The Role Of Capitalism In H. G. Wells 'The Time Machine'

Words: 1506
Pages: 7

Capitalism is an economic system that allows private organizations to control the trade market and maximize their profits. Despite the enticing political freedom the system grants, it creates an economic disparity between the wealthy and the working-class. In H. G. Wells’ novel The Time Machine, the time traveler witnesses a dystopian society in the future that emerged out of a capitalist society. To elucidate this issue, he is struck by the long-term effects of capitalism on society: the descendants of the wealthy-class and the working-class are now living in two completely separate habitats. Moreover, the time traveler notices that they both have evolved into separate species, reflecting the environment of their separate habitats. Also, he witnesses a reversal in the power dynamics between the two human species: the Eloi are now dominated by the Morlocks. Accordingly, Wells argues that a society operating under capitalism will eventually cause the population to regress to a primitive state of social development and intelligence.
The main issue in the novel is the long-term effects of capitalism in society. When the time traveler travels to
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G. Well’s novel The Time Machine, Wells criticizes the idea of capitalism, suggesting that its long-term effects will create a broken society. In the future, the time traveler notices that the negligence of the wealthy-class caused both the working-class and themselves to live in two separated environments. Moreover, the time traveler realizes that because of their respective environments, they evolved into two different species of different physique and intelligence over time. The difference in physical strength between the Eloi and Morlocks caused the Morlocks dominate over their counterpart species in a similar way to how their ancestors were treated in the past. The novel predicts the catastrophic long-term effects of capitalism and advises society to be cautious to prevent this very outcome to