John Smith And The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution began in Britain during the late 18th century. Britain around this time began to change rapidly. Some of the changes benefited society, while others caused harm to most of the society. The increased technology increased the standard of living by lowering the cost of many basic products; modern buildings were constructed; industrialization and the invention of the steam engine tremendously improved the speed and methods of transportation, which made it more possible to reach wider markets. The middle and working class was affected the most. The middle class had more influence in politics, gained higher status, achieved greater wealth and got new opportunities. Sadly, the working class had to work long hours for

Smith suggested that “leave people alone to buy and sell freely among themselves” (Smith). The purpose of government is not to make everyone equal, but rather protect the rights of the individual and give everyone the freedom to pursue their personal interest for maximum profit. Smith believed that humans' natural tendency toward self-interest results in “benefiting society as a whole even though such beneficial results were not the specific focus or intent of those actions” (Smith). There are two examples related to Smith’s ideas. First, “people prefer to invest at home rather than foreign industry for the sake of his own security” (Smith). There is no denying that these industries can add to the country's economic growth, create jobs, increase the overall wealth of the country and lead to a better balance of trade, which will in return benefit the whole society. Second, when people are given the freedom to be the best they can be, the result is the rich and the poor have a better economic situation. The theory of the Invisible Hand states that “if each consumer is allowed to choose freely what to buy and each producer is allowed to choose freely what to sell and how to produce it, the market will settle on a product distribution and prices that are beneficial to all the individual members of a community” (Smith). In this case, producers will produce their desired amount of beneficial goods in the most efficient manner in hopes of gaining the greatest market share and revenue. In order to attract and contain customer, private individuals have to keep price low and keep quality high. Producers use the idea of the Division of labor, the increasing specialization of work, to increase the efficiency of workers, to increase productivity, and lower price. It is also worth to mention that when a consumer purchases something, the producer, in turn, might hire