Capitalism vs Socialism

• CAPITALISM VS. SOCIALISM

  • one of Priestley's main themes
  • Priestley was socialist
  • Britain was capitalist
  • Birling represents the prospering capitalist society
  • Inspector acts as Priestley's socialist mouthpiece
  • condemns capitalism and teaches socialist ideas
• Capitalism - A system of economic organization in which the means of production are privately owned and controlled by individuals or groups

  • 'greed is good' moto
• British government

  • 1912 liberal party was in power
  • government didnt interfere with economy
  • 1945 labour won general election
  • had many socialist values and proposals
  • Britain experiencing political change and turmoil
• Mr Birling

  • archetype of Capitalist businessman
  • greedy money driven and selfish
  • private buisness wants to make profit
  • symbol for 'new money'
  • self made man who created good fortune for himself and his family
  • Priestly encourage audience to look at him through a socialist lens
  • "be living in a world that'll have forgotten about all these capital versus Labour agitations"
  • capitalist views was that country was split into 2 groups those controlled by capital and those who provided labour
  • implies the structure of this was 'agitated'
• Priestley presesnt Capitalism as a self-absorbed, amoral system
• Priestley uses Mr Birling to reflect Capitalism's arrogance and dominance at the start of the century

  • "hard-headed"
  • "practical"
  • "businessman"
  • repeated 3 times during opening lecture
  • revealing how arrogant and self-assured he is
  • "she sails next week" - "and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable"
  • oblivious of disaster to occur
  • mimics capitalist desire for confidence
  • Mr Birling uses it as Capitalist success
  • 'unsinkable' - shows capitalist economic system has fatal flaws
• "a man has to make his own way - has to look after himself"

  • discouraging people from looking after one another
  • Mr Birlings vision of self-made man was the capitalist dream
  • Priestley shows it as selfish and lacking in compassion
• "I can't accept any responsibility" - Mr Birling

  • Mr Birling refusing to take responsibility in Eva's death suggests Capitalism encourages narcissism and carelessness
• Mr Birling cares more about self preservation and comfort

  • "She felt she couldn't go on any longer" - Inspector
  • "Don't tell me that's because I discharged her from my employment nearly two years ago"
  • refusal to consider his influence on others lives
  • Suggests Capitalist employers don't appreciate that their workers depend on them for decent wage
  • relationship between employer and employee is not mutual
  • employer is always superior
• Competition

  • competition between businesses that drive capitalism is destructive
  • " They where averaging about twenty two and six, which was neither more nor less than is paid generally in our industry"
  • judges wages provided by competitors
  • even though it was only a small raise request he refused immediately
  • mind only viewed for buisness
• "If I'd agreed to this demand for a new rate we'd have added about twelve percent to our labour costs"

  workers are reduced to statistics
• Eva Smith was "causing trouble in the works"

  • viewed more as how much the contributed verses how much they cost
  • they where disposable
• The inspector

  • personification of Socialist Ideology
  • acts for good of others
  • has a clear moral code
  • champions socialist responsibility
  • Holds the Birlings accountable
  • Capitalism as a whole to be held accountable for the destruction it caused
• Inspectors main message is that in society everyone and everything is connected

  • instead of every man making his own and not responsible for others
• "because what happened to her the may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events"

  • 'chain' conjures visible image of socialism. How production is shared equally"
  • metaphor implies people are linked by more than just money and status
• "we don't live alone. We are member of one body. We are responsible for each other"

  • parting monologue about socialist ideas of community and provisions of greater social needs
  • connections advocates for community and equality
  • 'one body'
  • nothing happens in isolation
  • society benefits the most if everyone is contributing and receiving
• "if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish"

  • conflict of world wars as the direct result of Capitalism over Socialism
  • prophet warning the audience
  • more impactful due to the recent wars
• Inspector is used to condemn Capitalism and the actions of those who support it
• Mr Birling claims the working class would "ask for the earth"

  The inspector responds "But after all its better to ask for the earth than to take it

  • Birlings and Capitalist were responsible for taking "the earth" and making a "nasty mess" of Eva's "promising life"
  • imagery shows how extreme capitalist greed is
• juxtaposition between Mr Birlings complaints and Inspectors cutting responses suggest Capitalists were unaware of the poverty and suffering they caused
• The inspector gives a voice to Eva Smith

  "There are a lot of young women living that sort of existence in every city and big town in this country, Miss Birling"

  • poverty of other commercialised by capitalism
• "You made her pay a heavy price for that. And now she'll make you pay an even heavier price still"

  • 'price' imitates capitalisms focus on money and trade
  • miniscule pay rise compared to 'heavy price' of death
  • everything in capitalist society has a cost attached
• "I wasn't satisfied with the girl's claim - she seemed to me to be not a good case"

  • judging
  • even charity work was impacted by Capitalist money-orientated objectification of people
  • 'wasn't satisfied' so used her "influence to have [her claim] refused"
  • gatekeeping
  • uses her power to prevent Eva from accessing resources
• Capitalists trapped people in poverty in order to remove competitors from the market and keep wealth for themselves

  "you slammed the door in her face" - inspector

  capitalists constructed barriers to block resources form other because you need to make more profit than competitors
• Eva Smith represents "Labour" side of "capitalist versus Labour agitations"

  • she is exploited and abused by Capitalist system
• As a "ringleader" of the strike, Eva is a Socialist figure who signifies the disillusionment experience of the Labour side of he argument
• "She was here alone, friendless, desperate. She needed not only money but advice, sympathy, friendliness"

  • Priestley teaches about social emotional poverty that financial hardships brings~
  • Capitalist society was geared toward money
  • people forget they have thing to offer other that their money
  • just as they forget people are not objects to throw money at