The Communist Manifesto: An Era Of The Industrial Revolution
Eish Maheshwari Industrial Revolution Research Paper During the 1750s and its subsequent years, the world entered an era of modernization and economic development: the Industrial Revolution. This drastic change was a transformation of the economy that impacted the lives of everyone in society, regardless of social status. Due to British colonial expansion into the Americas and western Africa, the Caribbean sugar trade brought capital into Britain that could be used for investments. Furthermore, the presence of constitutional monarchies and government encouragement allowed the economic systems of Europe to adapt, in order to modernize. Primarily, the Industrial Revolution was the transition from an agricultural and handicraft
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The Industrial Revolution led to the creation of the middle class, a social group between wealthy land-owning farmers and poor farmers who lost money through the “enclosure movement.” This led to four distinct social classes: the peasants, working class, middle class, and aristocrats. In The Communist Manifesto, it is believed that the “The modern bourgeois society... has not done away with class antagonisms... new conditions of oppression… but created new forms of struggle in place of the old ones” (Marx and Friederich 14). The rise of the middle class, new factory owners, lead to the control and exploiting of the working class. This new class has emerged and made immense profits through unfair treatment of workers because of demands for cheap labor. This division further enhances a social gap between the wealthy and destitute and creates social systems that can be noted in modern day societies as well. In addition to a class divide, family life was severely changed during the Industrial Revolution. As women began working and child labor became more prevalent, the traditional family model was disturbed. For instance, in Cornish mines, about 19,000 men, and 11,000 women and children are employed, in part above and in part below ground (Engels 200). Women and children began to work within factories and sometimes acted as the primary breadwinners of the household. Furthermore, women in the United States and other areas were earning less money than men; about $3.00 to $3.50, 70-75% less than men (Dublin). This gender inequity was the underlying problem for many households. As more women were hired (because they could be paid less), men were forced to stay at home in many families. This led to increased alcoholism and crime within cities as men spent more time in pubs and other similar
The Industrial Revolution led to the creation of the middle class, a social group between wealthy land-owning farmers and poor farmers who lost money through the “enclosure movement.” This led to four distinct social classes: the peasants, working class, middle class, and aristocrats. In The Communist Manifesto, it is believed that the “The modern bourgeois society... has not done away with class antagonisms... new conditions of oppression… but created new forms of struggle in place of the old ones” (Marx and Friederich 14). The rise of the middle class, new factory owners, lead to the control and exploiting of the working class. This new class has emerged and made immense profits through unfair treatment of workers because of demands for cheap labor. This division further enhances a social gap between the wealthy and destitute and creates social systems that can be noted in modern day societies as well. In addition to a class divide, family life was severely changed during the Industrial Revolution. As women began working and child labor became more prevalent, the traditional family model was disturbed. For instance, in Cornish mines, about 19,000 men, and 11,000 women and children are employed, in part above and in part below ground (Engels 200). Women and children began to work within factories and sometimes acted as the primary breadwinners of the household. Furthermore, women in the United States and other areas were earning less money than men; about $3.00 to $3.50, 70-75% less than men (Dublin). This gender inequity was the underlying problem for many households. As more women were hired (because they could be paid less), men were forced to stay at home in many families. This led to increased alcoholism and crime within cities as men spent more time in pubs and other similar