Module One: Industrialization And Revolution

Qn. How did the industrial revolution change the life for the working class, and how did Marxists and communists propose to make the situation better?

            Industrial revolution refers to a period when the economy changed from handicraft to one dominated by machines and industries. Before then, manufacturing was carried out in peoples’ homes by use of hand tools.A significant change in the economy was witnessed in the nineteenth century and the economy was characterized by massive factories which sprang up all over Europe and railroads were constructed to facilitate transportation. Industrialization brought a significant change characterized by massive production and increased riches and prestige. This paper will present the impact of industrialization on the life for the working and the proposals made by the Marxist communist in bettering the situation.

            Industrialization created new social classes, new job opportunities and these had associated problems. In addition, it also created new work practice regulated by the pace of machines. Therefore, it was the responsibility of the managers to instill these practices so as to ensure efficiency in production. This was likely a hard task because many workers were accustomed to their traditional practice of work where they had control over time. According to the factory rules in Berlin (Document 1, 144), there were specific rules that were to be observed by the workforce. Workers were subjected to begin work at stated time with specified time for breaks which was to be observed. Five minutes prior to work commencement, a bell was rung to supervise the availability of each worker at a specific place. Those who came after the stated time were to lose a certain percentage of wages depending on the number of hours wasted (Document 1, 144). All these regulation plus many others changed the life of the working class people. The regulations became favorable for men and the workforce was dominated by men since women could not make up to the demands of the factories. Men were subjected to work for long hours hence spent long hours without meeting with the other members of the family. Due to lack of skills and experience, many workers were paid on hour basis or piece basis.

            The upper class and middle class people looked down upon the lower class. The lower class comprised of the homeless, street people, the unemployed and the mentally ill (Document 4, 135). This group of people was discriminated in the business cycle and they relied on small and uncertain incomes. They worked for long condition under unfavorable conditions of poor housing and poor health conditions. Due to their state of illiteracy, they were utterly destitute and desperate to earn money regardless of the condition. Regardless of their poverty, the lower class people had compassionate friends who fought for their wellbeing. William Booth was one of the individuals who ministered to the poor (Document 5, 135). He founded the Salvation Army with an aim to assist the poor. Together with his wife, they devoted themselves in rehabilitate homes for the homeless, helping the unemployed and giving counsel to the criminals. They devoted to help out others from the misery that they went through. William Booth wrote the darkest England where he described the misery poor people and the methods he would use to impart salvation among people which would eventually change their lives (Document 5, 136). He described England as a place with vices and poverty as he compared to Africa of that time which was made up of trees with nothing else possible.  He described the slums in England as being the unhealthy places to live as he related to the swamps of Africa which were full of malaria. Thus, just as Africa, England was a pace with evil and misery and its misery was caused by the evil habits of its inhabitants which was characterized of drunkenness and all sort of uncleanness. Therefore, his aim was to transform the lives of such people by offering social services to them in terms of physical and spiritual aid.

            There was increased misery among the working women in the factories. Due to such, many analysts required middle class women to focus on home cores so as to play a role in bringing transformation in homes in form of good behavior, tranquility and proper order (Document 2, 146). Thus, as men worked in the factories, women played their role as pillars of homes to ensure that the home is in a good condition.

            Industrialization also resulted to division of labor in the factories. The rich capitalists owned machines and also some needed human labor force to simplify machinery work (Document 3, 149). They divided work amongst workers who worked together with machines hence producing goods more quickly and cheaply. For instance, the demand for coal which was used to make coal-fired steam engines called for a need for coal miners. They worked in very difficult conditions. The miners were both young and old and this led to widespread child labor. In the coal mines, the entire workforce was dominated by children because they were easy to hire. Some rich factory owners would take children to their care, feed them, and give them a place to sleep in exchange with their labor. Children did not earn any reasonable wages that they deserved for their labor but were give only the basic necessities for them to survive. Many factory owners benefited from children because they were cheaper compared to adults and they could spend less on paying the children. These children spent their time working in the factories, never acquired education, hence this affected their generations. This went until the formation of laws to protect children which regulated the working hours for children. 

