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The Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich Engels.
Friedrich Engels was the son of a German Industrialist born in 1820. He wrote this book while working at one of his father's factories in Manchester in the mid-1840's. Though a member of the fortunate, moneyed, classes, his sympathy lay most definitely with those trapped in the stratum of society below his own. It was the plight of the English manual worker that Engels found particularly remarkable, and this book was his recording of his observations and predictions.
At the time of writing the Industrial revolution was ripe for observation. The population boom of the first half of the 19th century had established the large cities, the railways, since 1828 had spread across the country, revolutionising transport, and the major aspects of production had all been mechanised. Like Elvis, Engels was in the right place at the right time.
As far as Engels was concerned the population of England consisted of two different, and by his definitions, conflicting groups, namely: The Bourgeois, who we might term the upper, or ruling class, defined by power, wealth, property and control and The proletariat, i.e. working classes.
Throughout the book Engels constantly evokes the images of the poverty and degradation of the working classes. It is remarkable how much statistical, and anecdotal evidence he provides, churning out page after page, chapter on chapter relating to the sorrow and suffering endured in those days. For examples one only has to open the book at random, for example, page 185.
" The supervision of machinery, the joining of broken threads, is no activity which claims the operative's thinking powers, yet it is of a sort which prevents him from occupying his mind with other things. We have seen, too, that this work affords the muscles no opportunity for physical activity. Thus it is, properly speaking, not work, but tedium, the most deadening, wearing process conceivable. The operative is condemned to let his physical and mental powers decay in this utter monotony, it is his mission to be bored every day and all day long from his eighth year. Moreover, he must not take a moment's rest; the engine moves unceasingly; the wheels, the straps, the spindles hum and rattle in his ears without a pause, and if he tries to snatch one instant, there is the overlooker at his back with the book of fines. This condemnation to be buried alive in the mill, to give constant attention to the tireless machine is felt as the keenest torture by the operatives, and its action upon mind and body is in the long run stunting in the highest degree."
We can guess that Engels's abhorrence of poverty was not misplaced. The 50% death rate amongst the poor under 5's was not reflected in those families rich enough to afford a descent gravestone. In the Woodhouse cemetery, the largest headstones have the following family names and average ages of death.
Ages of deaths recorded on some graves in Woodhouse cemetery, Leeds
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Map |
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Name |
Av |
Individual Ages |
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West |
42 |
35 |
35 |
57 |
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Lowell |
45 |
57 |
1 |
69 |
41 |
56 |
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Ely |
71 |
52 |
68 |
90 |
72 |
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Hall |
51 |
80 |
79 |
25 |
19 |
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Bingley |
35 |
68 |
1 |
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Robinson |
63 |
47 |
79 |
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Woffinden |
70 |
69 |
78 |
62 |
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Holt |
48 |
37 |
32 |
85 |
27 |
31 |
75 |
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Niel |
74 |
72 |
69 |
80 |
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Liversedge |
66 |
53 |
79 |
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? |
59 |
54 |
26 |
63 |
65 |
68 |
78 |
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Overall |
56 |
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Engels's conclusion is blunt, that a revolution is inevitable. The last verse of the book (Page 302) states
" It is too late for a peaceful solution. The classes are divided more and more sharply, the spirit of resistance penetrates the workers, the bitterness intensifies, the guerrilla skirmishes become concentrated in more important battles, and soon a slight impulse will suffice to set the avalanche in motion. Then, indeed, will the war-cry resound through the land: 'War to the palaces, peace to the cottages!' - But then it will be too late for the rich to beware."
Engels is attributed with several generalisations, the most prominent of which is 'Engels Law', stating that the richer one is, the lower the proportion of one's income is spent on food, (therefore the more income can be devoted to the pursuit of capital).
The name of Friedrich Engels is synonymous with that of Karl Marx, and any assessment of this book's influence in a geographical context should account for the philosophies of both these men. There is a school of thought that applies Marxism to the study of geographical phenomena, but to date has largely taken the form of a critical commentary on the workings of market and social systems in capitalist societies. (Small & Witherick, A Modern Dictionary of Geography third edition, page 152, Arnold, 1995)
The most profound influence of Engels is thus in the thinking of others. The USSR is a testament to the inspiration of Marx and Engels. They have influenced the Human Geography of every place on the planet to a degree. We therefore may try to imagine what influence Engels must have had on Politicians, workers, philanthropists and other writers, and in turn, their influence.
In his introduction to the book David McLennan states (Page xx)
"His youthful book remains the classic work on the effects of early industrial capitalism and the struggle against them."
In the understanding of modern Human geography, an awareness of the condition of the working classes is vital.
The book achieves some of its goals, in that it informs the reader and suggests what might be done. Engels himself might be disappointed at the impact his book has had.
There was no revolution in England, and communist systems have collapsed the world over.
Most importantly, are we enlightened? We may look at Victorian England and recoil with self-righteous amazement at the inhumanity that the Victorian upper classes are portrayed to be capable of. To quote Engels on Page 120 he states
"the Bourgeoisie reads these things every day in the newspapers and takes no further trouble in the matter"
Let he who is without guilt cast the first stone. Victorian mill owners did not sit and watch images of real suffering, degradation, waste and greed while they ate their tea, but we do. We glorify the rich, and reward them for their mere celebrity. We steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that the horrors vested upon our fellow man are any more real then Snow White. Far from alleviating the poverty and wretchedness of the working classes, the bosses have just transferred these things to other parts of the globe. 160 years after Engels, only the location of misery has changed.
Handout: "How people died in 1998"
http://www.who.int/whosis/ (This site is recommended, and contains the handout information, I have not inserted the handout because it is cumbersome, nevertheless, the scale of death is striking amongst those infectious diseases found in the third world)Section II describe deaths from 'non communicable conditions' We do not see a heading for 'old age' herein, but all deaths from old age are encompassed here. It may sound unsympathetic but the majority of this column could be passed off under the banner 'Shit happens'. You are born, you live, and you die.
Section I tells a different story. The very names conjure images of remote and hostile environments. People rarely die from Malaria, Aids, Tuberculosis, Diarrhoea diseases, or any other of these conditions in our green and pleasant land.
Ignoring the lack of resistance to all these diseases through malnutrition, half a million people a year die because they simply cannot get food. Food that we waste by the plate, bin and skip-load every single day.
The average expected healthy life span of a child born in Sierra Leone in 1999 is - less than 26 years. (Compare this to the average we saw in the 19th century graveyard, or the current British one of 74 years)
If Friedrich Engels were alive today he would write the same book, but Manchester would be Mogadishu, England would be Ethiopia and the despicable, thoughtless exploitative and abhorred ruling class would be us.
Steve Kidd email
steve@kiddxxx.fsnet.co.uk.