The industrial capitalism was the second stage of development of international capitalism that began in England with the First Industrial Revolution. It comprises a long period that goes from the end of the 17th century to approximately 1970. It started with the English textile industry.
Then it grew rapidly with the invention of the steam engine, which revolutionized manufacturing factory work. Industrial capitalism replaced the corporations created in colonial commercial capitalism. The factories replaced manual labor in certain areas and stimulated mechanization in the agricultural area.
Ford factory in 1924
Industrial capitalism was characterized by creating a complex social division of labor and raising productivity by introducing changes in work routines.
Its evolution or development took place in stages, as described by the American economist Walt W. Rostow when analyzing the economic growth of nations.
Origin
Industrial capitalism was preceded by commercial capitalism, which was quickly replaced by the development of machinery in England. This stage of capitalism was a consequence of the First Industrial Revolution that had several phases.
With the invention of the steam engine by Thomas Newcomen (1712), this process accelerated a century later, mainly during the first 25 years of the 19th century.
However, there were several elements that came together to alter the rhythm of the incipient industrial capitalism of the second half of the 18th century.
These elements include the advancement of cotton spinning mills, the modernization of agriculture and the creation of tools and machines that facilitated work. Increased mass production and declining costs stimulated rapid economic growth.
Thereafter the expansion of industrial capitalism throughout the 19th and 20th centuries did not stop, except with the Great Depression of 1929 in the United States.
To this process of constant growth were added technological innovations and scientific discoveries, which ended up consolidating industrial capitalism.
Other industrial branches joined the old metalworking, textile and mining industries. Electrical and chemical engineering, machine building, the automotive and aviation industry, and the war industry itself began a new phase in the industrialization process.
Economic expansion
Europe and the United States experienced unusual economic expansion and a period of prosperity. This process was only interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War and then in 1939, with the Second World War.
However, the industrial capitalist economy had a gigantic new boost after 1945, during the process of rebuilding Europe.
In the 70s, a new stage in the evolution of capitalism known as financial capitalism began, which was promoted in the 80s with the arrival of computers and the internet on the market.
characteristics
- Industrial capitalism was characterized by the predominance of private property of the factors of production (capital, land), instead of state control. It was based on the recognition of individual rights established during the Enlightenment, including copyright.
- The concept of the salaried worker emerged and was consolidated, which definitely marked this crucial stage in the development of capitalism. Labor power became one more commodity (Marx) that was bought and sold on the market. Workers were forced to sell their work in an increasingly competitive job market.
- Artisanal production gave way to mass production, mainly at the end of the 19th century and during the 20th century.
- The production system and work routines have definitely changed. Working hours were no longer carried out only during daylight hours, but were extended to 16 and 18 hours a day in some cases. Nor were they governed by seasonal periods, as was the case in agriculture.
- The factory contributed to a significant reduction in cost and production times. The capitalist industrialist obtained greater control over raw materials and the labor force for their use. This caused a greater organization and control of work to be established for the benefit of productivity.
- Consequently, the profits of the capitalist industrialist increased, by giving greater speed to the production processes and improving the quality of the goods produced.
- Another of the most outstanding characteristics (if not the main one) of industrial capitalism was the social division of labor. Separating tasks and establishing routines definitely transformed the nature of work.
Advantage
- Diversified the production and distribution of goods and services, allowing greater availability of these in the market.
- Contributed to consolidate national and international markets by promoting mass production.
- It created competition between different suppliers (manufacturers and traders), which allowed market forces to regulate themselves.
- Competition helped regulate the prices of goods and services.
- He promoted the freedom of choice to buy and sell, these ideas very quickly permeated into politics. Some of the principles of capitalism became the foundations of representative government.
- Increased employment rates by employing thousands of city and country workers in factories.
- It fostered progress by stimulating the creation of new technologies and deepening scientific advances that were put at the service of humanity.
- It made the productive apparatus more dynamic by discovering and activating the forces of production.
- Boosted the economic growth of nations.
- I satisfied human needs in all fields (economic, social, cultural).
Disadvantages
- Production was fundamentally based on the search for individual benefit. This is one of the main criticisms of capitalism as a system of production.
- There was overexploitation of wage labor, in which the entire family group (father, mother and children) ended up working in the factories.
- The dynamics of industrial capitalism led to social and economic inequality, by promoting the division of social classes. The two main resulting social classes were the capitalist and the worker.
- Monopolies and other deviations in the administration of private property began to be created.
- It stimulated the increase in consumerism to stimulate the market. This increase in consumption was also reflected in the irrational exploitation of natural resources.
- It contributed to the increase in environmental pollution by ignoring the social benefits and negative externalities that were generated.
References
- Industrial capitalism. Retrieved May 8, 2018 from britannica.com
- What does industrial capitalism mean? Consulted from quora.com
- Industrial Capitalism. Consulted of encyclopedia.com
- The Origins of Capitalism. Consulted from solfed.org.uk
- Capitalism. Consulted of en.wikipedia.org
- Industrial Capitalism. Consulted of standardsoflife.org