Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb’s Beliefs on Industrialization

Webb’s Linking the Industrial Revolution to Her Own Political Beliefs

Beatrice Webb is one of the famous socialists who drove significant policies concerning economics. Webb’s political belief was that socialism would evolve gradually and unopposed if political action and education collaboratively took charge. Her belief meant that many problems and challenges faced in England in the 19th century would be solved through social reforms, which impacted many people’s economic state of affairs. The link between the Industrial Revolution and Webb’s beliefs is seen in economic reconstruction and its effect on the people of England.

According to Webb, the positive outcome of the Industrial Revolution was that it brought success in manufacturing and employment of people, hence gaining a livelihood. Webb supports this by saying that many commodities have been produced from new factories at an accelerating speed with falling production costs. This promoted Adam Smith’s idea of the wealth of nations. In that case, Great Britain became the world’s workshop, leading to its powerful government and wealthiest in the 19th century (Webb 195). However, Webb noted an adverse impact of the Industrial Revolution. It deprived men of economic independence and lowered their capacity to own property since they only worked to afford life.

Webb’s Argument Regarding Socialism

Webb argued that socialism would provide an alternative to the dictatorship of capitalism as initially idealized in the Marxism revolution. That was possible through the formation of political enfranchisement and education for people to stop over-relying on wages by forming co-operatives that gave them more economic opportunities (Webb 196). Through the idea of co-operatives, Webb highlighted that trade unions could bring economic independence to every person rather than massive wealth to a few individuals and the government.

The key purpose of Webb becoming a socialist, as she says, was to “discover whether there was any practicable alternative to capitalism which had reduced people from producing into becoming subordinate hands (Webb 195).” Therefore, Webb argued that trade unions would bring ideal self-employment through collective bargaining as manual workers would secure a change brought by the Industrial Revolution to produce and control the capital, which is more of managing the industries. It was necessary to form co-operatives, such as the Co-operative Movement (Webb 196). Webb’s ideas epitomized a long journey toward socioeconomic success worldwide.

Specifically, Webb distanced herself from the capitalist society, which had seen fraud take place at the expense of peasants. She said that capitalism had deprived people of the freedom of initiative to produce (Webb 196). As a champion of economic equality, Webb saw it wise for people to use training from industries to start their industrial firms instead of relying on a capitalist structure. Additionally, Webb said that capitalism had caused people to get “abandoned to the rigors of unrestrained individual competition (Webb 196).” By that, Webb meant that people were only taken as subordinate hands by trimming them from playing a part in the production of commodities.

The Positive Effects of Industry According to Webb

As Webb explains, the emergence of multiple employment opportunities that working-class members could explore is the main positive effect of industry. Introducing a new and nuanced perspective on the effects of the industrial revolution that necessitated capitalism (Webb 197). Her ability to encompass both the positive and adverse effects of the Industrial Revolution and the multiple dimensions of the core alterations, including socioeconomic, sociocultural, and sociopolitical ones, made her viewpoint different from other socialists. Webb used that faction as a foundation for economic self-independence because people had learned production methods and did not lobby for overthrowing capitalist culture (Webb 196).

Webb says the “New product-driven machine industry was the making of pecuniary profit; a purpose which had been fulfilled (Webb 194).” In that aspect, she means that the proprietors of the industries had gained high returns, which led to the development of social classes despite her rebuking the same. Through economic industrialization, ruling oligarchies emerged in 1815, giving them the power to form steady governments (Webb 195). Thus, the Industrial Revolution gave merit to the categorization of classes, which paved the way for the rich to control the poor.

Webb’s Contrast with Other Socialists

Webb had an objective perspective of the socialists who had come before her. She sought an alternative to the blow that capitalist industry had brought to society. She perceived that the East of London, which belonged to the Social Democratic Federation, preached what seemed nothing to her but was a disastrous upending of an order that existed then. Webb saw no sign of existence in the orders. Rather, it appeared to her as the “vaguest of incomprehensible utopias (Webb 196).” However, Webb supported socialists who lauded trade unions, such as Liberal and Conservative movers, since they recommended a small-scale industry owned by working men who would eliminate capitalist entrepreneurship.

The Form of Socialism Webb Embraces

Based on Webb’s experiences in Great Britain’s economy and the Industrial Revolution, she identified herself as a cooperative federalist. That means she embraced cooperative federalism, which called for the emergence of consumer cooperative societies (Webb 194). Socialism is clear from Webb’s belief that people needed to be in trade unions to enable collective bargaining (Webb 196). Collective bargaining is where the interests of the majority are considered through legal championing of the needs of people, a subject that co-operatives embrace. That means people could have self-independence in production rather than relying on manipulative merchants who were egocentric of their wealthy classes, which killed equality in Great Britain in the 19th century (Webb 195). Acknowledging that socialism in its raw form is quite flawed and that capitalism, with all its negative effects, incorporated certain useful ideas.

Work Cited

Webb, Beatrice. My Apprenticeship. Cambridge University Press, 1979.

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DemoEssays. (2024, October 30). Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb's Beliefs on Industrialization. https://demoessays.com/ideologies-of-change-in-europe-beatrice-webbs-beliefs-on-industrialization/

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"Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb's Beliefs on Industrialization." DemoEssays, 30 Oct. 2024, demoessays.com/ideologies-of-change-in-europe-beatrice-webbs-beliefs-on-industrialization/.

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DemoEssays. (2024) 'Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb's Beliefs on Industrialization'. 30 October.

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DemoEssays. 2024. "Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb's Beliefs on Industrialization." October 30, 2024. https://demoessays.com/ideologies-of-change-in-europe-beatrice-webbs-beliefs-on-industrialization/.

1. DemoEssays. "Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb's Beliefs on Industrialization." October 30, 2024. https://demoessays.com/ideologies-of-change-in-europe-beatrice-webbs-beliefs-on-industrialization/.


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DemoEssays. "Ideologies of Change in Europe: Beatrice Webb's Beliefs on Industrialization." October 30, 2024. https://demoessays.com/ideologies-of-change-in-europe-beatrice-webbs-beliefs-on-industrialization/.