IHUM 202 Name¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬_______Nhi Tran_________________________ Reading Questions Communist Manifesto 1. What are the impulses and systems that allowed the bourgeoisie to develop and increase as a social class? There are many factors that contribute to the development of the bourgeoisie: - the discovery of America - the rounding of the Cape - the East Indian and Chinese markets - the colonization of America - trade with the colonies - the increase in the means of exchange and in commodities These advantages undoubtedly help the bourgeoisie gain rapid growth in commerce, navigation and industry.
Wealthy elites or the bourgeoisie continued to earn high profits while the poor proletarians continued to take part in labor intensive work in factories. Marx and Smiles both saw this as a major problem in their society. In Marx’s Communist Manifesto, he wrote, “ not only are they [the proletarians] slaves of the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois state; they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the overlooker, and above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself…” What Marx means is that the bourgeoisie is looking down at the proletariats and using them as merely a way to earn profit. In contrast to Marx, Smiles said, “...they [the proletarians] resemble the savage tribes, who know no better, and do no worse.”
Many Europeans thought that if there wasn’t such a difference between upper and lower class, there would be a possibility that the lower and working class could live a better life at home and at work. The rich were so distant from the poor that they “do not possess the power of finding employment” and the poor are suffering through horrible, long hours and terrible conditions (Document 1). The people also spoke out about their concerns about the government. People don’t want a government that’s going to sit back and just watch what is happening, they want a leader that will have “a social force to protect [the people]” and will “intervene in industry” (Document 4). The citizens are still just trying to suggest peaceful ways to fix the social class wealth gap and to have “no class distinctions among citizens,” but just simple ideas would still have a hard time changing things (Document 7).
From 1790 to the late 1800’s, the Industrial Revolution recreated industry as Europe knew it with ground-breaking inventions and mass-producing factories. The Industrial Revolution widened the social gap with the bourgeoisie on a pedestal and the proletariat baring the weight of being the work class that would make the Industrial Revolution happen; this strife would lead to many riots and revolutions across Europe as many men like Karl Marx would develop solutions to the proletarian’s problems such as communism. The question arose of how the proletariat were to rebel against the bourgeoisie. The fact was that a revolution was inevitable.
Across the course of history, mankind has attempted many different courses of action in order to industrialize their nation into a golden age of amazing technology. One of these times in history, known in American as the Industrial Revolution. During this amazing time, many different technologies were invented that truly changed the world, but at the same time, many disputes occurred between the working class and the upper class in the steel industry, described by Neil Irvin Painter in Chapter 4 of “The Depression of the 1890’s”. Many others would agree that the conditions that were put forth to the working class at the time were unfair, unjust and just plain wrong to have human beings endure. To Begin, the working and upper class have been in a power struggle from almost the moment that the first industrial factory was opened for business.
“In union there is strength... If the hens can overcome the fox, what about human beings?” (Allende 154). According to a survey of 42,000 elected officials, “white men are 31 percent of the U.S. population, but hold 65 percent of all elected offices” (Henderson). Many claim that America stands for liberty and individual freedom, yet the Americans that say this are the same ones who receive the benefits of privilege.
The late 18th to early 19th century was a period of significant change in European history, with the advent of various ideologies that brought about radical transformations in people's lives. Democracy, nationalism, and industrialization were some of the key ideologies that emerged during this time. These changes had a significant impact on people's lives, as they had to contend with grueling working conditions, lack of basic amenities like electricity, running water and central heating, and a lifestyle that was dictated by the hours of daylight. However, the period also witnessed notable cultural developments, especially in the United States.
The public sphere can be described as an infrastructure that is comprised of individuals coming together to discuss all aspects of social and political issues and raise their concerns freely in a non judgemental environment. These said individuals are usually made up of the public body. Even though it is called "the public sphere, it started out originally as a group of private higher class individuals who formed the group in order to discuss and raise any concerns they had about any social and political issues. In most traditional complex societies, public issues are discussed and decided on only by the elite. The rising Bourgeoisie in the early modern Europe in the 18th century wanted to influence these decisions and so the "public sphere"
According to the spread of imperialism, many empires use military force or coercion to control other countries actively, then to build colonies in other countries. Those practices of empire are so called ‘Imperialism’. Imperialism has become the driving force of many important historical events since ancient time. Before we trying to consider many important global issues, such as globalization, income gap etc. We should have belief understanding to the cause of those issues.
In the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution caused a massive economic spike from small-scale production to large factories and mass production. Capitalism became the prevalent mode of the economy, which put all means of production in the hands of the bourgeoisie, or the upper class. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels argue that capitalism centralizes all the wealth and power in the bourgeoisie, despite the proletariat, or the working class, being the overwhelming majority of the population. The manufacturers would exploit the common proletariat and force them to would work in abysmal conditions and receive low wages, furthering the working class poverty. “The Communist Manifesto” predicts that as a result of the mistreatment
The overarching theme explored within this essay is the tendency of working-class conservatism within society. This has been analyzed above in regards to class-consciousness and hegemony. The popular Marxist explanation of working class Toryism sees a manifestation of false-consciousness on part of a large majority of the working class- a condition which is felt to be redeemable under the right conditions of proletariat education. In addition to this, some scholars have suggested that hegemonic pressures play a role in influencing the class consciousness of certain sects of persons within society. Political allegiances are to a large extent, a reflection of the vales persons within a society subscribe to in areas of their life outside the realm of politics.
Similarly, since the birth of society, there has been contradiction in values between different classes. For example, in France during the late 1780’s, the first estate and the second estate were the minority however they had more power and influence when it came to voting. In addition, the first and second estate payed little to no taxes yet taxed the third estate, 96% of the population, very heavily. The classes each had contradicting beliefs on how France should be governed, similarly to the boys in Lord of the Flies. Both the historical example and the literary example solidify Marx’s theory that society cannot exist without contradicting beliefs among its members.
The Industrial Revolution cast its shadow upon European cities and towns. Some enjoyed this shade while others suffered tremendously because of it. Those who enjoyed the luxuries and wealth that the Industrial Revolution provided, the bourgeoisie, depended on the needs of the poor, the proletarians, to increase the size of their monstrous factories and ultimately their wealth and influence. In “The Communist Manifesto” Karl Marx discusses the effects of the Industrial Revolution in further dividing society by creating new social and economic hierarchies. In addition to his observation of the division of labor, Karl Marx believed, that due to the technological shift from craftsmanship to machinery this also caused division of labor and the appreciation of proletarian handmade goods was disregarded.
The worldwide spread of capitalism led to powerful movements of resistance and revolution. Capitalism created an international working class which Marx believed would revolt against the international capitalist class to form a stateless, classless communist society. The revolt of workers and peasants in countries suffering from imperialism and bourgeois oppression took the form of ‘socialist patriotism’ — a form of patriotism that differed from bourgeois nationalism . The relatively imprecise positions taken up by Marx and Engels on the national question fostered a series of debates and discussions on the topic, making it crucial for socialists to understand how to address nationalism and the various struggles for national liberation. This paper aims to review the extent to which Marx’s theory of
Marx believed that the current capitalist society is separated into two classes, the Proletariat society, and Bourgeois society. The Proletarians, as perceived by Marx, are part of the working class that only possess one significant material value, that is the ability to work, or labour power. The Bourgeoise, on the other hand, is the societal class that owns the means of production and hence rule over the Proletarians. As I quote from Marx’s book, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” (Marx and Engels, 1988, p. 473)
