The Condition of the Working Class in England

What do you think is the author’s goal in writing this book? Where is he going with his analysis of the capitalist system?

If you were a 19th-century legislator, what measures would you propose to alleviate the terrible living conditions of the working class in England?

If you were a member of the property-owning class in 19th-century England, what would be your arguments against the need to change the status quo?

What connections can you draw between urban planning and social justice from Engels’s descriptions of English cities?

What parallels can be drawn between what Engels describes in his book and the contemporary world? Which ideas in the book are still relevant today?

Based on Engels’s observations, is competition a good thing? Are his observations objective? Do you agree with his stance?

What do you think is the best way to counteract the atomizing influence of competition described by Engels? Is there a way for competition not to be used against the working class?

What do you think were Engels’s attitudes toward the family, gender equality, and women in the workplace? How is his opinion shaped by European culture at the time? Are his fears about the dissolution of the family warranted, and are they at all relevant to the present day?