2.
The rise of the middle class was an outcome of the
industrial revolution. The "middle class" first
appeared in Europe in the late middle ages, with the
recovery of trade and development of structures that
could convert money into power.
3.
The middle class suffered enormous expansion in the
19th century as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution offered both new forms of
production and new scales of manufacture that
provided much more flexible investments than the
land held by the nobility and the Church
4.
The new middle class was not united or
homogeneous. At the lower end of the new middle
class were small shopkeepers who found their
livelihood at the bottom of the expanding capitalist
economy. At the other end were large capitalists who
owned companies. Although there were enormous
differences in wealth and prestige between the
different members of the middle class, they all
shared an interest in a new concept, the "expansion
of the economy."
5.
The members of the new European middle class shared
several assumptions.
1) Personal security and prosperity were the highest
goals.
2) The sum of everyone's individual success led to the
success of the society as a whole.
3) Competition between humans stimulated them to do
their "best"--to provide their best human effort.
6.
4) An open, fluid economy, unfettered by natural or
government restrictions, offered the best possible
environment in which to m foster individual
achievement.
5) Since the goal of security made members of the
new middle class inclined to avoid risk, radical
change occurred only after economic crisis forced
action to cut costs.
7.
The new middle class had some specific ideas about
the role of the government in the economy, all
related to the conditions of commercial competition.
Th overnment should reduce foreign competition
with tariffs, but stay out of domestic competition.
The overnment should also help to reduce the cost of
competition by providing transportation and
communication infrastructure, might possibly
regulate standards to prevent unfair competition.
