Capitalism vs Socialism
Quick Summary
‣ major flaw of Capitalism is how it results in poverty, income inequality, and power imbalances
‣ Priestley is critical of the division it promotes and the oppression that comes as a result
‣ Eva demonstrates the ideology that poverty is self-inflicted is false - system is not designed to help the poor succeed
‣ Characters are vehicles to expose the flaws of different ideologies
Notes on Theme
‣ Capitalism - economic system where factors of production are owned and controlled by individuals
⤷ People are rewarded for their wealth not contribution - ‘greed is good’
‣ Socialism - factors of production are owned equally by everyone in society
⤷ People are rewarded by how much they contribute
‣ Birlings represent the prosperous capitalists in society, Inspector acts as Priestley’s mouthpiece
⤷ Condemns capitalism and teaches socialist ideals
⤷ Illustrates capitalism’s eventual fall to socialism 🠖 socialism is superior, more beneficial, more powerful
‣ 1912 - liberal party was in power (laissez-faire - government not involved with economics) - ideal for capitalism
1945 - labour party was in power (socialist values and proposals)
‣ Birling is presented as archetypal capitalist
⤷ Portrays capitalist greed - viewing life through context of business, motivated by money and profit
◦ Ideal world is where capitalism thrives - protecting profits over workers (‘lower costs and higher
prices’) - identity is entirely contained within his desire for money
◦ Presents capitalism as self-absorbed, amoral system - purpose is reduced to ability to make money
⤷ Symbolic of Capitalism’s domination
◦ arrogant , self-assurance - capitalists were fully confident in the system and unaware of its failings
◦ Admiration for titanic is symbolic of their blind trust in the capitalist system
⤷ Selfish qualities
◦ Discouraged people from looking after each other - centers around private ownership
◦ refusal to take responsibility in Eva’s death 🠖 capitalism encourages narcissism and carelessness
◦ More care for self-preservation - refused to consider influence on others’ lives
◦ Relationship between employer and employee is not mutual - employers are superior & stable but
rely on workers
⤷ Competition is destructive - financial motivation leads to commodification of workers - life reduced to profit
margins
⤷ Evasion of scrutiny - capitalism makes people defensive, secretive and hostile
◦ ‘Officious’ suggesting he doesn't want his authority questioned (challenging his intelligence)
‣ Inspector is personification of socialist ideology
⤷ Priestley wanted Capitalism itself to be held accountable for the destruction it had caused
⤷ Inspector is physical manifestation of dominance
⤷ Everything in society is connected
◦ How easy it is for upper classes to ruin lives of others without noticing
◦ ‘Chain of events’ - chain links everyone and everything - socialism is all-encompassing, concepts are
not just economic but can be applied to morality & everyday life
◦ Capitalism encourages division and suppression of minorities
⤷ Condemnation of capitalism and the actions taken by those who support it
⤷ Gives voice to Eva
◦ Socialism was developed to help the working classes - poverty is commercialized by capitalism
◦ Poverty and unemployment aren’t solved by authorities 🠖 important parts of their business models
‣ Eva demonstrates the lack of meritocracy and the unseen effects of capitalism
⤷ Exploited and abused by capitalist system and is never rewarded - punished for demanding recognition
⤷ Not even supported by charities - capitalism is not designed to help the poor succeed and so the ideology
that poverty is self-inflicted is false - capitalism prevents social mobility
, Exploitation
Quick Summary
‣ Exploitation is a symptom of capitalism and gender inequality
‣ Eva representative of the exploitation of women and the working class, Birlings are symbolic of the rich oppressors
‣ Poverty is exploited by capitalism through the exploitation of workers who have no choice but low wages
‣ Women are exploited by the patriarchy - a symptom of aggressive masculinity
Notes on Theme
‣ Taking advantage of weakness or trust
⤷ Eva Smith is exploited by individuals and the system of capitalism as a whole
⤷ vulnerable working class woman
◦ Even though as an individual she is strong and assertive, her position in society means she has no
power and faces discrimination
⤷ British economy at the time relied on exploitation of those at the bottom of the hierarchy
‣ Each Birling (capitalism) exploited Eva
⤷ Mr Birling - cheap labour
⤷ Sheila - used her status to have eva fired with no sufficient cause
⤷ Gerald & Eric - sex
⤷ Mrs Birling - exploited her influence to have her case dismissed
⤷ Class system relies on the exploitation of the weak, vulnerable or powerless
‣ Birling and co used as allegory for capitalism’s exploitation of the working class
⤷ Profit is prioritised over personal wellbeing
⤷ Birling takes advantage of poverty and high employment rates to find workers who have no choice but to
work for a low wage
⤷ Workers reduced to ‘costs’ - never receive benefits of ‘higher prices’ - exploitation and dehumanisation
⤷ Poverty is an epidemic
‣ Mistreatment of women - Gerald & Eric
⤷ Mistreatment is normalised and encouraged - symptom of wider culture of aggressive masculinity
⤷ Taking advantage of vulnerability for enjoyment
⤷ Dependency imbalance, power imbalance (viewed as temporary source of pleasure)
⤷ Objectification & inhumane treatment
Key Theme Quotes
Exploitation of poverty Exploitation of Women
‣ ‘It’s a free country, I told them’ ‘It isn’t if you can’t ‣ "I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women."
