Flax was a major industry because of the ease of production. The prosaic nature of the homespun ideal led it to be the symbol of the revolution. It also induced progress. Benjamin Franklin referred to it as the "first Ages of the world." But this was linked to European finery, historically made from the animal skins of the Indians, who did not have a cloth-making industry. In his 1787 Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson declared all forms of manufacturing, including household, as a mortal threat to American virtue. As the American president in 1806, he drew the attention of Cherokee chiefs on the civilizing effect of spinning and weaving their own cotton cloths. In 1812, Jefferson and John Adams agreed to a common homespun vision of commercial progress (Zakim).

The overall view is that capitalism threatens or hinders democracy (Muller 2007). Capitalism involves an inequality of reward,...
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