World History: Lesson 33: Nineteenth Century Economics

  1. ______: economic system in which ownership and control of the means of production and distribution of products is in the hands of private individuals or corporations who operate those businesses for profit
  2. ______: author of The Wealth of Nations (1776)
  3. Argued that a “______” economy works to benefit everyone, because it encourages the manufacture of more goods, thereby creating jobs, innovation, and lower prices on goods
  4. Also argued that the “______” of supply and demand works to regulate markets
  5. The laws of supply and demand:
  6. If demand increases and supply remains unchanged, then price increases
  7. If demand decreases and supply remains unchanged, then price decreases
  8. If demand remains unchanged and supply increases, then price decreases
  9. If demand remains unchanged and supply decreases, then price increases
  10. In most goods, the price will be where supply = demand
  11. : products for which demand will drop if price increases (ex. luxury goods like video games, cars, or jewelry)
  12. : products for which demand will remain relatively stable, even if price increases (ex. necessary goods like gas, bread, or medicine)
  1. ______: French term meaning “let them do as they will”; In this approach, government does nothing to regulate the economy – they do not try to control prices or wages, they also provide no protection from monopolies or foreign goods; capitalist economists argue that the market will balance itself without government interference
  1. ______
  2. Economist, who opposed any wage controls (such as minimum wage)
  3. Described the “______”: When wages are high, people will have more children, thereby creating more available labor in the next generation and causing their wages to fall
  4. ______
  5. Economist who predicted that population would soon exceed the food supply
  6. Argued that mankind had worked to defeat the natural checks on population (war and disease) and so nature would respond with famine
  7. Urged families to have fewer children to halt population growth
  8. ______: a system where the economy is heavily regulated by the government to ensure that all citizens enjoy an equal share in society’s prosperity
  9. ______
  10. Believe that an action is right so long as it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
  11. Believe that an action is separate from the person who performs the action. In other words, a child who burns down a house is not a bad child, but rather a child who has done a bad thing.
  12. Also believe that the “rightness” of actions depend on the consequences of the action - If something has undesirable effects, it is wrong regardless of whether or not the person had good intentions.
  13. ______
  14. Founder of utilitarianism
  15. Called for separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equality for women, an end to slavery, end of corporal punishment, and the decriminalization of homosexuality – all instances where he believed that minority opinions were preventing the “greater happiness”
  16. ______& ______
  17. Co-wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848)
  18. Argued that society is made up of “haves” (factory owners or “______”) & “have nots” (workers or “the ______”) and this inequality will inevitably lead to a violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the proletariat
  19. Promoted ______,asystem of government where a temporary authoritarian power directs the economy in order to ultimately achieve a higher social order where all property is collectively owned by “the people” and government is no longer necessary