The emergence of capitalism created a largely urban middle class committed to expanding markets. As the members of the middle class gain more wealth, their influence over government leaders increased and the growth of commerce gave motive to voyages of trade and discovery. The need for the colonies were acquired to supply raw materials (resources) and serve as new markets. So more products and goods created the need of new markets. This move from self-sufficient society to a dependent society which is what we still live right now.
The significance of the industrial Revolution open the door for economic growth from agricultural society to an industrial society. This created a variety of jobs that did not exist before. Leading people to migrate to the cities or urban areas. In this urban areas people started to change the way of living and members of a family would have different role than they had before. The role of women change according of the class they belong. Middle class women stay home and take care of the domestic activities and the kids, but if is working class will be working in the factories. It created a new social class, middle and working class. With the emergence of new inventions and technology also started the Environmental issues like Global warming and pollution and working exploitation like Child labor. We can also observe increasing trade between nation.
Then when everything looks good in 1920 we have the Great Depression. Which basically was because Unites States economy growth was dependent of a war, the WWI and when this was over, everything when down for over production. Why? because this "wartime demand had greatly stimulated agricultural and industrial capacity. By the end of the 1920s, its farms and factories were producing more goods than could be sold because a highly unequal distribution of income meant that many people could not afford to buy the products that American factories were churning out"(986).
In respond to this crisis President Franklin Roosevelt "through immediate programs of public spending (for dams, highways, bridges, and parks), the New Deal sought to prime the pump of the economy and thus reduce unemployment." (1006). Roosevelt was following what John Maynard Keynes, a prominent British economist said "government actions and spending programs could moderate the recessions and depressions to which capitalist economies were prone"(1006). Capitalism is not perfect and nobody said it was but nobody want to ear why is not perfect either.
Still this knowledge did not stop the 2008 recession in the United Sated again. It was not like 1920 but still show uncertainties on the economic system. One of the philosopher that come back to life was Karl Mark. Marx’s prediction was based in a scientific analysis of repeating patterns of facts throughout history. One point of analysis of how close Marx was in his prediction, we saw it in the 2008 economic crisis. He talks about the danger of accumulation of wealth in a few people. This will end up being the accumulation of misery in a lot of people. All in the name to have more profit which will lead to an overproduction. United State companies are shipping their factory to other countries because they want to reduce the cost of production with the goal of having more profit. This leads to overproduction and no much demand to buy this production. The demand that has the money to buy this products. Today, the economy of the entire capitalist world is dominated by a handful of giant transnational monopolies such as Walmart. In Walmart you can buy a product cheaper than everywhere else but the cost is people getting pay less than they should and little business that cannot compete with Walmart price. This lead small business to close. Small business that are the real job creators in this economy. The great recession of 2008 was based on the easy credit that people was getting from Banks. This easy credit allowed poor households to enjoy a more affluent lifestyle. They were expecting that the housing price will raised but it did not happened.The housing price crash and all the sudden people ended up owing more than the house was worth.
Source: Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History. Bedford Bks St Martin'S, 2014.
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