The emergence of socialism and trade unions
Capitalism / Socialism
Urbanisation brought with it new social classes and social divisions. Investors (entrepreneurs) could earn vast fortunes. Their luxurious lifestyles and homes reflected their new status, a world removed from the poverty-stricken conditions of many of their employees. Many workers found it hard to adapt to their new lives in the city. Some embittered workers began to demand better conditions and political rights. The result was a rising interest in social revolution, with philosophers and activists such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels gaining a following among the working classes.
In his influential book, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy (1867), German philosopher Karl Marx suggested that the Industrial Revolution was driven by an economic system known as capitalism. Marx argued that capitalism was based on the exploitation of the workers by the owners of land, factories, railways and roads, shops and banks for profit. For capitalism to work, it relied on an ‘army’ of urban workers who would work for less than the value of their labour. Later theorists would build on Marx’s work to promote alternative systems that they argued would deliver a fairer distribution of wealth. These ideas were the beginning of socialism. They laid the foundations for the welfare state (under which the state took responsibility for all its subjects, rich or poor) and also for communism (under which the state attempted to abolish ownership of private property).
Luddites
The first violent reaction to the Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain in 1811, when factory owners and manufacturers in Nottingham received threatening letters signed by ‘General Ned Ludd and the Army of Redressers’. In protest at wage reductions and job losses caused by the adoption of stocking frames and automated looms in textile mills, former weavers attacked factories, smashed machines and killed the owner of one cotton mill. In response, the British Parliament made it a capital offence (a crime punishable by death) to destroy machines.
Twenty-three Luddites (as the protestors became known) were executed in 1812 and many more were transported to Australia as punishment. The Luddites were stamped out, but their actions showed that there was a need for political action that would benefit workers and improve the conditions that they were forced to accept.
Poor Laws and the rise of Chartism
In 1834, the British Parliament attempted to deal with changing social and economic conditions by reforming the 233-year-old Poor Law. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 decreed that any poor or homeless person requiring assistance from the state (except for the old and sick) had to enter a government workhouse. These institutions kept people off the streets but often fed their residents poorly, worked them extremely hard and broke up families.
Widespread discontent over the Poor Law Amendment Act reminded many people that they had little say in government. Reform bills in 1832 had extended the right to vote, but only to about 600 000 out of 3 million men over the age of 21. At this time, all members of parliament were required to own property, which limited the number of men who could afford to stand for office. In 1838, a group of reformists published a People’s Charter written as a bill that could be presented to Parliament, demanding a better life for people through the use of parliamentary change.
The six points of the People’s Charter
1. A VOTE for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing punishment for crime.
2. THE SECRET BALLOT—To protect the elector in the exercise of his vote.
3. NO PROPERTY QUALIFICATION for members of Parliament—thus enabling the constituencies to return the man of their choice, be he rich or poor.
4. PAYMENT OF MEMBERS, thus enabling an honest tradesman, working man, or other person, to serve a constituency, when taken from his business to attend to the interests of the country.
5. EQUAL CONSTITUENCIES, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the votes of larger ones.
6. ANNUAL PARLIAMENTS, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and intimidation, since though a constituency might be bought once in seven years (even with the ballot), no purse could buy a constituency (under a system of universal suffrage) in each ensuing twelve-month; and since members, when elected for a year only, would not be able to defy and betray their constituents as now.
Emergence of trade unions
Over time, workers found ways of banding together to protect their interests. Skilled workers realised that they needed to protect their jobs and incomes (in case of illness or injury) so they would not become victims of the Poor Laws. As a result, many formed Friendly Societies. Workers each paid a weekly subscription to their Friendly Society that would provide them with a small income during illness, an old-age pension, or money for a funeral when they died.
Some industries developed trade clubs, which quickly developed into unions that fought for common aims, such as higher wages. A union’s main weapon against employers and industrialists was the threat of work stoppages known as strikes. The Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 banned workers in Britain from meeting to demand increased wages or shorter working hours. If caught, the punishment for this crime was three months in jail. After protests and debate, trade unions were legalised in 1825, swiftly leading to the establishment of groups such as the National Association for the Protection of Labour, with over 100 000 members.