t perfect, and not all their repercussions were desirable. Both industrialization and capitalism created massive inequalities among regions of America, particularly in industrialized versus unindustrialized areas. With great changes in society, typically great anxieties come as well. Economic fluctuations also brought uncertainties that brought many people out of work. This also intensified resentments among people in society, as cities become crowded, as more people from the country flocked there in hopes of finding work. Also, with the boom of industrialization, the need for work, the anxiety during jobless times, and lack of inadequate childcare also meant that industrial capitalism helped enable evils like child labor: “In the canneries of Baltimore… children are permitted to work for long hours, even though they may be very young”[footnoteRef:3] [2: Robert Tignor et al.,Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of the World from the Beginnings of Humankind to the Present. The Mongol Empire to the Present. Volume Two. (New York, WW Norton, 2008) 668.] [3: “Child…
