Blog #3 Part 2

Hey there, and welcome to Part 2 of my third blog post! In this section, I will be looking for an answer to the second third and fourth questions I posed in my second blog post I recommend you skim it for context if you haven't already read it. I will also briefly discuss the information I will be including in my final product (i.e., information I haven't included in any blog posts, such as the answer to my primary question). 


Firstly, let's touch upon the connection between Communism and Utopia. The term "Utopia" refers to a perfect or ideal state, where every citizen is entitled to equality, liberty, and overall happiness. Throughout history, many thinkers have come up with theories about what it would be like to create a Utopian society and how life would be led within it. The most well-known is Thomas More, an eminent Renaissance humanist who wrote a book entitled Utopia in 1516.

Figure 1: A portrait of Thomas More. His novel Utopia lays the framework for many Communist ideas and inspired Karl Marx. He was one of the first individuals to suggest abolishing private property. In his book, private property is, in fact, a completely foreign concept with which citizens are unfamiliar. He promoted a high level of religious tolerance, free speech, as well as the equal distribution of food, money, and status. Education in his Utopian state is based on ethics and happiness. The government is a democracy, with an elected sovereign and well-organized public agents that 'rule.' The only wars that are seen as worthwhile are ones to defend or liberate the nation. However, it should be noted that there are slaves performing undesirable tasks in More's Utopia.






More's Utopian society is essentially an escape from or alternate form of reality, where morals govern beliefs and society. In theory, it sounded like every working class individual's dream. Yet, in reality, the ideas in More's book were never executed in the perfect way he envisioned. Although, as stated above, many of his ideas fed into the core principles of Scientific Socialism and Communism (i.e. the requirements to create a Communist society), they were taken to an extreme and sometimes modified, which had negative results. In many Communist societies that sprang up in the twentieth century, only a small percentage of people ended up enjoying the benefits of living in "Utopia" while the rest lived in poverty, much like in a Capitalist society. For instance, education in Communist countries was used to spread propaganda among an impressionable populace. Private property was abolished, but for different reasons than it would be in a true Utopian society: instead of the focus of the act being equality, the Communists focused on political gains for the state.


This leads me to writing about one of the main reasons why Communist societies may have collapsed in the end: the role of religion. As previously mentioned, More's Utopian Society favoured religious tolerance, while countries such as the Soviet Union attempted to ban religion altogether. In Book 2, Page 97 of Utopia, More says that the ruler of the fictitious Utopian world, King Utopus "...decreed that every man might cultivate the religion of his choice."

Figures 2 and 3: Anti-religious propaganda from the Soviet Union. Figure 2 says "the struggle against religion is the struggle for socialism" and Figure 3 says "there is no God." The Soviet Union was able to ban religion by creating specialized propaganda units (i.e. League of the Godless), destroying houses of worship, killing or imprisoning thousands of religious supporters (especially members of the Russian Orthodox Church), and making it illegal to teach  religion to children. They believed that, in order to suppress rebellion, there must be widespread atheism across the country, with the former head of the Soviet state (Vladimir Lenin) comparing religion to a venereal disease. Soviet critic Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn confirms this. He said "militant atheism is not merely incidental or marginal to Communist policy. It is not a side effect, but the central pivot."




In my final product, I will answer my primary question, "Did the Industrial Revolution Lead to the Cold War" by analyzing all the information I found on how the "west" (i.e. Britain, United States, etc.) and the "east" (i.e. the Soviet Union) reacted to the Industrial Revolution and the concepts of Capitalism and Communism that rose alongside or in reaction to it. I will then determine whether there is a connection between them and the Cold War.

Works Cited

Fraser, Giles. "Why the Soviet Attempt to Stamp out Religion Failed." The Guardian, October 26, 2017. Accessed December 16, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2017/oct/26/why-the-soviet-attempt-to-stamp-out-religion-failed.

Marc'hadour, Germain P. "Thomas More." Encyclopædia Britannica. November 22, 2018. Accessed December 16, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-More-English-humanist-and-statesman.

More, Thomas. Utopia. 1551

PIRNUTA, Oana Andreea, and Ioana Anca GRIGORESCU. On Utopia- Between Philosophy and Communism. University of Brasov, Romania. May 27, 2011. Accessed December 16, 2018. http://www.afahc.ro/ro/afases/2011/socio/PIRNUTA_GRIGORESCU_2.pdf.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn." Encyclopædia Britannica. December 07, 2018. Accessed December 16, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksandr-Solzhenitsyn.

