Workers' movements in 19th century England.

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                                      WORKERS’ MOVEMENTS IN 19th CENTURY ENGLAND

In older Britain power was justified by the belief in the inevitability of the aristocratic rule. The Industrial Revolution brought with it many profound effects on this belief system of the European civilization, especially Britain.

It rendered much of the old aristocracy irrelevant and boosted the bourgeoisie to economic and political power and drafted much of the old peasant class into the factories.

This brought about a lot of changes in the earlier feudal set up as there was a shift in the attitude towards wealth. Capitalists viewed themselves as the creators of their own wealth and considered it something to be proud of.

This belief and indulgence in self pride led the capitalists to believe that they owned Britain’s working class and exploited them to the fullest. The conditions of the laborers in Britain during the 18TH and the 19TH centuries were appalling and resulted in various workers’ movements which formed a landmark in the development of British Industrialist and Capitalist history.

STANDARD OF LIVING OF WORKERS:

Arnold Toynbee, at Oxford, damned the Industrial Revolution as a ‘period as disastrous and terrible as any through which a nation ever passed.’ Karl Marx seconds him when he quoted that ‘The hand – mill gives you the feudal lord and the steam – mill the industrial capitalist.’

The proliferation of mills, mines and urban squalor led everyone to believe that all things unpleasant were a consequence of the Industrial Revolution.

Over the period 1820 – 1940 there was intensified exploitation, greater insecurity and increasing human misery. The working class people were mostly uneducated and were thus unaware of their rights, children at a very young age were thrown in the mills of working class society and thus by the time they turned forty they were completely worn out. Moreover, due to the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors there were large rates of unemployment and underemployment in the cities. The people had to live in cramped houses in very unsanitary conditions.

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This lifestyle drove people to frustrating heights and made the workers fight for their rights which resulted in a lot of workers’ movements in the 19th century. One of the greatest contributors to the workers’ movements was Robert Owen.

OWENISM

Robert Owen was an industrialist and at an early age started handling the reigns of a huge capitalist set up. He is remembered most for his management of labour.

 Owen gave special attention to children whose education and everyday routine, he thought, could be organized to produce habits of order and industry. He relied heavily on kindness towards his workers ...

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