In the early days in the 19th century during the industrial revolution, when capitalism first flourished, there was major capital investment that allowed workers to become more productive and therefore much better paid.
In a capitalistic society the only way to get ahead is to become more productive and when your company buys the machinery to do this you are in like flint.
So your output per average employee increases immediately and you, as an employee, become more valuable to the company.
Laborer's wages then go up! Skilled Labor Always in Demand When labor advances its productivity reliable workers will be in demand.
In this sense productive labor is looked at as a commodity in that its prices, wages or compensation is determined in the marketplace by the forces of supply and demand.
19th Century Wages Did Indeed Increase When wages increased from 1820 to 1860 they grew at 1.
6% annual rate.
During this period the buying power of an average worker's paycheck increased to 60% to 90%, depending where you lived.
The years from 1860 to 1890, during what economists call the "second industrial revolution," real wages, adjusted for inflation, went up 50% in America.
The average work week was shortened as well, meaning the average worker's pay increased more than 60% during that time! Quality of Life Improved The quality of life was improved under capitalism with improved production, better wages, and cheaper goods.
As wages shot skyward more consumer products were invented to make life better for the working class.
Indeed, as capitalism advanced the emphasis shifted to producing goods as cheaply as possible for the masses, the working class.
There is no other way to become wealthy then to produce and sell a valued product cheaply enough so that anyone can afford to buy it.
Thus from the very beginning American capitalism produced a dual benefit for the working class.
It produced new, better paying jobs and it supplied cheaper goods that the working class could not have afforded if not for mass factory production.
Higher pay and cheaper goods translates to a rising standard of living.
Benefits of Capitalism To put this all into perspective the almost miraculous benefits that capitalism has created for the American working class, consider this: the average middle class family lives better today than millionaires did a hundred years ago.
They live better than kings and queens did two hundred years ago.
Putting it bluntly; a 19th century millionaire could not snag a drink from the fridge.
Nor get into an auto taking him to a resort area.
Or call up news, movies, music, and sporting events by simply touching a remote control.
He could not jet to anywhere in the world in a matter of hours.
He could not transmit documents anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds.
He would not be able to buy high tech gear in the mall or buy cameras, computers, mountain bikes, or make movies on videotape.
He would not be able to escape the summer heat in air conditioned comfort.
Would not be able to check into a hospital for a coronary bypass, a shot of antibiotics to ward off infection, or even take an aspirin to relieve a headache.
Not Available a Century Ago None of these things were available a hundred years go.
In fact capitalism has allowed more free family time because the average work week has declined from 60 hours in 1870, to 48 hours in 1929 to about 34 hours today.
Decade by decade American workers have become more efficient, using technology, better tools, and improved skills to produce more using the same work effort.
Producing more while spending less time on the job is the ideal work week.
Companies Compete Today for Workers The shorter work week was a capitalist invention and not the result of government policy or labor union pressure.
As labor produced more in the same amount of hours in the work week, wages rose, more workers could afford to work fewer hours while still supporting their families.
The competition today in the market for labor is to offer fewer working hours, longer vacation time, more personal and sick time off, better pensions and healthcare in order to compete.
Conclusion This has all come about through capitalism, not socialism, not big government, not the minimum wage, but through hard working productive workers who made their own way in society simply by out producing the rest of the world.
American workers have always been the best.
Over the years it has been proven time and again.