Blog #3 Part 1

Hey! Welcome to part one of my third blog post! In this section, I will be searching for an answer to the first question I posed in Blog #2, specifically: were industrialists radicalized by Adam Smith and the ideas of Capitalism? What were the effects of Capitalism on society? How did people react? I recommend you skim it over for context if you haven't already read it. I will also talk about a challenge I've faced in my research and how I plan to overcome it.

First, let's discuss how Capitalism and Adam Smith's ideas affected society (both positively and negatively). Arguably, the most positive trait that Capitalism introduced to society is the incentive to work hard. People had to work hard so their efficiency would increase, allowing them to compete with others in the marketplace and supply the "best" products and services.

This proved to be beneficial for the economies of the countries that implemented these practices. For instance, Britain experienced a major increase in agricultural and industrial production, with the addition of useful new inventions (such as the steam engine) that revolutionized the modern workforce. The result was that its economy flourished and the population increased dramatically. Foreign trade with British colonies in India and the Caribbean contributed to this economic growth. There was a stronger sense of national pride echoing in the nation. Women were given more opportunities than ever to seek jobs in the domestic service and textile industries, which signified a shift away from the traditional agricultural workforce/family roles women played (and to which they had been limited). The concepts of provincial banking and paper money took off.

Figure 1: This is an illustration of London's Billingsgate Market (a seafood market) in the early nineteenth century. The image captures the spirit and essence of the Industrial Revolution, including the shift from small rural towns to big cities. As well, factories are visible in the background, and consumers can be seen wandering the streets looking for goods to purchase.







However, there were many downsides that came with the rapid industrialization of the western world. The gap between rich and poor became more prevalent than ever before. The industrialists (people who owned the factories, ships, etc.) held all the wealth while the working class lived in horrendous, overcrowded tenements and had no money or prospects, despite working long hours in terrible conditions without proper compensation. Parents would send their children to work in factories, where they would be subject to mistreatment and exploitation. There were also no guarantees that anyone's basic needs would be met, so people resorted to manipulation, monopolies and cheating to succeed.

Figure 2: The image on the left depicts the typical living conditions of the working class  during the Industrial Revolution, in dirty, overcrowded, squalid homes. The image on the right shows Andrew Carnegie's house. He was one of the richest industrialists of the time.

Figure 3: This photograph captures young boys working in a factory during the Industrial Revolution.










Ultimately, many positive developments arose from responses to the harshness and injustices of the Industrial Revolution. Some countries, like Britain and the US, saw labourers join forces to form unions that advocated for the rights of workers by lobbying factory owners to provide better working conditions and pay. Meanwhile, political rights improved in Britain, due to the abolition of the slave trade (now that more people were  available to work) and the passing of the Great Reform Act, which allowed up-and-coming manufacturing cities like Manchester to have a new voice in parliamentary affairs.

Another 'reaction' to the Industrial Revolution came in the form of Socialism and Communism, which some countries decided to adopt to counteract the spread of Capitalism and its perceived evils. This will be discussed further in part two.

Lastly, I wanted to give you an update on my attempt to contact a history professor at Carlton University. Before I wrote my original blog post, I emailed this individual to see whether they would be interested in speaking to me via telephone about my topic (Industrial Revolution, Cold War, their connection). A couple of weeks later, they messaged me back saying that, unfortunately, they won't have the time to speak to me. As a result, I have decided that instead of trying to directly contact a university professor, I will use some essays/quotes written by professors to get the expert insight instead.

Works Cited

Capitalism and Socialism: Crash Course World History #33. Produced by John Green, Stan Muller, and Danica Johnson. By Raoul Meyer. Performed by John Green. YouTube. September 06, 2012. Accessed December 10, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3u4EFTwprM.

Manolopoulou, Artemis. "The Industrial Revolution and the Changing Face of Britain." The British Museum. 2010. Accessed December 10, 2018. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/online_research_catalogues/paper_money/paper_money_of_england__wales/the_industrial_revolution.aspx.

Morgan, Kenneth, Prof. "Symbiosis: Trade and the British Empire." BBC, February 17, 2011. Accessed December 10, 2018. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/trade_empire_01.shtml.