The first view is held by "some people." "Some people" believe that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism.
Then we have critics of this view who argue against it by bringing up the fact that "more people were executed for theft in preindustrial England than were executed in England after the industrialization."
Then the author gives us her opinion explaining that the critics' argument fails because the evidence they give, i.e. that more people were executed before industrialization in England than after, is irrelevant to the view at issue, i.e. that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism.
By explaining that industrialization and capitalism are two different things, the author undermines the critic's argument by showing that the their evidence against "some people's" view is irrelevant.
So, answer choice (E) accurately depicts the role played by the point that the author makes that capitalism and industrialization are distinct, i.e. "It is an attempt to undermine the criticism cited against the claim that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism."
