Capitalism and Socialism
Driving Question: How did industrialization reshape economic systems, and what were its impacts?
Capitalism created new wealth and new struggles. Competing economic ideas offered different answers to the question of who should benefit from labor, and why it matters.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the economic theories of capitalism and socialism in the context of the Industrial Revolution.
- Use close-reading skills to draw comparisons between the principles and practices of economic systems.
- Practice making claims and counterclaims using evidence from multiple sources.
The Industrial Revolution upended the organization of human communities, but some things remained consistent. Compare the social pyramids of medieval and industrial society to see what changed.
Pyramids of Capitalism
Be sure to check the Lesson Guide for instructions and a helpful debrief section for running this activity. Before you begin the activity, be sure you have an ample supply of small, desirable prizes to inspire student competition. We recommend something actually fun, like Hershey’s Kisses, rather than something like paper clips—unless your students are into that.
Are you having your students examine capitalism vs. socialism? See how other teachers have implemented the Economic Systems Simulation.
These materials will help you understand how industrial capitalism took shape in the 1800s and discover how it compares to other ways of running an economy.
-
Guiding Questions
Did you know? Proletariat comes from the term used during the Roman Empire that referred to people who were too poor for military service and whose main social contribution was producing children for the state. By the nineteenth century, scholars had begun applying the term to the working class, and Marx popularized its usage for wage laborers with little property.
These materials show how the working class rose up to challenge the problems created by capitalism, and how thinkers like Marx imagined a different future.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Guiding Questions
Comparing these three big economic ideas can be difficult. The comparison one-pager can make things a little easier, providing a great refresher on why this skill is so important to understanding the past.
As industrialization reshaped economies across the globe, many scholars developed theories in the hope of shaping the future. In this article and activity, you will compare the theories of three key scholars.
-
Guiding Questions
Socialism emerged as a challenge to the ideas and effects of industrial capitalism. In this short activity, you’ll make your own claims about the two economic systems based on what you learned in this lesson.
Being able to organize your writing in a logical way and use clear language is a crucial element for all kinds of writing. Look for these elements in a sample student essay.
when people have different status based on their wealth, occupation, education, and similar factors
Reformers in Russia looked to soften or erase the distinction between such social classes as the serfs and the nobility.