Final answer:
The economic benefits of the early factory system mostly went to the factory owners, with workers and managers receiving less. Industrialization favored the profit of owners over the welfare of the labor force, leading to poor working conditions and low wages for workers. The correct answer is option a.
Step-by-step explanation:
The economic benefits of the early factory system accrued mostly to the factory owners. Their emphasis on profit maximization led to a substantial increase in wealth for them while factory workers received a meager share. Industrialization, by way of capitalism, concentrated vast wealth in the hands of business owners and the burgeoning middle-class at the expense of the workers, who were subjected to low wages, long hours, and difficult working conditions. The exploitation of labor, emphasizing the need for cheap, unskilled workers to operate in the assembly lines, accentuated the divide between the affluent factory owners and the impoverished workers. Factory managers also reaped some benefits from the new system but to a far lesser extent than owners. Critiques of this system argued for a fairer distribution of profits, aligning with the labor theory of value that the value generated should equate to the labor put in, recommending a higher wage for the workers who were integral to the production process.