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Friedrich EngelsThe Condition of the Working Class in England
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1845A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
To the Working Classes of Great Britain-Preface to the English Edition
To the Working Classes of Great Britain Summary
The book opens with a note by Friedrich Engels addressed directly to the English working class in which the author dedicates his book to the proletariat. He also shares some of the details and motivations behind his work and methods. Dissatisfied with the information found in official and public documents and reports, Engels dedicated his personal free time, while stationed in Manchester, to talking with various members of the working class rather than spending it with his peers at dinner parties and other social events. Appalled by the poverty and terrible conditions he observed, Engels aims to bring justice to the workers and convey to the English “money-monger” that the rest of the West European nations condemn the behavior of Britain’s middle and upper classes (27).
Additionally, Engels concludes that the proletariat cannot expect help or support from the upper-middle class. Their interests cannot be reconciled, even if factory and mine owners try persuading their workers otherwise. The proof is the lack of action on the part of the bourgeoisie in support of better conditions for the proletariat. Thus, the upper-middle classes in England have no interest in being objective when it comes to the effects of capitalism on their employees. It falls to a foreigner to take on the role of an outside observer and compile a detailed report on the grievances of the working class.
The author concludes that it is the middle class that considers him a foreigner, not the workers, because the proletariat has not yet adopted the nationalistic prejudices of the upper classes. As a result, English workmen are not isolated but part of the “great and universal family of Mankind” to which the author also belongs. As a fellow Man, he expresses support for the efforts of the English working class to improve its situation, as its struggles will benefit not only the poor but all people worldwide (28).
Preface to the First German Edition Summary
In the Preface to the German edition Engels discloses that initially he intended his observations on the working class to be a part of a larger work on the social history of England. However, the author soon realized the importance of the subject of labor conditions, as they are the source and departure point for all social movements. Engels focuses specifically on the working class in England because he perceives its conditions to be in their “classical form” (29). According to him, it is necessary to understand the life of the proletariat to be able to formulate any socialist theory. At present, German philosophers, theorists, and philanthropists know so little about the reality of the working class that any efforts to help them are doomed to failure. As a result, the author spent 21 months studying firsthand the life of the English working people, to theorize about similar conditions in Germany and attempt to avoid the dangers of violent conflict, such as the recent Silesian and Bohemian disturbances.
Preface to the English Edition Summary
In the second Preface Engels underlines that several major changes took place in England between 1845, when the book was finished, and 1885, when it was first translated into English. The author theorizes that the situation he observes as a 24-year-old man is the “juvenile state of capitalism,” outgrown by England in the following decades (37). As a result, the book might not be as relevant to the study of the conditions of the working class in 1885, but it can serve as a historic study of the embryonic stage of capitalism, since many other countries at the time were in a delayed transition to capitalism.
Engels explains that some of the improvements in England are the result of capitalist development leading to a “world market,” which ensures that the loss of large-scale profit over “petty” grievances, such as an unregulated work day and lack of sanitation, is not worth it (34-35). As a result, the most glaring abuses of power and the most terrible conditions have disappeared or been mitigated in England. However, other countries, such as the United States, are beginning to experience similar struggles. For example, according to Engels, the 1886 Pennsylvania coal-miners’ strike resembled the North English colliers’ strike of 1844.
The author includes his 1885 article published in the London Commonweal, in which he theorizes that the 1848 Revolution in France saved the English middle class, since its violence demoralized the members of the workers’ Chartist movement, which collapsed internally in 1848. The reforms passed in favor of the bourgeoisie restructured the economy, turning the United Kingdom into the “workshop of the world” (40). However, such an economic model presupposes an endless market to receive English goods, which is not realistic. At the time, countries like Russia, France, and Germany were already developing their own manufacturing industries. Thus, eventually, Britain would be faced with overproduction, creating a paradox. Engels writes, “Capitalist production cannot stop. It must go on increasing and expanding, or it must die” (44).
The author concludes that since even the lowest levels of the working classes have profited from the capitalist expansion of England’s economy, socialism did not develop on the island. However, the better circumstances are temporary and simply a way to placate workers and ensure uninterrupted production. According to the author, “the cause of the miserable condition of the working class is to be sought, not in these minor grievances, but in the capitalist system itself” (36). Faced with the slowing down of this system, Engels predicts that the proletariat will cease to benefit even marginally from economic expansion and will once again find itself in a terrible condition. As a result, socialism will finally develop in England.
To the Working Classes-Preface to the English Edition Analysis
In these opening statements Engels outlines his rationale for writing about England despite his German origins and makes an apology for the continued relevance of his work. He brings examples from the United States to illustrate that while English workers face different challenges in the latter half of the 19th century, other places are experiencing the delayed effects of the early stages of capitalism. The Pennsylvania strike he alludes to, combined with his theories on the connection between working conditions and violent social upheaval, are guaranteed to attract the interest of American readers, since any nation would want to avoid a repeat of the French Revolution or the widespread European uprisings of the mid-19th century.
To rationalize his subject matter, the author positions himself as an objective observer who can access different levels of society and, thus, present a cross section of English economy, which would be difficult for a member of the local intelligentsia to do. The analysis of his firsthand observations is one of the earliest attempts at urban anthropology and is groundbreaking in its efforts to anchor theory to actual realities. The variety of original material presented in the book strengthens the impression of a well-informed and objective viewpoint.
Engels also clearly articulates his own stand in solidarity with the working class and his dislike of both the bourgeoisie and the capitalist system. He is clearly on a mission to drive home the appalling conditions of workers and to establish a clear divide between the unfeeling, selfish, and greedy bourgeoisie and the hard-working, starving, and abused proletariat.
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