It also led to formation of classes that is; the rich capitalists and the poor proletarians. These classes are defined as the capitalists who have the power of possessing machines and capital rule over proletarians. Development of proletarians results into a situation where the commanding group oppresses the other. Thus, we see capitalists exploit the working class with overworking, and low wages. Men were just used as other components of machines and they toiled to make their bosses rich (Document 3, 151).

            Marxists communists played a significant role in helping out the working condition in the era. They launched the communist manifest which aimed to make a new understanding of industrial society. In their manifesto of communism, they stated that communism aims to organize a society in a way that every member of that given society can freely use his or her capabilities without interfering with the conditions of that society (Document 3, 151). And in order to achieve this, they recommended eliminating private ownership of property which was to be replaced by community ownership. They based their manifesto on principle that every individual needs to be happy and in any given society, the happiness of the individual cannot be separated from the happiness of all. And the aim of communists was to ensure that all classes of people benefit from any kind of capital invested. Their aim was to eliminate a scenario where by the poor work but do not benefit from the work they invest. The aim of communists was also to eliminate the existing gap between the capitalists and the poor (Document 3, 152). This gap came in as a result of the introduction of the expensive machines during industrial revolution; machines that could only be purchased by a few rich. Thus, the industry was delivered into the hands of capitalists who became the owners of the industry. The Marxists communists strongly criticized the human abuses that existed during the era of industrialization.

            They also criticized capitalistic market as characterized by overproduction (Document 3, 130). Due to simplicity of production, more goods are produced beyond what the market can absorb. The capitalist society is always characterized by increased poverty among the proletariats. They are exploited as they continue suffering from poverty. They suffer from physical poverty due to low wages and spiritual poverty due to monotony and oppression. According to their view against capitalism, proletariats are neither happy nor satisfied with work but they do so as a means of survival. The products that they strive to produce are far alienated from them hence they cannot benefit from their efforts (Document 3, 130).

            Communists aimed to organize the working class into a revolutionary party by eliminating bourgeois power which is associated with individual exploitation in order to form a classless society (Document 3, 132). Marxists communists in their proposal, state that destroying classes of capitalists and poor proletariats leads to formation of a new society where all people are free and equal. 

            Their manifesto outlines the need to end oppression as one of the way to make the situation better. The proletarians are under oppression by the capitalists because the former have no power hence they are being exploited by the latter. Thus, their aim is to centralize all factors of production under the hands of the state (Document 4, 132). They also criticized that industrial revolution made a smaller population of people rich and the number of poor people was increasing.

Conclusion

            Industrial revolution was a period when the economy faced rapid changes. Factories sprang up with the use of machinery in production. Machines replaced the traditional method of production which involved the use of handicraft tools. Industrial revolution was characterized by significant advantages and besides these advantages, many changes occurred in the lives of the working class. Unlike during traditional manufacturing where workers controlled time and everything, industrialization changed the way time was to be controlled as people were to be controlled by time. They worked under rules and regulation where they were required to report at a particular time and leave at a given. Failure to abide with the rules would lead to certain penalties. Factors of production were owned and controlled by the rich capitalists who exploited the working class with overload and little wages. As work was simplified and capitalists enjoyed huge profits, the lives of the working class deteriorate as they were subjected to work for long hours with a very little pay for their survival. Distinct classes of people were formed. The upper class comprised of the rich capitalists who controlled all factors of production. The middle class comprised of the working class whose survival depended on their efforts to work in the factories. The lower class people were made up of the most poor, street people, homeless, the mentally ill and criminals. The lower class lived in complete destitution. This gave to a rise of Marxist communists who recommended for a new system to be put in place in order to address the challenges faced by people. They criticized industrialization and all its evil. They aimed at eradicating capitalism by replacing it with communism. According to their manifesto, communism aimed to organize a society in a way that every member is capable of exercising his or her powers in complete freedom as long as it does not interfere with the conditions of the society and this was only to be achieved by eliminating private ownership of property. They criticized industrialization as it had caused formation of classes which led to exploitation of one class by another. In addition to Marxist communists, the lower class people eventually had a voice in their favor. Christian activists such as William Booth stood to help the poor by rehabilitating homes for the homeless, street children and the sick. In addition to physical support they also imparted spiritual guidance especially to the criminals so as to transform their mind from doing evil.