An Apolitical Blues Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, capitalism has had both positive and negative effects on society and its people. With capitalism's goal of accumulating as much wealth as possible comes technological change. Furthermore, as wealth accumulates and technology becomes more sophisticated, this allows nations to become more advanced. However, with progress also comes unrest, and for all the progress capitalism seems to cause, it also comes with criticism for the effects it has on society. In their books, Michael Baumann and Tony Judt both find that capitalism has been one of the culprits of the problems society faces today. Capitalism causes problems in society, because it creates work problems, individualism, mistrust and isolation. The reactions to these problems are different from each other in both books, raising questions about the role of history in changing societal attitudes and how people in society deal with problems in response to capitalism. In both accounts, the authors blame capitalism for labor issues. provokes. Baumann expresses frustration with the diminishing value of craftsmanship in society. He explains that work is capable of providing a kind of satisfaction, writing that the ability to “create something with one's hands that serves a purpose” is how one can find satisfaction in one's work (Baumann 23). Working as a carpenter to avoid factory work, Baumann explains that even carpentry has been reduced to mindless screwdriver operation, making it no different from factory work (Baumann 23). Therefore, Baumann's frustration is the result of him becoming an unskilled worker. Baumann's possible participation in terrorism is linked to the frustration he felt... in the midst of the paper units, which continue to benefit from and use services that fall within the public sector, such as highways, police and schools (127). This leads to a contradiction, Judt explains, “people living in private spaces contribute to the dilution and corrosion of public space.” What he means by this is that the same problems that people try to avoid through isolation actually cause problems to persist, creating a cycle that seems inevitable to Judt unless people's mindsets change (129). In conclusion, Baumann's actions in response to capitalism and the inertia of people in today's society that Judt describes stem from the labor issues, individualism, distrust, and isolation that capitalism causes. The different reactions to the same problem expressed in both accounts illustrate that as times change, methods of dealing with conflict also change.