go and work somewhere else’ ‣ 'young, fresh and charming'
‣ ‘If you don’t come down hard … they’d soon be ‣ ‘inevitable’
asking for the earth’
‣ ‘Public men have responsibilities as well as
privileges’
‣ ‘If there weren't the factories and warehouses
wouldn't know where to look for cheap labour. Ask
your father’
Quick Summary
‣ major flaw of Capitalism is how it results in poverty, income inequality, and power imbalances
‣ Priestley is critical of the division it promotes and the oppression that comes as a result
‣ Eva demonstrates the ideology that poverty is self-inflicted is false - system is not designed to help the poor succeed
‣ Characters are vehicles to expose the flaws of different ideologies
Notes on Theme
‣ Capitalism - economic system where factors of production are owned and controlled by individuals
⤷ People are rewarded for their wealth not contribution - ‘greed is good’
‣ Socialism - factors of production are owned equally by everyone in society
⤷ People are rewarded by how much they contribute
‣ Birlings represent the prosperous capitalists in society, Inspector acts as Priestley’s mouthpiece
⤷ Condemns capitalism and teaches socialist ideals
⤷ Illustrates capitalism’s eventual fall to socialism 🠖 socialism is superior, more beneficial, more powerful
‣ 1912 - liberal party was in power (laissez-faire - government not involved with economics) - ideal for capitalism
1945 - labour party was in power (socialist values and proposals)
‣ Birling is presented as archetypal capitalist
⤷ Portrays capitalist greed - viewing life through context of business, motivated by money and profit
◦ Ideal world is where capitalism thrives - protecting profits over workers (‘lower costs and higher
prices’) - identity is entirely contained within his desire for money
◦ Presents capitalism as self-absorbed, amoral system - purpose is reduced to ability to make money
⤷ Symbolic of Capitalism’s domination
◦ arrogant , self-assurance - capitalists were fully confident in the system and unaware of its failings
◦ Admiration for titanic is symbolic of their blind trust in the capitalist system
⤷ Selfish qualities
◦ Discouraged people from looking after each other - centers around private ownership
◦ refusal to take responsibility in Eva’s death 🠖 capitalism encourages narcissism and carelessness
◦ More care for self-preservation - refused to consider influence on others’ lives
◦ Relationship between employer and employee is not mutual - employers are superior & stable but
rely on workers
⤷ Competition is destructive - financial motivation leads to commodification of workers - life reduced to profit
margins
⤷ Evasion of scrutiny - capitalism makes people defensive, secretive and hostile
◦ ‘Officious’ suggesting he doesn't want his authority questioned (challenging his intelligence)
‣ Inspector is personification of socialist ideology
⤷ Priestley wanted Capitalism itself to be held accountable for the destruction it had caused
⤷ Inspector is physical manifestation of dominance
⤷ Everything in society is connected
◦ How easy it is for upper classes to ruin lives of others without noticing
◦ ‘Chain of events’ - chain links everyone and everything - socialism is all-encompassing, concepts are
not just economic but can be applied to morality & everyday life
◦ Capitalism encourages division and suppression of minorities
⤷ Condemnation of capitalism and the actions taken by those who support it
⤷ Gives voice to Eva
◦ Socialism was developed to help the working classes - poverty is commercialized by capitalism
◦ Poverty and unemployment aren’t solved by authorities 🠖 important parts of their business models
‣ Eva demonstrates the lack of meritocracy and the unseen effects of capitalism
⤷ Exploited and abused by capitalist system and is never rewarded - punished for demanding recognition
⤷ Not even supported by charities - capitalism is not designed to help the poor succeed and so the ideology
that poverty is self-inflicted is false - capitalism prevents social mobility
, Exploitation
Quick Summary
‣ Exploitation is a symptom of capitalism and gender inequality
‣ Eva representative of the exploitation of women and the working class, Birlings are symbolic of the rich oppressors
‣ Poverty is exploited by capitalism through the exploitation of workers who have no choice but low wages
‣ Women are exploited by the patriarchy - a symptom of aggressive masculinity
Notes on Theme
‣ Taking advantage of weakness or trust
⤷ Eva Smith is exploited by individuals and the system of capitalism as a whole
⤷ vulnerable working class woman
◦ Even though as an individual she is strong and assertive, her position in society means she has no
power and faces discrimination
⤷ British economy at the time relied on exploitation of those at the bottom of the hierarchy
‣ Each Birling (capitalism) exploited Eva
⤷ Mr Birling - cheap labour
⤷ Sheila - used her status to have eva fired with no sufficient cause
⤷ Gerald & Eric - sex
⤷ Mrs Birling - exploited her influence to have her case dismissed
⤷ Class system relies on the exploitation of the weak, vulnerable or powerless
‣ Birling and co used as allegory for capitalism’s exploitation of the working class
⤷ Profit is prioritised over personal wellbeing
⤷ Birling takes advantage of poverty and high employment rates to find workers who have no choice but to
work for a low wage
⤷ Workers reduced to ‘costs’ - never receive benefits of ‘higher prices’ - exploitation and dehumanisation
⤷ Poverty is an epidemic
‣ Mistreatment of women - Gerald & Eric
⤷ Mistreatment is normalised and encouraged - symptom of wider culture of aggressive masculinity
⤷ Taking advantage of vulnerability for enjoyment
⤷ Dependency imbalance, power imbalance (viewed as temporary source of pleasure)
⤷ Objectification & inhumane treatment
Key Theme Quotes
Exploitation of poverty Exploitation of Women
‣ ‘It’s a free country, I told them’ ‘It isn’t if you can’t ‣ "I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women."
go and work somewhere else’ ‣ 'young, fresh and charming'
‣ ‘If you don’t come down hard … they’d soon be ‣ ‘inevitable’
asking for the earth’
‣ ‘Public men have responsibilities as well as
privileges’
‣ ‘If there weren't the factories and warehouses
wouldn't know where to look for cheap labour. Ask
your father’
