Friday in class we talked about Adam Smith, who was an 18th century forerunner of economic liberalism and unregulated capitalism. Recently we were exposed to the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Rousseau, who believed that all individuals should act in a way that is best for their community as a whole, or the "general will." Smith's ideas about economics and mercantilism are extensively divergent of what philosophers like Rousseau claimed was best for society. Think of the popular song "Started from the Bottom" by Drake.. (don't worry I got the clean version)
Although Drake may not be the most iconic person to look up to, the message in his song parallels Adam Smith's economic theory. He advocated the practice of free trade, which allowed a person to exchange and to interact with whoever he wished. This was not the case with the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies through mercantilism. The colonies would provide raw materials for the mother country, Britain would manufacture goods and then sell the finished product back to the colonies. This was far from a symbiotic relationship. Britain exploited the colonies, imposed high tariffs for imported goods, and restricted trade with other foreign countries. The whole basis behind mercantilism was to export more than one imports to increase wealth, profits, and power at an international level.
Adam Smith was very critical of this system. He proposed that a free-market economy leads to economic well-being and individual self interest. Government should be limited, or "laissez-faire," in order to allow an individual's potential to shine and to increase the wealth of both the rich and the poor. He created a famous metaphor, that of the "invisible hand," which describes a person's ability to self-regulate the marketplace. People are fully capable of making their own profits and maximizing them, without the need of government intervention. However, government did have 3 duties...
1.) Defend against foreign invasion
2.) Maintain civil order with courts and ensure police protection
3.) Sponsor public works that did not profit private investors
So basically, freedom in economic life is the solution to poverty. If you follow your own self interest and work hard, you can advance and improve your life. A staunch proponent of ruthless individualism, Smith once said that "Individual ambition serves the common good." As Drake describes in his song, "say I never struggled, wasn't hungry, yeah I doubt it." Now he's "on the road making half a million for a show." Now, in the spirit of Christmas, I thought this cartoon was funny...
Now is the moment you've all been waiting for. In addition to Adam Smith, we also talked about marriage and the family in the 18th century. This conversation was awkward; therefore, I will refrain from my usual sexual jokes and going into substantial detail (maturity at its finest). I will "hit on" (lol) the major points...
-Most families married late because they wanted to wait until they could support themselves economically. Many times, this meant waiting for fathers to die in order to secure the inheritance.
-Boys and girls both worked away from home to learn independence. Service to other families was the most common job for single girls, where they were often sexually exploited by their masters.
-Although many people did have premarital sex and many girls did "put out" often (lol), there was a low rate of illegitimate births until 1750. Most people used different forms of contraception, or got married shortly thereafter. Communities condemned and criticized premarital sex. Couples who engaged and were caught were often victims of harsh publicity.
-Between 1750 and 1850, however, there was an illegitimacy explosion. There is much debate about why this occurred, but there are 2 central theories:
1.) The growth of cottage industry created new opportunities for earning a living, opportunities not tied to land. Love became freer and more extensive as cottage industry grew.
2.) The needs of a growing population sent many people to towns and cities in search of employment. Here, people were not victims to village judgement and harsh treatment as they had been in the past. New opportunities for love came about.
Those are the main points... I'm sorry I tried to contain myself as much as possible.
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