An Inspector Calls - Politics

1. Politics in An Inspector Calls
LO: To explore and understand
different political ideas and apply
them to the text
Monday, 29 February 2016

2. Capitalism
Socialism

3. Capitalism
A belief that an individual is
more important than society
as a whole.
• View is that if we work hard, you will be
rewarded
• The poor should work harder to earn more

4. Socialism
A belief that an society is
more important than the
individual.
• People work harder together to gain a fair
standard of living
• People should share their wealth
• Equal access to resources for all

6. Task
• In groups of 3, you will decide whether the
following statements is Capitalism or Socialism
• Write a C or S next to the statement

7. Mr. Birling
“That a man has to mind his own business and
look after himself and his own – and –” (p. 10)

8. Mr. Birling
“We employers at last are coming together to
see that our interests – and the interests of the
capital – are properly protected” (p. 6)

9. Sheila
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour, they’re
people” (p. 19)

10. Sheila
“If I could help her now, I would” (p. 24)

11. Eric
“As you were saying, Dad, a man has to look
after himself” (p. 14)

12. Eric
“He could have kept her on instead of throwing
her out.” (p. 15)

13. Inspector Goole
“I’ve thought it would do us all a bit of good if
sometimes we tried to put ourselves in the place
of these young women counting their pennies in
their dingy little back bedrooms.” (p. 19-20)

14. Inspector Goole
“There are a lot of young women living that sort
of existence in every city and big town…if there
weren’t, the factories and warehouses wouldn’t
know where to look for cheap labour” (p. 19)

15. Plenary
• What do you believe in? Capitalism or
Socialism and why?
• Write on a post-it note (no need for the name
so that it is anonymous!)