A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology

Monopoly and Welfare State Capitalism

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the ownership of large-scale industries became increasingly concentrated into industrial trusts or monopolies. At the same time, banks and financiers assumed increasing control over the production process and began to serve the interests of speculators and financial interests rather than the needs of producers and consumers. Banking systems, equity markets and stock exchanges were established in Europe and the United States, further transforming the aim of capitalism from a system of production toward a means of accumulating profit. In response to the rise of monopolies and large-scale financiers, which undermined capitalist growth, and rendered the economy volatile and prone to recessions and depressions, were two important social–political developments: the rise of the labor movement, and increased government intervention in economic activities.

The factory system of production, in spite of its Fordist pretensions, tended to produce a large population of underpaid workers, typically working long hours in poor conditions. In response, various trade unions began to form through the early-to-mid-nineteenth century. By the end of the century, labor movements throughout the industrialized world began to demand improved working conditions and a working day no longer than eight hours. As strikes and boycotts became more common, governments were forced to intervene, often by supplying military force ...