Pros And Cons Of The Industrial Revolution

The source suggests that in order for a nation to have increased stability and fewer hardships, a hands-on approach from the government is a necessity, as laissez-faire economics - or, capitalism, can promote social inequality and instability within a nation. The author talks about the demerits of laissez-faire capitalism, an economic system highly individualistic in nature where the government plays little to no role. The industrial revolution was an example of laissez-faire capitalism, promoting individual rights and the ideology of classical liberalism. Though the industrial revolution was an economic boom, it was not a sustainable one, and lead to exploitation of working-class individuals by private enterprises, horrible working conditions,

A rapidly expanding market economy with emphasis on competition and individualism had led to a transportational and economic peak for America. Deriving many positives, like the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 and the inventions of the telegraph, sewing machines, and steam engines; it also had significant drawbacks. Some circumstances brought forth by the industrial revolution were highly negative; allowing opulent factory, railroad and mine owners to exploit working-class citizens. This led to awful working conditions, which consisted of underpayment, unsanitary and unsafe workplace regulations, child labor, and significantly widened the socio-economic gap. As a means to solve the failures of classical liberalism, socialist ideologies were brought forth, with increased government intervention and a “hands-on” approach to mitigate the unfair working conditions. A great example of this, and one of the most impactful presidencies of American history, is Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s presidency emerged in the midst of the Great Depression, with the economy plummeting and unemployment at a new high. He introduced what came to be known as a “Square Deal,” which is a series of initiatives by the federal government aimed to end the socio-economic devastation at-hand. A significant level of government intervention was taken, and a

John Maynard Keynes was an economist who had a significant impact on economic theory in the early 20th century. Keynesian economics promotes the shift between classical and modern liberalism by suggesting a mixed-market or a welfare state approach. A far-right political approach on economy, or a free-market economy is rejected by Keynesian economics as Keynes did not believe an economy would simply correct itself; this was proven through the downward spiral of the Great Depression, with no signs of fixing itself without government intervention. Following the Great Depression, he released a book in which he had outlined fiscal and monetary policies that had been adopted by many socialist democratic parties, such as Roosevelt’s. Fiscal policies are government expenditure, borrowing, and taxation in order to boost economic activity when nation-wide economies suffer a downturn, and monetary policies are to control the supply of money in a country through established interest rates and regulated money-printing. Keynesianism asserts that a government should intervene in the economy to overturn the problems of market failure. An economic theory like this allows democratic leaders like Roosevelt to implement socialist policies. Adopted all around the world, Keynesian economics became a great deterrent in the continued negative trajectory of the Depression, and had