Capitalism and Feudalism: The Lowell System Essay -- Economics Norma R

Capitalism and Feudalism The Lowell System During the mid-nineteenth century, as the industrial revolution was taking shape, so too, was an economic ashes in Lowell, Massachusetts. The system involved a series of textile mill around, which hired mostly women from boorish towns, which were slowly giving way to the large cities as a resolvent of industrialization. The textile mills hired the women to work long hours in brutal, a great deal dangerous conditions, and many paid high rent to company boardinghouses. This whitethorn sound like feudalism, but it was, in fact, an example of oligarchical capitalism. However, it shares features with the conditions in Norma Rae and Matewan. In the Lowell System, power was concentrated within the textile companies, creating an oligarchy. The situation is outflank described by Thomas Dublin, in his book Women at performance when he writes that the textile corporations in Lowell...adopted a unified set of policies from the outset. They ove rlap waterpower rights, technological developments, labor policies, and marketing strategies. (Thomas Dublin, Women at Work. p. 10) The logic behind the co-operation of the divers(prenominal) companies was that the textile firms in this period were owned and directed by a differentiate circle of capitalists, known collectively as the Boston Associates. (Thomas Dublin, Women at Work, p. 10) This created an oligarchical situation because there was collective control by the companies. The oligarchy existed within a capitalist system, however, because the workers had a choice of which company to work for and the textile mills were not the only places to work. The textile patience was a major industry at the time. However, one could still lead a normal lifetime without on the job(p) in the textile mill. Furth... ...ning company to yield to their demands for better working conditions. The Lowell System shows features like to both Matewan and Norma Rae because it occurred in a perio d in American history when the economy was in transition from feudalism to capitalism, allowing it to defend some features of feudalism while manifesting the early stages of modern capitalism. This is the reason why the Lowell System shares features with both Norma Rae and Matewan. It also accounts for the fact that the system was an oligopoly. The companies did not hold up a complete monopoly over the labor force, however they had concentrated power. As the economy of the United States evolved, the Lowell System became less feudal and more capitalist, and evolved into situations similar to Norma Rae. 1. Dublin, Thomas. Women at Work. 1979, Columbia University Press, New York. p. 87