The standard of living debate
Arsheen Aziz
HST 333 Victorian England
4-26-14
The Standard of Living Debate in 18TH Century England
The standard of living debate is essentially between two groups of people, the pessimists and the optimists. The optimists believe that the standard of living had increased over a specific time. The pessimists believe that it did not increase, that for some it actually decreased. Each historian studied the standard of living of the working class in England during the 18th century. There are five historians that we studied; Gillboy, Hobsbawm, Hartwell, Thompson, and Himmelfarb. In addition to these five we have studied a number of others, however these are the five that stood out to me most. Some of these historians view the debate as optimists. Their opinion is that the standard of living had increased because of the rise of technology during the Industrial Revolution. Then, there are some historians that view this debate as pessimists. Those in fact don’t see the standard of living increasing, but in fact decreasing. In my opinion, the optimists or those who argue that the standard of living increased have capitalistic views. Those who are pessimists have non-capitalistic views and some are in actuality have communist beliefs and values. These historians have been developing their work through different time periods, and the standard of living debate is something that has been studied throughout decades. It is interesting to see how each historian develops their own opinions on the standard of living and how the time period they are writing in also has an affect on their view. Many of the historians state how the debate is so important and this is because capitalism originated with the industrial revolution. Each historian had their viewpoint on capitalism, if they were for it or against it, and this was largely due to the distribution of wealth. The standard of living debate in the 18th century changes throughout time because each historian develops a
HST 333 Victorian England
4-26-14
The Standard of Living Debate in 18TH Century England
The standard of living debate is essentially between two groups of people, the pessimists and the optimists. The optimists believe that the standard of living had increased over a specific time. The pessimists believe that it did not increase, that for some it actually decreased. Each historian studied the standard of living of the working class in England during the 18th century. There are five historians that we studied; Gillboy, Hobsbawm, Hartwell, Thompson, and Himmelfarb. In addition to these five we have studied a number of others, however these are the five that stood out to me most. Some of these historians view the debate as optimists. Their opinion is that the standard of living had increased because of the rise of technology during the Industrial Revolution. Then, there are some historians that view this debate as pessimists. Those in fact don’t see the standard of living increasing, but in fact decreasing. In my opinion, the optimists or those who argue that the standard of living increased have capitalistic views. Those who are pessimists have non-capitalistic views and some are in actuality have communist beliefs and values. These historians have been developing their work through different time periods, and the standard of living debate is something that has been studied throughout decades. It is interesting to see how each historian develops their own opinions on the standard of living and how the time period they are writing in also has an affect on their view. Many of the historians state how the debate is so important and this is because capitalism originated with the industrial revolution. Each historian had their viewpoint on capitalism, if they were for it or against it, and this was largely due to the distribution of wealth. The standard of living debate in the 18th century changes throughout time because each historian develops a