Question 1: What was the appeal of the factory system? Question 2: What was the chief characteristic of the factory system?

Question 3: What is division of labor and why was it an important change for manufacturers?

Question 4: What else did factory production bring about? What does it mean, and why is it important?

1st answer

Use of machinery with the division of labour reduced the required skill level of workers and also increased the output per worker. The factory system was first adopted in Britain at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century and later spread around the world.

2nd answer

The main characteristic of the factory system is the use of machinery, originally powered by water or steam and later by electricity. Other characteristics of the system mostly derive from the use of machinery or economies of scale, the centralization of factories, and standardization of interchangeable parts.

3rd answer

In a section entitled "The Capitalist Character of Manufacture," Marx says that the modern division of labor makes it necessary to have an increased number of workers under one capitalist. The minimum amount of capital that the capitalist has must continue to increase.

4th answer

Centralized workplace - Rather than have individual workers spread out in their homes and workshops, the factory was a large central place where many workers came together to make products. Factories were necessary because the machinery was expensive, large, needed power, and was operated by many workers.