Changes

The European nations grew bigger and stronger in the 1800s and early 1900s.  These industrialized nations (Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and also the United States and Japan) sought natural resources and raw materials for their factories and new markets to sell their finished goods.  In England and Germany, people who believed in Darwin’s theory of evolution in the late 1800s and early 1900s felt a racial superiority and sought conquest (survival-of-the-fittest) to force other races into submission.

The European nations grew bigger and stronger in the 1800s and early 1900s.  These industrialized nations (Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and also the United States and Japan) sought natural resources and raw materials for their factories and new markets to sell their finished goods.  In England and Germany, people who believed in Darwin’s theory of evolution in the late 1800s and early 1900s felt a racial superiority and sought conquest (survival-of-the-fittest) to force other races into submission.

=== The British Thinkers ===

=== Laissez-faire, or Regulation? ===

On one side of the debate were the “laissez-faire” economists who, like Adam Smith, wanted the government to stay out of business.  They felt that the “invisible hand” would produce the best outcome, and that supply and demand would be far better at allocating resources to their best use than government regulation could.     

The “laissez-faire” economists like Adam Smith wanted the government to stay out of business.  They felt that the “invisible hand” would produce the best outcome, and that supply and demand would be far better at allocating resources to their best use than government regulation could.     

Inspired by Adam Smith, classical economics is the economic theory emphasizing self-interest along with the operation of universal economic laws.  For example, classical economics predicts full employment if the government does not interfere with minimum wage laws or other regulations.  In addition to Adam Smith, leading proponents of classical economics included David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, Jean Baptiste Say, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill.  They advocated “capitalism”, by which ownership of private property helps create profits for the owners and greater wealth for all of society.

Inspired by Adam Smith, classical economics is the economic theory emphasizing self-interest along with the operation of universal economic laws.  For example, classical economics predicts full employment if the government does not interfere with minimum wage laws or other regulations.  In addition to Adam Smith, leading proponents of classical economics included David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, Jean Baptiste Say, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill.  They advocated “capitalism”, by which ownership of private property helps create profits for the owners and greater wealth for all of society.