I've read about the working class and movements in the social structure of Britain in Europe these past couple of days. I'm quite interested in its formation, etc. I made some notes about it. It's not very popular, hahaha.
The Industrial Revolution in Britain was roughly between 1760 and 1830, and it laid the foundation for the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets". This was a relatively important period. The Industrial Revolution gave a huge boost to human progress and was of historic significance.
Most people understand the basic concepts of the Industrial Revolution. Let's take a look at what class is and how it is formed. Generally speaking, the working class is essentially "poor" and is exploited and oppressed by capitalists, forming an opposition to the bourgeoisie. The vested interests of the working class are different from those of others and are in opposition to the interests of others. In a sense, it is the formation of resonance, common interests and enemies. But when the interests are consistent but the consciousness is not consistent, there is no common relationship, no overall connection, or some kind of political and social organization. In other words, the definition of class is not only the consistency of interests, but also the need for psychological and conscious consistency.
From the perspective of class formation, to put it more simply, who are our enemies and friends is an important question. Knowing who they are and who we are is more like the relationship between people, which ones are consistent and which ones are contradictory. The period of time when the working class was formed should be the Industrial Revolution.
During the British Industrial Revolution, workers realized that they were a collective of interests, and their interests were in opposition to those of their employers. They developed a common consciousness, and the working class was formed. It can also be understood that the awakening of class consciousness is the formation of a class symbol. After the formation of the working class, they continued to fight against the bourgeoisie. Why did they carry out such a struggle? This struggle can better improve good living conditions, pursue a better wage environment, etc.
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During the Industrial Revolution, the struggle of British workers was not just about increasing wages and reducing working hours, that is, "working less and earning more." In fact, it was not just about improving living standards, but also about non-economic reasons.
In the early days, the textile industry was hit in Britain. A large number of people changed from handicraftsmen to workers, breaking the original way of working. Before that, handicraft was a very glorious thing. You had free time and arranged it yourself. You could take a few days off when you wanted to, or you could bring the whole family to do it. After the completion, you could negotiate the price with the purchaser, slowly expand the scale of manual production with profit, and become a boss, etc. Relatively speaking, there was more autonomy and dignity, but as machines replaced manual labor in large quantities, the original free handicraftsmen became assembly line workers, and their autonomy and dignity were indirectly lost. They became screws running on the factory assembly line, and they had to face supervision and management, and they were backward because of their slow work. In the factory, there was only standard efficiency, and no creative craftsmanship. Machines became masters, and they were more domesticated and obeyed institutional management, etc.
So here the contradiction arises, and the class struggle between craftsmen and employers begins. They not only want to obey, but also need to create freedom and so on.
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In the past, handicraft production was basically driven by family units. Since the transformation to industrialization, it has also had a great impact on family life. Workers work 14 hours a day, causing family members to live different lives.
In the original handicraft production, the family lived a relatively happy life, each doing their own job. Generally, the man was the main worker, while the woman took care of the housework. The men were the main laborers, and the children did the delicate work within their ability. No matter how hard and difficult the life was, the family could sit together for dinner, which was also very happy, because their hearts were together. The concept of family was still very important.
In the contemporary British family concept, if the man goes out or works in another place, the family will also stay together. Because in the eyes of the British, the family is a whole and should be together. It seems to be different from China, where more people are willing to endure separation for survival. It is also different from other cultures that people in some countries are sometimes unwilling to abandon their families and go to other places for higher labor commissions. They are relatively more focused on harmony and try every means to find holidays to celebrate. If you look closely at the law, half of the holidays in a year meet legal standards. Hahaha, off topic.
However, with the development of industrialization, adults went to factories and children worked as apprentices or child laborers, which also caused some safety problems. Children also had no time to receive education. In the early days of the British textile industry, supervisors also abused child laborers, forcing them to work day and night, exploiting and beating them. But there are also more extreme statements, which are more about the children's own parents abusing them for reasons such as survival and more efficient labor. At that time, there was also a boycott of child labor, because child labor costs were lower, which took away the jobs of adult men, and men were supported by women and daughters, which humiliated unemployed men.
From this we can see that after the Industrial Revolution, most family lives were changed, so the main purpose of the struggle was not only for economic welfare purposes, but more to restore and regain control of the family. After the formation of the class, the workers also had a consistent goal of struggle, and of course they would no longer obey the command of the bourgeoisie. They not only had to reach a consensus on interests, but also formed a unity in consciousness, and had to have weapons of ideological criticism. As we all know, the most famous one is Marxism.
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At that time, the less a family's income was, the greater the proportion of their expenditure on food for survival. When food supply was insufficient, food prices would rise, which might cause riots. People called protests caused by food a food riot. There were different riots, such as anti-circle, conscription, and religious riots, but riots caused by food accounted for two-thirds.
Some economists define food riots as caused by wars, natural disasters, etc. But in fact, there are more complex motivations and behaviors of people in a specific period, such as driving up the prices of food and necessities, making huge profits, shortchanging, etc., which are defined as immoral.
In order to control this, a kind of moral economics and civilian culture emerged at that time, "patriarchy". What does it mean? It means that the poorest and most bullied children in the family must stand up and speak out. The poor need to eat, but merchants cannot make profits by hoarding and raising prices. If merchants do the opposite, then the lower-class people will reasonably resist, because in their eyes, such behavior violates "patriarchy" and violates recognized morality.
The food riots were a spontaneous act of the people to defend their survival beliefs and habits. Although they were not supported and recognized by the authorities, they were supported by the official patriarchal tradition. The people used this moral economic ideology and cultural weapon to legitimize the struggle against capital hegemony and formed a "cultural way" to win with the help of the authorities. In the later period, they also carried out many organized illegal activities and quasi-riots to protect their own rights and interests, laying the foundation for the formation of working class consciousness.
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Marxism may be able to better understand the development and formation based on classes and class struggles, focus on the ruling class and elite groups, and reveal the important historical role of workers on the historical stage, but it rarely discusses the formation of the working class.
The Industrial Revolution was not only a period of technological and economic change, but also an important period of transformation in social structure and people's understanding of their roles. Workers' consciousness was not just that of workers, but they began to realize that they were a group with common interests and common enemies. This awakening of consciousness was not only for the purpose of improving living conditions, but also for the purpose of fighting for dignity and justice.
The hard life and struggle of workers during the Industrial Revolution also played an important role in the historical process and awakened ideological changes. From feudalism to modernization, the working class played an important role in social change. The formation and struggle of classes are not only historical events, but also have a profound impact on the understanding of social structure and class relations. It is an important part of the progress of human society.
